Two Steps Forward..

I really am quite awful at updating.

Yesterday was not the best of days.

Most of the time, patience is key. Sometimes an ass needs kicked. And sometimes - you just need to stop. Knowing when to push the limits, when to not, when to wait and when to be angry is important. I knew this but had forgotten. I was reminded because I broke the third.

We started off bad Sunday. I was brushing Mo's foot and when he moved that foot, I got hit in the face. I decided he needed to just hold still and not move his feet. When he did move, I reached up to slap his chest and moved him back. On to tacking up. He kept moving away when I went to put the saddle on him. Mom really got after him for that because he knows not to by now. We worked on that for a while. I was pretty pissed and there was a plastic bag nearby. I waved it at him (progressively) and he didn't like it, but dealt.

Mom held Mojo while I got on and he was comparatively good about that. Repetition helps. Faye lead him around with the lunge line and moved farther and farther down the line away from Mo. I worked on his stop and his go. Then I asked him to bend his head and move towards/away from the walls.

A couple of things contributed to the incident.. The longest we had worked him in one session before was a half hour. I was pulling on his face more and more, with braking and steering. And he just didn't want me up there. Solution - he bucked until I bailed. (He was heading towards the wall and I really thought he would pin me. I pushed his buttons too far.) Faye and John thought it was something outside that had spooked him. I was banged up or I would have just about killed him right then. Mom would have but she didn't see it and only came to the arena after she heard the noise. We walked to the other end of the arena and I got back on.

He will not throw me a second time. If I see a storm coming again, we will head for the middle of the arena and he will learn that it is a bad, bad idea to buck. I was really, really mad. We worked for a while longer until I decided it was okay to quit. I didn't want him to think that bucking works, but I didn't want to push him into a buck again. Then he learned about the wash rack because he was sweaty. It was a hard day for both of us.

Clothes

Stagecoach West, an awesome equine store, was flooded. Everything that had been damaged went on sale Monday, and everything else 20% off. We decided on a trip.

Now, Mom should know by now that I am no good at navigating. Most especially when I'm not aware of my role. Apparently, whoever sits in the passenger seat is automatically charged with this duty. Who knew? About a half-hour into it, we're starting to wonder when we're ever going to pick up I-90. I check.. Uh-oh. We're not going to. Wrong direction. Nearly three hours later (and a surprisingly non-cranky Mother Unit, considering) we make our way into the store. Another three hours later, we get ready to check out.

Mojo got new clothes - a headstall, reins and a felt cinch. He needed tack of his own that was fitted for him. We do have a cinch, but it was too big for Mo and I thought the neoprene slipped too much. I wanted to get a bit as well, but I didn't like anything there. That's alright, though. Plenty of places to look. I got a nice pair of barn boots (more like work boots) and nylon reins for Xenia.

I've been working on bareback mane-mounting for the past few weeks with X. She is really good about it. When I get the horses from the pasture, I can't handle three horses at once, so I get Mojo first and then the girls together. After I get Mo and come back, the girls go to the far end of the fence line. I've started bringing two lead ropes - one for after I'm up on Xenia and another to pony Paige with. It's been just a little bit difficult steering X with the one lead rope because I'm limited in what I can ask her to do. The new nylon reins will be awesome.

Time to talk to my girl and go to sleep.

What are you doing up there?

Mojo said he was really tired because it's very hard to be him. He has to be smart and cute and good all at the same time. The dear boy didn't get up when I opened his stall door. He just looked up and went back to resting.

I walked in with him and scritched him up, gave him a few pellets for breathing and kissed his nose and tickled his whiskers. He's a funny little guy. This kid even sat on him while he was down. He wasn't too sure about that.

When he decided to get up, I took him into the aisle way. He had to touch and walk on the saddle blanket and get saddled up. Mom took pictures of everything, so there will be plenty in this post. Click on the image to see it bigger.

We made our way into the arena to get used to the cinch. It was fairly loose the first few laps. Then I tightened the cinch and we walked some more. Alyssa, who has been helping out at the barn lately, helped me out a ton by holding Mojo. She held him still while I jumped around him, pulled stirrups and held the saddle sideways. Every time he stood still, I stopped to tell him what a good boy he was. This progressed little-by-little until I slung myself over his back and scritched his belly. At this point, I looked over to Mom who was taking pictures and I noticed the crowd. A few other barn members were watching. They were worried about the small steps being dangerous - what if he took off and bucked while I was hanging over his back? They said that they would get up there and swing a leg over immediately. But I would rather work at each step individually, so that by the time I did swing a leg over, he knew to stay still. I also wasn't worried because Alyssa had hold of him.

She walked him around the arena after I had swung up completely. While he was walking, I stood in each stirrup, shifted my weight, and moved around sideways and backwards. I want Mojo to get used to people doing lots of weird things, like facing the wrong way and hanging over his back. He was decent about it - a little tense but good. I got down and took off his tack. Alyssa helped me move a jump and Mojo and I walked over it for a while. I spent some time loving on him before putting him back in his stall.

Mojo is a good boy

When I got to the barn for the second time today.. Wait. Let's back up.

Yesterday was busy.. err, productive day. I went to the barn in the morning like usual and had dirt on my eyeballs. Cleaned both of my horses, their stalls to the bare mats, washed their water buckets and scraped up their feed bins. Xenia had a good inch+ of old beep and grain in her feed bin, which is how this all started. It was gross and I couldn't let her eat out of it with that there. I also fed beep and extra hay (that we had personally bought) before I left. I spent five hours at the barn. When I left, I passed by a hotdog stand that looked delicious. I wanted Mom and I to get lunch from there (she had mentioned before that she would like to) but Mom hadn't felt well and was taking a nap. I still wanted food, so I biked over the the stand. I needed a way to carry the food back home so the ladies used a bun bag. Haha. =) Later that night, Mom made dinner while I was back out at the barn.

I've been working on bareback mane mounting with Xenia the past few days. Once I get up there, I allow her to move forward and eat up some beep. After a while, I hop off and we do it again. She finished it pretty quickly and I rode around the arena for a while. I turned around and rode backwards. I asked her to whoa and was scratching her tail (she said it was itchy) when I noticed a massive lump on her rump. She has had lots of scratches and scrapes the past week, but nothing like this. It was bigger than my hand and sore when I touched it. It looks like my girl's been getting beat up outside by another mare she's been put out with lately. I spent a lot of time loving on her because I felt bad. I put her back out and came home to snuggle with my dog and do it all over again tomorrow.

Today I woke up, went to the barn this morning and had a nice surprise. John and Faye Silbaugh let me ride their half-Percheron mare Jenny. She's a beautiful buckskin with a black-and-white mane, and she is absolutely massive. (And I thought my mare was big.) It's like being on a barrel 6 feet in the air. She was a very good girl and I had a really good time. =) Thanks John and Faye!

I took Xenia out to the wash rack and cold-hosed her bump. She said it hurts lots and could I please not do that, so I was careful not to touch it directly. The pressure of the water must hurt like hell on a hematoma (most likely what it is) that big. I also worked on riding bareback. Hopefully all of the movement and using those muscles will help spread the fluid and help it be reabsorbed back into the soft tissue. The last time I rode, Xenia taught me something. She taught me that if I ask her for a hard trot - fast and almost a canter - for long enough, the canter was beautiful. She steered well and didn't try to run away with me. I remembered that and used it again today. Her canter was absolutely better. Xenia is a good teacher. I cold-hosed her one more time, cleaned stalls and talked about turnout arrangements with Cyndi. Mom and Cyndi had decided to keep Xenia, Paige and Mojo in one paddock. The horse that had caused Xenia's injury would be in the separate but share a fence line. I'm sure this will work out well. Mojo may be a boy out with two girls, but he's gelded and he just doesn't get into it with anyone. He's a very special little man.

I went home and surfed the interwebs. CollegeHumor.com is hillarious. Note: This site is exactly what it says - things a kid in college would find funny. I know my quite a few that would find it distasteful. However, if you do take a peek at the page, check out the POV videos and Roommate Confessions.

Back to the barn to torture Mojo with kisses on his face. I brought him in from the paddock and into the main barn aisle. Another barn member was already there. She said hello to me and let me know that her horse loose in the arena. I said that was okay, I'll just work with Mojo in the aisle. I snuggled with him for a few minutes, told him I loved him and kissed his baby nose. Then I got out a saddle blanket. This one unfolded into a fairly big rectangle and I waved it at him. He bobbed his head up and down but didn't particularly care. He is a good boy. As I turned around to give him some alfalfa pellets, I heard the arena gate open followed by hoof steps. The boy in the arena had managed to open the gate himself. He never gets out of his stall so boy was he excited. He really, really wanted to say hello to Mojo. Poor Mojo was scared, I think. He froze in place and looked at me like, "Am I allowed to say hello? He's big.." It was probably scarier for me because I was worried. Two horses who have never met before in a narrow aisle. I led him into the arena and the other horse followed like I had hoped. By then, the owner had come to get her horse. I clucked the other boy away and Mojo just stood there like the good boy that he is.

After we snuggled some more and (I) calmed down, I worked on the saddle blanket again. I asked him to touch it on the ground and to step on it. Then I threw it over him several times. I wanted to add the saddle, but I had to walk into the tack room to get it. And of course, fearless boy that he is, he tried to follow me right in. I let him get two feet in and sniff around for a minute and then asked him to step out. He was nice and respectful. When I put the saddle up to his back, he didn't move at all. I put it on him and he didn't really care. Good. We walked as much as we could in the aisle.

The other horse had been put back into his stall by now so I repeated everything in the arena. I tightened the cinch and he still was cool. Every time I put the saddle on, we walked around for a while. He got a few pellets now and then for being a good little man. I didn't use a clicker here because 1) I didn't have enough hands while putting the saddle on, 2) we weren't working on a specific behavior and 3) I don't want him to think of saddling as something he controls - it is just something that happens. I am very specific about clicker training as a way for the horse to make decisions. I enable them to do what I ask, but it is always their idea and choice to do it. This really teaches the horse to think through problems and not rely solely on the person. People are not always there and often the horses are smarter than people and notice things long before we do.

I worked for a while at getting up onto his back. It started by hopping next to him ("People are sooo weird"). Then I pulled on the saddle in different directions and let the stirrups fall into him. I started putting my foot in a stirrup, hopping up and then back down. He was really confused by this point so I stopped to pet him and tell him he's a good boy. The saddle I was using is one of Paige's - and the little mare is rounder than my little boy. We definitely are going to need a smaller cinch for Mojo. We did a good bit of hopping and pulling and loving before I put him back out with the girls. Mojo is such a good little man. He's an interesting combination of "I still move away when you touch my face even though it happens a millions times a day" and fearless. He is a special horse and very, very intelligent.


Mom always says I love everybody, and she's right. I love the horses and the dogs and the kittens at the barn. I love my family and spending time with them. I realize I'm a lucky kid.

(I hope this very long post makes up for not posting yesterday!)

Trying to..

Keep this updated. Let's start again and I'll remember to post once a day. Promise!

I've graduated college and am now living back home, for a few reasons. I don't have to pay rent - which is very important as I don't have a job yet. I can help take care of the house, the dogs and my own horses again. Mom's been doing this for two years while I was getting my degree and it's time I've picked up my responsibilities again. I know Mom likes having me back, too. We enjoy our horses more when we have each other to share them with and we feed off of each other well. Love you Momma. =)


While I'm waiting for someone to actually look at my resume instead of toss it away, I've been getting lazy. Really, really lazy. Cyndi (the owner of the barn where I board) asked me to do morning chores tomorrow around 8 am. Since I didn't know what to do and needed to ask whoever did morning chores, I got up around 7 today to be there by the time they would be getting done. When I woke up, I let all of the dogs outside, fed them, made coffee and headed to the barn feeling productive. I brought in my horses and cleaned them while they ate their breakfast. When Darcy (who was doing am chores) got to the barn, I followed her around asking questions about feed and turnout and trying not to forget the answers. This turned into a little project of mapping out the barn.. and I'm realizing it's a good thing I never considered CAD as a career.

After the barn, I went to lunch with Mom, Patty and Patty's grandkid Marissa. Today was a very productive day. I really like getting a things done and completing something. This makes me want to get something constructive done every day. Today it made me get up early, work with my dog and write this blog. And now it's making me go to the barn, play with and love up on (they say torture) Xenia and Mojo.

Breakfast

At the grocery store last night, I decided to make my girl and I breakfast. I bought peaches, plums, cantelope, blueberries and rasperries on corn bread.

De-licious.

Change Is In The Air

I know I've been really bad about updating this. I guess things have just been down for some time and I don't feel like doing anything.

School is going well. My classes this quarter are easy but there's no challenge. I like a challenge. I've been so bored that I've been learning to write Hebrew. I know how to speak it, thanks those I work next to, and this was the next step. It's a really interesting language and the text is so different from English. It's somewhat challenging and I like that.

These past few days have been going really well. I met some kids at the club and through various friends of a friend. They're really good kids and I have a blast being with them. Through Kyle, I met Amber. We absolutely clicked. Something is familiar but so different about her, and it's definitely going somewhere. We're at the same places in our lives. We talked about where we've been and what we want. I really believe this is something.




(Amendment - I was reading back through the limited posts I've written here, and I realized I should mention what happened with Kayla. We had a good run, but in the end she turned out to be like everybody else. That's over now and maybe Amber and I will be something. I really hope so.)