Sad News

My dear friend, Huston Jenkins, had a stroke the day after Thanksgiving. Huston has meant so much to me over the last seven years since that day I first met him when he sold me a wonderful, gray horse named Mouse. He bred,raised, and trained three of my five horses. In fact, he arranged the breeding of Mouse which produced Danny in 2010.

Huston and Danny meet for the first time. July 2010.

He was planning on starting Danny. We were supposed to take Danny to him in September for him to begin ground work and Danny was going to spend the Winter with him. We'd even talked about Huston showing Danny in the Spring before we brought him home. Things kept happening to delay our trip and Huston has had other health issues this Fall. My hope is now that Huston will soon show improvement from the effects of the stroke and that by next Spring, we will be able to take Danny out to Missouri for a visit. I know that Huston would enjoy that and I'm hoping that it is a dream that we can fulfill soon.

Until then, I'm going to start working with him with the guidance of my good friend and an extraordinary trainer, Brandy McDonnell of Blue Point Stables in Kingston, Tennessee. Brandy is going to teach me how to work on the ground with driving lines just like Huston would have done if he had gotten the opportunity to start Danny for us. I hope that, by Spring, Huston will be ready for visitors and that Danny's and my own progress will make him proud. We will see, this is a huge step for me but I trust Brandy and she says that I can do it. With her help, I have greater faith in my own abilities and I promise to chronicle our progress here. So keep an eye on us and please say a prayer for Huston. I miss my friend and I want him back. The blessings I've gotten from his friendship are immeasurable and I'm not ready to give him up or give up on him.

18 Months Old today!

My baby boy is growing up!

Good Mornin' Sunshine!

Django

I have to say something about my Django boy. Not only is he beautiful and sweet, he is evidently a very bright boy, too.....and I've found my new mounting block! I was standing on the wheel well of the trailer while I watched Danny inside when I heard a noise behind me. I turn around and there is Django, perfectly lined up and looking as if he's waiting for a ride. I ask him if that's his intention and he actually turns his head and points at his back several times and then stands there watching me to see if I get on. I didn't have the nerve to try riding without even a halter or I might have just tried him but I'm no Stacy Westfall....not by a long shot. I also haven't been on my horses in over a year because of my own fears. I'm more than a little ashamed to admit that but I've made up every excuse in the book and it still all boils down to fear. And it does seem that Django is tired of this nonsense. He's done everything he can possibly do to let me know that he wants me to ride him short of putting the saddle on himself and since he continually tries to put his head in the halters and bridles, I'm thinking he'd do that too if he could. He was bought as my horse, my riding partner and since he is obviously such a willing partner, it's time I got over myself and got back on my horse. I want them to trust me; I think it's time I trust them especially my Django.  It's taken me a while to admit that a lot of my fear of riding has to do with the horse I love so much and the fact that she is an unpredictable mare. Mouse is the best horse you'd want to ride, she's extraordinarily responsive with gaits as smooth as glass. She and I have a shorthand when we're riding....as long as she's not in heat. When Mouse comes in season, she is moody, stubborn and unpredictable. It's not that I can't identify with this because it does remind me a lot of my own behavior at certain times in years past but since I've been on the receiving end of her swinging moods, I've developed anxiety that is difficult to overcome. I thought I had beat it several years ago but the longer I stayed off of my horses, the harder and harder it became to get back on. What I need to realize though is that Django and Riley are not Mouse. Not only are they geldings but neither has ever given me a reason to think that they might misbehave, quite the opposite in fact. So, it might not be today but I promise that within the week, I will be on my horse again and then I don't plan to get back off......well, I will get off but the next day, I will be back in the saddle again. 

WhooHoo TWO!

Tonight, I fed Danny in the round pen and........drum roll PLEASE!......in the trailer!!! He went in pretty as you please. After seeing that he could take his time and no one else was trying to steal his food, he decided to explore a bit and walked over the bowl that I'd placed about five feet in, and looked around the front of the trailer. Then he got a bit nervous because he couldn't figure out how he was going to turn around. Still, he didn't panic and he finally just turned around and walked back to his food. It actually was more difficult to make him leave once he'd finished eating and had, literally, licked the bowl clean than it had been to get him in there. He didn't even flinch when I tapped the side of the trailer to make noise or his two big brothers came up and peered at him from outside. I was very proud of him and I'll start leading him in on halter tomorrow. We might just step in and step back out so that I can teach him to back up because the time may come when he isn't in a trailer that allows him to turn around. As soon as we get him really comfortable with loading, we'll start going on short rides (with Mama Sande riding in the back compartment to keep him company and make certain he's Ok.) I'm beginning to wonder if Danny's reluctance and initial fear of the trailer was actually a reflection of my own. In one way, I'm very happy to have him spending the winter with Huston who I know will give him the best of care and the best of training and experience. On the other hand, it is literally wrenching my heart out to even think about leaving him in Missouri at the end of this month. Huston has already given me strict orders that I can not visit for at least a month. This may kill me.

Progress for Everyone

It's been several days since I worked with the horses at all because of both the rain and trying to finally get my studio/work space whipped back into shape so I can actually/hopefully make some money before the holiday shopping season is history. I also cleaned all of my tack yesterday in anticipation of riding again soon. I haven't even fed the horses for three days because Steve has been home and eager to find something he can do with his injured ribs so he volunteered to take care of both morning and evening feeding since Thursday night. I expected them to be happier to see me but they barely acknowledged that I'd arrived and seemed more intent on seeing if Steve had brought any food with him. I guess, as long as they were getting what they wanted as in food, they probably didn't even notice I was absent. My hurt feelings didn't last for long. I walked them all into the round pen...they will at least still follow where I lead even at liberty. Then I decided to work with Danny first. Of course, eager Django was trying his best to get in on the act which probably wasn't helping Danny to listen and obey but Dan was definitely not on his best behavior. I started getting frustrated because he was not only not listening to me but was fighting me every step of the way. Steve told me to cool down and remember patience. So, I got him to stand still for a few minutes...which is all he wanted to do any way....and leave the grass alone and then I let him go with plans to come back to him later after I finished with the two big guys.

I expected Riley to be more difficult because of the amount of time since our last session. At first it seemed he was going to be and then suddenly (this always surprises me) he gave in, he stood still and didn't move a muscle as I slipped the halter on his head. Then I walked him over to the the lead rope, fastened it and led him out of the round pen leaving the other two boys there watching....trust me, it's good for both of them. I took him to the tying post, tied him and then started grooming him. His tail is a proper mess and I should have attacked it but I thought that we'd already had a major victory so I wouldn't push my luck today by trying too much. I wanted to keep this grooming session as pleasant an experience as possible. He may be difficult to catch but once he's haltered, Riley is a perfect gentleman. I groomed him and then worked on those bot flies that have been driving me crazy for so long. He's long over due for worming, too but I don't think a few more days wait will hurt. He was so patient and so still while I worked on scraping off fly eggs and scrubbing at the caked mud with the curry. I then used a couple of polishing brushes on him and let him go with a kiss and a lot of praise.

Next, I let Django out. I don't need the round pen to catch him and he was already halfway to the tying post before I closed the gate behind him anyway. I put the halter on him, tied him up and then went through the same grooming regime with him. I didn't tackle his tangled tail either but that day is coming soon.

Finally, I picked up my grooming bag and went back to the round pen and Danny. Considering his earlier behavior, I was really expecting a battle but instead of fighting me, he walked over to me and dropped his head so that I could halter him. Then I backed him up, side stepped to both sides, did a turn on the hind quarters and then led him around the pen like he'd been doing it his entire life. Instead of tying him, Steve volunteered to hold him while I groomed. I don't even know if that was necessary as he relaxed so that he cocked that rear hoof into sleep position and was quietly chewing as I brushed him and cut off bott fly eggs. He was perfect. After I finished grooming, I walked him around one more time but he was starting to lose patience with me by then. I have to keep reminding myself that this big boy is still a baby in a lot of ways and he doesn't have the attention span that the other horses do. I need to keep our sessions short but do them more often from now on....just like Huston told me to do.

Working with Riley

Major breakthrough with my horse Riley on Tuesday. Riley, Sensational n' Honey(Danny's half brother and uncle....same sire, Traveler's Sensation, and Riley's mother is also Mouse's mother), was hurt (nearly tore off one ear and had awful sores on his face) when an apprentice, at the barn where I was keeping him, left a halter on him and then turned him out. That was in April of 2009; since then, he's been very head shy and almost impossible to catch and halter. I haven't ridden him in over two years despite the fact that he is the gentlest, sweetest and most level headed horse you've ever seen. Farrier and vet visits are always a trial and I have to start several hours before in order to get him haltered and ready. I'd just accepted that he was always going to be this way and I had to work around it. That was until the last farrier visit when Riley missed a much needed trim because I couldn't catch him at all. Part of that was because of Danny and the fact that I have to keep the young stud separated from the two mares. In the past, I'd used the round pen as a way to corral Riley and eventually wear him down and catch him but after moving the geldings and Danny to another pasture, I no longer had that option. So, this past weekend, we moved the round pen from the lower pasture to the upper one where the boys are. I am enjoying that round pen so much. I can work with Danny there without having the others...mainly the very jealous Django...bother us. It's large enough to ride in so that I can ride alone now and don't have to wait for the rare occasions when Steve is actually home to ride with me. The biggest joy from the newly re-acquired work and play area came yesterday though. I've been feeding the boys in the pen just to get them use to coming into it every day and not thinking it is something to be dreaded or feared....where I might actually put them to work,lol. I wanted to try my rope training halter on Danny to see how it fit so I took it with me yesterday morning and tried it first on Danny and then Django insisted that he try it on also....yes, Django loves being worked with so much that he actually sticks his head into any available halter whether you want him to or not ;-). Then I thought, "Let's see what Riley thinks of this lighter halter." Great idea but it took some doin'! For over an hour and a half I patiently worked with Riley. At first, I couldn't even get close to him but I refused to chase him because I know it does no good since I will wear out before he does. So, I gently talked to him and kept edging slowly closer until he finally let me touch him without moving away. I'd pet him for a while and then move nearer to his head. Time after time, he would eventually move away but each time, I kept getting closer until he finally would smell the halter and let me touch it to his face. During most of this time, the other two boys were still in the pen and still getting in the way and Django was still saying, "Let me put the halter on. I'll put it on. I just want to please you. Come on, let me play!" No, I'm not hearing voices again but even though it might be personification intensified, I do think that's how Django thinks. I know that he can't bear for me to give any of the other horses my attention but him. So, I finally decided to put him and Danny out so that I could work with Riley without interruption or intrusion. When I returned to the round pen, I was able to walk right up to Riley and he didn't pull away but rather dropped his head into the halter!! The poor guy was so scared that he was trembling  as I pulled the halter around his head but I just stroked his face and quietly reassured him. And then, as soon as he relaxed, I removed the halter. That might sound like a lot of work for that little triumph but trust me, this was a major breakthrough and worth the time and effort involved. 

I plan to repeat the exercise every day and I hope we can accomplish our task much faster each time. In fact, yesterday, it only took 15 minutes before he stood still and let me slip the halter over his head. After he was haltered, I worked with him for at least fifteen minutes more, having him back and turn and walk with me. I always try to end any session with my horses, whether we're doing ground work or in the saddle, on a positive note. So, I'm not going to rush Riley but rather remove the halter each day as soon as he relaxes. When he is completely comfortable being haltered again, I'll begin to groom him on lead while tied and then we'll do a bit of ground work before we move on to riding. Riley learned to trust me a bit more this week but he isn't the only one who had a lesson. For me to be that patient, taking my time and learning to be still and quiet is just as tremendous a stride and I'm hoping we both continue to learn and grow together over the next few weeks. I'm sure that with the confidence and trust we both gain over time , we'll be back on the trails before you know it!