sand_piper

A fast update on horses

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:04:52 GMT

On my way to meet my carpool on Wednesday, I realized that I left something at home. I had to go back and miss my carpool. For some reason, I decided to stop at the horses. I exercised Dolly for just a few minutes, and then I put her in the back and sprinkled just a small amount of hay around the pasture, to give her something to munch on during the day. I made sure that Diamond had water in the front. (It's as close as I can come to putting Dolly on a "diet" at the moment.)

That evening, I came back and opened up the barriers so the horses could access the front & back again. Dolly ate for a little while and then I exercised her for just a few more minutes. Then I went back to shoveling manure. Diamond was in a really playful mood. She wanted to explore everything. I scratched her again and she scratched me back, on my head mostly. This time she used some teeth, like when you see them groom each other. I really need to get her some toys.

Today, my mom and a family friend came out to see the horses. The friend knows how to spin all kinds of animal hair fibers, so I love getting her opinion on my horses' hair. :D My mom was curious about what Diamond knows, so I took Diamond out to the front and did a little bit of groundwork with her. Her indirect-pressure backing is good. From a stand still, I can send her into a clockwise or counterclockwise circle, but she is still uncertain about it. She'll take a few hesitant steps and then stop. After I've asked her a couple of times, then she seems to get the hang of it and will do some complete circles at the walk. Her trot is just a mess because her legs aren't coordinated yet. The ground is frozen right now, and rather lumpy so I didn't ask her for a trot today.

And then tonight, I worked with Dolly for just a little while. She only had an hour or so of hay-free time today. If I am not running late for work tomorrow (I'm usually running late), I'll lock her into the back pasture. On the other hand, tomorrow is so busy I wouldn't be able to get her more hay until past 10 p.m., so maybe I had better just leave her with 24/7 hay tomorrow too. :P Hmm. This horsey-who-gains-weight-easily stuff is tricky business. I am still so surprised that she blimped out like this. The ONLY difference in diet is that a) she's now "lead horse" b) regular vitamins, with a handful of pelleted beet pulp, dry cob, and sometimes about 4 alfalfa pellets. I mean seriously, all of that together is maybe a handful. c) she had her teeth floated (again) several months ago, d) she's probably hit the end of her growing height-wise.

DIAMOND is no longer shivering violently at night. I kept a blanket on her for a couple of nights. But now she has gained weight to the point where she looks much more able to withstand some cold weather. It LOOKS like her winter coat is starting to come in...I hope! SHE eats 2 cups of dry cob, 2 cups of alfalfa pellets, a handful of pelleted beet pulp, and the regular horse amount of vitamins each night. And I was ready to break out the corn oil and such if that didn't do the trick! But it does seem to be helping (in combination with the free-choice hay).

I shovel manure for about an hour every night and sometimes that isn't enough to keep up with it. They really need to chill out on the eating thing. I wouldn't be surprised if partly they are eating out of boredom. I really hope to install some equine toys soon. And I hope to take them on another walk soon. I'd like to go visit the neighbor horses soon, because one of theirs has to be put down soon. He was a rescue horse and came to her with a lot of hoof/leg damage from severe founder. She's had him for a little while now, but recently the vet said that the damage was so severe that although she's been so careful with his diet and supplements and everything she's done for him, it's starting to degenerate and is causing him so much pain that sometimes he just stands there and shakes from it. :(

soft moments with horses

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:54:29 GMT

Last night was very healing for me. I stopped by the horses around 9:30 p.m. to give Diamond her nightly feed (Dolly, as you can imagine, only gets a little bit). It was misting (I can't really call it rain). Diamond takes a long time to eat, which is nice because I don't fear her getting "choke" like Dolly has had twice since I've had her. So while she's eating, I usually either work on removing dead hair from her spiraling mane, or just stand there and watch the two of them, or shovel manure. After she finished eating, I removed the barrier between the two horses (I usually lock Diamond in the stall so she can eat in peace) and I didn't want to leave. Dolly was munching hay and Diamond went out and stood in the front pen. So I decided to shovel manure.

Anyway, Diamond is just such a lover. She loves people. I suspect that Dolly doesn't always let Diamond as close as she'd like, since Dolly is used to be a loner and seems to keep it that way a lot of the time (I have seen her let Diamond really close, though). But Diamond follows me all around when I'm shoveling manure. If I stop moving, she wants to put lots of things her mouth and explore everything I'm doing. She loves to be pet and scratched. She has an itchy spot near her ears, but if she really gets into it, she'd probably knock me over with her enthusiasm, so I can only scratch for a short time. But she returned the favor this time, nuzzling my ears and head and shoulder. It was really sweet. I scratched her neck, too. I think it was itchy from the rain. Then both horses rested in the front pen, Dolly on lookout about 35 feet away, and Diamond hanging out right next to me. I try to be careful not to let her get too used to being super close because that can turn into a dominance thing, so I also make sure she backs away from me whenever I ask her to. But oh my gosh, it is just so heart melting. It is great. I don't get enough peaceful moments anymore. I am always stressed or always busy or always on the go or always getting ready to be on the go shortly. It turned out to be 11 p.m. by the time I got home.

P.S. It snowed this morning. For me, it was the first snow of the season.

Horse update: Dolly gives pony rides

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:48:10 GMT

My nieces and nephew came over with their grandparents to meet the horses.

Dolly gave them pony rides. First we just walked around near the pasture. Then we went down the road to the trail again. (There were no helmets involved because I only have one for my own head and it's way too big for their little heads... ugh.)

Diamond and I followed them.

Isn't that amazing?? Dolly let the two youngest girls ride double on the way back. Dolly was awesome. Diamond did well, too.

The horses' water was frozen over yesterday. I'm going to have to break out the tank heater today. Last night, I tried Dolly's winter blanket on Diamond, but it was too big. Diamond has been shivering a lot at night. So I spent several hours unwinding another 750 lb bale of hay so that I could open the front stall door. Now the horses can reach the main water tank in the back pasture, and the hay bales in the front (--which means I'll need to buy more hay...tomorrow ;) ). I think I'll put Dolly out back during the day today, though. I just wanted Diamond to have full access to hay, but the smaller water bucket in the front was frozen solid, so she needed access to the back too. :P

Horse update

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:46:50 GMT

The other day, several of us took the horses down the road and down a trail that I had heard about but hadn't yet explored. I had only recently even noticed it even though I have walked by it many times. A short distance in, the path splits. One way goes to a river, I hear (and have heard that bears have been spotted there during salmon season). The other to an old, unused hay field. We took the path to the hay field. The horses did great. Tim had to excuse himself to go study, so my mom took Dolly the rest of the way, and I had Diamond.

The horses loved the destination.

Today, I worked with Diamond on some ground work. She tried hard. I couldn't help but notice how uncoordinated she is with her hind legs. When I asked for a trot, it looked like her hind legs were going at a different pace than her front legs, or trying to anyway. She might clobber herself. I might end up needing to wrap her front legs when I work with her in order to protect them from herself as she develops her coordination.

I'm in a hurry to go to bed right now, but I wanted to post a couple of cute pictures of the horses. I only have time to post 2 of them right now:

"I don't see WHY I'm on a diet!"

I put Diamond out front with the hay bales today.

I then worked with Dolly for a little while. When we were done, I walked Dolly to the back pasture. I heard a crash and Diamond came out with us...through the fence. Hmm. I had only connected the top 2 of the three white strands. She had tried to go underneath them, but um, didn't fit. She let me catch her with no problem, and I put her back in front with the hay and she didn't get out again.

I have more I want to say (mainly more pictures to post), but no time now. I'm exhausted.

Random picture (more to come): SANDY! ♥

Horse update: Vet Appointment

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:04:38 GMT

Diamond had her first vet appointment with us this morning. She was AWESOME! She didn't even flinch when she got her shots, and didn't care at all about the nasal vaccine. Wow. She snorted one time and then went back to eating hay. No big deal at all. She didn't get afraid of the vet or anything.

DOLLY heard the vet's voice from a distance and tried to get away. She hates shots SO MUCH. But she was actually better this time than usual. She tried to get away but she didn't clobber me like usual. I was able to hold her in place and the vet was able to administer the shot. Wow!

Good job to both horses!

I learned a lot about Diamond from the vet too. She thinks that she knows Diamond's full-sibling and some issues to watch out for with her development. So Diamond is now back to hay 24/7 and the vet didn't think that Dolly's weight was THAT out of control. She said it would probably be okay to keep them both on 24/7 hay, and that the gorging would go away after a while of being on it (if I can afford that!). But she also said that monitoring Dolly's feed would be okay, but that Diamond is in a critical stage of development, and that for her especially she needs to have all the hay she wants at all times. Also, I am to go and buy Vitamin E capsules (for humans) to put in her daily feed, because she suspects that Diamond wasn't getting enough from grass and stuff this summer (their pasture was pretty torn up from horse hooves and munching). I believe she thought it would be good for Dolly, too.

Horses: cute moment in the rain

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:29:06 GMT

It was raining last night, so I tied up two of the doggy door flaps and tried to shoo Diamond out of the stall after deworming and feeding her last night. I needed to make sure she could go in and out of it (she's gone through with the flaps open just a couple of hesitant times). She WANTED to come out -- she was thirsty and the water was outside. I stopped trying to shoo her and just observed from afar. She would start to come out and then suddenly stop and step back. She'd try again, and then stop. She really wanted to come out, but was also afraid (her back legs were ready, but her front legs said no ;) ). Then Dolly pushed her way into the stall past Diamond, and saw that Diamond hadn't eaten a lot of her hay. So Dolly said, "Scrammola!" and Diamond trotted out of the stall and straight to the water trough. I decided to chance it and leave the stall open with two flaps tied up overnight. It's been below freezing already, and since it was raining pretty hard still and I didn't know how cold it would get during the night, I wanted them to have shelter available just in case.

The cute moment was this morning. On my way to work I stopped and gave them breakfast hay piles. Dolly was, as usual, hanging out in the rain. I couldn't see Diamond, though. As I got closer, I could see Diamond's head poking out of the stall, watching me intently. :) She was nice and dry.

Horse update: Deworming (and hay)

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:05:53 GMT

First of all, I didn't hear from "the hay company" and I wasn't going to drive out there with my parents-in-law's truck in the rain, so I went to a local feed store and bought 3 uncompressed rectangular bales. At 6 p.m. as I'm eating dinner with my parents, planning on using them for a homework assignment after dinner, I receive a phone call from "the hay company" that they're going to deliver 4 bales to me in an hour. Yikes! I scarfed my food and then drove back to the horses.

I got there in time to see Tim really mad at Diamond because she wouldn't go back through the doggy door. I wish I could figure out how to explain that human goals don't work with horses. Also, when you're in an ucky mood, or feeling stressed, or can tell that you're getting angry, it is time to STOP for the day. It is not worth ruining your relationship with a horse just to accomplish a human-set so-called "goal". How did I learn it? I can't remember any more. Did I read it in books, or from instructors, or from trial & error experience?

The angriest I can remember ever being with a horse was on a trail ride when Contessa wouldn't stop eating grass and nothing I did made any difference. [I digress: (Contessa was an abuse case, though, where she was starved as a baby, and found frozen to the ground as a yearling, starving. When she was rescued, they had to chip her out of the ice. They tied her inside of a trailer and fed her slowly, using the sides of the trailer to keep her upright on her feet. No trainer could get her to stop going for food whenever she spotted it. There was no point in me being angry about it -- afterward, I tried other things to curb it, practicing walking by hay bales, and trying out overchecks, and really nothing ended up working, but I didn't mind anymore. In fact, I thought it was hilarious when Contessa ate part of the obstacle course we had to walk through at a horse show. She never slowed or anything -- we walked straight through the hedge, and she happened to come out with a giant mouthful. :) I probably should have bought a muzzle for trail rides, in hindsight. I was always afraid she would crash straight through the barbed wire on the side of the trail in order to get a bite of grass...) ] I suppose that also, I tend not to have expectations of horses in the first place -- I just wanted to spend time with them. It isn't about the doggy door -- the obstacle is irrelevant. The point is teaching the horse a concept -- the concept of "sending" and following direct pressure and indirect pressure cues. Diamond has experienced those for the whole of 1 day. It isn't magic; she needs time and patience. She should never look at the doggy door again until she is taught to send over poles, or through trees, or through the other side of the stall w/o a doggy door, a minimum of 100 times! Maybe even 500 times! And maybe then she'll start to understand it deep down. Anyway. So she did eventually go through the doggy door one time, using direct pressure (pressure on the lead, one step forward, release pressure). So the hay arrived.

After three hours of unwrapping hay from a 750 lb bale, it was about 9:45 p.m., raining and dark. I was unwrapping the hay from one of the bales because it didn't fit under the shelter roof, and I didn't want the whole thing rained on. I was putting the unwound (and now rather wet) hay into the middle stall to hopefully dry out / at least not get more wet. As I was PILING this hay into the middle stall, I couldn't BELIEVE how much hay 750 lbs really is. HOW THE HECK DID TWO HORSES EAT AN ENTIRE BALE IN 6-7 DAYS??? :o Holy smokes.

Diamond was locked in a stall and Dolly was in the back pasture. I noticed that Diamond kept trying to scratch her butt on things while I was working. Because earlier I had looked up proper deworming schedules, and then went to a pet store and bought the dewormer for this month, I decided it was time to deworm right then and there. I had no clue how Diamond would react, but she was blissfully ignorant of what was to come! She was sweet as can be, and let me stick the syringe into the back of her mouth and squirt in the dewormer. UCK!! OH MAN she did not like that taste! She tried so hard to spit it out. And she wouldn't look at me any more. She faced into a corner and wouldn't look at me. Awww. So after a couple of minutes I brought out her dry cob etc. At first she thought it tasted ucky, too, but she kept trying to eat it and finally it seemed to taste normal again. Mmmm.

Next I did Dolly. She knows what to expect from dewormers so she didn't hold it against me. She just waited for the good stuff afterwards. I pet both horses afterwards and Diamond seemed to have forgiven me.

Horse update: Exercise and practice

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:11:40 GMT

Tonight, Tim and I went back to visit the horses. I wanted to exercise Dolly a little bit, because we hadn't had time earlier. Tim practiced a few of today's lessons with Diamond. I think it went very well.

Dolly got a workout -- nothing too strenuous, because I want to bring her into better shape gradually. But I think it was a good cardio workout (reference to movie "Zombieland").

Then we switched horses and Tim worked with Dolly for a little while, and I played with Diamond. And wow, she is already more respectful of our personal space. She backed really easily with indirect pressure. She gave her head side to side really easily. She came forward when asked (but I'm still worried about her tendency to plant her hooves and pull back--I got to see that a few days ago when I applied pressure to her lead rope and she didn't want to go in the direction of the doggy door, and we got to see it a lot when the instructor first started to work with her today). I wonder if that habit will go away quickly or slowly.

Tim tied up some of the doggy door flaps and worked with her on it. I admit that I had reservations -- I thought that for sure we shouldn't focus on that, but should just practice different leading things. But I also believe that people should be allowed respect and freedom, so I went back to working with Dolly and made sure not to watch or even listen. -Just live and let live (I can be micromanaging if I'm not careful, when it comes to things that I've studied for a long time). And sure enough, after several long minutes passed, Diamond went partway through the doggy door, and then farther through, and then all the way through. She went back and forth several times, perfectly calmly. (But she is still uncertain about it, so it'll take some more practice before we can trust the horses to have the stall available unsupervised).

Horse lesson

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:54:12 GMT

Today was the first of these horse lessons. I'm going to try to be brief but put down enough information that I'll be able to recall the teachings later.

Immediately he tested her with the doggy door. It wasn't going to happen. We tried this and that but in the end he saw that although she had been very responsive to direct pressure, she had NO idea about indirect pressure. So we didn't push it. We went around the other way and brought her into the small pen.

First of all, he taught Diamond how to be sent in a circle. He started by giving hugely exaggerated cues, focused on the inside shoulder. Of course at first she had no idea what this meant, but soon she figured out that having pressure on the inside shoulder meant that she needs to move away from the pressure (in this case, a step forward but away from the trainer). At this point, she was not calm. Her head was up and her eyes were wide. Her little hooves were in a bit of a flurry.

But after a short amount of time, she understood the rules -- that he would ask something of her, and she'd get release upon making an effort. Her head went back down and she licked her lips.

After that, he was able to back her with indirect pressure. He was able to do flexions. He was able to do step-over with the hind legs with both direct and indirect pressure.

She figured the rules out really fast. After that, she was actually easier to work with than Dolly at the same stage -- Dolly had the tendency to plow forward whenever confused. Diamond's eyes would get huge, but she tried really hard to stay with the trainer and figure out what was being asked of her.

We have a lot that we can work on with her now (and refreshers for Dolly!). He showed us leading tips, on getting to the point where a horse will walk in step with the human - left foot forward, right foot forward, left foot backward, etc.

And Dolly... I left her tied up the whole time because she hadn't been tied for more than a couple of minutes in a LONG time, and so I figured it would be good for her. She tried to get at the hay the ENTIRE time.

Hay frustration

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:31:09 GMT

Before I talk about the lesson today (which went well), I want to vent some hay frustration. I found a great hay company that is located pretty far away. I don't have a truck so I am rather dependent on having the hay brought to me.

Well, the horses were supposed to take at least a half month on the 750 lb hay bale, but instead they ate through it in *ONE WEEK*. Actually, it might have been just six days. 750 pounds of hay. Nobody can afford that. And Dolly's weight is out of control. She's been on 24/7 hay bale access her whole life with multiple horses around, and stayed thin -- what the heck is going on all of a sudden??

The only changes in her diet are:
* Different hay company (but same type of hay-- Timothy)
* 1 scoop of Vitamins daily (whereas before it was weekly)
* Small scoop of beet pulp (not soaked) daily (whereas before it was weekly)
* One small SPOONFUL of dry cob daily (whereas before she never got any)

And she's always had 24/7 access to mineral salt blocks and water, so that hasn't changed.

She's a blimp! What the heck? We used to have SO much trouble keeping weight on her. I used to give her:
* vitamins (infrequently)
* corn oil (infrequently)
* black sunflower seeds (infrequently)
* at the same time, she was getting hay (not enough), grain (too much), and beet pulp (not soaked, daily)

And with that diet, she continuously went underweight. (AND CRAZY HYPER. See video)

What's changed???

So anyway, back to the hay topic. We're out of hay. OUT of hay. Two days ago, this company told me they'd deliver two bales of hay. Just enough to get me through until the ground freezes, and then they'll deliver all of my pre-purchased hay to me. (If they bring it to me right now, it'll get rained on and maybe go bad before they've eaten it all.)

They said they'd deliver it today. But today, the guy seemed frustrated and was attending a birthday party and said he couldn't do it today, and that he might be able to tomorrow. He also pointed out that it wouldn't be worth his time to deliver just two bales to me. Well, *I* know that -- that's why I went with that hay company! Because they were, for whatever inexplicable reason, willing to transport small amounts of hay to me! I KNOW it isn't actually worth his time to bring me pindly amounts of hay - it's quite ridiculous. But how can I pick up the hay myself? The bales are 750 lbs each and I have no truck. :: sigh ::

And from now on, I have to put the hay in the smaller pen, and let Diamond have 24/7 access, whereas Dolly will only get access to it about twice a day for short periods of time from now on. Ugh. Who knew I'd actually *like* having a less-than-easy-keeper horse. Oh well, I'll get used to the new patterns.

Quick Horse Update

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:46:36 GMT

Yesterday evening, I worked with Diamond and Dolly for a short while. My goal is to work Dolly frequently for short periods of time, because I'm concerned about her weight (why is she gaining weight on hay, salt, water, and tiny bits of supplement?).

I walked Diamond a little bit. We practiced what would equate to friendly game and porcupine game. She is actually pretty responsive to direct pressure. However, she is SINGLE TRACKED. Whereas Dolly is always paying attention to numerous things at once, Diamond can focus INTENSLY on one single thing. It's great when her focus is on me, but when her focus is on something down the road or in the woods, she doesn't seem to be aware of me or anything else. It's just really interesting to me. Her personality is very different than other horses I've worked with so far. (It's not a good or bad thing -- just different + interesting).

I worked Dolly for a little while in the small pen. I made an error last time I was there by asking her to "Whoa" and then asking her to walk toward me, and then letting her rest there and get scratched, etc. That's all it took, and now every time I say "Whoa" she tries to come straight to me and hang out. Woops. She loves the end of "work" times. (I was practicing her speeds -- walking, slow trotting, and fast trotting).

Diamond is still scared of the "doggy door." I wonder how tomorrow's lesson will be.

Horse Update

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:23:32 GMT

Tim had to go to class tonight, but first we went to say hi to the horses (they're about a half mile from where I live). Tim went to class and I stayed with the horses. First, I led Dolly through the "doggy door" and Diamond followed us into the stall. Dolly and I went out through the other side, but I locked the stall door behind me, so that Diamond had to stay in the stall (and she could go out the "doggy door" into the back pasture if she wanted). She stayed in the stall the whole time, watching us (because I only had the bottom latched).

First I picked Dolly's hooves and brushed her. I think she has thrush in her hooves, based on the smell. This is about the 100th time I've been convinced that she has thrush, only to have my farrier assure me that it's not. So I'm not sure I can trust myself to identify thrush. Maybe she just walks in really foul smelling things.

Dolly and Diamond were wonderful when standing nose-to-nose with the bottom stall door latched in between them. Diamond had her head over the door almost the whole time. (The only loop for tying a horse is located right there, so that's where I had Dolly tied for hooves & hair care). Diamond is sooo curious about everything. She rubbed her nose on everything I held, and explored things with her mouth. (It occurred to me that Dolly used to do that to EVERYTHING as well). Then, when I was brushing Dolly's back, Dolly put her head over the stall door and started nuzzling Diamond! They started to groom each other! It was so sweet to see. Dolly and Diamond have bonded so rapidly.

I put Dolly's saddle on (after letting both Dolly and Diamond play with pieces of it) and had her walk and trot in the small pen for a little while. She was in a playful mood and flexed her neck/shook her nose a lot, with lots of spring in her step. Then I got into the saddle and rode her around at a walk for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I just wanted to make myself do it.

After I had put away the saddle & such, I let Diamond out of the stall and locked Dolly into the stall. Dolly walked straight through the "doggy door" and into the back pasture. Diamond didn't freak out even though she couldn't see Dolly! She stayed calm and continued eating some loose hay that's on the ground around there.

I did more desensitizing work with Diamond. Because I don't know what her previous experience is, I assume she's starting at ground zero. Again, she was very calm when I rubbed my stick-and-string all over her body. She flinched a little bit when I was on the very upper, inside part of her back thighs. She was perfectly calm with her tail being lifted (Dolly is still tense about that!). She didn't care about things touching her legs. The only time she had a stronger reaction was when I looped the string around her girth area, and then a little bit farther back, and a little bit farther back, etc. The farther back I went with it, the more she seemed irritated by it, and tried to kick it off of her belly a couple of times. But she stayed very calm and went back to eating. I'm still impressed. (While Diamond and I were doing this, Dolly came back into the stall, hung around for a while, and then went back out.)

In the end, I had to lift two of the "doggy door" flaps before Diamond went through it and back into the back pasture with Dolly. One of these days Tim and I will work with Diamond on leading and eventually work with her and the "doggy door" but we haven't had the time yet. Maybe we can address it this weekend with the trainer!

Horse update

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:35:08 GMT

Diamond has definitely been handled a lot. She doesn't care about any part of her being touched. We've tried draping ropes over her and around her and around her legs, and she doesn't care at all.

She and Dolly are getting along really well. I took the two of them on a walk today. In hindsight, that was pretty stupid, but it went just fine. I only went about two driveways down, but considering that she and I don't know each other that well yet, it was stupid of me. On the way back, Dolly was actually the one who gave me trouble. She didn't want to turn around yet, so she simply stopped walking. Well I had a horse in each hand so I couldn't really do much about it. I just kept gentle pressure on the lead rope until she finally took a step forward, and then released the pressure, waited, and asked for another step. By then, Diamond wanted to stand directly in between Dolly and me, because she was starting to feel insecure. That happened several times so getting back was pretty tough. The journey was kind of fun, though. Diamond got to meet the neighbor horses. I worked with Dolly a little bit in the round pen that's over there, while I had Diamond's line gently wrapped around the connectors of the round pen (I don't know if she's already familiar with being tied, so I didn't want to actually tie it, just in case). I had about a 30 foot line on Diamond in case she spooked at anything on the walk and I needed to give her some line, but I didn't end up needing to use it.

Dolly can walk both directions through the clear, hanging curtains on the stall, but Diamond is still not sure about them. She can get IN with just a little bit of help, but she can't get back out. Dolly pushes straight through it like it's a doggy door. :)

Once both horses are extremely comfortable with the "doggy door" stall exit, we'll be able to leave both the front and the back stall doors open all the time, so that they have shelter this winter. The stall has a back door that exits into the main pasture, and a front door that exits into the smaller pen and extra shelter. But for now, we are leaving the stall closed off, so that nobody can get trapped inside and potentially hurt.

GREAT NEWS! I've contacted an instructor that worked with Dolly & me years ago, and he's going to come out and work with Tim and me at least a couple of times. I'm really glad because that always helps to motivate me, and help me see any weak areas that I've become blind to.

He's actually the instructor who was so impressed with Dolly and how Dolly followed me all around the arena (off lead without me asking her to) that he offered to buy her from me for $1000 on our first lesson. (By now, I'm sure he'll be a little dismayed to see that I haven't progressed nearly as far as I probably could have with her, though!)

These pictures are all from yesterday, when we had four, and sometimes five people altogether helping to clean up the stalls!! It was a HUGE project. But we finally finished, and there are now two clean stalls.

It was rest time.

Scratch a little to the left...

...A little down...

That's the spot.

Checking out the stall.

Diamond Update

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:37:34 GMT

We took Dolly and Diamond out of the pasture today. At first, we couldn't take Diamond out because she threw a big fit when she saw Dolly start to walk away. We left Diamond in the pen at that point, so that she could run back and forth without hurting us (she was whinnying like crazy to Dolly). After a while of walking Dolly to, from, and all around the pasture area and driveway, Diamond settled enough for us to put the lead rope back on her.

Tim and I both led Diamond around a little bit, to see what she knows and how she learns/listens. She is very smart. It took only a few seconds before she figured out to back when pressure was applied in that direction. Taking a step forward took more like half a minute. But after just a couple of minutes, she was following Tim's lead all around the pasture.

We walked them both up and down the driveway. She spooks when vehicles go by (she comes from a wooded area with absolutely no houses or roads nearby) so we didn't trust her on the road itself yet (the speed limit is only 25 but people tend to drive about 20 over that :P ).

Diamond did well being in the lead of Dolly, and being behind Dolly, so that was really neat.
It seems to be going well so far. And last night was the first night in a long time that Dolly didn't freak out in the dark! In fact, I got to see her fall asleep in the middle of the field! Now she's having fun being the boss.

Dolly and Diamond

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:48:27 GMT

Dolly's around 5 years old.
Diamond is almost 1.5 years old.

Diamond seems to be settling in really rapidly. It's amazing. Dolly wouldn't even touch the water when she arrived (we finally brought in the old water bucket that had all of her familiar scents already in it, and then she drank). Diamond already drank a little bit of the water! She seems really intelligent and sweet so far, too.

Diamond exits the trailer (her mom was in the other side of the trailer).

Diamond whinnies to Dolly (who whinnies back).

Meeting over the fence

Tim leading Diamond

Dolly tries to assert dominance from the get go, and Diamond assures her that she's not challenging Dolly back ("I'm just a baby!").

Calmed back down.

Leading the horses into the pasture.

Dolly and me

Making sure they're still friendly.

All seems well.

Once loose, Diamond explores and Dolly follows her everywhere.

Dolly follows Diamond *everywhere*.

Diamond walks past us...

...Dolly walks past us.

They stop now and again to snatch up some randomly dispersed hay.

We haven't seen a long mane or tail in a while... :)

She's very pretty.

Dolly sniffing Diamond's legs.

Diamond is already taller than Dolly.

Wow. They ate hay together without anyone getting beat up.

That's just amazing to me.

Pictures of Horses

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:51:04 GMT

Dolly

Dolly's half sister! (Straight-coated Curly)

Dolly's nephew! (Also straight-coated Curly)

Dolly's nephew's friend, Diamond (Curly, Thoroughbred, Quarter horse)

More photos of Diamond:

(Not the greatest photos of her, but we weren't there to look at her -- we were there to look at Dolly's nephew! It just turned out that Diamond is who impressed us the most!)

Diamond will be Dolly's new herd in 2 hours! We are going to buy her. I will do my best to train her this winter (as well as Dolly), so that if the finances don't work out, Diamond will be sellable at the end of winter. But I do hope everything works out. She seemed like a very sweet horse when we visited her. I hope that she and Dolly get along well.

horse color site

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:40:54 GMT

http://gingingray.wantlesspower.com/HorseColors.html

neat site on horse colors. Not every detail is exactly shown in the images, but the descriptions are nice as well.

I'm looking at a Curly filly that is rather a flaxen chestnut, from what I can tell. I'll share pictures soon.

Pics with Goats

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:54:50 GMT

I loved the goats! We borrowed them about one or two months ago. They stayed one week, and did all of our landscape maintenance that we needed done in order to get at some of the stumps.

Sandy and the goats liked each other.

(They're staring at Sandy in this picture.) I still know them all by name...
From left (of photo) to right, front to back, that's Buddy, Achilles, Pickle, Sparky, Trooper, and Hobo. :) They were great fun to have around!

(There were a few days of not-so-fun when they started to eat the bark off of one of the largest trees, so at midnight on a rainy night, I ended up out there with some gardening fence to wrap tree trunks.)

Dolly Pics

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:43:03 GMT

I was out of town for a week and a half. Tim kept Dolly in good condition while I was away.
I don't think I ever posted it officially -- Dolly now lives a half mile from my apartment. We're using a neighbor's unused barn + pastures! It's very nice for me, and Dolly gets a lot more training and exercise. Unfortunately, she is also incredibly lonely. Every week, I make sure she gets to visit with another neighbor's horses, but still, she is spending most of her time alone, and it is really not good for her (or for most horses).

She's glad to see us.

Hay time??

A nice hay belly for winter? :)

Her mane is growing back nicely, after shedding BALD this summer.

I took Dolly on a walk the same night that I returned to town. I figured that we both needed to stretch our legs.

The saddest part is how insecure Dolly feels being all alone. I'm considering purchasing her nephew. Her nephew is just a baby right now, but should end up being a little bit larger than Dolly once he's full grown. Dolly would go crazy for the company. I did try to find a boarder, and had found several, but random things interfered at the time. Perhaps once everything with the barn is settled out, I could still try to find a boarder (it is a three-stall barn, after all). I don't think there is enough land to support three full-sized horses, though. I'd have to board a mini. :) We'll see.

Dolly pulls a cart

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:14:05 GMT

Yesterday, Tim and I had Dolly pull my mom and brother around in a cart. Even though it was only Dolly's second time hooked up to a cart, she never flinched, blinked, or seemed upset by it at all! She's a natural. (And she enjoys it SO much more than being ridden.)

P.S. I didn't have it hooked up quite right -- but, the chest strap pulled the cart's weight, and the circingle held the cart poles in place, so I figure that's all that's really important. What weren't correct were the parts that stop the cart from running into Dolly if the cart ended up going faster than her-- but we tied a few things here & there to make sure it couldn't happen.

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:19:37 GMT

Wow. "Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII." -- quoted from Huffington Post

Drooling over the newest Curlies for sale in Alaska

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:29:44 GMT

Deshka

Cappy

Two youngsters

Fly spray training

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:43:23 GMT

Dolly picked up on the fly-spray lesson F-A-S-T.

I used the following method:
Spray until she thinks about stopping, and then stop spraying.
Spray until she stops moving, and then stop and walk away.
Etc.

It took a SINGLE SESSION for her to figure this out. Now she stands there, sometimes hunched a little bit as I do her hind thighs, but she won't move. I spray once and if she doesn't move, I stop and walk away. If she moves, I spray until she stops moving. I hold up the bottle to her chest, and if she moves away, she gets sprayed. If she doesn't move, I don't spray. After only TWO SESSIONS, I can already spray her once or twice without her moving at all, and walk away.

I've only had to use bug repellant on her a couple of times. I also have a cool fly sheet for her now, that goes up her neck (since she shed out her mane + tail COMPLETELY this summer, she started to get some very bad bites).

Horsey links

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:31:09 GMT

Twice now, Dolly has decided that only 1.5 hour in the grassy side of the pasture is just not enough, and run from the halter. (She can't go out there at all right now, because of the goats.) I'm borrowing goats to eat down weeds at the moment. They won't be there much longer. She's glad to have the company, although she can't go in with them because she chases them.

Teach your horse to come when called:
http://www.equusite.com/articles/trick/trickComeWhenCalled.shtml

More on the topic of catching a difficult-to-catch horse (some of the comments are interesting):
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090204065632AAwQaGh

Learning more on the topic of anger

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:14:49 GMT

I'm posting this for my future reference. I'm trying to increase my people skills, and that includes working with angry people. My boss isn't an angry person, but that's the example this book is using.

"Anger has become fashionable. If you're not angry with someone, others will call you an unrealistic wimp. More anger than ever is being expressed at work and at home. Anger is not an invitation to dance; it's the opposite. It says, "Keep away; I'm dangerous. I might hurt you." Anger is meant to be intimidating, forcing the other person to give way, yield space, conform, become contrite and controllable. Anger subordinates all other feelings to lesser roles, and it freezes situations. It can come on like an explosion or a slowly rising tide. In any form, anger is meant to frighten and intimidate, and the secret of dealing with it is not to be afraid."

and

"VISUALIZING THE ANGRY FACE
Imagine the face of the angry person in your life and answer these questions:

What is that person feeling? _______________________________________________

Why do you think the person feels that way? __________________________________

What do you feel when you look at that face? _________________________________

Suppose you were that person's best friend. What would you be thinking? ___________

________________________________________________________________________

Now imagine what you might say to your best friend. You've been asked for help."

</i>and</i>

""The angry person is in trouble. The angry person could be, or could become, your friend.""

</i>and</i>

"What to Do
When an angry person lashes out at you, take a deep breath and calm yourself, because you are not the cause of the outburst. Certainly you have your own feelings and don't like being picked on and demoralized, but you must be self-controlled and self-assured—the quiet spot in the eye of the storm. Picture this:

When the angry person's arms flail about, yours are at your sides.

When the angry person's face is twisted in a sneer, yours is relaxed.

When the angry person's hands become fisted, yours are open and signal acceptance.

When the angry person's voice rises, yours is even and unhurried.

Never laugh, and walk away only if you think you may be in physical danger.

Depending on the circumstances, use or adapt one of the following phrases:

"It's a rotten situation, but I think I know how to fix it."

"I've felt exactly the way you have. I don't blame you. Tell me what you'd like me to do."

"Yes, you're right. I'm going to review the whole thing and I'll have a recommendation [suggestion, solution] for you before the end of the day."

If the anger is generated by incidents or situations at work that do not involve you directly, your challenge is to provide an escape hatch. Phrases such as, "You're right," "I can't blame you," and "I'd feel the same way" are helpful. The angry person needs an ally, and you can become one. In fact, times of crisis can help your career. Show your boss that he or she is in good, trusting hands and that your ability to defuse anger and restore calm can move the organization forward."

Dobson, Michael S., William Lundin, and Kathleen Lundin. "Chapter 9 - Mean and Angry". Working with Difficult People, Second Edition. AMACOM. © 2009. Books24x7. <http://common.books24x7.com/book/id_28419/book.asp> (accessed July 29, 2009)