Between the rain drops

In the month of August it rained everyday except one. Sept hasn't been much better so one day when it wasn't raining I snapped a few pictures of what is blooming. Lost a few things due to drowning but hopefully we will dry out a bit for the fall. Not much more to add:

cannas

spider lillies

more spider lillies

lantana

crape myrtle

Lillies with planted bird bath.

(you can see the part of the trailer hubby hasn't re-sided yet)

Had to put in some pictures of re-sided part

old riding helmet

Looking forward to cooler, drier weather.

Introductions

Blossom

One day I mentioned to a friend that I kinda wanted to get a pony so that when I rode one horse out off the property the one left behind would have someone to keep them company. That way when I returned the left behind horse wouldn't have run himself into a lather worrying about whether his buddy was coming back.

Well, the next thing I know she calls and asks "are you still looking for a pony?" Before I know it she's dropping off Blossom. I don't think it would have made any difference if I had seen her first. I'm a sucker for a needy case. And boy, blossom was needy. I figured, if I didn't take her, who would?

When I took her off the trailer she had that "OK, do your worst" resigned, look. Here she stood a medium sized, one time white, pony with eyes goopy from "moon blindness" (uveitis), ribs showing and a bony butt. Pretty sorry sight.

My friend said "you can keep the lead rope and keep the halter on her, she's hard to catch". I wasn't surprised.   

I've owned or worked with horses who were neglected or confused by green handlers but I've never really come across one who I was pretty certain had actually been abused. Until Miss Blossom. The vet and I discussed the indentations around her neck. He said it could have been a rope. The first time he tried to work on her (poor thing started to colic a few days after I took her in and again, I wasn't surprised. You couldn't get in the stall with her. She would climb the walls. Colic will sometimes happens with a new horse (especially a run down one) between worming, change of diet and the stress of adapting to a new home.

Blossom the within the first 2 weeks of arriving

After 3 years she stands calmly and quietly on the crossties to be groomed and treated. I try to do things in the same order when grooming so she doesn't get worried. I know she would be a lot further along if I could work with her everyday but I can't. We just want to keep her as comfortable as possible at this point. We don't know how old she is because she is pretty flat mouthed with teeth extremely worn down. In fact, she quids her hay (balls it up and spits it out because she can't chew it) so I feed her chopped hay along with her senior feed.

She is starting to trust me and even nickers along with TJ when I come out to feed. 

Her moon blindness is even a lot better these days. Between keeping a fly mask on her during daylight hours and having her on a good vitamin supplement she doesn't have bouts of it half as often. building up here immune system has helped. They say it's (uveitis) is caused by a bacteria. I don't know? Why do horses with white around the eyes seem to be the ones who get it? Wouldn't a bacteria affect any horse the same? The symptoms are more like glaucoma (which my mom had as I was growing up). When I last asked my vet if there was any new breakthroughs he had to admit that on one knows for sure what causes it. So we are still hoping for a cure. 

Blossom loves Rocky most of the time but when she's in "season" it's all about TJ. My husband has fallen in love with her and one day came out with "We should start a rescue". I laughed and asked him if he really wanted to move to 100 acres and spend all his time begging for money? He quickly changed his mind.

blossom these days

Introductions

TJ

TJ is a registered Arabian gelding with his line going back to Bask.  Who is a pretty famous Arabian sire.                         
                                 

                                                                           Bask
He's also an orphan. Anyone who has dealt with orphans can tell you that they are different. They can sometimes be difficult if they don't spend time with other horses and bond too much with people when young. Pushy, spoiled. TJ is none of these things. I guess he could be considered pushy with someone not too familiar with horses. Wants to be the center of attention. And he can get a little "studdish" when working in hand. When I first met him he was what I would call "confused". He was a 5 or 6 yo and at a place where I was boarding Rocky. Cute, little guy with no muscle development to speak of and a bit thin for my liking. He was bought directly from the breeders in Michigan by a family here for their young, legally, blind son. They lived behind the boarding place. Nice people, but pretty clueless in regard to horse training. He got walked around the block with the kid in the saddle maybe 2 or 3 times a year and the BO and her friends rode him occasionally.

The first time I saw one of the friends ride him I had to look away. Here she was, yankin' on a twisted wire snaffle as she tried to get him to put his nose down. He was a confirmed stargazer by then and no one seemed to either have the time or the know how of how to help him. The BO (barn owner) commented on what a good rider her friend was. I cringed. Just because someone can stay in the saddle doesn't make them a good rider. She certainly wasn't a "kind" rider.

The owners were moving and starting looking for a home for him and my friend, who was also boarding a horse there (the one who gave me the stall mats) wanted a companion for her old guy because she was moving, decided to take him. I was glad he had found a soft landing.

I think my friend always felt a bit too tall for him. She's an Anky clone (Anky van Grunsven-olympic dressage gold medalist).

Anky

Tall, long legged, blond who I've been telling for years that she's built like a dressage rider.  She prefers western. Just the opposite of me (short, bowed legs and arms so short that they don't go all the way to my hands. lol) Anyways.......I think she realized that he was pretty remedial and needed to go back to square one in his training. To make a long story short, she offered him and I said OK. I needed another horse like a hole in the head but since were buying some land and he and Rocky got along fine I decided to take him. 

As I said above, he's actually pretty nicely bred. His dam (mother) had an Arabian name I can't pronounce. He has a lot of champion Arabs in his family and his uncle is a popular breeding stallion. He is smart, friendly and very vocal. He greets me with loud nickers whenever I go out to the barn. He's a bit sickle hocked (knock-kneed behind) which tends to happen in Arabs. 

sickle hocked (note handlers bowed legs-also a conformation problem)

 He also has a bit of a "pasture foot" (also shows up Arabs). It's a bit of a club foot that develops when the horse always grazes with the same foot forward (which TJ does). I've been working on it all the time I've had him and the foot is more concave and not as sharply vertical than before but I doubt it will ever be completely normal. But never mind. When we trim we give the foot what it needs, not what looks pretty. Neither conformation problem has ever been a problem. 

We  play at "liberty" (no tack) and I've been working him "in hand" (as shown above). He picks things up very quickly. Arabs are known for their intelligence (all that time sharing a tent with their people). TJ thinks if he does something once or twice correctly, it's time to move on so I have to work on keeping him interested. He's coming along but can still have his spooky moments (Arabs sometimes tend to think they know better than the rider where to go and what's a threat). 

We've been working with obstacles and I would love to try "working equitation" which is a combination of obstacles, dressage and even cows, so we are playing with that (Anyone know how to build a bridge?) http://www.usawea.com/  He seems to like to jump a little. Not great at crossing water yet and we are working on loading in the trailer with the divider in place (he's fine in an open stock trailer). 

                                     

People tell me I should show him but I'm too lazy, I guess. I spent a lot of time at shows with the Saddlebreds. It's expensive to show. I wouldn't mind finding a teenager who wanted to show though. He is pretty and might do well in the show ring.

A horse like TJ is why new-to-be horse owners should bring an experienced horse person with them when shopping. You fall in love with their looks but soon find out you are "over-horsed" and the fun disappears. TJ has come a long way but he is definitely not for a beginner. 

Stay tuned to meet Blossom.

Introductions

Rocky

I bought Rocky as an "around 3yo". He has no papers so it's an estimate. He's around 16 or 17 according to the vet now so that's about right. He still had some baby teeth (yeah horses have baby teeth too) and when they are around 5 they are considered to have a "full mouth" of permanent teeth. I won't go into details because it can get complicated (age by teeth) and my eyes glaze over when I think about it. There's a lot written about it out there.

Whoever "started' him (taught him to accept tack and being handled) and "backed" (taught him to accept a rider) him for the first time did a pretty good job. No permanent trauma or issues other than being a bit "girthy" (objecting when the girth in tightened) and not standing for the farrier, when I got him. Since I am of the school of girth tightening in increments, he soon learned that I wouldn't pull it up and knee him in the belly as you see people do (It makes them exhale, yeah, right-wrong!). I buckle, usually stretch a foreleg up to slide any pinched skin out from under, and bridle. We walk to the mounting block and I tighten the rest of the way. I always use a mounting block unless I fall off or otherwise have to get off on the trail, then I find a ditch to put him in or a hill to stand on. Using the mounting block is, 1) easier for me and 2)less strain on his back and the saddle. I learned too that my left stirrup leather doesn't stretch as much either. I'm at the age where my mounting block is a step ladder.LOL

His objection to the girth used to be acted on by swinging around to try and bite. He would do this whenever you did anything he didn't think you should. Easy fix was holding my elbow up when he would swing around. He would hit his cheek on my elbow and scare himself. Only took a couple of times. Horses learn best the lessons they teach themselves. Young horses tend to be mouthy and can be nippy. You've got to nip it in the bud (no pun intended). Don't slap 'em on the nose. Use your elbow and a loud, scary "NO" or "Auh Auh Auh"! Or, if they are a confirmed biter, put a stud chain over the nose and add a jerk with the "NO". If your horse is this bad get an experienced person to show you how. As far as standing for the farrier, I simply put him in front of a hay bag the first few times since he's pretty much food motivated. Problem solved. I do his feet myself now (topic for another post).

He's a Tenn Walking Horse/Thoroughbred cross. Lovely, thick, long, flaxen, mane and tail that hits the ground. 

Rocky at four

He is basically pretty lazy but kind. Not a mean gene in his whole being. Learns quickly and loves to go exploring in the woods. Arena work, not so much. I had visions of a dressage horse but his gaits are so wonky (he has a bit of a four-beat canter and will even do a single-foot type running walk) and pure gaits are important in dressage. He can perform many nice movements but was never competitive quality. No worries. I'm not into showing. I can take him anywhere and do anything with him. 

He's also my hothouse flower. Got the TWH skin things gene and the TB lousy feet. He should probably live in Nebraska or somewhere but we live in the rain forest of North Florida. Rubs and scratches himself all summer long with bug allergies. I have tried everything from diet changes, medication, home made concoctions to medicated powder. Even thought about acupuncture but haven't gone there yet. Fall will come and he will grow a new coat when the days get shorter (this is what triggers hair growth, not necessarily temperature) and should be as handsome as always. He also tends to get "scratches" what we old timers used to call "cracked heels" up north. Little sore, scabby areas on the pastern. I'm proactive and a dab of nitro-furacin when the wet weather starts usually keeps it under control. It you let it get away from you it can be a serious condition. And we are always fighting white line disease here in the jungle. More about this later.

One of the first things I taught him was to "park out". This is something Saddleseat type breeds are taught to do. It's a hold over from the time when ladies rode side saddle. The horse stretches his front legs a bit forward and his hind legs out behind. It lowers the back a bit and keeps the horse from being able to walk off without bringing his legs up under him. Now it's used mostly in the show ring to make the horse look more elegant and longer bodied while being judged. It can hide some conformation faults. I recommend it for horses who won't stand for mounting. Play around with it. You will find you can control the hind legs by using your hand on the point of the shoulder. As Rocky's getting older now I only ask him to stand squarely and still at the mounting block now and not to stretch out all the way.

teaching rocky to park out.

confirmed

We haven't been able to ride much lately because of the rain all month and he's pretty out of shape (he hasn't really been fit for about 2 years-for me more about 10!) but like most horses, he doesn't care. As long as the salad bar opens on time.

Pray for our rain to head out West where they really, really need it.

Mirrors-No, not around the arena

I thought I'd get a bit crafty on my post today and share what I do with old, unusable tack. I make what I call "Tacky" mirrors or picture frames. I have used mirror tiles in the past because they are inexpensive but harder to work with (no frame) so lately I've been working with what I can find in thrift stores. You can pick up frames for a dollar or two with the glass or mirror still in them. Try to find ones with fairly thick frames. They are easier to drill into without breaking mirror (if it's not removable) and gives you more area to play with. Get your old tack together and clear a space to work.

You'll need:

Old tack

Frames

Fishing line

Drill 

Small drill bits

Heavy duty glue (contact cement)

Picture hanging hooks

Wine (always good if you work in the evening after dinner)

Coffee will have to do if you work in the AM

I usually start with a length of rein or girth (depending on the size of the frame) and layer on top of that with bigger pieces of tack like a bit or horse shoe and fit smaller pieces around that.  The larger pieces you will have to secure with the fishing line as well as glue or they will fall off. Drill two small holes through the frame close together, like this > : .

Be careful, of course, not to hit the glass with the drill bit and make sure you put a layer of wood or something under your project. Especially if you are working on the dining room table the mother-in-law gave you even if you have always secretly hated it. 

Picture frames are usually a lot easier because you can remove the glass to work on it and look for mirrors like that too. You can go back and cover the drill holes with leather keepers, small buckles or pieces of reins, etc.. Anyway......Feed the fishing line through the hole, around the piece of tack and through the second hole. Try to hide the fishing line as much as possible, pull tight and secure (tie a knot) in the back of the frame. I add a dab or two of glue underneath the line on the back too to keep the piece from shifting. 

Play around with your design and placement. Try to cover the places where you cut the leather or secured pieces by layering on top of them. Use buckles, leather keepers and small pieces. You can do one all western or one all English. Even one for horse racing or eventing fans. For my friends that show I will even add a blue ribbon. These make great gifts for all your horsey friends or fund raisers for you local 4H Club.

Here's some projects in various stages of done:

Basic start

in process

Needs a few finishing touches (more layering)

I've been thinking about the mirror over the sink in my horsey themed bathroom. 

More recycled and crafty stuff to come.

Have fun and keep the cover on the contact cement!

Tack

Used to be when you bought a saddle all you had to worry about was if it fit your butt and if it cleared the horse's withers. No special padding and adjusting needed. In fact, when I was first riding we didn't even use a saddle pad. You just made sure it didn't give the horse a saddle sore and went on you merry way. I must say I can't ever remember any of my horses developing a sore. I must have been very lucky because I rode everyday. Although I did at one point in my riding history, pretty much ride bareback most of the time. Ignorance is bliss, they say. I did see many a horse with an old sore mark (white hair) over the withers, so not everyone was as lucky.

Bridles were easy too. If it didn't rub the ears and the noseband was large enough to go around the horse's nose, it fit. Flashes were unknown and obviously not needed. Everyone I knew used a fat, plain snaffle or Pelham bit if the horse was "tough". The only "gadgets" we used were running martingales. Standing ones were frowned upon. Side reins were only for longeing, young horses under training. My first set I made out of inner tubes. I've never used draw reins, even with the showhorses. These days  there are so many "training aids" out there they could fill a book. Everyone wants a short cut.

Now it seems you need an expert fitter and special padding. Many a saddle cost 3 times as much as I have ever paid for a horse. Even some pads cost more than $200! I still can't figure out why a dressage saddle would need to cost $5,000 and a bridle $600 or a pad $200. We all want our horses to be comfortable and happy but the hunt for a saddle can ruin the joy of horses for some riders because they become so afraid to ride on a saddle that isn't perfect. I know of some that have searched for months and months and still never found the right one. Then they finally do and the horse gains or loses muscle and it's not perfect anymore.

I have gone to treeless which some people hate and will tell you are bad for the horse's back. Whatever. I like mine. First, because I have an Arab and a TB/TWH cross. Two horses that I don't think could be any more different in their body types. I have two saddles, a FreeMax dressage which I bought used and love.

Freemax dressage

Not to be confused with a FreeForm. I'd get another one in a second but they don't sell them in the USA. Second, I grew up riding bareback and like a wide twist with I haven't been able to find in any treed saddle I can afford. I mean, I might LOVE a $4,000 saddle but I don't think I'll ever know. My other saddle is a $100 made in India, suede number I use for trail riding. Yeah, under the leathers started wearing after the first couple of rides but it is comfy and works just fine.

When I use one of these on the Arab, who is built slightly down hill, I do put a western type half pad under it so it sits level in the deepest part of the seat like all the saddle fitting websites tell you it must. I do own a couple of pads with built in foam on either side of the spine area that I like too. I've even made a few pads and my sister who is a fabulous seamstress (I'll add a link to her website when it's up and running)  made me such a pretty one I'm saving it for some special occasion. 

 Rocky with homemade pad

As far as the bridles I am the synthetic queen. Old, arthritic, fingers don't clean tack so much anymore. The synthetic leather is supple and can be hosed off whenever I remember to do so. It looks just like leather. Same for synthetic girths. Hose 'em off after a sweaty ride and you're done.

On my Arab (TJ) I use a Boucher (named for the famous French horseman) single break snaffle. 

The theory is that it creates more poll pressure. Some engineer types will tell you that's not possible but he was quite the stargazer

A stargazer is constantly above the bit with the head held high to avoid contact. 

when he came and he likes it and responds well in it. Rocky (the TB/TWH) goes in french link

I keep it as simple as possible. No flashes. No full bridles (since I don't do Saddlebreds anymore). With tack less is certainly more.

Of course with the Saddlebreds they were required to show in a full bridle as are upper level dressage horses. These consist of a bridoon which is a thin snaffle and a curb with is a bit with a shaft and a curved, upside down U which goes over the tongue.

These have two sets of reins and are for more advanced riders and horses.

Sometimes  it's a matter of trial and error but I always advise to err on the side of less. 

I'll stop here since I hit "publish" instead of "edit". (Now I have to write a whole new piece for next month). 

"Dust 'em"

How to clean a stall

Why should someone need to be shown how to clean a stall? It's not rocket surgery. Well, I have seen some people attempt it without an ounce of clue. 

I guess I should tell you a bit about my stall cleaning credentials. In my past I have been a racehorse/show horse/assistant trainer/foreman/groom/staff/barn manager/riding instructor/and all-a-round peon. I've also trained a few of my own horses. 50 years of mucking. Over the course of this blog you'll hear all about it.

So. First. If you are lucky enough to have stall mats or some kind of floor, you are ahead of the game. Dirt floors are the worst. Clay slightly better. Wood will last a while but eventually it's gonna rot. You can slow the rot with lime and a cellar so the pee will drain between the boards. If you MUST have cement I suggest getting some kind of stall mat and bed really, really deeply until you can jack hammer it out. I've seen horses end up with capped hocks from not enough bedding. 

Hopefully, your horses know that stalls are only for eating, getting out of the rain and, of course, pooping and like mine, can come and go in and out at will. When we built our little barn after we dug down a bit we did a layer of pea gravel, sand and then mats over all of that. I was told not to use the gravel, use crushed stone instead, but the pea gravel was available, not as expensive and we had no budget to speak of. In almost 5 years we've had no problems. Just slight indents in front of the feed buckets. Knock on wood.

Two of the mats I got for free. My friend (who also gave me one of the horses I have now) moved and had her house back here for sale. In exchange for cleaning her house and keeping it tidy for the real estate agent she gave me her mats. I love the barter system! I paid around $250 for a third mat. I love 'em and they are worth every cent. They have paid for themselves in time and shavings.

OK. Now we start. The first thing I do is pick up the piles. Use a manure fork. For newbies or helpful husbands, there is a fork made just for manure. It's not a pitchfork, which has tines further apart and would allow the manure to fall right through. That's used for straw. It's not a shovel which will take shavings along with the poop and when you can pay almost $7 a bag they ain't to be wasted! They even have a mini horse fork now with the tines close together for mini poop. When I was a kid I used to help an old timer who used straw. He would spread the wet stuff out in the sun and let it dry and reuse it. A guy after my own heart. Thrifty. We used it at the track too when I first started. Then the mushroom growers, who would take it from the track, decided they wanted shavings.....but, I digress.....back to the stalls. 

You will also need a wheelbarrow. Buy a good one. Chances are, unless you have plenty of storage or a center aisle barn where it can stay without being in the way it will stay outside in the weather near the barn. There's nothing more frustrating than having the handles break while you have a full load. 

Pick up the piles that are still together first. If your horses stay in for part of the day you will have quite a few. Some horses will poop 10-12 times a day. It's one of their favorite activities. After you have the piles picked up you can start "flinging and rolling". Take a fork full of shavings and throw it at the wall. The balls of manure that you missed will roll down the slant you create (kinda like an avalanche) and you can pick them up without taking too much shavings. After some time flinging and rolling you will get to the bottom of the stall and find the wet spot. If you have good drainage all you have to do is remove the wet shavings and let the spot dry. Since you have already banked most of the shavings against the wall it should be open to the air. Some people sprinkle lime at this point.

If you can only do stalls once a day you would have to comb some shavings back down and make a bed. The best thing is to come back at night feeding and make the bed then. The wet places should have had time to dry and any more poop piles the horses have left are easily picked up. When you comb down the sides to make the bed leave some banked (kinda like a bowl) to help prevent the horse from becoming "cast" in his stall. This is when they roll and get their legs too close to the wall and basically get stuck. The horse will panic and struggle. This is very scary and thankfully doesn't happen often. 

There's all sorts of bedding out there and you will find one that you like. I prefer flake shavings. They fluff up nicely. Saw dust can be just that. Dusty. The new pellets, I have to admit, I haven't used but I would imagine it would be expensive to use enough to bank the side.

Being basically lazy and having a real job I find it's easier and more time saving to "run the stalls" whenever I'm at the barn and because my horses are out pretty much 24/7 I pickup near the barn too in order to keep as many flies away as possible. On that note let me add that it's a good idea to keep you manure pile as far away as practical (remember you will have to slog through all kinds of weather so not too far). It's best to pick up the paddock everyday too to limit the horses re-infesting themselves but let's be real. Do the best you can.

Have fun and be sure to compost!

The horse gene

I was born with the horse gene. My cousin Debbie Has it too. No one else in the family seemed to get it. My sisters like cats.

I'm sure other little girls played and still play "horses". I really hope they haven't all gotten too worldly wise. First you have to describe yourself. "I'm a bay (we were very proud of the fact that we knew what a bay was) with a white blaze (not a snip or a star.... a blaze) and four white stockings (no, not socks. you know what stockings are, they  go further up the leg). We studied these things and knew our stuff even at 5 or 6. Sometimes we were very exotic. "I'm from Pluto and I'm purple with a silver mane and tail, and, er, I can fly". 

We were usually the horses and had pretend riders and grooms who would tack us up and ride us over a cross country course of sticks between lawn chairs and sideways trash cans. If you were playing horse and rider, you would tie a rope around the horse's waist and canter around the yard always being careful to be on the correct lead and to make sure the rope cleared the "jumps". I always preferred being the horse.

When I was 9, she 8, we would ride our bikes across town (you could do things like that back then) and sit for hours observing horses. I can now say over 50 years later that I did learn a lot about the way horses communicate. I saw how horses would mutually groom each other. Science has recently discovered a spot near the withers that activates the amygdala part of the brain. This is the where memory and emotions are controlled. Horses, it seems, have the largest of all domesticated animals. We horse people always knew they were special and even as a kid I realized that the horses seemed to like to scratch and nuzzle each other there.

When you have the horse gene you have no choice as to whether you will ride or not. You are obsessed. Everyone tells you that you will outgrow it. You don't. 

Me in front.  Debbie behind.  1963

I hope to share some things I've learned and a few laughs. Thanks for looking.