Extreme Mustangs

Ouch.

2011-01-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

If you don't follow my Facebook, then you might know that I'm hurt. Nine was hyper, he bucked, and I can only stay with it for so long, as we all know from repeated past experiences :P I have never hit the ground so hard! Well I am okay, but my helmet is ruined. And my back (my right erector spinae muscle) is in extreme pain when moved wrong. But no bones broken, just some scraped skin and a pulled muscle. I start school on Tuesday, so it will likely be a while before I post anything interesting here. Sorry :/

Antelope Attack!

2011-01-08T09:38:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure why I haven't posted this yet... Friday was me and Paul's 5th anniversary so I suppose I had other things on my mind.

On Thursday we rode again, me on Nine, my mother in law on Tiny, my brother in law on Ashley, and this time Hammer followed along. We saw some pronghorn along the way, and at first they ran from us. We didn't see the whole herd at once because they were in the trees, but we could tell it was a huge herd! Well, they went parallel to the road we were on so we saw them again, in a really bad spot, too! There was a barbed wire fence on our right, and an old abandoned house with junk scattered all over the yard on our left. Remember, this is a very open area in general, so "yard" means 10 acres. Anyways, the pronghorn spotted us and started running strait for us, from the left. Apparently this is a tactic they use to scare off predators. Well, the herd was probably some 30-40 antelope, and the scare tactic basically worked! Hammer, who I frequently chase pronghorn with (I know, I'm a sinner) was all worked up, running back and forth, wondering why we weren't going after the antelope! Ashley was an angel; she was focused on the antelope charge, but she didn't spook. And as such, Nine followed her example. He didn't like it, but he didn't run from the pronghorn, either. He just kept trotting (VERY animatedly!) a few steps, stopping, snorting, then trotting forward again. Tiny, though, was terrified. Kate had to get off of him to work him in some circles. He was behind us, so I didn't see, but she said he had started bucking! I had to tell Katie, my dog, to get after the pronghorn so they would change course. She ended up just cutting the herd, so most went across the road behind us, but some stayed in a parallel course with us. We had to just stop and stand for like 10 minutes waiting for them to cross. It worked out for the best, though, because Kate was able to lead Tiny a ways to catch up with us, which allowed him to relax a little. Nine also got a very good lesson in standing still. Hammer has big issues with this - the slightest shift in my position, and he starts moving off again. So I was glad to nip this habit in the bud with Nine. He is so good - he was solid as a statue, not even trying to eat! He kept looking back to watch Tiny coming, and while his head was back there, he slobbered on my pants. :P I took this as a very good sign - he had to feel pretty comfortable with me up there, no fear at all, to give me a kiss. He is also really good at giving "kisses" these days. He's learned not to use teeth, he just leaves a slobber mark, lol. :P I tried to nip that habit in teh bud, too, when he started giving love bites. But he still does it, just without teeth. So I don't punish him. I don't mind a little spit.

Well, Kate and Tiny caught up with us, the rest of the pronghorn crossed the road, and off we went again. Nine was in the lead at this point, and doing awesome at it. He usually walks slow, like Ashley, but this time he really started moving out and swinging those long legs of his. There is a house with sheep and other horses (and dogs), but other than one stop to look at the sheep, Nine was perfect. He really took charge and showed Tiny how to be a good boy. The three dogs at this house are not chained or anything, but so long as we stay on the road, they stay in their yard. I ride past here on my own rather a lot, but usually on Hammer at a canter, so I wasn't sure how it would be with 4 horses at the walk, but it was fine. Nine didn't mind their barking, Ashley of course was perfect, and so Tiny was okay. He was still shaken up from the antelope, and Kate will never admit it, but I'm sure she was shaken up as well, which is a bad mix, but since Nine was being so awesome, and Ashley and Hammer were their usual perfect selves, Tiny and Kate came through just fine.

The way back was uneventful, even though we went back on the pipeline road, which took us next to a generating station or something; lots of noise and gas smells. Ash and Hammer have been past there plenty of times, but it was a first for Nine and Tiny, but there were both perfect gentlemen. And When Ashley cantered a few strides up a small hill, and Hammer took off in between me and Kate, smooshing all three horses together, Tiny spooked a little, and Nine wasn't happy, but we all stayed in one piece.

Can you believe it? Eight rides, and Nine is behaving better than Tiny, the "veteran" tourist trail mount! Apparently there weren't antelope where he came from, some place in Colorado, I think. Serious discrepancies there. Tiny got a LOOOOOONG lesson in the round pen on Friday. He was broke the "old fashioned" way, and it took 45 minutes to an hour of round penning before he finally lowered his head, then came to me in the center of the pen. When round penning, I try Monty Robert's methods to try to get something close to Join-Up. It doesn't always work perfect, like with Ashley, for example (she starts kicking; she lunges like a dream, but her dominant mare streak blazes when you put her in a round pen). Hammer joins up in about 10 seconds, Nine takes more like 10-20 minutes, and usually just gets to Follow-Up. But I stuck with it yesterday, and Tiny finally did it. I guess he was trained to just go round and round until told to stop by his handler, at some random point that makes no sense to the horse. So we had to do lots of direction changes (which I stole from Clinton Anderson; think lunging for respect, but in a round pen) to keep him mind on me. Took ages, but we did it. I got his attention on me, I got his trust. I put a bed sheet on him, and over his head so he couldn't see, and lead him around the pen. He didn't like it, but he had no choice but to trust me and follow my cues. He knows all sorts of cues - he has some very solid training buried deep in his past, but it's all covered in his stubborn, spoiled attitude. He doesn't respect his handler or rider, so when something happens out on the trail, he usually sticks his nose in the horse's tail in front of him. But we are trying to break him of that habit and have him listen to his rider, so when Kate told him to bend his head and circle, and thus ignore the pronghorn, he panicked. Lots of issues in that horse, but until yesterday he wasn't unsafe. We will just lunge or round pen him to get that respect and acceptance and attention before every ride from now on. It should take less time every time we do it.

Wow, that's a long post. If you read the whole thing, kudos to you! Now go get a life. :P I might ride Nine today, with Paul on Ash, if he still wants to (he has to work tonight). And Monday with be my last chance to have a free day - I get my wisdom teeth pulled Tuesday morning, and school starts next week. So, I may post again, I may not.

2011 Off to a Good Start

2011-01-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Nine had an injury on his coronet band last year, around the end of August, so he was put on stall rest and our progress predictably stalled. Then I was in school, and when I got out for Winter Break, so did Elayne. BUT - now E is back in preschool and I don't go back until the 17th! So today I worked with Nine for just a little while in the afternoon, when it was finally warm enough. My plan was to groom him, get the burrs out of his mane and tail, and maybe lunge him a bit to get his wiggles out. Well he was doing so well I saddled him up and lunged him like that, and he was STILL being great, so I got my foot in the stirrup. He was okay, So I hopped up - that made him spook a little, but my fear didn't even show its' face, so I just got his feet moving again, tried again, and so on for a few tries, and then he let me stand in the stirrup without moving his feet. My mother in law was watching, so I figured I would be safe enough to get on. So next try, up I went, all the way over and into the saddle. I just rode him at a walk in a small area, but by golly, he was PERFECT! Last ride last year he had just gotten over spooking when I mounted and dismounted, and this ride was an improvement even over that (if you disregard the refresher session beforehand). AND, he was going in just a halter, no bit. I am going to keep him going like that now; he's figured out the cues with the bit so why not? He still doesn't like to stand still, but he will figure it out in no time. His responsiveness amazes me - after 4 months off, I had no idea that a green horse would remember so much (read: everything) and actually be better! I am so in love with that boy. He's staying with me for a long, long time.

Nine's Progress

2010-08-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, I have ridden Nine three more times, all out in the open. Kate and I trailered to the same spot and rode home from there. Nine didn't buck or bolt and was pretty much an angel. The next day we rode out from the house. Nine was good until I asked him to trot in a large circle. He tested me and tried to bolt, but I wouldn't let him and he bucked instead. I came off, but I held tight to the lead rope and he stopped. I have to resaddle him because the lead ended up UNDER the saddle, but after that we was fine.

Then he had a few days off, until today my mom and I rode again. We went out from the house and didn't go far. Nine was very hyper, however, and bolted - twice - when I asked him to trot. But this time I let him go for a few strides before I very firmly but steadily asked - no, told - him to slow down and turn. I think he's figured it out! Riding = pleasure! Below is a good picture my mom took today. See my Facebook for a video.

Nine again

2010-06-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wow! Long time, no post! Haven't really had anything to post, I suppose.

Well, I do now. My mom and I tried to work with Nine yesterday, but he was being very flighty. I rode him in the round pen a bit, but he was very tense so I didn't want to ride him in the open, which was our goal for the day. So, instead, I rode Ashley and, ponying Nine, we trotted a loop around Saddle Crater (about 7 miles). We trotted about half that distance, walked the rest. When we got back Nine was dragging at the lead rope and he had an even sheen of sweat, so it seems we definitely took the edge off his energy!

Today we trailered Nine and Ash a few miles out to a spot I know where there is a stretch of sand clear of brush. It's about 1/2 mile from the road to the sand, so you can imagine I was disappointed when Nine dropped me at the trailer. He was fine when I mounted, and when I asked him to flex his head each way, but then he tried to walk off so I pulled his head back around and told him to "whoa", but he just started spinning! Wow, can he spin! My mom said I made it about three spins, and I was off. After about 10 minutes of hiking around before I caught him, I lead him all the way to the sand so if he tried that again, I would have a softer landing and he would have to work harder to get me off.

Well, it worked, mostly. He kept scooting away when I tried to get on, trying to take off, but after he realized all that earned him was a jerk to the mouth from the bit, he stopped and let me get on. He was a perfect angel until we started trotting. He did about four or five strides just fine, but then decided he was done, so he turned 100 degrees and started bucking. I stuck it though, barely. After he stopped, I rearranged his mess of a mane (which is ridiculously long and thick now) and we went back to my mom. Then he was fine again. We trotted again and he was a dream. He was perfect back to the trailer, but again didn't want to stand still. And when I insisted, off he went, crow-hopping, then he bolted. But he turned when I asked, about ran into a dead tree, bucked again, then planted his rear into a tree, haha! When I asked, he got out of the tree, returned to the trailer and stood while I started to get off. He had one moment of sideways as I dismounted, but he stopped as soon as he felt that rein tighten. He loaded like an angel and the ride home went smooth, other than the fact that we had to unload the horses to get the truck and trailer up a steep bit of hill, then reload them! :P

Yay! I rode him out in the open!

Trick Training

2010-04-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Paul and I went on a nice little ride yesterday. Paul is quite sick and I am getting there (just a sore throat and possible sinus infection, but it does make one feel like crap) so it wasn't a long ride, but it was productive. Ashley likes to really test her rider - she was trying to eat, trying to turn off the road, changing gaits, all sorts of stuff; but Paul really stepped up and didn't let her get away with it, but he didn't loose his temper either (which is impressive because he is sick - we all know how our tempers are when we are not feeling well). Hammer was awesome - he hasn't been ridden in a couple weeks, and I could tell he REALLY wanted to let loose and GO! He gets very annoyed at Ashley's slow Quarter Horse pace :P But he held himself back. It was hard for both of us, but we did it. :P We even canter some circles, showing Paul some tricks to keep Ashley in a consistent diameter (how to make circle smaller or larger, and how to keep the horse where you put it, basically). But then Hammer calmed back down and we walked home at a mostly calm and reasonable pace! I swear, that horse MUST be gaited because he can do some sort of "walk" that feels sooo nice (not exactly smooth, but rolling) and he can do it as fast as Ashley does a working trot - that's right, WORKING trot, not collected trot or jog! Then again, Hammer can trot (definitely NOT smoothly at this speed!) as fast as Ashley canters. He's just fast at all gaits :P

Anyways, both horses got in some good training. Ashley got work with going where she's told and staying in that direction, plus keeping her mouth off the grass, and I even rode her for a minute at the corrals, showing Paul how to get her to side-pass (she doesn't do it yet very well - in fact yesterday was the first time she got a real lesson). So now he knows how to ask for it and she knows what he is asking for. Hammer got a lesson in calming down because I will let him move, I promise! He just has to chill out while we do it :D

Then later than afternoon I worked with hammer on the ground. I got him bowing a lot better - as in, he stays on the ground for more than a split millisecond :P I even got him to stay bowed while I got on, then got him to bow again with me on him. We did that a couple times, then i got off while he was bowed. Very cool :P Not yet very graceful with the dismount because the ground wasn't exactly where I thought it was, but it was still cool. Then I worked with nine on the same thing, but he isn't nearly as far along as Hammer. I got one good bow out of Nine, though. That was the first time he had gotten his knee all the way to the ground. He is starting to trust that I won't kill him while he is down :P

And today I am even more sick! So even though it is a fairly nice day, I am stuck inside resting and down (yuck) homework.

I rode Nine!

2010-03-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

This will be short, but in a nutshell - Yesterday we ponied Nine about 9 miles, with me on him. This did wonders for my confidence! Today I rode Nine alone, in the large pen (because I don't have an arena). It was only 20 minutes or so, but it was great. I would love to say that I will ride him tomorrow outside the pen after I get out of class, but I would be lying. You see, I hopped on Hammer to chase some frisky donkeys back into the pen, and didn't realize how frisky he was himself. He tossed me, not once, but twice! Well geez, now my ankle is sprained.

Riding with Kristi

2010-02-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

My friend Kristi spent the night Friday and we went riding Saturday. It was a little cold but we were fine and the horses fresh. It was a good time. Here are some pictures.

Catching Hammer:

Kristi on Ashley:

Me and Kristi posing with my daughter (Elayne and my mom met up with us near the end of the driveway):

By the end of the ride Kristi was feeling pretty confident! Not bad since this was her first time on a horse in several years. Good girl!

Nine

2010-01-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday Paul and I went riding, but on our way out the gate we heard Nine whinnying up a storm! I felt terrible so I went back and threw a halter on him so he could come riding too! Well, we didn't make it far before he spooked at something, and I couldn't hold him and Hammer at the same time, so I let Nine go. But Paul went back and got him, and he was perfect the rest of the ride. We saw some cows, which for some odd freaked all three horses out, even though Hammer and Ashley have both worked cows before... Silly ponies! But Nine just stuck by Ashley and Paul didn't have any trouble with them (I, meanwhile, was busy trying to calm Hammer down - he was running circles so I tried to keep him away from Nine so Nine didn't start trying to bolt). But after that, everyone was calm and relaxed, and we had a really nice ride. Paul even trotted Ash and Nine, and while Hammer got over-excited, Nine did not. We plan to keep taking him with us on rides. Next time I want him saddled. Soon I hope to have a chance to take him to the cinders and put a good ride on him.

Winter Braids

2010-01-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

My mother in law suggested (last year) that I put the horses' manes and tails into braids for the winter so they have lush, full, beautiful hair come spring. Well, I finally got around to it today. I did Nine's mane, laughed about how silly he looks, then I had to go inside to switch the laundry to the dryer, and when I came back out he was standing fine. But then my daughter and the dog spooked him. Apparently the knot was loose, because when I looked, after getting Elayne away from the horse, he had reached the end of the lead, which suddenly caught and whipped him around. His head hit the end of a pole. I put Elayne against the wall and told her not to move, and when I got to Nine he was working his jaw, which worried me a lot because I feared he had broken his jaw. Luckily he did not, but he did knock a tooth loose. I got some pliers and yanked it the rest of the way out. Nine drank some water so I didn't need to splash his mouth clean. So I took a look, and the tooth that came out was a baby tooth. The adult tooth is already through, so I don't think we have much to worry about. It looks like his mouth was open when it hit the pole and he has a cut in his gums. I will keep an eye open for infection.

Later Elayne took a nap so I went back out and did Nine's tail and Hammer's mane. Hammer did not enjoy it at all! He keeps giving me dirty looks. Nine doesn't seem to mind, even though he looks like a Rastafarian. He feelin' groovy mon.

Airs Above The Ground

2009-12-31T17:28:00.000-08:00

Today I rode Hammer while Kate rode Ashley. Hammer was really hyper, almost as hyper as he was last time I rode him, just before we left to go to Houston for Christmas. Then he practically sprinted 4 miles and was still trying to take off on me when we got back.

Anyways, today we rode again. We thought it might be fun to rear Hammer a time or two, and as I was talking I told Kate about how, occasionally, Hammer used to hop into the air mid-rear, thus doing an air above the ground. I believe this is called a corbette. So I got Hammer to rear and gave him a squeeze as he was going up, and lo and behold, he jumped! So we worked on that for a while. It took him about 20 minutes to figure out the difference, and for me to figure out a separate cue. It was awesome! Someday I will get pictures, once we perfect this!

Update on Hammer

2009-12-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

Hammer is back to normal - the vet suggested I put the horses on psyllium for 2 strait months. I don;t have the cash for that, but I am going to try 1 month, then regularly 1 week per month after that (I tend to slack on it). But Hammer is okay, hopefully for good. I will take it easy on him for a while.

Update on Hammer

2009-12-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

This morning shows no major improvement. Hammer did not eat all his food - though some is certainly gone. He still has diarrhea but at least something is coming out. He still wants to lay down but isn't rolling.

I gave him some alfalfa pellets soaked in warm water, and he has been going for that. Just nibbles for the most part, but he is eating it. Which also means he is getting some water in him.

Oh yes, this morning he has more gut sounds, which is great, though his heart rate isn't as slow as I'd like. He has been pacing at a quick walk when he isn't nibbling or laying down. I hope this passes soon...

Hammer's Colic

2009-12-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

So this is just copied from another site:

So that running yesterday might have been a bad idea; today Hammer is colicking. I noticed it this morning, and as of now (7 PM) he isn't all better. He has stopped trying to lay down so often (only once in the past hour at least) but he still isn't eating or drinking. He hasn't broken a sweat all day, and he has remained clear eyed and alert. But we had a scare when he laid down and apparently had a seizure - we were sitting by him as he lay, but as he wasn't trying to roll we weren't trying to make him get up. But then we heard a loud gut sound and he laid flat and started twitching. His eyes rolled back in his head and when Kate tried to pull him up by the lead, he was completely unresponsive. I started pushing on his withers and got him partway up but he wasn't getting his legs under him so I punched him in the ribs a couple times. That woke him up and he jumped to his feet and started trotting around. He looked like he had no idea where he was for a minute.

He has only laid down once since then but Kate had him up pretty quick. He still isn't eating. Kate brought him some warm water as he has only drunk once today (and has not peed at all - only pooped twice and those were both small). But now it's my turn to stay with him for 20 minutes. Update soon.

Edit at 9:30 PM: He has eaten, and Kate said he was asleep when she went to check on him. I will check on him once before bed (hopefully soon - I haven't been this physically tired in a long time).

A Walk on the Wild Side

2009-11-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

My awesome boyfriend Paul had a good idea yesterday afternoon - we took the horses for a walk (we didn't have enough time to ride). I took Nine and he took Ashley. I was showing off a bit and asked Nine to trot. He was going along alright once he realized Ashley wasn't going to eat him when he got in front of her, but then he started slowing down so I clucked at him to get him to get quicker - well, he did that! Next thing I know he was passing me like a bat out of hell, then he was out of there! He ran down the road then turned; once I realized he was heading back home I ran to intercept him at the gate. He just ran back and forth waiting for me to move.

So Paul released Ashley - yes this was off the property, but our horses are pretty predictable - especially at feed time! So Ash bucked for a few minutes, then ran off and Nine followed. They came tearing back at the speed of light, it seemed!

So that was my day. I also got on Nine - before we had them running around. He let me get up on the mounting block and slip right up there. I didn't stay on long and I was laying over his neck, but still. It's a big step :)

Trust

2009-11-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today I went into the corral to finish mucking, and Nine was laying down. I walked directly up to him and he did not get up. Then I sat right next to him and rubbed him down. He was still fine (with two unfamiliar people and a guitar near him!) so I sat on his back. Still fine, so I straddled him. Still fine! I sat there for a while just rubbing him down and such, but when I tried to get him to lay the rest of the way down (completely flat) he stood up. Anyways, it was still a huge step, for me as well - I wasn't scared the whole time. I guess my knees aren't hurting anymore and my brain has finally forgotten the Nine + riding = PAIN misconception. YAY!

Then I was showing off to my friends and I stretched Nine's hind foot out, set it down, and squatted right behind Nine while rubbing his legs. He was so completely unconcerned that I felt like an idiot, hehe! But it got my heart thumping a bit and forced me to let go more of the lingering fear, so I really think I'll be ready next time I try to ride Nine. I'm learning not to be afraid, and how to manage the lingering fear.

Some things that have been helping are goofing off around the animals I am comfortable around; standing up on Hammer, crawling under, over, around Hammer, Ashley, and the donkeys... Today I "cowboy mounted" the donkey (I've heard it called that once before :P) - I ran strait at his hindquarters (thus the fear factor and trust building) and vaulted up onto his back from there. I used to do that all the time on my donkey Rocky but hadn't done it in forever until today. That also teaches me to just go for it - commit myself! I also stood up on Rocky several times today, and he even walked around while I was "surfing" on his back - Okay, so I wasn't totally standing up while he walked, but I was up on my knees! I was fairly impressed with myself, hehe!

Update on Nine Again

2009-11-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

Well, Nine seems back to normal. I hope this is past us, not just getting worse... But for now I will think positive! He's healthy and ready for a ride!

Update on Nine

2009-11-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

So tonight Nine seemed better, finally! He wasn't laying down, he took a big bite of psyllium/grain mixture before I got the hay into the feed bin, and his gut was making big, lovely gaseous sounds! This morning he was laying down but let me come up to him and even sit on his back! I was very happy about that. We'll see tomorrow if he really is better.

Nine is Sick!

2009-11-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I noticed something odd about Nine; he has standing odd, and though he had his head down in the feeder, he wasn't eating. He has been buckling his legs as if he is going to lay down, but he doesn't. The way he stands is abnormal - he usually has one leg cocked, but now he's doing it differently. The leg is out from his body, like he's spreading his legs (but only one), or he stands with his hind legs stretched out behind him, almost like he is about to pee, but again, he doesn't pee. And his legs are close together, not apart like they would be if he were peeing. Usually one is also on it's tippy toe (it seems to mostly be his hind right but I haven't observed him enough to know if that's the only foot he tippy toes on). Yesterday I walked him for probably half a mile. Part way through he pooped - it seemed darker and drier than normal, so I checked his capillary refill time and that seemed way slow. But he had gut movement sounds returning, and on the way back towards home Nine showed life again - so I lunged him a bit and he trotted on his own will, tossed his head, even gave me a playful little squeal. So i took him home and thought he was better. But then he lingered at the gate longer than normal, and when he left he promptly went and laid down. He did not roll so I left him alone and just watched. He just plopped on down and sighed, so I slowly got closer and closer until he let me lay on him with my ear on his belly - his gut was making perfectly normal sounds. Through all this I kept checking his heart rate, which remained perfectly normal.

Today I put him in the round pen by himself. When I went to check on him he had eaten all his food (yay!) and his mouth was wet because he had just taken a drink. This is also a good sign, because he likes to put his grass hay in the water and play with it. So he seems to be acting somewhat like himself. But the way he was standing was still odd - he had both legs stretched back a bit, one tippy toed, and his tail was arched up and his penis was dropped, but he didn't pee. He walked up to me normally and stood normally once he had moved. I gave him more grass because hey, if he's eating then that's great! I want him to eat all he can at this point. As I left to get the hay he turned his head to look at his belly. It seems to hurt up high towards his back - he keeps his croup hollowed and there were slobber marks like he's been nipping himself. It's on his barrel but about as high as he can reach. His poop still seems dark and a little dry, but he is pooping with no trouble. I haven't seen him pee yet. I'm thinking it might be possible that he has a bean, so perhaps I should clean his sheath... Later (after I write the paper than was due on Wednesday :P) I plan to take him on a longer walk, and once the horse trailer is emptied of firewood I'd like to take him on a trailer ride - I remember reading somewhere that the vibrations from the trailer can help colicky horses.

I'd love some input from anyone! Nine is definitely feeling under the weather but since I bought the horse trailer I seriously don't have enough money to take him to a vet. If it turns bad and I have a serious emergency on my hands I'll take him, but I don't know how I'll do it... SO - ANY ideas would be MUCH appreciated to avoid a huge vet bill!

Oh, here's something - just a couple weeks ago all our horses had a week of psyllium. Nine doesn't seem to like psyllium but it's usually gone the next morning so I have to assume he's eating it. The point is that I don't think this is sand colic. Also, Nine is only 4 years old! He's too young to have built up enough sand to cause a twisted gut. And he isn't acting like this is a sharp pain - I think it's more of a dull, constant pain. I'll update frequently, I hope.

Pictures, Finally!

2009-10-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

So I took these pictures of the horse trailer like a week and a half ago but didn't get them on the computer until the other day and now I have finally remembered that I still need to post them! So here they are:

Horse Trailer

2009-10-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

So I impulsively bought a horse trailer! It was at a yard sale - the guy is moving to Phoenix and wanted to get rid of most of his stuff. I also bought a pack saddle with panniers and pad and all the rigging and such for just $75!

So the trailer - it's a 1990 Delta, a stock trailer that can fit three or maybe four horses. It has a nice roomy tack room - no saddle rack, but several bridle hooks and like I said lots of room. It's a bit heavy for my dad's old truck but he says it can haul two horses in there alright. The trailer was just $850, which really is quite a good deal! I'm pretty broke now, but we've worked it all out and we can make it through this semester. My dad is going to give me money for the pack saddle which will pay for gas this whole month; of course then the saddle will be his, not mine, but that's fine.

I will get pictures this afternoon and stuff. I also bought saddle soap to clean the pack saddle, and a hoof knife and gloves and things to trim Nine's feet, so that's a high priority too.

Horse Show, weeeee!!!!

2009-09-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

Another horse show today; wish us luck! My MiL and I are both riding, and Elayne (Miss Toddler) will also be in the lead line class.

M'kay - the results are in! I came away with one blue, two reds, and a white ribbon. Not fantastic, but I learned a thing or two and we had fun. I've got some pictures. Here's Elayne and her Granny in the lead line class:

And here they are with the blue ribbon and the stuffed animal! The other boy in the class got the same thing, but hey, they're kids and they enjoyed it!

As for me, I got 5th in the Extreme Trail Class - Hammer just would NOT stick his head into that stupid "car wash" obstacle... Ashley and the Granny/MiL got 4th. So we kinda blew that one, hehe. But then I did okay; I got 3rd in Hunters over 2' - 2'3". There were only two other people, so that's last, but hey. We DID go off course and had to start over... The judge gave me great feedback and I know what to work on. She mentioned that Hammer's stride and movement was a lot better than the other horses'; they were pleasure type Quarter Horses, so that made me feel pretty great about my little Mustang! Then we pulled 2nd in the Jumping class. For this they raised the jumps a notch and put things like flower boxes and fake brick walls under the poles. Hammer didn't mind most of it, but he refused the brick wall the first time - he was looking at it really intently and knocked down the one he was going over at the time, too; So we had two big faults. Both other horses had at least one refusal as well, but I ended up with 2nd for whatever reason. But that's fine. Here's a good picture that highlights what the judge was saying about me "throwing" myself over the jump; this might actually be from the Hunter class:

So here's the flower box from the Jumpers round:

I got 2nd in the bareback horsemanship as well. I don't have any pictures from that, or from the egg and spoon race, but if you find me on Facebook (Christina de Pinet) then you can see some short videos my momma took. I got 2nd in bareback horsemanship and won the spoon and egg thing by a long shot! My MiL dropped her egg as soon as we were asked to trot, and the other poor girl's egg fell into the swell of her saddle soon after, so she got pretty messy! I told the judge that was too easy, so they asked me to canter. I made it ALMOST all the way around the arena before the wind caught my egg and tossed it. But my mother was very impressed. I was happy enough - yesterday while practicing (with a larger spoon and a smaller egg, to be fair) I was even able to jump twice without dropping my egg. Not the big jump, but still!

Okay, bedtime!

Trotting Nine

2009-09-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you were aware, but Nine has this problem; when I ask him to trot when I'm leading him, he either flat-out refuses to speed up at all, or her takes off like a bat out of hell and jerks my shoulder out of the socket while he's at it. So, my mother in law got out her stud chain and we worked on it.

I asked Nine to stop from a walk a couple times so the sudden change from soft rope halter to stud chain wouldn't freak him out completely; the first time he slid to a stop! Only one leg, because he was just walking, but still. He has potential. So, after a crash course in what to expect, I asked him to trot. I had been asking him in the same spot because he would indeed speed up for me. It took about 2 or 3 times even with the stud chain before he would stay at a trot and not bolt. But once we tried it with a longer lead rope so I wouldn't let go as soon as he ran, he got it.

The we had to get him so he would pick up the trot when asked at any spot. Again, I had to employ the stud chain, but the=is time pulling him forward. Twice was all that took, then he was trotting nicely next to me and slowing down when I asked. He did that a few times then pulled away again, he he. However, once he realized I would just catch him and make him do it all over again, he calmed down and went nicely with me.

The only problem is that when my MiL is walking behind us, Nine gets too quick and I get left behind; so naturally I pull on his lead rope, but that makes him lean to the left (where I am) and he ends up crowding me... Ah well, it was a HUGE breakthrough for us, in trust and respect and all that good stuff. Soon I can take Nine with me on jogs and get into a decent shape!

Results from the Horse Show

2009-09-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the show was last weekend - sorry this has taken so long; my internet died. We are getting satellite internet soon!

I was disqualified from Hunt Seat equitation because Hammer refused one of the jumps like 4 times... But we got blue in all three other classes! Bareback there was another girl riding in the arena with us, but she was being judged separately because she was doing novice and I was doing open. When we were asked to canter the second time her horse tried to do something silly, went over a jump that was set up, and she fell. She was alright, but disqualified. Here is a picture of Hammer and I with our ribbon:

In Hunter Hack we were the only competitors, so even though Hammer nearly refused both jumps, we got blue.

In Working Hunter there was another girl competing, but we still got the blue; it's the only ribbon I feel I earned!

This weekend is the actual Fair, and my chickens got blue as well, so I'm coming away with 5 blue ribbons this year!

Show Time!

2009-08-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

Horse show tomorrow! I am only just now, at 11 PM, starting to get tired! I don't know if I'll be able to sleep! WEEEE!

Wish us luck...

Ho Hum.

2009-08-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

No baby sitter this week, so not much riding... Ashley's back to normal, don't know what was wrong with her. MiL is getting a medicine hat Paint, did I mention that yet? He's fat, but pretty good looking. I might be the first to ride him out here; we're not sure of his past training but he's apparently a really sweet guy.

So I have a problem; the Mustang Makeover blog is gone for me! The only way I can get to it is from the EMM website, and I can't post anything anymore :( I need an invite or something I think. So if you know anything, please help.

We're going camping this weekend, so I need to go pack.

Hammer Time

2009-08-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

I've decided to officially change Hammar's name to Hammer, because it's pronounced the same and I don't want the announcer at the show later this month to mispronounce it or get confused.

Hammer has been getting very, very hyper (to say the least) over jumps, so I decided to take him out on a long ride today and just let him run as far and as fast as he wanted. We went about 4 miles, trotting most of the way, jumped a downed tree, then galloped around a hill and 1/4 of the way back. Hammer trotted most of the way home again until I brought him down to a walk to cool down. But then of course we saw the tree that I like to jump, so several tried later we got over it, then Hammer galloped around like a crazy horse for 10 more minutes (we practiced flying lead changes and "barrel racing" around trees). Finally we get home, so I took the saddle off Hammer, brushed the sweaty grime off and jumped back on bareback. I tried to practice my English bareback equitation, but I've determined it is completely impossible to post bareback, at least when your horse is acting like a complete maniac.

Long story short, Hammer is a beast who cannot be tired out.

Ashley, my mare, is feeling off, I think. We had been working her harder and it's starting to really show; she hasn't looked this muscled ever! But, her coat is dull, her head hangs even lower than usual (she's half Quarter Horse and it shows in her level top line) and her eyes have lost their gleam that is usually present during any weather (and it's monsoon season). Something's wrong with her. My MiL thinks she's either pregnant, in heat, or cystic. I've put her in the round pen so I can feed her separately and monitor her and all that. I might take her out tomorrow and see if maybe she's just more bored than usual or something. I doubt it though - it's something inside her, a virus or something. Or cramps; maybe it's just the wrong time of month and it's hitting her harder than usual... We shall see.

I have an eye exam tomorrow so Nine might have to wait until Friday, or next week.

Two Days, Two Spills.

2009-08-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I had Fiance up on Ashley to hold Nine while I get on. It went well up until I asked Nine to move his hindquarters over so we could move out, then Nine started bucking. My fiance says I stayed on really well until he started spinning. But I made it about 5 seconds! Not bad, if I do say so myself. I wasn't hurt badly; My wrist hurt and I now have two bruises on my legs, but I'm fine. I got back on and had Fiance pony Nine around for about 7 minutes; that's all I could do because I started feeling the nerves. An airplane flew over head, which didn't bother Nine at all, but it made me feel like I would throw up, gah. So I got off, stumbled to the fence and sat down until I stopped shaking... Then I went and sat on Hammar and cried (I have no idea why that hit me that hard and so long after I had been thrown) while Fiance worked with Nine, sacking him out and all that.

Then, yesterday (Friday) my friend came over to get some more pictures taken for her Senior Pictures. We had daylight left over, so I saddled Hammar up in his English tack and took him over some jumps. Casie was crouching next to the bigger jump to get a shot while Hammar was air born, but evidently Hammar wasn't expecting it, he swerved to the side, and I fell off. Again, I was okay - I had dirt in my breeches, my hand is scraped up and my pinky finger was hurting... Luckily I was wearing my helmet, because my head did hit the ground fairly hard. But I didn't even have a headache later. I was also wearing the helmet on Nine but I didn't hit my head that time. Anyways, I got back on Hammar, walked him back and forth around the jump so he could see Casie and knew she was there, then he tried again. He did the jump, but the pictures we took came out pretty blurry...

The idea was to get some pictures of us jumping so I can have my position evaluated - I'm taking a Hunt Seat Equitation class at the horse show next month. So I guess I'll post them here and anyone who sees them can give some input. We have some decent ones of Takeoff, Airborn, and Landing. Sorry some are blurry! We'll try to figure out how to do it right by the time the show rolls around.

Takeoff on the smaller jump (I know my hands need to come forward; I have this problem on small jumps apparently):

REALLY blurry Airborn over smaller jump - again my hands should be more forward, but hey:

Takeoff on larger jump:

Landing from larger jump (yes, Hammar over did it, he gets very enthusiastic; and yes, that's my daughter on the mounting block in the background):

So there it is. Let me know what you think!

Another Ride!

2009-07-28T22:36:00.000-07:00

My younger and less broken friend came over today to help me with Nine! Nine was doing his act of half buck, half jump as we try to get on - it's becoming more frequent which means we need to stop letting him know that he will get away with it! Anywho, he was doing that yesterday when I tried briefly to mount him, and it freaked me out more, and then we ran out of time. So today we tried again; me, MiL and Casie, the younger less broken type. Casie lived through Nine's antics twice before he would let her get all the way up on him. She followed my routine and got all her weight on him once or twice before swinging the other leg over. Unfortunately she has a blister on her heel and her boot broke it open again (ouch)! So I traded with her and took over from there - Nine was perfect! MiL was - as usual - on Ashley acting as a rock for Nine as well as for me (and Casie this time too). But MiL had to leave for work so I only had 20 minutes to work with him - I got on and we ponied around the round pen for a few minutes, then I got off. Nine spooked when I came off, so I got back on and dismounted again; that time he was good. We could have ridden some more, but I wanted help from MiL putting the saddles away and such.

Tomorrow Casie is going to have her Senior pictures taken with Nine, 'cause he's the most gorgeous thing in existence and all that. I had mine with Hammar so it's turning into a tradition - high school pictures and wild horses, hehe! Afterward we might have time to work with Nine and riding again, then I need to haul a goat to her new home. I sold little Thelma for $60, so now I have some gas money to haul Hammar and Ashley to the County Fair horse show, yay! Ashley's just coming along for the ride and so Casie and MiL have a horse to muck about with; Hammar and I will compete in English Bareback (equitation class on the flat), Hunter Hack over fences 2'6" (only to jumps, but I think we will be the only ones in the ring at a time), Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences 2'6" (this is more than 2 jumps; like 6 or 8 I think), and Working Hunter over Fences 2'6" (at least 8 jumps). I should be fun!

Well goodnight everyone; I'm off to Dream Land for the night.

Hammar and Ashley

2009-07-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates; I have done almost nothing with Nine except leading him from one pen to another and putting fly spray on him... But Hammar and Ashley have been being worked.

There is a loop of road that goes around Saddle Crater; I thought it was about 3 miles, but it takes Hammar 2 hours to trot it; I KNOW he's going more that 1.5 miles per hour... So I figure the loop must be more than 3 miles. Anyways, Ashley can do it alternating walk to trot back to walk every 20 seconds; Hammar can do it at a trot almost the whole way - I let him walk for 20 seconds every time he wanted to slow down but he only needed 3 breaks like this the whole way.

Yesterday Ashley got a fairly hard lesson in right leads. Some days she changes leads just fine, some days... well, not so fine. She very rarely does flying lead changes, but yesterday she was being especially tough. So I let her run for 1/2 mile or so, then we cantered some circles. It took many many tries before she got on her right lead. She only did it then, I think, because she had gotten SO frustrated with me... She bolted when I asked her to move in to a lope. BUT - she was on the right lead when she did it! So I kept her going in a circle to the right, and had her canter as long as she would. Then it was only about 500 tries again before she got the right lead again, hehe.

Today my mother in law and I rode out across the road. We had a very nice run through a cinder pit until Ashley broke the brush she was tied to while MiL took a pee. My MiL estimates we went at least 10 miles, and Ashley has really shown a huge improvement in her stamina. She still has energy left over, even though she has been worked fairly hard (for her) twice this week. Hammar was being rather callus in that he kept scraping my knee on Ash's flank, and ignoring my leg cues. But he showed his worth on the cinder pit, running like the wind! He has barely broken a sweat this entire week, even through the unknown length trot, and even through the cinder run he had to catch his breath (he is rarely worked hard enough to be breathing hard - he just doesn't run out of wind!) he still was only sweaty under the saddle. Ashley has - both days - has sweat on all parts of her body, but she is feeling great and looking awesome! Her hindquarters are really filling out, finally. She's half quarter horse but you'd never know it looking at pictures of her minuscule hindquarters!

Starting Tuesday Elayne goes back to the sitter's and I can start back up again.

Scaredy Cat!

2009-07-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today the plan was to ride Nine with my mom as well as my mother in law along. Well, the winds and rain (if you can call that sprinkling "rain") have been coming in earlier in the day so it was already breezy when we got out there. Then the Grandmas started very subtly trying to best each other in every aspect imaginable... The tension got to Nine and I. Nine hasn't been ridden in at least a week, and he was, well, spirited today, which didn't help at all. I was getting extremely nervous and I just had a terrible feeling about riding him. Last time I actually got on a horse acting like that when I felt like that, I got bucked off Hammar. So I worked with Nine until he would stand for my weight in the stirrup then called it done.

Me (safe on Hammar) and my mom rode to the wash, maybe 2 1/2 miles away, and we got some pictures:

Then back home we posed for more photos:

Rode Again

2009-07-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, no pictures today... Fiance was sleeping because he has to work tonight, so we didn't have a photographer. But my dad took Elayne while me and the MiL worked with Nine. This time I got on without anyone holding Nine, and I rode him around the round pen for a while and got him used to the crop - he's really quite lazy! Then we opened the gate and followed Ashley off the property! Nine tried to eat once we got near the grass, and he was really quite diligent about it too, so I had to hand the lead rope to MiL so we could pull Nine off the grass. He wasn't pulling hard on the bit, but he wouldn't raise his head or move his feet either. My dad rode by three times on his Harley (yes, he had my 2 year old daughter on the motorcycle - they stay very slow and never go near pavement, and Elayne loves it) and Nine just looked at the bike as if he was wondering how his baby got up there... We went back onto the property and I took full control of Nine again. We stepped over the few obstacles I have around the place, mostly jumps that have fallen down and two halves of a barrel that was cut "hotdog style" with the sides laid end to end. Nine took it all in stride and even trotted a little bit for me. I was able to turn him away from his mare, and he spotted the chickens too. He was not at all concerned about the chickens; he was more interested in the hay they were pecking at!

Then we met back up with Ashley and MiL to try to trot again before I put Nine away. Well, MiL was using the end of her lead rope as a whip for Lazy Ash, and the end of it got pretty close to Nine's nose and brought him up short. Then I applied the crop, and he gave one jump, stopped, bucked and took off at actually a very nice high-headed canter, but strait for the garden fence! I was pulling on the right rein like I usually do when Hammar pulls crazy moves on me. But Nine responds better so far to the left rein. But Nine finally saw the garden and turned right - towards the corrals. Then I released the rein pressure as he slowed to a walk. I have a small scrape on my arm and I had a bunch of juniper tree in my mouth, but I was otherwise unharmed and I still had my seat. Then I tried to walk Nine until my heat slowed, but he kept scraping me in the trees and "spooking" when the branches touch his flanks! It was like was trying to find an excuse to "play" some more! So we went back into the round pen and walked around twice each direction, stopped, backed up two steps (his record so far) and walked forward half the radius of the pen, then stopped again. He was perfect as I dismounted and lead him to the inner tube to tie and unsaddle him. As I walked away with the saddle Nine gave me an almost pleading look as if to say, "please don't go! I'll be good, I promise!" But there is a storm brewing and I was starving to death so away I went.

Soon the baby sitter will be able to watch Elayne again (she's been away with her family) and I can get more rides on Nine. Wish me luck!

Pictures this time, yay!

2009-07-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

I rode Nine again, this time outside the round pen but still with my mother in law holding the lead rope (more for my comfort than for control of Nine). This has been helping my confidence so much! Nine has really been enjoying it too, I think. He has been much more friendly. He was never "cold" towards me or anyone, but he's turning into a puppy dog these days, licking our hands and following us around. Here are some pictures from yesterday after we got back on the property.

I did it, I did it!

2009-07-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I rode Nine. We had an hour or two while Elayne napped and after Paul got home, so I and my mother in law went out to work with Nine. He remembered everything like we did it yesterday, not nearly two weeks ago. I quickly was on him, then we ponied him from Ashley around the round pen for a while. Then MiL got off and tied the lead rope to Nine's saddle and we rode around unconnected, so to speak. All in all, I was on Nine about half an hour! We didn't trot, but Nine soon relaxed and settled into a nice swinging walk. Tomorrow morning we will hopefully be able to take him on a short ride outside the pen before we're off to town to buy groceries.

The New Excitement in the Neighborhood

2009-06-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well, my foot is feeling much better! Apparently nothing is broken. Whenever I can get some babysitting help (my normal child care provider is out of town) I feel I can get back up on that high horse, literally. However, there is something a little more urgent happening around here!

My mother in law is getting a very early Christmas gift from her neighbor; a 9 year old registered Quarter Horse mare. She will be here in 2 weeks, so we need to get the MiL's fence fixed before then! There hasn't been a horse on that property in ages, so the fence is in a sorry state, but I think we'll manage. It will be a lot of work, and we need to find a saddle and bridle for my mother in law, since all her tack was destroyed in a house fire a few years ago. But soon I will have access to another horse to train my horses to ride around a strange horse! Yay! Also, MiL can ride her mare, leaving at least two more ridable horses at my house (three once Nine is started well) so everyone can ride together! I just had a little image in my head of MiL riding her mare (she thinks she'll call her Sally), I riding Nine, my fiance riding Ashley and ponying Hammar who will carrying our daughter. Cute!

Ouch!

2009-06-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

So on Wednesday I did manage to get myself on the horse. It fried my nerves, but I sat all the way in the saddle, and Nine never even flinched. I was going to try to ride him on Thursday as my mother in law ponied Nine from Ashley, but as I was saddling Nine he spooked, stepped on my foot, then jumped off my foot, leaving a hoof shaped mark in my favorite boots and a swollen bruise on my foot. Today (Friday) I can walk, but I am very sore from being so beat up and my foot is quite tender. So I didn't get on Nine again :( My baby sitter is out of town for a while, so I don't know when I'll be able to work with the horses again for the next two weeks. We'll see. Well, I will. I doesn't seem like anyone is reading my posts anymore :P That's what I get for not posting for weeks at a time!

Good News!

2009-06-16T16:07:00.001-07:00

So I had my mother-in-law come over to help me work with Nine, and owing to the emotional/courage support and a person on another horse to hold Nine, I managed to get all my weight in the saddle again! And, this time it was without a mounting block. Nine wasn't snubbed to saddle on Ashley, but the other horse standing there did help hold him still! Got to do dishes now, but I'll work with Nine again tomorrow, hopefully this time actually straddle the horse, and post some more.

I do have some new pictures to share, so here are a few:

2009-06-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, No Updates...

2009-06-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Poor readers! Well, honestly not much has happened since Hammar's sheath cleaning... I still haven't done Nine... Nor have I ridden Nine, but we're getting close! Hammar needs his feet trimmed up and Nine is currently having his mane trained to all lie on the right side of his neck (to better show his freeze brand) but other than that life with the horses has been pretty routine. My mom and my mother in law have both helped me by ponying Nine from Ashley while I ride Hammar (therefore getting all the horses out at the same time) and I have ponied Nine from Ash by myself as well. Nine is getting pretty good about it all.

Hammar and I had a fun ride a couple weeks ago; we rode along the road, past big trucks and a construction zone to a gate, then trotted to my mother in law's house to race her truck. She has a 85' Mustang but insisted on using the 71' Ford truck to race instead... We had a false start when the truck stalled, and on the second try she was only along side Hammar and I for half a second, but we caught Hammar going at least 36 mph! Not bad for an old man. Then it started raining and we had an excellent trot home. Lost my dog, but she showed up a while later and is now on a diet!

The whole family has been sick with some sort of stomach bug for a few days, but we are starting to get better. Next week I will hopefully be back to normal and get going with the horses again.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but our internet connection went down the toilet!

Hammar's Adventure

2009-03-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday my Mother in Law came over to help me with a little something; she brought gloves, if that gives you a hint.

We cleaned Hammar's sheath! The poor boy has always had a sensitive, um, private area. I know it hurt him, and I strongly suspect that's why he has been scratching his hindquarters so much. We had him tied to the inner tube that is wrapped around a pole while I got started. I used another article from an old Perfect Horse to guide me; I stood at Hammar's shoulder so I was out of kicking range. And a good thing, too - Hammar did several cow kicks before he settled. We found it worked best to get some of the Excalibur sheath cleaner (I love that name!) soaking into the smegma, then let Hammar walk for a minute or two before he got tied up again. Then we pulled out a few chunks of ickinesss, reapplied more sheath cleaner, and let him walk some more. By that time he was fine with the whole affair. We ended up taking turns, then used a Pepsi bottle to rinse him (the hose water was too cold). We filled it up with warm water, then squeezed the water into the sheath. Once the water was dripping out clear we applied some baby oil to keep everything soft. That afternoon, while Hammar was eating, he finally dropped and I saw how much better he looked! He still had raw spots (it was bad) but nothing was rubbing them anymore. So now he can heal up and I feel comfortable enough to do it again and again every spring! We didn't find any "beans", the little lumps of smegma that can collect above the urethra, so I hope Hammar just didn't have one...

And guess what I'll be doing next weekend! I still have about half a bottle of Excalibur for Nine... Maybe we'll get pictures this time!

Close to Mounting

2009-03-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have a collection on old Perfect Horse newsletters, and I was reading an article outlining John Lyons' method of mounting a horse for the first time. This method takes it all very slowly, so I felt confident it would work for me and Nine, because it would give ME time to feel comfortable with getting on the horse. So yesterday, I gave it a try.

I let Nine decide when he was ready to get saddled, which means he got to run when he felt like it, and it took me an hour to saddle him! However, when I did saddle Nine, he was untied and didn't resist. He gave one buck once the cinch was tightened, then we got the bridle on and I started. First I just stood next to Nine and shifted the saddle around. Then I backed off and let Nine relax. Then I stood next to him and flapped the stirrup around, then backed off again. We have done this stuff with Nine before so he was fine. It was when I tried to reach my foot to the stirrup that he got nervous. But I only got my foot to+ touch the stirrup, then I backed off again. Nine was very surprised at that! But when I tried again, he stood! So, I put my foot in the stirrup 25 more times, adding weight and hopping when Nine was doing well. Then I repeated it all on the other side. Nine wasn't as fond of that, and I wasn't either, but we did it, and I feel a lot more ambidextrous because of it.

After 25 repetitions (I told you it was slow!) came the big part - I was supposed to hop up to stand my full height in the stirrup. For whatever reason I am terrified of actually getting myself on that poor horse. Anyhow, after a few tries I worked up the nerve to try. But because I hesitated, my knee jabbed into Nine's shoulder and caused him to jump sideways. Fortunately, he didn't go far and he turned to face me immediately. But after that Nine didn't want my foot anywhere near the stirrup, so I just spent a few minutes backing up so I could again get my foot in the stirrup and hop. Then I unsaddled Nine and we called it a day. All of that took me less than four hours. I have deciding to just keep doing the same exercises until I feel more comfortable. Then I will get on when I am good an ready. Will keep y'all posted.

Poor Hammar...

2009-03-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hammar has been scratching himself - on the barbed wire, no less - and it's getting worse. I am officially worried sick. He gets wormed more frequently than the other horses, and although he is chronically thinner than the other two, he isn't really underweight. I can't see any ribs, though his hips are a bit bony... He's always been that way though. I don't think worms are his problem. Hammar's tail has always been rubbed a bit, but now he is rubbing it tot he point that he has a little bald spot. And his hindquarters (and occasionally his pasterns) have been sprouting cuts from the wire. I can see tufts of black hair caught in the barbs. You think if he was itchy he would scratch on the pine poles, but no, he has to cut himself of the barbed wire. I swear, if we had enough money I would tear down that wire in a heart beat...

Anyways, I know Karen will probably read this, so if you have any ideas, please help me! When it gets warm enough I want to give Hammar a thorough bath. He's never had one before - he hates water. But it is time. I want to find a shampoo that might help him - maybe some sort of allergy shampoo, or ultra-hydrating. Maybe Hammar's skin is so itchy because it's just dry, who knows? Then, with the help of some rope and 2 or 5 people, I want to tackle the awful "s" word: sheath cleaning. I can't afford the $106 vet bill they quoted for sedation plus sheath cleaning, so I am going to try it myself. My Mother in Law had a theory that Hammar might be itching because of a kidney infection! That scares me something awful, but given how Hammar doesn't stretch out all the way to pee (he hasn't since he cut his tendon in his hind leg) and how when he starts shedding the hair collects on his "water spicket" and gets all gross... Maybe he has developed an infection. Again, this makes the sheath cleaning all that much more vital. Any tips on that would be helpful as well, given how Hammar, my trusted steed that will go anywhere and do anything I ask, kicks and throws a fit whenever my hand gets near his sheath... Do they make all-over body helmets?

Internet Troubles

2009-02-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of news lately! Our internet was completely out for a month or so for technical reasons I don't completely understand. But it seems to be back in business, at least for the time being, so I will try to get a brief update:

Nine is doing fantastic! I haven't ridden him (I'm getting tired of saying that) but I have gotten pretty close twice recently. I am having SERIOUS confidence problems, and I have come to realize that I need to simply get my helmet on and tell everyone to GO AWAY because I get nervous and irate when anyone is watching. That, in turn, makes Nine nervous. But, on the ground, these past couple of weeks have shown some real progress! When the ground is fairly clear and thawed, I go and play with Nine for a few minutes while I feed. The result is that he comes all the way up to me about half the time I ask, he yields his hindquarters and keeps his head facing me without a halter or lead, from any distance in the round pen, he lets me come up to me and pet him while he is laying down, he let me file away at his front two feet - he stood better than Hammar did! - and he is generally being a good guy. After a few months of seeing me in a big jacket that makes weird sounds, he has calmed down a lot about it, and I can even blindfold him with the jacket if I am patient and let him set the pace. Usually I can get the jacket over his face in 5 minutes or so, letting him run when he feels he needs to, and letting him stand when he feels okay with that.

When I got Nine, he had a horizontal crack in his hind left hoof, on the outside. It has since grown out sot hat the outside of the hoof wall chipped off, and there is a section about an inch, maybe and inch and a half, long that I am a little worried about. It is soft and he doesn't mind me wiggling it, but I am afraid to try to nip it, in case it will hurt him. But other than that, he is sound and looking good!

Hammar and I have grown even closer, if that can be believed! I had the bright idea that working up the nerve to stand up on top of a horse would help me learn to handle my nerves when I get to ride Nine again. So, I used Hammar to learn some trick riding. I can stand up on him, and he stands still for it! I even once stood up on him bareback, though I had to take my boots off for that. I can also lean down to pick something up off the ground (though NOT bareback, and yes, I have tried) and only at a standstill - I haven't managed to lean down far enough at a walk. I can also go underneath Hammar, though I have been able to do that for a while; I just hadn't tried it crouching down - previously I have gone under on my hands and knees. But Hammar is fine with my head bopping under him now. I have also been riding him in a halter, which he seems to appreciate. Now Hammar will lope (a word previously unknown to Hammar) in a circle both directions, with perfect flying lead changes, in only a halter with the lead rope tied around into a rein. I have also ridden him outside the corral - even outside the property! - bareback and bridleless, with only a neck rope. Hammar has stopped bolting towards the corrals, even when Ashley is not next to him but rather in the corral. This suggests to me that Hammar has finally decided that he would rather be with me than with his mare, which is monumental! Unfortunately, Hammar has been doing something funny to his fence - every day, it seems, at least one wire is broken, and he has new scrapes and cuts every so often. He has never had any problem with wire fences before, and the best we can assume is that he is huddling up into the corner to be closer to Ashley, and ends up putting too much pressure on the wire, and it snaps. It can't be that he is actively trying to escape, because 1) his gate is always open and he can leave whenever he wants (though he doesn't) and 2) he has had all but the very bottom wire snapped, and the remaining wire so loose that it was touching the ground, and he did not step over it. I don't know what is going on. We are trying to get a hold of some more pine poles, perhaps from the forest service, to replace the wire fencing with wood (finally, we are entering the 20th century!).

As far as things go with Ashley, she is doing well. My friend Casie jumped on her bareback three times the other day without Ash taking off and leaving Casie in mid-air. Yes, this is a big step for the Ashster. She hates standing still for people to get on her wile she is in her corral. She stands pretty well outside, but when she is in HER home, her territory, NO ONE gets on! But, Casie did, three times! Also, Ash has developed some sort of fungal infection (I think it's fungal) on her head, where the headstall goes. The headstall she had been wearing is a Wintec EquiLeather padded headstall, which is pretty bulky and doesn't allow much circulation. She has problems with the Wintec girth I have as well; she gets galls after 10 minutes. So I switched her to an ugly neon blue nylon headstall, which clashes horribly with her leather reins, but is narrower and allows her skin to stay drier. I have also been using an antibacterial and anti-fungal spray on the bald spots. I was putting it on twice a day for 4 days or so, and now she gets it once a day. Her skin looks a lot healthier now! Before I started spraying it, the skin was dry, bald and flaky. Now the outside layer has flaked off, the new layer looks moisturized, and new hair is coming in. She still looks rather morbid, because she has a bald spot bigger than my fist on the side of her head, but it is definitely healing up. Ash seems pretty susceptible to fungal infections. Every summer her face gets itchy and she rubs it so that the hair gets rubbed off and she gets little scabs from underneath her eyes, along the sides of her face, clear down to her muzzle. What seems to help the most is to put Corona ointment (contains lanolin, which is a life saver!) to her face, but that uses a lot of ointment and makes her all sticky. So this year I will try my new spray (I don't remember what it is called - I just looked at the bottle long enough to see "anti fungal"). The point I was originally getting at, is that the first day of spraying, Ash was a nightmare - she was tossing her head, trying to run over me, and being a general butt. Fiance, whom she likes more that me (she really likes boys!), managed to get the spray on the worst area. But by the third day she was standing perfectly for me, and now I don't even need to halter for it! Which is awesome, because that was her skin can be open to the air and not have to be under a halter being rubbed.

Even my cow has been learning to lead a little bit, though she hates it! We're expecting baby goats any day now, and I will definitely try to get some pictures of that! For now, here are some recent pictures of the three horses:
There's Nine.
And Hammar.
And Ashley, guarding the cow.

Getting Back in Business

2009-01-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today I worked with Nine. I almost got on him both days, too. Yesterday I was really close, but decided he had come really far, and I didn't have time to start over if something went wrong when I was on him. So I unsaddled him and called it a day. He deserved it; he was standing still for me while I put my foot in the stirrup and all that stuff.

Today I just had too many people standing around making me nervous, and Miss Toddler started a tantrum which put me in the wrong mood for working with unbroke horses. SO I called it a day again and e-mailed the trainer I have been in contact with. My mom said she could "donate" $50 to the cause if the trainer will put two rides on Nine. We will see how that goes.

In other news, Hammar bows like a pro now, and I am working on getting him to stay down so I can eventually get on while he's down. A neat trick, but not really necessary. I can vault onto Hammar no problem. But now I know how to teach that to a horse and can start Nine on it some day! Ashley tossed my mother in law when Ash kicked at me and Hammar zooming by the other day, but everyone is okay. It was interesting to see a sign of life from the mare. I want to say "old girl", but she's only 9 this year. Hammar is the oldest horse at 12, and Nine is a 4 year old now. Speaking of Nine, his scars from jumping the fence are quickly vanishing and he's still perfectly sound.

I told me so...

2008-12-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

I should have seen it coming. Nine jumped the fence. Please let me clarify right now that he is not hurt, and now is safely in his round pen.

Yesterday was very nice. It was warm, the sun was out and the ground for once was not frozen. I hopped on Hammar for a bit, but a lead rope around his neck was not enough to control him, given how hyper he was! So I put him in the large pen with Ashley and Nine and started chasing the horses around. They were doing really well and running and being pretty, when all the sudden Hammar cornered Nine and pinned his ears. Well, that was all it took! Nine turned tail, saw the fence and barely thought twice before he tried to jump it. He cleared it with his front end, but his hind end didn't do so well. He was stuck with his front on one side of the fence and his back on the other side. He kept hopping though, and finally broke the top two wires and made it over. I yelled at Hammar when I realized Nine wasn't limping, then got a halter, told Fiance where I was going, and caught Nine. Fiance and his brother, who is visiting for the holidays, got to work fixing the fence. Nine and I were on a neighboring property that is fence off but no one lives there; but luckily I have done this before, so I knew how to get the horse home. There are three ways out of that property, and the first involves a cable strung between two posts in lieu of a gate. It was higher than it used to be, when Ashley jumped the fence a few years ago, and Nine wouldn't step over it like Ashley did. But I know of another way; there is a pipeline running through the property, so there is a service gate. I knew I can get the locked gate off it's hinges because once Red and Frosty, two old horses we used to have, used to escape (not jumping any fences, just wandering off instead of ground tying) and find their way to the relatively lush grass found along the pipeline (they would get in through the third way, which involves crossing into a third property and hoping they have their front gate open). Anyways, Nine stayed ground tied while I lifted the gate off the hinges, then I led Nine through the gate and he ground tied again while I tried to lift the gate back onto the hinges. I couldn't get both pegs through both hinge-holes at the same time, however. So don't tell on me, but the gate is only held up by one hinge now.

I had Nine trot for me a little bit on the way home from there, and he was doing just fine. I tossed the lead rope around his legs and over his back, and had him do some flexing and bending for me. He very quickly showed me that he hasn't forgotten his training. When we got back I tied Nine outside his round pen while I tried to get it cleaned up a bit. Like I said, it was a warmer day than it has been lately, and the poop piles had thawed out a bit. I couldn't get it all - some were still frozen solid - bit I got most of the round pen back into shape. Then I decided to see how Nine would do if I were to saddle him. My mom had a Natural Ride bareback pad, so I tossed a cinch on that and Nine stood tied while I showed it to him and rubbed him down, then put it on him. It took maybe 5 minutes for him get back to his old self and for me to get everything tightened down. Then I got him in the round pen and had him trot for a while. His legs are fine; he even lets me rub them down and look for wounds. He has a one spot where a barb got him, but it isn't bad. Mostly he is just shaved. One knee is also a bit swollen from apparently hitting the ground, but all in all he is fine and we got some training done.

Frozen Ground Troubles

2008-12-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

Nine's little round pen has been frozen for over a week now. The little poop piles are even rock solid, so I can't clean it out! Needless to say, the footing in there sucks now. I checked on Nine a few days a ago and noticed he seemed to have a pulled muscle in his chest. I moved him into the larger pen where Ashley, the donkeys, and the two cows are. It is barbed wire and the shelter isn't nearly as good, and certainly not big enough for so many, but the footing is a lot better. Nine has been turned out with everyone in there so I wasn't worried about fights. Nine has also seen barbed wire while turned out, because that's what our 10 acres is fenced in with. So I figured he would be okay in there. And sure enough, the pulled muscle has relaxed, and Nine and Ashley have been tearing up the ground playing.

Everything was going great until this morning, when the cow apparently (Fiance fed for me this morning so I didn't see it first hand) walked strait through the fence! There were only two wires up and those not very tight! Luckily the cow isn't very smart (obviously!) and the section of fence she took out leads to Hammar's pen, which is also fenced off. Fiance quickly ran a fresh wire up so no one tried anything sneaky, but we will need to do a proper job soon. Hammar's fence also only has two wire up (for some reason - Hammar doesn't push on the fence when I'm looking, and I don't know how the fence got that way) so if the animals, the donkeys especially, get in there, they can get out! And since Hammar's fence is right on the property line, the animals can get off the property entirely. Adding to that stress is the fact that some of the dirt roads on that side of our property do not have cattle guards so the animals can get on the main road! The donkeys have done that in the past.

Hammar has been loose for a few days now because 1) his fence is falling down and 2) his feed through - a 300+ pound cast iron bathtub - is surrounded by and filled with a couple inches of ice. I don't want him slipping or getting tangled in wire, so I turned him out. Luckily it's Hammar, who was turned out for a long time with our old horse Frosty. Both horses were trustworthy enough that I didn't shut the front gate. They would go out a little ways to graze, but stayed close for water and feed time. Our gate opens onto a square mile of State land, so that is technically illegal but no one really cares. (So don't report me, Karen! Hehe.) Nine was doing well tonight when I fed, and no one has escaped. Hammar was refusing to bow in front of my friend, but other that that everyone is fine, even the goats who are especially cute in their fluffy winter coats. Speaking of which, Hammar is hairy as all heck! He looks like a mini woolly mammoth! Maybe tomorrow I will measure his coat. It has be close to three inches long...

Let it Snow!

2008-12-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

Well, the wind finally stopped and the storm settled in. We didn't get much snow here, but Flagstaff proper did. The University was closed two days in a row, which is completely unheard of! Nine finally showed some spirit yesterday when I was leading him to the gate. I didn't get any pictures of that, but here's Nine standing in the snow the other morning.

Windy, mucky, no-fun weather

2008-12-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

With the wind the way it is today, and the energy the horses get from such weather, I decided to let everyone run a bit today. They're not doing much running, but I got some pictures anyways...
There's Hammar trying to brave the storm.
And from left to right, we have Nine just missing the truck, Ashley giving Hammar "the mare eye", and then Hammar plodding along ignoring her.

Still Not Back in the Saddle...

2008-12-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't ridden Nine again, though the weather might be well enough to try soon! I have let the horses run a lot. Me and Mother-in-Law spent some time chasing the horses the other day (otherwise they just stand around and look for food) and let me tell you - Nine doesn't run, he just floats! I can't wait to get some confidence and get up on that high horse, so to speak.

About that confidence; I have swallowed my pride and contacted a professional trainer, JC Cabrera. I have never met JC before, but I have seen posters around town advertising horsemanship clinics and such. I doubt if we can afford to have someone do all the work for us, but I asked JC if I couldn't do some work as an apprentice so I can learn to train Nine myself. He said that is a possibility and offered to come look at Nine! So that is big news to me, because that would pretty much be an awesome job.

Fiance got a great job as a Coconino County Detention Officer! After his first week of working the pay check was $500 after taxes! For just one week! So we might be able to afford some nice things coming up soon.

Lunging and such

2008-11-23T15:55:00.001-08:00

Well, I was feeling guilty about Nine's lack of training. So I went out the other day and lunged him around a bit. He isn't crazy about circles, but he will actually do it for me now. I can't seem to get him to canter on the circle, though; when I ask him to canter he takes off in a tangent to the circle, and either runs strait for the corral - if that's the direction he is headed - or stop and look at me as if to say "Hey, what happened? Why did you jerk on my face???"

Then, yesterday, my mom came up and I wanted to show her how Nine was doing, but he flat refused to behave on the lunge line. He made it very clear that he was not enjoying trotting in circles anymore. So, Mom took him for a walk. Maybe next weekend I may have another chance to work with him.

Long time, no post...

2008-11-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone (Karen, I guess that means you :P). I know I haven't posted any progress in ages. Unfortunately that's because we really haven't made any. I have been super busy with school. We did take Nine out a couple days ago, though. Fiance's mom rode Ashley and ponied Nine while I rode along on Hammar. Nine had three "spaz" moments where he decided to remind us that he is, indeed, just a three year old! He got away once, but only went about 6 feet before he stopped to graze. I walked right up to him and caught him again. So, he's ponying well, and he got to get out to see the sights, at least. Ashley was a wonder - whenever Nine pulled back (or forward, trying to run) Ash just stopped and pulled the other way! What a good girl.

Today Fiance and I went for a ride since the weather has been so nice (it's unnatural for it to be this warm at the end of November!). As usual I rode Hammar. Both horses were tired and lazy, but we went in some new territory which woke them up a bit. Hammar got to lope around and both horses got some hill work. We even saw elk! The dog, Katy, chased two cow elk over a couple hills before she let us call her back. Hammar was a bit nervous about that - he's never seen elk before! He really wanted to run. Then Katy found another cow elk and her calf up on the big hill. They just watched us ride past. So that was eventful, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Hopefully I'll have something to post about again soon! Winter break is coming up, but until then I have (gulp!) final exams, so I suppose I should get my head out of the corrals and back into the books for a while.

Gosh darnit!

2008-11-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

I tried to get on Nine the other morning before I fed. I tossed the halter on him and got the feeder next to him and hopped on. I thought he would be okay with that, since I've gotten on him so many times already. Well, 6 times isn't enough. The feeder isn't as tall as the mounting block that I have been using, so I had to jump a bit. And in response, he jumped a bit, then bucked me off. So, I got the mounting block and got back on. I suppose by that time he realized he could just jump around a bit and I would fall off, so he did, and I did.

I landed on my butt both times, but other than a skinned shin (again! Sheesh...) I am fine. A little sore, but fine. I thought about getting back on him again, but my legs wouldn't hold still and I didn't want to fall again. So I got the mounting block next to him and leaned over his back. I even out one leg on him, but didn't slide up. Then yesterday (it was Friday when he bucked me off) I turned all the horses out so they could get some exercise. Nine spent most of the time by the corrals scrounging for loose hay, but we made sure he got to run some (even if we did need to chase him with a stick).

Teeth Tales

2008-10-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Nine and Hammar were off to the vet today for some dental work. We did Hammar first, because we only had $250 and didn't know what the cost would come to! Turns out Hammar didn't have any wolf teeth, which saved us $46 per tooth. But he did have some hooks so we floated his teeth. He didn't want to get into the stock and sorta jumped in when he realized I wasn't going to let him have his way. We had to scoot him up a few times because he kept leaning back when the vet tried to put the bar through the back to keep him in one place. Then came the sedation - let me tell you, Hammar HATES shots! So the vet assistant held a hand on Hammar's ear, which made him very nervous but he sure held still! The vet got the vein right away and Hammar got really drowsy really quickly. Hammar didn't like the speculum much, but he was too sleepy to fight. They put a giant halter with a chin pad deal on it to tie his head up, and I had to help lift his head because I think he was completely asleep at that point! He's such a little guy and they give all the horses the same dosage; well, it puts Hammar pretty far out. Or so I thought... Once he felt that drill powered grinder in his head he woke up! He didn't have enough energy to do much, but he just would not hold still! What a great guy, he as so much spirit. Anyway, before long he was floated and done, so we helped him wobble back to the horse trailer. I had Fiance run ahead to get Nine out so Hammar could get in while he had his momentum. Well, Hammar did need one rest, but then he stepped right into the trailer (maybe we should sedate him more often; at home he leaped into the trailer like it was an oxer!).

Nine was in the stock when I got back, and Fiance said he stepped in just fine. I was surprised to see that Nine took up about 4 inches less room than Hammar did; and yet Nine is a good 2 or 3 inches taller than Hammar! But that's good, I like those short-backed horses. But back to the story; the vet had a lot more trouble finding Nine's vein, but luckily Nine behaved just as I suspected; a lot calmer than Hammar! But soon the sedative was taking it's toll on Nine, and in went the speculum and up went the head. Nine, being larger and heavier than Hammar, wasn't as out as Hammar was and helped lift his head for the vet (how sweet!). The vet said he looks like he has the potential to develop a wave which would require floating, but she didn't want to bother with it yet as Nine still has teeth coming in and it might not be a problem. But he had two wolf teeth, so she worked and pulled and pried and pulled some more, and now Nine's wolf teeth are in my pocket. Nine didn't have any drills in his skull to wake him up, and the pulling took less time than the floating did, so Nine was very wobbly when we took him out of the stock. He was having trouble getting - and keeping - his legs under his body (he also had some trouble once the sedative set in; he kept trying to cock on hind leg, then would fall against the side of the stock and correct himself, only to start falling again right away). But we took our time and let him wobble over to the trailer. He got his head in the trailer then wouldn't budge. So I went inside to pay $250 of the bill (I still owe $22) and when I got back out - a good 10 minutes later! - Nine hadn't even moved an eyelash. So we started trying again. I picked up one front foot and set it in the trailer, then Nine heaved and got his other front foot in, then rested again for 15 minutes or so. I tried to put on hind foot in the trailer, but Nine just took it back out again. Me and Fiance switched places so he was pushing while I pulled and urged, and pretty soon Nine was half-lifted into the trailer. I followed behind in my car and kept an eye on Nine to make sure he wouldn't fall down and not be noticed. Hammar was wide awake by then and staring at the trucks on the overpass and the train just behind the clinic (it's a great place to desensitize a horse) so I wasn't worried about him. Nine leaned to correct for one turn and ended up all the way against the side of the trailer, which was way cute and made me laugh. But the rest of the trip was uneventful and by the time was got home both horses were alert and ready to get out of the trailer. I unloaded Nine, who stepped down nicely, and I turned around in time to see Hammar leap out of trailer in his usual style, nearly barreling over Fiance. I was glad to see he was back to his usual self, at least.

So all in all, I am very glad that two of my horses, at least, are up to date on their teeth care and I don't have any more wolf teeth to worry about. And now hopefully Hammar will start keeping his weight on.

In other news, our kitten caught her first mouse today, and even killed it (after playing with it for a good half-hour, of course).

A one-in-two chance of going down...

2008-10-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

I rode Nine again today. Fiance was sanding another rifle (his favorite hobby) and the day was so beautiful I just couldn't stay inside anymore. I left Miss Toddler with her dad and went to play with the horses. I put the hackamore on Nine and cleaned out his feet, then next thing I know I've got him standing next to the mounting block and then I was on him! That was the first time he let me mount without someone holding him. I tried to get him walking, but he was just going in little circles. So, I took him out and lead him to the house. Fiance was there (staining the rifle now) and Toddler was sleeping, so I convinced Fiance to come out and help me work with Nine. Once in the round pen I got back on and Fiance round penned Nine, then I told Fiance to get him to trot. Nine did three or four strides then fell back to a walk, but what a trot that guy has! It's almost bouncy, except that you end up getting bumped in a sort of circle. So it's actually a lot of fun (and easy to sit the trot, too)! Then we switched direction (Nine turned off my cues without Fiance's cues, so he's really starting to get the idea) and tried in the other direction.

This time it wasn't so fun - Nine was being stubborn and not trotting, so Fiance did this sort of jump-wiggle-clap thing that would have been hilarious if it hadn't made Nine freak out! Nine jumped strait into a canter, which made me tense up, which made him buck. Luckily this time he used his half-hearted buck that's really more of a run anyways, but it almost got me off! I pulled on the reins, so he bucked a little higher, and I landed on his withers. Then he sort of reared and turned into the center of the pen, and I have to assume that he saw Fiance and tried to stop too suddenly, because he sat down and I fell the rest of the way off. Turns out he wasn't rearing at all, he just fell on his butt, just like me! Well anyways, Nine got up and turned to face me, standing still like a perfect gentleman.

So I lead Nine around the pen until we both stopped shaking, then Fiance held him while I got back on. Then we walked around a few times and eventually asked for the trot again, going in the same direction that we were going when he bucked. It took a circle and a half before he gave up trying to ignore us and trotted. He did about three strides again then fell back to a walk again, so I was satisfied. We walked a little bit more in the opposite direction, then I got off and called it a day. Fiance had to get to work and Toddler was in her room by herself (turns out she had woken up, but she was alright). So I ran out of time but I still feel me and Nine had a good time!

As it stands, Nine has four rides, and he's bucked twice... I'm not sure I like those odds!

P.S. I was wearing my helmet this time, but all I hurt was my elbow - it's scraped up a bit. But nothing serious. Nine is also fine, his fall was nothing terrible.

Yee Haw!

2008-10-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Yep, I finally got my butt back on Nine! He was wonderful, no spooking or jumping or any such nonsense. I suppose bareback is the key... Sorry, I didn't get any pictures, because my picture-taker fiance was busy holding Nine and I didn't want him to leave to go get the camera. No one else was home, so no pictures.

Fiance worked with Nine a bit while I got my jeans and boots on, and when I got out there Fiance had Nine in the center of the round pen next to the mounting block, and Fiance had a knee over his back! I was very impressed, especially when I realized Nine didn't have his hackamore on, just a twine around his neck. Nine and Fiance get along so well, I love it. Anyways, Nine wasn't so patient with me; we had to put him next to the fence so he would stop stepping away from me when I tried to get on, as usual. But once he was there with Fiance to prevent him from going forward, he was a good horse again. I got on and sat for a minute, swinging my legs and laying down on his neck to get him used to me being up there again (it's been, what, three weeks since he bucked me off). Then I had Fiance lead him around a bit, then off we went (sort of). Nine didn't want to move much without someone leading him, and he was pretty stiff on his right side. But I got him going in circles (I was trying to go strait, but they were nice circles so I let him do it!) and stopping really nice. Then Fiance lead us around to the right because Nine just was not wanting to turn that way! But once Nine softened and relaxed into the bend he was good. So we switched directions a few times. Fiance stepping into the middle of the round pen and worked Nine for a little bit at the walk, and pretty soon I had Nine listening to my turn and stop (and start) cues without help from Fiance! So that was good news.

I would have liked to get Nine trotting, but I wasn't relaxed enough - even if he was - until it was time to get off and go pick up Miss Toddler from the baby sitter. So we will try again next time I get someone to watch my girl.

Numbers from the Auction

2008-10-15T12:13:00.001-07:00

So I got really bored on campus waiting for my lab to start; I went through the auction results on the EMM website and got some numbers:

Nine went for $700
The total average price of all the horses was about $1,094.67
The average price for all the Stars horses was about $278.13 (Nine was the top selling Star! Yay!)
Average price for Idols horses: $823.21
Average price for Legends horses: $1,443.08

The top selling horse was Silverado for a whopping $10,500!

And for my own personal feel-good: Nine sold for more money than 55% of the Idols and 48% of the Legends!

Nine got put to work! (for once...)

2008-10-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't hard work...

Nine got to stand tied while I cleaned out the round pen, which really needed it! The wind blew all the manure from the other two pens into Nine's home so he had way more than his fair share. Anyways, he stood nicely and then let me clean out all four feet without even a second thought. That was his first time having his feet messed with while tied! He's usually either held by someone or just ground tied in the pen. After that I decided to take Nine with me to go get the cows who had escaped. We ended up walking far longer than necessary, but that was fine because Nine got a lesson in trotting next to me. By the time we found the cows Nine was trotting the perfect speed in the perfect position, and he slowed to a walk with just a touch on his neck from me. Once we got the cows moving, however, he wanted to graze... And since he wasn't being quick enough I just dropped the lead rope and got the cows back on the property myself. Nine was okay with that because he got to eat, and then he stood still while I gathered the rope back up. He went back into his pen just fine. He is shaping up to be quite the gentleman!

I had some other semi-adventures on the other two horses, though. I put a halter on Hammar to clean out his feet, then tried to get him to bow like I had seen other trainers do in Texas. He had it down within three minutes. So I hopped on and practiced some pivots and rollbacks. When Hammar caught sight of the donkeys I let him chase them a bit. But, he decided at the last minute to turn towards the gate, so i nearly fell off and he started slipping! The wind had blown away most of the soft dirt, leaving just a hard packed surface, which is not much good for a running horse. Then Ashley swung her hind end at us, making Hammar even more panicky! Luckily, Hammar is a good little Mustang, and knows how to get us how of such situations. He stopped trying to catch himself and just let his momentum carry us towards the gate (and also towards the feeder!). He saw this of course and just hopped over the feeder and stood there waiting for me to tell him what to do next, like a good boy! We did a little cutting practice with the donkeys (Hammar is actually getting kind good!) and I saw the cows making a break for the gate again!

So off I went from Hammar and onto Ashley, because with Hammar that riled I didn't want to try my luck in the open with only a halter for control! But I trust Ashley a little more for speed (or lack thereof). She was such a good girl and got the cows in for me. This time I remembered to shut the gate tight!

So, that was my day yesterday, and I am glad that all three horses got something to do.

That Wind...

2008-10-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well, my knee is not quite fully healed, but the other one is, and the left knee is all I need to get on a horse! Unfortunately, the wind has kicked up in these parts. Not only do I not want to risk Nine spooking from something blowing and end up in the dirt again, bit it's is literally too darned windy out there! I can't even feed with my eyes open for the hay and dust getting in my eyes. My 18 month old daughter can't go outside because she literally gets blown over! So, even though my knees are ready to ride, the weather isn't...

Almost Healed

2008-10-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

I can walk without any limp now. My knee gives me a little trouble on stairs still... But I am almost ready to start back up with Nine's riding training. I ordered a mounting block which should be here in a few weeks; until then I want to get some more rides on Nine bareback. But not until my knees are both better.

Until then, I can still get on Hammar, who is a couple inches shorter, and today is absolutely beautiful after the past few days of cloud and cold. So after lunch I will go riding! Yay!

Injury Update

2008-10-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't been back on Nine yet, obviously. My left knee (the less damaged one) is bruised more than I though and has a lump grown on it as well. My right knee is a little less swollen and with hold all my weight now, but only when it's strait - when it's bent it hurts to put weight on it. So I have been using the elevators a lot to get to classes. My right hip is also bruised. The front of my lower left leg is also really tender.

But, all in all, nothing is broken and I think I will make a full recovery! Hopefully no permanent damage...

He Finally Bucked!

2008-09-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard right - Nine bucked me off. And not the wimpy bucks he was showing me with the sand bags - real, actual, head-between-the-front-legs bronc bucks. I shouldn't feel so proud of him, but a sign of spirit is healthy; he was so calm and laid back, especially after Fort Worth, I was starting to wonder if he would be useful as any sort of competition horse...

Anyways, I saddled Nine and worked him a little bit with some sacking out, then tried to get on. He didn't want to stand still, but I eventually got the nerve to just get on! He was fine, no big deal. He was too close to the fence for me to get my right leg in the stirrup, though, so I clucked and squeezed with my thighs. He walked off just right, and even turned and stopped right when I asked him to. I was feeling really good about by now, so I went ahead and reached down and got my right foot in the stirrup. I think it was my leg coming against his side that did it, but next thing I knew I was above the saddle, reprimanding myself for not wearing my helmet. When i started down head first, I was really worried! But then Nine spun, and as I was still holding the reins my knee hit the ground before my head. Better it that my brain-case!

So, damage report: My right knee is stiff and red and swollen. Ouch! And I have to lead a class of third graders out to the playground and teach a lesson outside on Thursday! My left lower leg has a scrape and is also a little swollen. I have a rope burn/cut on my right hand ring finger, but that doesn't even hurt anymore. And the left side of my jaw hurts a bit. I think I did hit my head a bit, but on the side instead of the top (better on the neck this way) and it shoved my jaw to the side. BUT - all in all I am okay.

No, I didn't get back on. I know, I know, I should have! But it was already time to feed them when I got on in the first place, and my legs were just barely holding me up from the shaking as it was. So, I stood on the mounting block and leaned on the saddle, and even got my foot back in the stirrup, but I was really too shaky to actually try to get back on... So, we'll try again, maybe tomorrow. And I'll try to get pictures of something pleasant!

And, for what it's worth, Nine only bucked twice or so after I was off, and came right back to me. Even when he's being bad he is a good horse!

I rode him, I rode him!

2008-09-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I finally rode Nine. And I have proof!

Pardon the Mother-in-Law arm, she was trying to get him to perk his ears...
Anyways, I got on Nine bareback today. I had to use the cow's water trough as a mounting block, because it was empty anyways and I needed something taller than Nine's feeder, which I had been trying to use. I know, I'm a wimp! I can't just hop up on there... But I will soon, now that we're rolling. Anyways, I'll spare the boring details and just give you pictures. I got on twice, and he was much more relaxed then.

And one last head shot:

Oh yes, I think I should note that Nine did not buck or bolt or even spook the whole time! He didn't want to move forward, either... But I got several steps from him in a nearly strait line before we were done completely. Nine did excellently; I am so proud of him!

Starting Back Up

2008-09-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

So I gave Nine a couple days to just sit in the round pen and let his legs recover from 15 solid hours in the horse trailer. This morning after he ate I haltered him and tried a trick I saw in Fort Worth; Mark Lyon, who ended up winning the whole deal, was working with a horse in the practice arena. He put a rope around the horse's belly to encourage the horse to move forward. I thought this was so obviously brilliant, and I felt so stupid for not thinking of it! Then yesterday I saw the same idea in an article somewhere. Anyways, I tried that with Nine, but not much surprise - he barely even noticed it was there! I think I might have sacked him out too well in that area... But no worries, he will be a kids horse anyways, most likely, and kids horses have to be cool with that sort of thing.

So after giving up on that I got the mounting block next to Nine and worked on leaning on his back. He was doing super good, and my daughter was busying herself chasing goats, so I decided to put a leg over Nine's back. First I rubbed his side with my knee, then got my thigh up on his back, and before I knew it, my whole leg was on the other side! I still a toe on the mounting block, but Nine had most of my weight and was doing fine with me hopping a bit and moving my leg all over the place. I did a little work from his other side (leaned over his back but didn't put a leg over) then gave him a break for the day. Tomorrow Mom ought to be here so I think I will go ahead and get on him, perhaps bareback to start.

Recap and Results

2008-09-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well readers, it's been about a week, hasn't it? And what a week it has been...

We left around 9 AM Tuesday morning (a later start than anticipated) and decided to truck on through to Amarillo. We stopped at a rest stop in New Mexico for a good half hour or so because they had two solid corrals set up with water. Nine really appreciated that! In Amarillo he stayed at Happy Trails Horse Motel, which is a great place, I recommend it. The stalls were layered liberally in sawdust and the run outs were well groomed with a thick layer of sand. And, it only cost $25! Then, for us humans, we splurged at a Comfort Inn. I don't even want to tell you how much that was! Suffice it to say, we really couldn't afford it; we had to borrow money...

Wednesday we got to Fort Worth. The trainer meeting was to start at 5 PM and we arrived about 4:30 PM. So, it was really rushed and Mother in Law had to move all my tack and things to the stall area while I sat in the freezing cold meeting. I sat in the very front, so I was basically two feet from everyone while they were speaking. The judges and sponsors and everyone of importance was also in the front row; I was 4 seats from Guy Woods, who won last year's Extreme Mustang Makeover with his horse Max (who was also there, and he is GORGEOUS!). Also only feet from me were Cris Cox, Ken McNabb, John Lyons, and a medley of other famous horse people! I was a bit star struck, and I would have been more so if I wasn't freezing to death (why does such a large room need so much air conditioning?) After the talks we got in line to receive our shirts and freebies. In line I was right behind Matt Replogle, who rode his horse Johnny Landers all the way from Las Vegas to Fort Worth to raise breast cancer awareness. Matt is such a sweet guy; during the Legends finals on Saturday he caught a stuffed animal and gave it to my daughter. After all of that I met back up with Mother in Law and the woman who's truck and trailer we took to haul Nine. We got a cheaper room at a Days Inn, then they left in the the morning. We weren't hardly expecting to be able to afford a horse, so didn't bother keeping a trailer behind. Fiance and Daughter were on their way in the car by then, so I stayed at the Will Rogers Memorial Center all day. Fiance and Daughter arrived that evening.

Thursday morning were the first classes! Stars went first, and that is the division Nine and I competed in, so we had to get to the stalls early. Nine didn't get a chance to eat all of his breakfast, but he came along willingly enough. First was the conditioning class, where two judges determine the health of the horse. Nine got 59 out of 60; he missed one point on hair coat. That is completely understandable because he had some spots that were rubbed out from the leg rope the week before, and his mane is rubbed out in spots. But, even so, we tied for 2nd place! Then was the in hand course... We did horribly, I have to admit! Nine hasn't been trotting along with me and rather than just do the whole course at a walk, I went out of my way (and lost more points) to lunge him until he trotted then ran along behind him. Well, he did the course all right, but we ran out of time. He didn't stand very well to let me pick up his feet, either, but I learned a lot and that's what counts. We got 8th place in the in hand course. This surprised me at first because there were 15 horses competing in the Stars division and I by no means did better that 7 of them! When the scores were posted I saw that only 8 horses and trainers even bothered to go to the show ring! So, 8 out of 8.... I wasn't feeling too hot that night.

Luckily I managed to come into the next day feeling brighter. So, we arrive at Friday morning, when we were supposed to ride the horses in the horse course. Well, at this point I had completely given up trying to ride Nine in time for the competition, so I was pretty darned nervous! Again, Stars went first. I decided to just go in there and do what we did at home. After our "walk through" (more of a pep talk from the judges) we returned to our horses (I hadn't realized we would do a walk through so last minute I had to ask the wife of another trainer to hold Nine as well as her husband's horse, Hercules). As we walked towards the waiting area Reno, one of the Stars horses, spooked from something and started bucking. He knocked down the woman holding him but no one got hurt and Reno calmed down pretty quickly. As soon as Reno was caught I went around him to get Nine. I was worried that I would find the woman holding Nine and Hercules laying on the ground with a dislocated shoulder or something! I expected Nine and Hercules to run in opposite directions. or something. But no, when I got there she was just picking up Nine's lead rope; apparently when Reno spooked she just let go of Nine to focus on Hercules, who was spooked pretty bad. She said Nine was excellent; he backed into the corner and just stood and watched, and didn't run away or cause any more trouble! The woman said he is a heck of a horse. I was very touched by this, and even more proud of Nine. So, when our time came I lead Nine into the center of the round pen they had set up with my head held high and just banged around on his saddle for a bit; I threw the stirrups over the saddle and let them bang his side, wiggled the saddle and jumped up and down next to him. Then I repeated it on the other side. A 360 degree turn in both directions was also required, and I tried my best to give Nine the same cues from the ground that he would receive from a rider in the saddle. He did beautifully with that. He didn't back as well; I tried to back him with the reins while standing next to him, but he wouldn't do it so I had to get in front of Nine and back him with a hand on his chest. After that I unclipped the lead rope and pointed to my left. Nine immediately started off like a charm! He walked, trotted, then cantered that direction, and as soon as I asked for a direction change he did it. He was so responsive and light my hopes started to rise again. He didn't walk in the other direction but just jumped strait into a trot. I was running out of time so I let him do that. The he cantered well for me, and when the announcer called time and I asked Nine to stop, he stopped on a dime and stood and faced me perfectly. I ended up in 6th place over all! I was so very proud of Nine! When we were in line waiting for our awards ceremony Nine was one of the only horses who stood quietly the whole time. The announcer had to go through a ridiculously long list of sponsors before he announced the awards, so most of the horses got fidgety and restless.

Saturday were the finals for the Idols division, then the horse course for the Legends division. I watched some of these, and got to see my friend Joslyn get 5th place on Darwin, another horse from the same herd management area as Nine. That same night the Legends performed their top ten finals. What a show that was! Every single horse was phenomenal! Two riders competed bridleless, and a couple also took the saddles off during the final and rode around bareback. One girl had a broken hand and competed in a cast. One man had his horse jump through a ring of fire (without a bridle!) and another had his horse walk over a seesaw through another ring of fire. It was amazing! If you get a chance to see it, DO! It will blow your mind! It will probably be on YouTube in a few hours, so do a search, it will be worth it, I promise you!

Sunday was the adoption. They decided to put the Idols horses up for auction first, then Stars second ans Legends last. When I was on my way to get Nine to take him to the auction ring I met up with a woman who's daughter had trained three yearlings. They were in the market to get the yearlings adopted and adopt a riding horse in turn. They ended up adopting Taz, the winner from the Idols division! She showed me the prices she had been keeping track of; most horses seemed be going for only $400 or so! The winners were bringing more money of course, but I figured then that I would be lucky to get Nine to fetch $200! I figured that if my daughter was on Nine when I walked into the auction ring he might even get up to $300, and since Nine had carried Miss Toddler before I had Fiance just walk next to Nine holding Toddler's leg. He had her waving to the crowd and being very cute, but as soon as I stepped into the ring I started crying! I didn't want Nine to go, and I was so ashamed that I hadn't ridden him yet. I was terrified that no one would bid on him and he would sit in another holding facility until someone came along to rescue him. Patti, the head honcho of the Mustang Heritage Foundation, asked if I would be bidding on Nine, but I told her through my tears that I couldn't afford him. She told some "sop story" - as Fiance put it - to the crowd, and before I knew it some guy ran down from the stands to the edge of the ring and asked if I anted the horse. I replied that I couldn't afford him. The guy insisted; do I want the horse? I said of course I do, but I'm broke! Next thing, I hear the auctioneer reach $700! Then, the guy in the stands was saying that they had bought the horse for me, and that I can take him home and make him a great riding horse for my daughter. That was the last straw; I lost it to tears...

A few signatures later, and now I am the proud official adopter of a BLM Mustang for the first time in my life.

Getting a ride home was difficult (remember, the truck and trailer left early Thursday morning and all we had was a car!). But, we found someone who was going to California through Flagstaff, and they hauled Nine for us for $400 that I had to ask my grandmother for. My other grandma paid for a 5th night at the hotel because the trailer wasn't leaving until Monday afternoon. Int eh mean time we visited the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and drove up to the Stockyards Station to see the longhorns. We missed the "cattle drive" around the block, but we still saw the longhorns and talked to some of the cowboys around the place. We also let Nine stretch his legs in one of the smaller practice arenas before we loaded him up. Loading was a challenge as it was a slant load trailer and the only available spot was the very back of the trailer. This meant that I had to into the trailer with Nine, tie him to one of the rings, then slide past him (really tight space right next to his kickers) to get out. The driver tied Nine while I tried to get out. When I tried to slide past him my hat bumped his neck and he spooked. He tried to back out but he was tied and ended up with one leg under the trailer! The tie rings, naturally, are coated in rubber, so the "slip" knot did not slip. Nine jumped back in the trailer and I got out safely, but I was nervous for him the whole way home. We drove strait through for about 15 hours to arrive at Winona, AZ, at 3:30 AM for the switch into our trailer. We were home by 4 AM, and boy was Nine happy to be there! He nearly ran me over trying to get back into his round pen!

I think we will take a couple days off to recover, then this weekend we start where we left off. So from this point forward this blog is no longer about the Extreme Mustang Makeover, but rather out journey as Mustang and adopter, and after a year as Mustang and owner.

I found the people who bought Nine for me: Randy and Marsha Olson of Mustangs Forever Inc. I thanked them in person, but I also want to thank them here. Please visit www.mustangs4ever.org and check out their non-profit organization. They really are the most selfless and generous people I can ever dream of!

LAST day!

2008-09-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, change of plans; we decided to leave earlier this (Tuesday) morning. We are planning to make Tucumcari, NM but tonight, and truck into Fort Worth Sometime Wednesday. I am thinking now, though, that we should try to make Amarillo; the "horse hotel" in Tucumcari is just an RV park with a corral and we have to stay to keep an eye on Nine. If we can make Amarillo, we can board Nine overnight in a real barn, and get a motel for ourselves while we're at it. But that is a decision that will have to be made on the road.

I am going to miss Nine so much; I will be sure to post back here in a week and a half or so with pictures and posts and all that stuff. I can't wait to meet the lucky person who will take Nine home! That round pen out there will look mighty empty without him...

Last Day?

2008-09-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

After many stressful days of not knowing if I have a way to get me and Nine to Fort Worth for the Mustang Makeover competition, I think I have a ride. There, but not back, so I cannot possibly adopt Nine. But, I can live with that, and I am just grateful that I at least get the opportunity to meet the other trainers.

Today I was originally planning to ride Nine. I saddle my ol' boy Hammar up with my Aussie saddle so I can get back into the feel of riding - get my muscles loosened up and all that. My mom wanted to take a ride too, so Ashley got saddled up as well. We had a nice ride, only about 1 1/2 miles or so. That got me calmed down, and we decided to just play with Nine and do some ground work; say goodbye and have a good day with him.

We ponied Nine around a bit from Ashley and worked on getting him to trot, then I lead him from the ground while my mom followed with Ashley. He got pretty good, but he still needs extra persuasion to get out of that plodding walk! After a while we got pretty hot and sweaty, so Nine got a bath. I even soaped up his mane and got deep down. He did really well! He LOVES it when I spray between his legs for some reason! I even got his hind end, and sprayed his butt crack, ha ha. He didn't mind that. After the bath he was feeling frisky, and when I asked for a trot again he took off and rolled. But, once he was leading decently again we put him away and brushed him down. My mom had some alone time with him to say goodbye, then we left.

Tomorrow morning, we're out of here.I will get pictures at the competition, but this is the last we see of Nine here at home.

I Lied :(

2008-09-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

I didn't ride Nine today. I tried; oh, how I tried! But I just wimped out. My mom and my dad were both there, which made it crowded by Nine's standards, and they weren't helping me, either, whatever they were trying to do! I was just getting more and more scared. Fiance worked with Nine, but for the first time I wish he hadn't... Nine ended up more scared than ever, and Fiance swearing at him saying he wouldn't pay for me to take Nine to Texas to compete if I wasn't going to ride him.

Well, we all cooled down eventually. I unsaddled Nine and Fiance said he was sorry and I can still take Nine to Fort Worth (assuming I can find a ride - but that's a whole different story). I am still having butterflies, and I am absolutely emotionally exhausted. But Nine doesn't seem to even remember anything out of the ordinary, so I will try again tomorrow. Until then I am just hoping bedtime comes quickly, and that I can get some sleep tonight.

Oh, I almost forgot! Before the nerve-wracking of the century, my mom took me shopping for a new outfit. I got two pairs of Wranglers, a new pair of boots, and a new shirt. So now I have the whole get-up for Fort Worth and being on TV and all that.

Rossco Morgan

2008-09-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Rossco, our farrier and family friend, came out yesterday to donate Nine's trim. I told Rossco that Nine hadn't had much done with his back feet, and that he didn't need to worry about those; they were a little chipped, but not too badly. The farrier work could wait for those, I said. But, no, Rossco wanted to help! Nine stood patiently while he got those front feet, and it went without a hitch. But, when Rossco went for the back feet, Nine did his usual leg swing - not quite a kick, but a warning. So, Rossco sent Nine around the pen a few times, then tried again. Nine was a bit better, but still worried about this strange guy messing with his sensitive back feet.

Long story short, Rossco had to hobble Nine and tie his hind foot to a rope around his neck. Nine didn't like that one bit, but eventually got the idea. Then he stood quietly while Rossco trimmed and filed Nine's left hind. But, when Rossco tried the other side, Nine's "bad side", the side he kicked me with, Nine struck out again. Rossco hadn't tied the leg rope tight enough, and Nine got him, right on his brace! Rossco broke his foot a couple weeks ago, and that's where Nine's foot connected; luckily the kick got Rossco's ankle and not the actual broken foot, but I still feel bad about it. Rossco assures me he's fine...

After some readjustments Nine stood for that foot to be trimmed, too. Then, Nine stood without the leg rope for some final finishings on each leg, then Rossco rubbed him down and told he's a good boy - no matter what he had called him earlier (among those things, my new favorite, "a Sir Richard head"). I certainly do appreciate Rossco for all of this. Nine came out of it a rubbed fro the ropes, but none the worse for wear, Rossco's foot is as well as can be expected, and now I can pick up all four of Nine's feet without getting kicked at. Rossco, it seems, did the dirty work for me concerning those back feet. Nine is an angel now! And I am glad to say that, although Rossco did things a little rougher than Nine is accustomed too, he was no rougher than necessary, and did not hurt Nine.

On the agenda for today: Mom is coming up to watch while I ride Nine for the first time! And I WILL do it today, and I'm not letting anything stop me! Not wind, nor bucking, nor a bruised foot (see last blog post)!

Aussie Saddle

2008-09-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

Fiance decided to skip his last class tonight (don't tell!) to come home and help me work with Nine for an hour or so. It was windy and the clouds were coming in, threatening to pour on us, but I think Nine did pretty well!

We got my Aussie saddle on him, which is awesome because I feel much much more secure in my own saddle that in that huge Western seat! It took a few tries, but Nine eventually stood still. Then we tried to get me over his back, but he was not wanting to stand still! I let him go once he let me put some weight in the stirrup, then I rubbed and patted the saddle. Once he stood still for that - it took several tries - I let him move around. Then we put an old pair of jeans with the legs filled with sand over the saddle. Nine bucked and ran for a bit, but the jeans stayed in the saddle, so we let him wear that for a couple hours while we went to pick up our daughter and rent a movie (which is starting now, so I must be brief).

When we got back, I went strait out to the corral to take the sand and saddle off Nine. The stirrup bumped his side, and he spooked. He stepped on my foot, and because I was wearing my "town" shoes, the hoof made direct contact with my foot. It HURT. I yelled to Fiance that I needed help, and boy did he run to me! I am so lucky to have him. By then blood was running into my shoe, but we got the sand bags off Nine, then he stood still while I unbuckled the girth and removed the saddle. After that Fiance worked with Nine quite a bit on respect! He had Nine backing extremely well, and leading better (Nine is still sometimes reluctant to start, but once he's moving he usually goes along pretty well), and also picking up his hind feet! Nine was picking up AND holding up his hind feet for Fiance! I was so proud - I didn't know who to be happier at, Nine or my fiance.

Anyways, my foot is swollen and still bleeding a little, but Nine ended on a good note, progress was made, and the ibuprofen is kicking in! Tomorrow we start with the serious work - trying to mount properly and ride! Wish me luck; now I must get to the movie!

Turnout

2008-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

So I raced the storm clouds home today, but unfortunately they were too quick for me! So today was windy and thundery and almost rainy. Once it seemed to settle down a bit I went out and saddled Ashley so I could pony Nine around. My idea was that if I can get Nine to trot next to Ashley, I might be able to get him to trot next to me!

Well, it didn't work. The horses were too frisky. Nine frolicked about for a few seconds, which jerked the lead rope out of my hands. Once Nine realized this, he started running. Unfortunately he happened to be heading strait for the open gate! I heeled Ashley on, and she was brilliant. She jumped to the occasion and sprinted tot he gate, headed Nine off so he turned back towards the corrals, then stopped and waiting calmly while I shut the gate. The she even stood still for me to mount back up (a rarity for her in that sort of weather) and return to nine. Then he stood well while I dismounted and got the rope and remounted. Once the two settled down, Nine tried to eat as we went, so I ended up dallying the lead rope around the saddle horn. I didn't want to risk trying to trot, because Ashley gets frisky and kicks on occasion. So, I contented myself with with ponying Nine around the property so he could see the fence line, then I turned them loose.

Later, UPS finally decided to deliver my new Aussie saddle pad! I used Hammar as my guinea pig to try it out for the first time, but he was being bitter about being left behind while Ashley and Nine got to be free. So I let him go with just a few turns and a couple steps backwards. It was feed time by then anyways.

So maybe not the most productive training day, but it turned out okay. No one got hurt, Ashley got some decent practice for her possible future career as a college Rodeo Team horse, and somewhere in there my goat got her elf-shoe feet trimmed as well.

We Have the Health Certificate!

2008-09-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

Nine went to the vet to get his updated health certificate today. The vet, having looked at Nine a couple weeks ago in great detail, just looked into the trailer and decided that was good enough. Once we determined the Coggins test is still up to date, the vet signed the new certificate and off we went! $46 later...

Well, we can now trailer Nine to Texas, and that's what counts. The best thing to be said is that Nine loaded, trailered and unloaded really well. He even had three bales of hay behind him on the other side of the divider on the way home, and didn't fuss or fidget much! Then he stood patiently while we unloaded the hay. After a few nibbles of loose hay he followed me around a bit, backed through the "L" shape of tires, and went back into his round pen nicely.

Trailering continued

2008-09-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

This might be a long post, because I have loads of pictures.

Well, I only had one class today and got home around 10:30 AM. Fiance had dropped the baby off at the baby sitter's house for the day so we could work with Nine. We saddled Nine and introduced him to a new thing on his head, the "bitless bridle". It's basically a stiff leather ring attached to a headstall that sits around his nose. The English version of a bosal, I call it! We did some bending with that, and he was doing well, so we tightened his cinch again and I prepared to get on. However, I random got very angry and decided that the demons of my menstruation were going to get in the way. (I am sorry if that is too much information, but it's true.) I didn't want to loose my temper for no reason while atop a wild horse and get hurt! So, we took a walk. (I forgot to take off my helmet and was too lazy to take the saddle off Nine, so that's why it may seem like I am ready to hop on.)

I found a scary old flower pot and kicked it around in front of Nine until he stopped spooking. I thought that was a good experience, and he handled it well. Now when we get to Fort Worth and all the distractions, Nine might just be a bit more prepared.

After that Fiance made me a nice obstacle of tires shaped in an "L" like we will probably see in Fort Worth. I set some teeny poles along the tops of some of the tires so the shape was better defined. I know it isn't the prettiest little set up, but it served us well!

After about two tries Nine had it figured out and was backing through it almost by himself.

Then I worked with his feet a bit. He is much better about his hind feet!

And also about having his feet held between the knees, in what I call "farrier position".

It started getting ridiculously hot about this time, and Fiance was bored. I managed to talk him into taking pictures of Nine loading, though. So, I present to, in multiple picture sequence, Nine loading like a dream:

Yay! And here we are.

And now unloading:

How great is that? Thanks for reading, readers! And remember kids, safety first!

Trailer Time

2008-09-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my Physics lab an hour early! Yay! So I went home and decided to try loading Nine in the trailer. Might I remind you; Nine has only loaded three times - once when we picked him up back in June, once to go to the vet, and once to return home from the vet.

I put a flake of alfalfa in the trailer first. Nine was willing to go to the edge on the trailer, and even picked his feet up like he was thinking about stepping right in, but didn't. I had to dally the end of his lead rope around a post at the front of the trailer so he couldn't come part way in then change his mind. He obviously didn't like this! He pulled back twice, but soon decided it would be easier to just give to the pressure. He got both front feet in, so I undallied his lead rope and let him think about everything and unload. Then, when we tried again, he only pulled back once, and then came all the way in the trailer! He went right to eating like he was out in an open pasture. He stood calm and still while I went behind him to close the gate, then come back in the side door to remover his halter.

I left Nine in the trailer for about and hour and a half while I dealt with unruly goats, then went to pick up my daughter from the babysitter. I had my dad watch Daughter while I unloaded the horse. Nine was strangely reluctant! At first I thought it was cute that he liked the trailer so much he didn't want to leave. But, then reality struck and I realized that the sun was in Nine's eyes, and he probably couldn't see the drop, so he couldn't tell how far it was. That would make me scared, why not him? I ended up yelling and whooping while hitting the front of the trailer with the lunge whip to get him out, but then he came to me and let me lead him into the round pen again without problems.

A few minutes here and there

2008-09-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

With the busy Labor Day weekend, and then school, I haven't had a ton of time with Nine. Saturday we went on a trail ride; I wanted to bring Nine, but we decided against it. Turns out that was for the best, as we had our hands full with our two tame horses! It would have been a mess with a third horse with us. Anyways, we rode at least 20 miles, and I have the sunburns to prove it!

Sunday we planned to go to the local county fair, but it was really rainy, so we just picked up some groceries while we were in town and called it a day. Monday my mom came up, but it was windy and threatening to start raining again. We did a tiny bit of work. I have been working with Nine for a minute or so before I feed him, so I am now able to stand on a mounting block next to him on either side, and rub him all over. I can also lean against him and put quite a bit of weight on his back. So, I showed my mom all of this, even though it took a little extra bit of time because I was suddenly wearing a scary noisy vest!

Today after classes me and Fiance saddled Nine up and I put my weight in the saddle, again belly down. My daughter woke up (she fell asleep on the way home, so we just parked the car next to the round pen and let her nap), so I had to cut that session short. But it was feed time anyways, so it all worked out. Nine has also been doing okay with his feet. I can pretty much pick up his rear left foot, though he is still a bit "kicky" with his right hind. We are working on it, though.

Last Couple of Days...

2008-08-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of updates... I have been working with Nine, just not bothering with the computer.

Well we've taken nine for 2 walks since my last update (ear is still feeling fine, by the way). The first one was after a nice session with the saddle. He did really really well, didn't buck or dump the saddle or anything, so me and Fiance's Mom took Nine and Ashley for a walk. We went out the gate and off the overgrazed property to get to some nice grass, and let the horses graze for a few minutes. Nine is a huge pig (just like Ashley) and half the time leading is spent trying to get his head back up from the grass!

Yesterday I saddled Nine while he was tied to the fence - his first time being saddled while tied! He pulled back twice, but never too badly. Fiance worked with Nine quite a bit, getting him used to the stirrups banging around and the saddle being jiggled around and such. They got that saddle really moving before Nine moved! He is doing so great. I want to ride him today, but he got fed late so I have to wait! After the saddle-jiggling we took a walk (again with Ashley) down to the mailboxes. Both horses did fine, and Nine got to see my daughter riding Ashley, and Granny holding my daughter. He barely even pricked his ears at that. He stood by and watched while the mailbox squeaked open right under his nose, and he grazed on the grass under the mailboxes without even noticing the dangerous trail-obstacles of doom! I had Fiance lead Nine past them a few times so Nine can see the mailboxes from both sides, and Nine was fantastic. On the way back up the driveway I hopped on Ashley and walked right next to Nine. He was completely unconcerned. I tried to reach over and lean on the saddle, but Ashley was too far away from him, I didn't have any stirrups (I was bareback) and the lead rope was on the wrong side of Ashley's neck to side pass her up to Nine. Oh well, he was still really good compared to how he was last time I tried to ride next to him! When we got back I worked with his feet a little more then unsaddled him. And that was that! I won't promise another update from today because if I do, I know I won't have anything to say. But if I say I can't promise anything, hopefully I will find myself in the round pen with something interesting to say.

Off Day

2008-08-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Last night I was troubled by what I thought was a bug in my ear. Turns out I had ear wax built up pressing against my ear drum, but needless to say, the night was mostly restless. I was up a good 3 hours earlier than I wanted to be, and spent all morning in the ER and then at the local Ear Nose and Throat doctor's office. I missed both classes of my first day of school. When I got home, well, I was very tired.

When I did drag myself out to the round pen, the thunder was starting up. In the few minutes I was out there before it started raining I had Nine backing in a "L" shape and even leading forward without a halter. I also got Nine to stand still while I stood next to him on top of a milk crate and patted his back and things. He did phenomenally, considering the booming thunder and lack of halter or even neck rope, but I am frankly too sleepy to be very excited about it. Tomorrow is classes all day, but Wednesday I might be able to get some work done with Nine. Hopefully I will have caught up on sleep by then, and my muscles will be a bit more recovered from this weekend. A possible update then.

P.S. In case you are wondering, I eventually had the ear wax removed, even though it took 4 hours, 2 doctors, a nurse and several tries. Apparently some people genetically have ear wax that doesn't get worked out of their ears, so it piles up. I have extra-sticky ear wax and need to go to a specialist to have it removed periodically. Who knew?

I'm on Top of the World! (kind of)

2008-08-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Mom and Mom in Law helped me with Nine today. Me and Mom got Nine saddled in the riding saddle with no problems at all, even with the breast collar on and stirrups down! The details are all fuzzy now, but we did some work with Nine getting him used to the stirrups, then decided to try and get on him.

First I tried to just get a foot in the stirrup and hop up, but between nerves and muscles getting sore, I wimped out. This was as far as we got with that technique:
What a handsome boy! So we tried again with the mounting block. Mom stood on the mounting block (feeder turned upside down) while I led Nine past, then Mom held Nine while I scooted the mounting block up to him. He was doing well with that, so I stood on the block until he was okay with that, then, well, I worked up the nerve to get on:

And then I was on! Note the helmet: it earned it's keep today, because not long after that picture was taken, we tried to lead Nine off with me on his back. He didn't buck, but the running was just as effective. I landed on my hands and knees, with my head heading right into a bottom pole. Luckily, the helmet was there, so the extent of damage was limited to a skinned knee and a new hole in my jeans. We gave Nine a break while my knees stopped shaking, then tried again (a few times, actually, but here's the result):

So, we had a productive day! Nine was introduced to a new saddle, stirrups, a mounting block, and someone putting their weight on his back! He did just fine, so me and Mom in Law took Nine and Ashley (Nine's mare) for a walk (Nine's first time off the property and out the gate) for a bit of grazing. Tomorrow we're up early to start all over...

Thanks to Mom for the help (even if it was just holding the horse - it helps a lot!) and to Mom in Law for the baby sitting and picture taking.

Vet Visit

2008-08-21T10:43:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry about that wait! Our internet connection was - to put it politely - not cooperating.

So, Tuesday! While Fiance went to pick up the trailer, I walked Nine around, leading him between trees and over plywood and things like that, trying to prepare him as best as I could for loading into a trailer. Fiance's Mom was over, watering the garden, so I decided to try Nine with a bath. This was his first encounter with a water hose aimed at his body, but he reacted very well. This picture ought to tell you all you need to know (note the tongue):

After that I had Mother in Law follow behind while I tried to get Nine to trot on the lead. Well, he trotted, but then he cantered, and left me behind! He was a gentleman, though, and didn't run off. He let us try again, but again he went too fast. So, I settled to try and lunge him. He was doing very well, so i asked for a trot. He did a full circle without problems, but then he decided, just as I was asking "is this the same horse?", that he is, indeed, the same horse, and he jerked the line out of my hands and cantered off, his head held high and his legs pumping a steady, easy rhythm. I cannot wait to ride that horse! His movement is just fantastic. He looks so smooth.

Back to earth, now, however. Nine ran strait back to the other horses, and by the time Mother in Law and I caught up to him we saw he had somehow found the time to roll, ruining his nice clean coat, then get back up and start grazing as though nothing had happened. I caught him again without him even raising his head, and as I was leading him off, Fiance arrived with the trailer.

I will spare the boring details, but it took half and hour to load Nine. We were running late and had to resort to putting the long lead on Nine's halter and wrapping the far end around a post in the trailer. We didn't have to pull him in, but rather every step he took we tightened the line so he couldn't change his mind and back up. He set back on his hocks a few times, but eventually set both front feet in the trailer. Fiance was brilliant - he immediately gave Nine some slack to let him think. And Nine was also brilliant. He didn't take advantage of the slack in the rope, but rather stepped right into the trailer like I thought he might. We lead him to the front of the trailer and closed the middle divider. The trip into town was relatively uneventful, except for the usual small cars cutting in front of us. I also realized, too late, that we had forgotten the camera, so we regrettably do not have any pictures from the vet.

When we arrived, I noted the overpass almost directly over our heads, and the school buses and semi trucks rumbling overhead. I checked in only 10 minutes late, and the good Doctor was out soon after. Dr. Maciulla was very patient while I lead Nine out of the trailer and let him look around (Nine didn't even seem to notice the trucks), then helped us get Nine into the stocks. Nine was a good boy; he didn't fight, and after a minute or two of looking and smelling, he hesitantly followed Fiance into the scary cage. Nine stood well for the exam, and let Dr. Maciulla look into his mouth and check his ears. Doc determined that Nine is indeed 3 years old, getting his adult teeth well, and has two wolf teeth on the top which will need to be pulled eventually. The spots in his ears that I have noticed seem to be old scars from a previous ringworm infection, but the doc doesn't think they will be any problem. Dr. Maciulla said I have a very good horse, and once his feet are trimmed and his hindquarters are sacked out a bit better, he will be very very good indeed! Doc then suggested I worm with Panacur paste for good measure and even gave me a tube at check out.

After the check up Nine walked strait into the trailer like an old pro. The ride home went well, and we even stopped for lunch. While Fiance took care of the bill I went into the trailer with Nine and worked with his feet a bit. He did great, and even let some incoming customers look at him and pet him. At home he unloaded without hassle and that was that!

Wednesday we didn't do much; just took a walk and hung out next to the trailer. My other Mustang, Hammar, loaded into the trailer with no halter, but just the lunge whip on his neck! I am confident that Nine can be at least as good as my guy with time. Today is a bit windy and I don't have a baby sitter (Mother in Law) yet anyways, so I don't know what we'll get done. But if I have my way I will try to saddle Nine with the riding saddle and let him try out the stirrups.

Refresher Course

2008-08-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

My mom suggested that I leave the saddle and breast collar on Nine over night. So before feed time me and Fiance did a little work with Nine; we adjusted the breast collar so it was strapped to the dee rings of the saddle instead of the ring that is tied to the horn (if you look closely at the pictures below you'll see what I mean). Nine did much better with this once he had some time to just relax with the saddle. So I got that adjusted, then we lunged Nine a bit to get him used to his feeder (a part of an old barrel with holes cut in it for handles) being upside down in the middle of his round pen, and then with me standing on top of the feeder/mounting block. He did okay with this, but we didn't have much time, so we took Nine for a short walk to the goat pen, around the property a bit, through a small puddle (he was perfect), then back to the corral for dinner. While Fiance closed the gate behind us, I lead Nine up to the mounting block so he could see me on it one more time before we called it quits, and he came right up to me! He even let me take off his halter from up there.

This morning I was happy to see the saddle still in place, but also with some fresh gunk decorating the fleece cinch, because this means he felt comfortable enough to relax and lay down with the saddle on. After he was done eating me and Fiance played with Nine a little; we picked up his front feet while he still wore the saddle, and I took the saddle off while Fiance held Nine. This went much smoother than I feared; Nine usually hates anyone on his near side when he's wearing the saddle, I suppose because he think that person will tighten the cinch more. But once he figured out that I was loosening the cinch he stood still. When the cinch fell away from his belly he gave this great big sigh of relief. The he calmly stood while I flitted from side to side, taking my time about putting the cinch over the saddle, and nicely wrapping the latigo around the horn. Then I lifted the saddle right off his back! He was barely sweaty, another good sign as it indicates he didn't spend all night fighting to get the saddle off while I wasn't looking.

After that Fiance (who is developing quite the relationship with Nine!) brushed him off and played with Nine a bit. We worked some more on Nine's back feet, using the lunge whip to ask him to lift the foot, then slipping a loop of the whip's string around his leg. This worked extremely well for me, as I am so scared around his back feet these days. I think he is almost ready for picking them up sans string again, but I will take it extra slowly this time! We even introduced him to the new saddle. He accepted the new saddle blanket without any fuss, but the saddle was a bit different. It does have stirrups after all, which the old training saddle does not have, and the stirrups on the riding saddle are even tied up on top making the saddle look even bigger! But, Fiance got Nine to smell the new saddle and got it almost on. Then we had visitors and had to stop, but it was still a nice progressive day!

Tomorrow is the vet appointment; we are picking up the trailer we have been borrowing today so Nine can practice loading for a bit tonight, and we'll have most of tomorrow morning and early afternoon to work on it some more. Based on the ease with which Nine loaded in Pauls Valley Oklahoma, I don't think we'll have any trouble at all. Even so, wish us luck!

Back in the Saddle

2008-08-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well, after a week and a half of not even touching the saddle, we've got it on Nine again. My mom helped me by holding Nine and handing the cinch under the horse so I can grab it without Nine freaking out. It worked! He only dumped the saddle once this time. He did go off bucking twice, but by then I had the cinch tight enough that it didn't come off completely. He got it underneath him again, but let me take it off and try again. Best of all, now he lets me reach under and grab the cinch without having it handed to me every time. We will see if that lesson lasts.

After our break, me and Mom went out and put a breast collar on Nine. He did good, even with me trying to punch extra holes in the leather right under his nose. We decided not to put the riding saddle on him because there is a storm rolling in, and with the wind we don't need to be trying to get on him! I have some pictures...

After a few hours of that, I was getting a bit fed up, so my mom suggested I "take a chill pill", that is to say, ride Hammar!

Thanks for all your help Mom, I feel better about it all now!

Oh, No! Elbow Woes!

2008-08-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

We didn't work with saddling yesterday; we didn't get that far at all. Fiance said he'd be out to help me, so I went and started working with Nine. I brushed him out and cleaned his front feet. I was working with his hind feet to get him better about that when it happened.

When I asked Nine to pick up his right hind foot, he picked it up, but also swung it out towards me a little. So I made my first mistake - I smacked Nine on his butt. This works for my other, more domestic horses, but not for a wild-ish Mustang. So after he ran a lap, I tried again. This time he swung is leg towards me faster, very nearly a kick. I knew smacking him was a mistake, but this time I made another mistake; I held on to his leg. Don't ask me why, I guess it's just habit. My mare tests me a lot, but if I just hold on she gives up. I knew it wouldn't work with Nine, but at the time I wasn't thinking, just reacting. Naturally, the grabbing freaked Nine out, and on my third attempt to pick up his leg, he jumped in the air and kicked.

Luckily, he just clipped my elbow (I laughed at this - who gets kicked in the elbow?) but it could have been worse - he was nearly high enough to get my head! Now I am too nervous to try again! When I do work up the guts to try, Nine can tell how scared I am, so he get scared too, then starts kicking again. I am going to have to start all over again, but I really don't want to until my fiance is there with me, in case anything happens. Maybe when we go out to feed all the animals.

Feet Feats

2008-08-11T14:13:00.002-07:00

Today Granny, my fiance's mom, came over and watched our daughter for a half hour or so while Fiance and I worked with Nine. Nine doesn't know anyone as well as he knows me, but he adjusts to other people quickly enough. First they just got to know one another, and Fiance lead Nine around a bit (he is leading much better now) until they got to me. Then I tossed a rope around Nine's body, eventually getting to his back leg. After a couple of tries while Nine stood there like nothing was happening, I got the courage to just reach down a little and grab the end of the rope, forming a loop around his leg. I tossed the loop around, up and down his whole leg for a few seconds, but as he wasn't bothered to even twitch, I went ahead and got the rope around his pastern, then asked him to pick up his foot. He did pretty good about that; he stepped away from me for a step or two every time I asked him to pick up his foot, but he didn't run. Maybe because my fiance was holding his lead rope, but I'd like to think it was also because he had a clue as to what I was doing.

I repeated all that on his other side, but rather than learning to pick up his foot, he somehow got the idea that I was asking him to walk around in little circles! So I had to take a step back and do the same thing on his front foot, which he picks up like a pro now. Then I tried again with his hind foot, and he did seem to get the idea. He won't hold it up, but he will take it off the ground now without trying to kick anyone or any thing.

After that we thought it would be a good idea to let the lesson sink in, so we just rubbed Nine for a while. He spooked when Fiance's big gloved hand rubbed under his belly, and when I caught him again he spooked (again) from the Gloved Hand of Doom, and halfway through his spook-spin the side of his face collided with my cheek. Gosh, that hurt! I was seeing stars for about a minute after that! But I have already recovered and Nine probably didn't even notice, so all is well. My fiance also worked with Nine's front feet, and Nine let him pick them up and look at them. So, once I can come up with some extra cash I will get our farrier out here to trim Nine's front feet, at least. Even if Nine isn't ready for his hind feet being trimmed, it's really just his front feet that need it. Maybe to even out the costs the farrier can trim one of the goat's back feet, because they are really long as well.

Tomorrow my daughter has a doctor's appointment in the morning, but perhaps that afternoon we can work with saddling again. I will post an update if that is the case.

Bah Monsoons

2008-08-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Not much progress to tell you about today... It has been rainy and thundery and stormy every day for the past four days and is showing no sign of stopping now. I suppose I should be happy, we need the rain as much as anyone, but it is getting a bit annoying.

What I can tell you about, and be happy about, is that I got Nine to pick up his feet and let me clean them out with a hoof pick this morning. He is much better with his right leg, it only took two tries before he let me clean that hoof out. His left side... not so much. That took a bit longer, but I did get it done. Now I think we might be able to get his feet trimmed! And they need it, too. Now I need to suck it up and get working on his back feet. Who knew I, the little cowgirl who rides anything, would ever be afraid to pick up a horse's feet? Well, everything changes eventually. I just need to do it anyways.

Never give a 3 year old time off...

2008-08-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

... and expect him to pay attention afterwards.

So Nine had a good four or five days off from training, where I would just work with his front feet a bit at feed time. I had my daughter with me so I couldn't devote much time to his hind feet, which remain untouched. I have a goat who is getting ready to have her kids any minute now, and my other horse, Hammar, has come up lame. I think it's just a pulled muscle, but he has still been receiving much more of my time lately. Which, of course, leaves less and less for Nine. Then, naturally, the internet at the house shut down temporarily, so i haven't been able to blog much.

Tuesday was spent trying to tire Nine out a bit. After an hour and half of letting him run around the round pen, I gave up on saddling for the day, and thought that Wednesday he would be worn out enough to stand for the saddle. Well, he stood alright, until I reached under him to grab the cinch. Then he spooked. So I took some steps backward and sacked Nine out with a rope around his girth area. Once he was okay with that, I pretended to reach for a cinch without the saddle being on him. Once he was okay with that, I tried again with the saddle. I think what he is spooking from is the sudden contact of the cinch with his side, on the opposite side that I am standing on. So I would like to get some help from my fiance, so that he can hold the cinch up against Nine's off side while I reach for it from the near side. Then, hopefully, he will be alright. Unfortunately, Wednesday and today, Thursday, have brought thunderstorms in the early afternoon, so out sessions have been cut short anyways.

Today I gave up on the saddle because I have no one here to help me and I am not making any progress on my own. So I put the halter on Nine and lead him out to the great unknown of the ten acres we live on. Previously Nine has pulled away from me and run back to steal food from the other pen that gets thrown over the fence, but today I had the pinch halter on Nine and he consented to follow me. We walked over to the graves of my first horse and my dad's old horse, and Nine seemed to appreciate me talking, so I walked him around some tires, explaining all the way about how they used to hold up a make-shift jump, but as Nine broke several poles from his pen, I had to sacrifice my jump to keep nine safe. Then we walked over to my other jumps, all of which are of course knocked down from neglect. One was half up on one side, though, so I had Nine step over that, then over a "jump" comprised of an old barrel cut in half lengthwise and laid on the ground. Nine didn't appreciate having to stretch his stride to get over it, but he did what I asked. We made a detour to the garden, which had been catching Nine's eye the whole time, and I picked a leafy branch for him.

Then we got back to the round pen, and I tried to work with his hind feet a bit, but wimped out when he stamped the ground at my touch. It seems that motherhood has taken the fearless cowgirl out of me! I will try again when Mr. Christina is around, so I know I will at least have someone to carry me out of the pen if I get kicked. Until then, I will hide out in the house listening to the thunder rolling over the cinder hills.

He's a-buckin'!

2008-07-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

I went out this morning before feeding to try to get the saddle on Nine. I thought that if he eats with the saddle on, it will give him something good to think about and a very positive experience. Well, it wasn't as simple as it sounds! I did eventually get the saddle on him, but it took many tries. He bucked but stopped before the saddle slipped too far. I had gotten it tight enough that it didn't slip underneath him, but it did slide back and the blanket was on it's way out! So I undid the cinch, adjusted the saddle and blanket, and re-tightened the cinch. He stood still still for all of that! Then he went bucking again, but only two or three bucks before he stopped and let me do some last tweeks and such on the saddle. Then I petted him and told him how good of a boy he is and went to get his hay. When I came back around the corner, that silly boy was just landing from a buck, but saw me and instantly stopped! He gave me this look like he was trying to say "hey, I wasn't doing anything, no way!" He sure is a goofy boy.

Nine ate with the saddle on, but I didn't get anyone here to watch my daughter until nearly 1 PM. So, I went and worked with him a bit with the saddle on, then spent way longer than should be necessary trying to get Nine to stand still while I loosened the cinch... then he jumped off and dumped the saddle again. So I think I am going to give up on my idea of him not dumping a saddle and just get my Aussie saddle on him. It might be too narrow, but at this point I don't have time to get picky. He can dump my saddle a few times until he realizes it doesn't make any difference, then maybe I can start thinking about my fiance's western saddle. Nine also got a minute or two of a brief lesson with the bridle today.

Not much hope of any meaningful time at all with the horses until next Tuesday again, but we will see.

Officially Saddled!

2008-07-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I went out to work with Nine. I was prepared for, but not looking forward to, chasing him around and around for half an hour again before he would stand for the saddle. In fact, I only had to do one lap! Then Nine let me toss the blanket on him, and he almost stood for the saddle; he of course waited until I almost had it all the way up there, then bolted. But again, it just took one lap, and another in the opposite direction for good measure, before he stood stock still while I eased the saddle onto his back. Then I took it off and did it all over again, but this time he never moved! I got the latigo down and was taking the cinch down when he spooked from the jingle. But, one more try and I got the cinch down and around his belly. I had the cinch in place, the latigo ready to be tightened... Then I chickened out. Or maybe I did the brave thing, I'm not sure. I loosened the cinch, took the saddle off, and went back inside.

After a few hours of break time while I ran errands in town, I went back to see Nine. This time he let me get the blanket and the saddle on him right away. Once again I let the cinch down and let him be. He walked off when my fiance and daughter came up, but didn't spook or bolt, even though he had a clanking cinch swaying around his legs. I had "the distractions" go away for a bit, and I took the saddle off. I had to have Nine do another few laps before he accepted the saddle again, but this time I went ahead with the cinch. I did it as slowly as I could; first I just held light, steady pressure until he relaxed, then let go; as he stayed relaxed I started holding it with more pressure until it was nice and snug. I sent Nine off to walk a bit with it, fully expecting an explosion that never came. He did two laps each way, then I asked him to stop. (He came halfway to me, this time. Yay!) I tightened the cinch the rest of the way and knotted the latigo so it wouldn't work it's way loose. After a few more laps at the trot to make sure he was okay, I gave Nine some loose hay and left him to it.

In an hour or so, when I go out to feed, I will take off the saddle. Tomorrow I would like to do the same with the old saddle he has on right now, and introduce him to some rein aids and having me lean up against him on the saddle. If that goes well I want to get the riding saddle on him and let him feel the stirrups. On Thursday, when my fiance comes home early, I will hopefully be in the saddle! Wish me luck and a soft landing!

Saddle Time!

2008-07-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of a post from yesterday; I really have nothing good to say about that; well, I got Nine to lift his front feet again pretty well, but then he even stopped letting me do that.

But today is another day! I decided to employ the method I heard from a woman who has 11 horses; if the horse doesn't want to stand still for saddling, make him run around the corral for a bit. If he still doesn't want to stand, he gets to run more. Then the horse will learn that in order to get a break from running (or in the case of my minuscule round pen, trotting) he has to have something on his back. Given that Nine is a 3 year old who hasn't had hardly anything to do in almost 2 months, he had a LOT of energy! Probably half an hour went by before he would really stand still for the saddle blanket. Luckily, after that, it was only 15 minutes or so before I
had put the saddle on and taken it off twice. Then he caught his breath and I had to run him quite a bit again. However he seemed to have the idea pretty firm in his head, so it was only two tries before he stood for the saddle a third time. Then I let him wear it, uncinched, while I ran water for the cows. Then I just slipped it off again and called it a day.

Once I recover from suspected dehydration and minor heat stroke, I plan on spending the rest of the day with Hammar, who will most likely make me do it all over again. If I live, expect another series of updates starting next Tuesday! Maybe I will even have some pictures!

7 Games

2008-07-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

So it's the beginning of a new week of training! On Sunday I got to see Pat and Linda Parelli at a clinic and get some clarification on how to do the Parelli 7 Games. When I got home I played with Nine a little bit, but saved most of it for today. I took a big white scary sheet and a smaller and not quite so scary blanket out with me, to sack Nine out a bit more. But first I had some worming to do! I de-wormed my BLM Mustang, Hammar, first, because I had to use two tubes; he basically got the "leftovers" from one tube, and a little extra from the tube Nine would get. Then Nine got the rest of the full tube. I was hoping Nine would watch Hammar (who is usually awesome for me) and get the idea that "hey, that isn't so bad!" But alas, Hammar let me down. He was tossing his head and being a doofball, but no one got hurt, so I didn't worry much and turned him out. Then it was on to Nine. I put a halter on Nine for the occasion, something I feel confident to forget about with Hammar. Then I showed Nine the tube, wiggled it around his head, and so on. He was good, so I slipped it in his mouth like a bit. He played with it a lot, but didn't toss his head, so I just waited and he eventually accepted it. Then I took it back out of his mouth, removed the cap and twisted the dosage thing. I put it back in his mouth and squeezed it on in. He tried pretty hard to spit it out! But I held his head up and I think he swallowed it...

After that I decided to put him to work so he could ignore the taste in his mouth. I got him lunging on a circle right away, but he was jumping from the sheet and blanket, which were hanging on the fence. I let him jump and spook until it seemed he was over the worming taste. Then I started on the first Game: the Friendly Game. I lead him over to the fence where the brushes were, and brushed his whole body down, including his belly and cinch area, then I brushed his mane and tail. I finally got the nerve to walk behind his butt, and he was fine! He didn't even bat an eye, and I have been dreading it all this time! Shows what I know, huh? Anyway, after that I lead him over to the fence where the blankets were hanging. I grabbed the less-scary one and let him sniff it, then rubbed him down with it and was throwing it on his back within seconds. I had to actually try to get him to spook! He was doing so well. So then it was on to the scary white sheet. At this point, it is important to note that here in Arizona it is monsoon season, and rain storms (and the wind that brings them) crop up with almost no notice at all, almost every day. So, naturally, as I lift the sheet from the fence to show Nine, a gust of wind tosses the sheet which then tries to eat Nine. So, kinda a bad way to introduce a sheet to a wild horse, but I got it folded up and showed Nine again, and he was fine. I rubbed it all over him again, and tried to toss it on his back, at which point another gust of wind awoke the slumbering horse-eating-sheet-monster. I got Nine calmed back down, then he sniffed the sheet again and let me rub him on the side of his neck and shoulder, which I decided was good enough. I put the blanket away again for another, less windy, time.

Then it was on to the next Game: the Porcupine Game! Yay! Nine has trouble moving his forequarters away from me, as he seems to think I either want him to back up or jump away from me as fast as he can. So the first try was a little shaky; he backed up when I pressed my hands to his jaw and shoulder, then jumped, but second try he moved his shoulders away from me two steps very nicely. Then I moved his hindquarters with a finger, something he has no problem with at all, and repeated from the other side. He did great. So then I backed him with a hand on his nose, and again he did fine. He isn't the most responsive horse yet, but he is getting there. The third game is the Driving Game, which is basically like the Porcupine Game, but without physical contact. You "push" with your hands towards the head and shoulders to move the forequarters, towards the flank to move the hindquarters, towards the face to back. Real easy, and Nine picked it up instantly.

The fourth game, the Yo-yo Game, is a little more challenging for Nine, because he does want to move from the end of a rope, he wants to just stand there! But he has already shown improvement and will back up with just a little wiggle in the lead rope. Then he comes forward pretty well. The Circling Game is easy for Nine because he already knows how to do it. It is basically lunging with obstacles in the way. It can also get more challenging, but for general purposes and in a 40 foot round pen, that's what it is. No problem. Then comes the Sideways Game, which is causing the horse to side pass. I haven't tried this game yet with Nine, because I feel we should master the Porcupine and Driving Games first, before I combine moving two parts of the horse at once. Lastly is the Squeeze Game, which is causing the horse to go between you and another object, getting closer and closer as the horse relaxes. I did this earlier, making Nine get closer to the sheet and blanket hanging on the fence, so I didn't bother doing doing it again at the end of the session. Besides, it was starting to rain. And the rain is gone now, but it is lunch time! So perhaps an update this afternoon.

The afternoon was rainy, so not much was done with Nine. Around feed time, though, the rain had gone away, so I decided to give Nine a little job to do; the other animals were out on the property, and thus the front gate was shut. After putting the other animals away, I planned to lead Nine down to the gate with me to open it again. However, Nine thought different! The other horses already had some of their food, and Nine didn't understand why he didn't have his food. So about halfway down to the gate, he slipped away from me and ran back to the other horses' food. I walked back and found him calmly chewing the alfalfa from over the fence. Luckily Nine let me walk right up to him and grab a hold of the lead rope. He then followed quietly away from the feed. I just lead him around a few trees, then put him back in his own pen, then fed him like usual. So it worked this time, but from now on, I think I will feed Nine before asking him to leave perfectly good alfalfa behind!

Outside for the First Time

2008-07-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

First to clear up yesterday's post. I forgot to post the afternoon's accomplishments. But it doesn't matter much, because now I can't figure out how to edit it anyways! But if you must know, I didn't get much done because the ants launched an attack. I now have large red itchy bumps all over my right leg, and a smaller one right on the middle of my throat. A new brand of ant poison is now coating the colony.

Today we got the baby sitter to watch our daughter for a bit, and me and my boyfriend took Ashley and Nine out. This was Nine's first trip outside the round pen, and he did just fine.
We were not out for long, though, as the clouds were rolling it, the wind was whipping up and the lightning was threatening to ruin the positive training. So we put Nine back in the round pen and let all the other animals run around, because they desperately needed to blow off some steam. The cows were even bucking around, chasing each other.

So there probably will not be another update until Tuesday. See you then!

A much better day

2008-07-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

So today I am trying something new with my blog. Rather than wait for the end of the day so I can get all of what I want to say in, I am just going to post the morning news now, then edit later to include the afternoon session. This way everything will still be fresh in my mind.

This morning, feeling grumpy, lazy, and discouraged, I dragged myself out to the corral with one thing in mind: just brush Nine. It will be pleasant for us both, and we really need to have something pleasant to think about regarding one another. I took two brushes, the soft body brush, and the toothed mane and tail brush. I didn't bother with the halter, because I figured it wouldn't do any good anyway, the way he jerks away from me. So brush brush brush, he did fine. He walked away from me a couple times when I tried to do his tail, but it got done with no real complications. I was going to try to walk behind him, but I think Nine sensed I was nervous, or heard something in my voice, because he tensed up and moved away. I still haven't got the nerve to walk behind that horse, even though I have been well within kicking range and he never even lifted a foot. We will have to get over that, though, or I'll never be able to pick up his hind feet.

After a good brushing we both felt considerably better about each other, so I decided to try a new idea on leading. I got out the long lead rope, which is basically a long rope, about 20' long, that I tied a large metal ring to, and clipped a double sided clip to the ring. Today I took off the clip (which I just remembered is still handing from the chin of Ashley's halter where I left it...) and ran a loop through the ring, so as to have two loops connected at the ring. Thus one loop went behind the ears and over Nine's poll, and the other loop went over Nine's nose. This way, when I ask him to move forward, the rope will tighten all over Nine's head and face. But as soon as he steps forward, the pressure is immediately released all over his head and face. It worked like a charm! I was impressed. He still isn't leading as well as either of my other two horses, but it was definitely a major improvement! Within minutes he was even following me with slack in the rope for a few steps. Much, much better than yesterday, I assure you.

Encouraged by my success and the relaxed expression of Nine, I decided to give us something to do. So I set up two poles. One pole was cut in half lengthwise, so it has a flat side that I propped on the bottom rail of the round pen, making a sort of jump, like half a cross jump. The other pole is round but short, as it is the remains of an old pole that was most likely broken from the round pen some time ago. I put that pole on the ground directly across the round pen from the jump. Then there is a large, flattened box in the round pen, with two large rocks holding it down, that has been there for a few days. Nine has been having no problems at all, not even stepping on the rocks even when he trots directly over one. Even Hammar, my Mustang, can't do that. Hammar is the least sure-footed Mustang I have ever seen, sometimes. But he does fine. Back to Nine now: I lead Nine over all the obstacles, then lunged him over them. He finally got the idea of hopping the raised pole, but decided that was too much work. He ended up just picking his feet up extra high! Clever boy. Maybe jumping is out of the question for him, he is too lazy. Shame, he has the build for it...

In any case, he was doing good both directions, though going to the right he wanted to cut across to avoid the half-jump. He also wanted to duck into the shelter area, as I had left the gate open as an additional challenge. It took a couple cases of me running in after him yelling and swinging the lunge whip, but he finally decided he didn't want to go in there without my permission. But he was doing great. So I had him stop, face me, then walk in towards me so I could take off the rope. He was breathing a bit fast, so I decided I should walk him out before I just leave. The rope was already off, so I just pointed and asked him to continue around the pen, without the rope. I was able to keep him at a walk, and he wasn't even looking at the shelter area by then. He was still wanting to turn to the outside when going from left circles to right circles (he must like his right turns...) but after a few tries and shouts, he figured it out. I can stand right in the middle of the round pen and just point to my left, and he immediately stops and changes direction to go to the left. But from going left to changing to the right, I need to point to my right, walk in front of him, make sure I am far enough back, and really make it clear that I want him to go to the inside. He has troubles with this; I usually end up all the way against the fence, then I end up coming towards him to get him to make that inside turn.

I don't know why this is... it might be a physical problem. Maybe it hurts him to make sharp left turns. But I doubt this, as he is constantly turning his head to the left to prevent me from being on the left side of his head. Perhaps it is a vision problem? He has hit himself on something on the area above his left eye twice since getting here. He still has a scar from the second cut; that one I don't know how he got. His eye itself looks fine, I looked at it today. Either way, he is getting better about both problems: turning to the inside as well as letting me stand on his left side without his head being in the way.

This afternoon I am planning to take Nine out of the round pen for the first time. My boyfriend will be leading Ashley, the mare, while I lead Nine. I would like to use the long lead rope as a halter again, but I'm afraid that should he escape, he might get tangled in something, and that rope can constrict him. So instead I think Nine will wear the usual rope halter, while Ashley wears the ill-fitting but pretty red nylon halter. Ashley leads well, and even should she get loose I am confident she will not panic or get tangled. We will close the front gate, and Ashley has been turned out on the property many times. I think Nine will stick with Ashley. It will be something like teaching a foal to lead by following his dam. I hope. Wish me luck; I will post more on how it goes this evening.

A good day with a bad end

2008-07-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

It seems Ashley, my mare, and Nine get along very well. They have been together in the round pen almost all day, and nothing has gone wrong. Unless you count the fact that now Nine doesn't want to go anywhere except next to Ashley.

I had made some excellent progress this morning when I figured out exactly what was bothering Nine about saddling. I don't think it is all out of fear for the saddle. I noticed that when I am only putting a blanket on him, I only use one arm, always the arm farthest from Nine's head. But when I come at him with the saddle, I use both arms, owing to the increased weight. So he not only gets a big scary horse-eating chunk of leather on his back, but also a smaller scary arm right next to his head that he has never seen there before! So I worked with him by using both arms to heft the blanket on his back, and coming at him from farther and farther away, because if he sees it, it is a million times as scary. When he can't see the blanket coming for him he has no problems. He was getting better about that when I decided to take a lunch break, and let Nine and Ashley just hang out together.

When I went back out to work some more on the blanket throwing, I discovered that Nine will not leave Ashley's side without a serious effort on my part. I am not at all happy about this. Nine has not made any progress at all with leading in the past two or three weeks, and I just don't know what to do about it. He was doing okay with leading, so long as I was in front of him by two feet or so, and Ashley was nowhere to be a distraction. Now, I need to be further away, and really pull on that lead rope before he budges. This is NOT the way I want it to be! Just before I got in the round pen with Nine, I had lead my other Mustang, who I have had for about four years, into Ashley's pen (currently empty as Ashley was in with Nine). I did not need even a string for Hammar (other Mustang); instead I just walked right up to him, put a hand on his jaw, and he lead right in as well as could be. I don't remember how I taught Hammar to do that! I don't think I taught him that, he just does it. When I got Hammar he was almost as wild as Nine was. But I just don't remember how I trained Hammar to do any of the things he does. I wasn't paying attention, I suppose.

The point is, the day started out with an amazing breakthrough, I was finally doing something right and progressive with Nine, but this past half hour has reveled that I still have a looooooong way to go. I am tired of him not leading, and jerking away from me, and all those sorts of things. Right now he is tied up to an inner tube, and tonight I was planning on leaving a lead rope on him, once I put Ashley in her own pen again of course. Hopefully these things will help Nine learn to give to the pressure of the rope. Any other ideas how to get Mr. Stubborn to lead like a normal horse? I am at a loss here.

Not the best day...

2008-07-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

I tried and tried today to get an English saddle on Nine. He just backed away. So I tied him up. He stepped on my foot. I started over with the big western blanket he is used to. He was fine with that! Silly boy... I got to the point where he would at least let me stand next to him holding the saddle, and I could even touch him with the saddle, but not too high on his back. I think I may need to try a new tactic. The best I can come up with is riding Ashley, my mare and the only horse Nine is not terrified of, to get Nine accustomed to something being high up, over his back. Then maybe I can start tossing the saddle blanket onto his back from up there on Ashley. Maybe after that I can get the saddle on him.

Speaking of Ashley, that silly girl has taught Nine about cribbing! There are chew marks on both sides of the fence, and they nearly chewed all the way through on one pole! Of course, if they do manage to chew through Nine will not be loose. He will, however, be in a
pen with Ashley, who is the most playful 8 year old you'll ever meet, and half of her pen is made up of barbed wire. I do not want Ashley chasing Nine into the wire, that would be awful.
So I used all the hot sauce I could find to coat the poles where they have been chewing. Hopefully that will discourage them.

In brighter news, me and Nine managed to make the front page of the Daily Sun this morning! Here is a link for everyone, enjoy!

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2008/07/15/news/20080715_front_177436.txt

Anniversary

2008-07-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

As of 5:00 this morning, Nine has been here for one whole month. He has come a long way! He came to us wild, untouched, untrusting. Now he follows me around the pen, can be touched all over his body, and trusts me enough to put big, scary, noisy mystery saddles on his back! And when that scary saddle attacks him, he looks to me for help. What an amazing feeling, knowing that something so graceful and prestigious as a wild horse has put its life and trust in your hands. I strongly recommend it. Now, for some pictures! Naturally, the only pictures I have of Nine are either on my phone, or only from the first day of arrival. So, I present to you, Nine exactly one month ago!

The Background Story

2008-07-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

So this is my first blog; please excuse any weirdness about it!

I applied and was selected as one of 200 trainers to compete int he 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover. I saw the ad in Western Horseman magazine, and off I went to apply! And now here I am, accepted (who'd have thunk it?) and with my assigned Mustang, who I have dubbed Mr. Nine. So far I have been featured on the local news station (KNAZ Channel 2) in their "Someone 2 Know" section, which was filmed before I left to pick Nine up. More recently the local newspaper, the Arizona Daily Sun, sent out a journalist who did an interview and took pictures; according to her, me and Nine will be featured on the front page of Tuesday's paper. I will keep my eyes peeled.

I picked Nine up at the Pauls Valley Wild Horse & Burro Adoption Center on Friday the 13th in June. The loading ticket announced my horse's tag number is 9007, and as 007 agent James Bond is nothing like the sweet, gentle, level-headed animal I found in the trailer, I went with Nine as a name. My reasoning is that by calling him by a number I might be able to say goodbye in September a little easier. We drove almost strait through back to Arizona, only stopping to rest the horse, and usually eating and/or taking bathroom breaks when we were stopped anyways. Nine unloaded like a dream when we got home at 5 AM, then had two days off to rest his stiff legs. I was touching him and putting a rope around his neck by the second day. I had a halter on him shortly after. I got a saddle on him by day four, but while adjust the saddle I didn't undo the cinch all the way, and Nine moved, causing the saddle to slip underneath him. As anyone with any horse knowledge can tell you, this was bad. I took my time from there, just working him on leading (which is still having trouble with; he does NOT want to be next to me! He will follow along behind fine, but no proper leading yet), round pen work, even lunging, and also sacking out and started on picking his feet up.

Then this past weekend I got a saddle back on him. I threw it up on him again and again until he would stand with out flinching. However, while cinching up the leather latigo stuck to itself, and jerking it freaked Nine out, so naturally he spooked and the saddle found itself once again underneath the belly of a barely tamed 1,000 pound thing with hooves. Luckily Nine has learned to trust me a bit in the past several weeks, and he stopped and turned to me after just s few rounds in the pen. I couldn't un-stick the stupid latigo, so unbuckled it from the off side. I got the blanket and rubbed Nine down with it so we could at least end with a reasonable note as far as the blanket is concerned. I haven't worked with him since, as I have been watching my daughter, but while feeding he has been acting normal, so I don't think he is holding a grudge. I will try again on Tuesday when Elayne, my daughter, goes back to the baby sitter. This time I will use an English saddle that has no latigo.