I woke them up this morning to wish Danny a very happy 2nd birthday. I think that is obvious in some of these photos and in the suspicious look on Danny's face as he comes up the hill toward me. At first he was running and then he stopped and turned to look at both his brother and his mom as if to ask, "What do you think she's up to? She's never here this early."

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANNY BOY!!!

The Queen Bows to the Prince

I thought I might actually take my camera with me this morning but I also planned on working with Riley and hauling water for the trough but none of that happened because of the strong storms that started near dawn and lasted until nearly ten. I waited until they were over to finally go take care of the horses. I'm just getting back from that task and I'm happy to report that everyone is doing fine. The storms had them a little more energized than usual causing me to take extra precautions before going out amongst 'em but a bit of well placed sweet feed remedied that. ;-) .......I mentioned a few posts ago how Mouse is so gentle with Danny. Danny of course was the first one to stick his head into the decoy feed bucket this morning. Mouse would have been biting and kicking and otherwise establishing her authority if it had been one of the other boys and they knew this, too because they both kept their distance. But with Danny, she seemed perplexed and unsure how to get his head gently out of the bucket and away from the food that he was attacking ferociously. She kept putting her head under his neck and lifting up but she just couldn't manage to get her own head into the bucket quickly enough to replace his, haha.

The Blustery Day

Today was farrier day here on Gray Horse Farm (forgive me being so pretentious but one day, when all the work is done, that will be the name proudly displayed on a sign at the front gate....if I have my way;-.) All of the time put in with Riley this week really paid off because I finally got him haltered. I'm not saying that it was easy. There was a lot of effort involved and a lot more than I'd imagined yesterday because we woke up to near freezing temps and a strong wind blowing in from the Northwest. Horses tend to go a bit crazy when it's windy. My friend, Huston, tells me that it hurts their ears. I'd imagine that's so but I think that it also frightens them because they can't hear and if they can't hear, they constantly think something or someone is sneaking up on them. So, Riley's free lunging in the round pen involved a lot of kicking, bucking and mane throwing this morning. Dale wasn't due to arrive until 10AM but I wanted to get out there before 8AM to get them all fed and haltered. I haltered all of them but Riley and turned them back out into the pasture. Turning them out with halters on is not something I would usually do but Steve had taken the day off (he said to plant corn at the North Shore farm but I think it was mainly to help me because of halter shy Riley.) He fed the other horses hay and then kept an eye on them so that they wouldn't get into trouble. Of course the one that we were really worried about was Danny but the kid did good. Once I got Riley haltered, I called Dale and left a message for him to call me when he was about fifteen minutes from my place so that I could corral the other three (no need to corral Brandy because she never travels very far or very fast.) Steve and I stood and brushed Riley while he munched on hay. When Dale called, the two boys came in just by calling them but I had to go retrieve the diva, Mouse. All's well that ends well and for the most part, they were all well behaved with Dale. We had a few minor eye rolls and snorts mainly caused by the wind and none of them seemed to like the wormer that came after the trim but they all look fine now with their freshly trimmed hooves. Surprisingly, I had no problem getting them back into the round pen for feeding tonight. I'd expected them to act like, "Oh, no! What's she planning now?" But the boys came in in a neat row and Mouse followed once she accepted that she wasn't going to eat Brandy's hefty ration out of Brandy's bucket. For all my worry and anticipation and despite the blustery wind, the day turned out quite well. Now, it's time to schedule the annual visit from the vet........yikes.

So much to tell but so little time. I've been working with Danny's "uncle," Riley for the past few weeks attempting to get him into a halter again. When we first brought Riley home to Tennessee three years ago, I took both Django and him to my friend's barn. She's been my riding instructor for many years and she has a large covered arena to ride in. I thought, having the horses there would give me the opportunity to ride them every day with someone nearby who could help if I got into trouble and that I could get to know them and they me. It didn't work out that way. I hurt my hand badly when Django bolted during his first hoof trimming. I have no idea what spooked him but he tossed our farrier, Dale, at least eight to ten feet away and he dragged me down the hill while I held on with futility to the rope. When I finally gave up and let go, I jumped up and ran up the hill to check on Dale. When I asked if he was okay, he looked at me a bit shocked and asked if I was okay...I didn't realize that my hands were bleeding profusely. So, I put on a pair of gloves...that I should have been wearing all along...and I soldiered up while Dale trimmed the other horses. I didn't realize that I was already getting the beginnings of a bad staph infection.

A few days later, we took the "boys" to Brandy's place and that was the last I saw of them for two weeks as I got sicker and sicker with each day until I finally ended up in the emergency room with my arm discolored and swollen twice its usual size. When we did go to pick the boys up, Brandy met me as I was getting out of the truck and apologized for what had happened to Riley's face. She had a young apprentice working for her who evidently loved riding my horse. He however didn't appreciate all of the hours under saddle that she was putting in on him and he became progressively difficult to catch and halter. Her answer to his reluctance was to put a halter on him and leave it on when she turned him out to pasture. When I found my poor guy, the halter was half off and so was his left ear! He was timid and spooky and he wouldn't even look me in the eye. His face was covered in horrible, deep sores that took over a month to heal. They did eventually heal but the emotional scars and fear did not.

Three years later and I still have a very difficult time catching and haltering Riley. I admit that I haven't worked with him as much as I should have. I blame the celiacs disease that had me sick for most of last year before it was finally diagnosed at the very end of the year. I didn't work with or ride any of them last year. Still, he seems to have gotten worse not better. Now that I'm feeling better and the weather is beautiful, I decided that it was time to cure this problem. I started out being more aggressive than I should have been and I ended up just chasing him around for several hours. That did not work.

A friend suggested that I wrap the halter around his food bowl. I did that and it helped but we didn't seem any closer to actually getting the halter on him.

So, another epiphany moment....I finally realized that a prey animal, like a horse, does not need to be chased. Instead, to assert my authority over him and become the head of the herd, I need to push him. I think part of the poor guy's problem and the reason his fear has escalated is because he's recently been usurped as leader of the herd by the return of alpha mare, Mouse. I hated to be one more female pushing him around but it was necessary. I got him in the round pen and I gently pushed him into a free lunge with my lunge whip and voice. He kept trying to stop on his own and I'd push him on. After working like that for a while, I asked him for a whoa and he stood still for me. In fact he stood while I rubbed the whip over him and then the halter. He stood while I walked over and got his feed bowl that I'd filled with feed and then covered with the halter so he'd have to put his nose through the halter to eat. I held the bowl while he ate and I pulled the halter up across his nose. He didn't even flinch.

I still haven't put the halter on. I want him to be completely comfortable with it before I do but I have been working with him in the round pen every day and he is so much more compliant about every thing. I've also learned that I can't let him walk away from me. I always have to be the one to walk away.

I spoke with my friend Huston last week right after a session with Riley and he told me that I had to work on horse time. If you go into the pen to work with a horse and you think you've only got ten minutes, it will take you five hours to accomplish anything. But, if you go in thinking that you have all of the time in the world (because, as Huston told me, the horse does,) it will take you ten minutes to reach your goal.

Now, the funnies on Danny this week....for one thing, he likes to be the one getting all of the attention. He can't bear it when Riley is the one in the round pen working with me and not him. As I lunge Riley, Danny often runs along with him on the outside of the pen. When Dan and Django saw me feeding Riley an extra treat after our session on Friday, they both protested vocally but Danny actually tried to climb into the round pen!! The little stinker put one foot on the trailer bumper and the other several rungs up on the round pen fence! Lucky for him and us, he realized that he wasn't going to be able to do this even though he'd seen me do it several times. He's also hiding the feed bowls again. Someone needs to tell him that Easter has come and gone and we are no longer hiding "eggs." The next BIG CELEBRATION will be his birthday with is in just nine short days. Yippee! TWO YEARS OLD!

Speaking of age, my old girl, Brandy, can be both clever and funny. Last week when I first started to establish the routine that I hoped would allow me to finally and easily halter Riley by getting them all into the round pen to eat and then taking them out one by one, I decided that I'd try to spend a little time with each one before removing their halters. So, I led each of them over to the tying post and had them stand there while I groomed them. The only one who objected to this was Danny because we still haven't done the tying lesson that I hope will give him patience. But, unlike Dan, both Mouse and Django love the attention. Mouse was the first one to get the beauty treatment. Brandy was already out because part of the reason for putting the others up is to allow her to get her large portion of food that will hopefully keep weight on her aging frame. I'm standing there grooming Mouse and Brandy walks up right behind her. Now, this was an odd thing for Brandy to do because she knows that any where to the rear of Mouse is not the safest place to be. Still, she kept gently nudging Mouse with her nose and every time I'd shoo her away, she'd come right back. I finished with Mouse and I walked her a few steps away from the post before releasing her. When I turned around, I found Brandy had taken Mouse's place and was standing squarely in front of the post just as if she was tied to it. The girl was ready for her salon session.:)

As for Ms Mouse, another second go at motherhood has made her somewhat more serene. Of course, she still lets all of the other horses know she's boss but with Danny, it is another story. I'd so hoped that uniting them again would result in her teaching Dan a few manners but she is so gentle with her corrections that I'm certain they have no effect on Danny. Even though he's lost the family jewels, the boy still thinks he's the prince of the kingdom. A few days ago, I was watching them and Danny crowded up against Mouse's rear end. This is something that he tends to do with all of the horses and us. He just hasn't learned about personal space and boundaries yet but with Mouse, as I said above, this is a dangerous position to be in.......or so I always thought. When Danny got too close for Mouse's comfort, she didn't kick but rather stretched one of her rear legs out and pushed him gently away. A mother's love evidently is the strongest thing in the world.

Together Again

All of the horses are back together again tonight. I was surprised that Danny didn't bother his mom. He gave her one kiss and he follows her everywhere but he keeps a respectful distance. Riley was the most upset because he knows he's not boss hoss anymore. My tiny little Mouse is always alpha no matter what herd she's in. I thought that I'd keep Brandy separate from the others because she's so old. I turned her out in the green grass and was certain she wouldn't wander far. I did block off the road but she still could get to the neighbors by going around the backside of the pasture. Steve comes home and says, "What if she gets in the road?" At first I didn't think this was a possibility and then I went over to check on her. It was dark and it had started raining. I finally spotted Brandy when she came running down to the fence at a slow little jog. Then she spooked, I think because of my bright truck lights and she literally headed for the hills. I got out in the rain....I failed to mention that I was in my pajamas and rain boots, didn't I?......and ran up the hill, in the dark, slipping and sliding. I found her on the very crest of the hill ready to head back down to the neighbors where she would have easy access to their long drive and the road. I did have the presence of mind to bring some sweet feed with me but she was having none of that; the green grass and abundant clover was much more appealing. So, I trek back down the hill to get a halter as the rain fell harder. I sat for a few minutes in the truck with the heater on and listened to the blues hour on WDVX...that part was nice...as I waited for the rain to let up a bit. Finally, I took the halter back up the hill and then struggled to get it on her in the dark with her bobbing her head all about and butting me to push me away. I finally got it on and she dug in. She was refusing to budge. I tried coaxing with the food and the most I could get out of her were a few steps. Finally she began to follow me but I still have no idea why. There is one narrow strip where we could fit side by side without one of us...me...getting into the electric fence so, since she was following me well now, I stepped in front of her. Bless her heart, the eyes must be going because she ran over a generator Steve had setting at the gate. It made such an awful sound that I was certain she was hurt and the other horses panicked and started running. She seemed to be fine though and since the other horses had rushed into the middle pasture, I closed the gate and then put her, alone, in the upper pasture. No one was happy with this arrangement and I started worrying about it after I got back to the house and changed into some dry pj's. So, I headed back over again. Thankfully, the rain had stopped. I let all of the horses back in with Brandy and the first thing little demon, Dan does is start aggravating the poor old girl. Sure, he's always loved her and he's doing this out of affection but she's old and she doesn't know that. She starts to scream and the other horses are just standing around watching...except for my darling Django. Django puts himself in between Danny and Brandy. When I turned around to leave, I turned my lights on bright and directed them to the top of the hill where the entire herd now stood, grazing and there was Django right at Brandy's side keeping an eye on her and keeping Danny at bay. I think I can sleep soundly now.