Zoe's First Trail Ride!

As I told a fellow boarder, Ms. Zoebird has more rides on her than I have fingers now so probably it's a great time to go trail riding. I lined up the two most broke horses on the entire planet to go with us, and this weekend we loaded up.

Noted: ZB has limited trailering experience--her last owners hauled her 3-4 times and then her last trailer experience was when Roxie's mom stuck her in her (luxury liner) trailer and hauled her all day to our barn.

All that to say. If the little lady was like "ehhhhhhh i dunno" about loading into a strange rig, I couldn't have been too upset with her.

But instead she marched on like a freaking champion.

She unloaded like a champion. And remember. She's been very few places. She's four. This is her first off-property trip with me. It's her first trail ride. It's off a semi-busy road. There's a lady with a weed whacker directly across the street.

I'd be lying if I said I was totes 100% calm. I was more like 89% HOLY SHIT IMMA DIE WHAT IS LIFE and 11% trusting the people I was with.

And uh. Yeah.

HAI FRIEND

Zoe like. Looked around a little. Was a little pushy on the ground. And I was like "stop". And she stopped.

WHAT EVEN IS MY LIFE

I got on first because I wanted someone on the ground to grab me if things went sideways I guess.

Yeah...

She was fine. We went through the scary gate. We started motoring down the trail.

Motoring as in Zoebird thought her friends walked too slow SO SHE JUST LED THE FREAKING WAY LIKE A FEARLESS BADASS TRAIL HORSE.

(No pictures because I was like HO SHIT DO I HAVE BRAKES) (yes at the walk) (i have issues ok)

zero drama

Anyways. I did have brakes. I made Zoe follow the lovely brave painty mare because that just seemed like a better idea for everyone.

And you know what terrible naughty thing she did then?

Literally nothing.

At one point there was a big, scary stump right off the trail and Zoebird was like WUT IS THAT SCARY? And the other horses ignored her so she just walked past it.

pictured: not that stump

We saw a hiker with a dog. Zoe wanted to go put her smooshy nose on them SO BAD but when I said no, she just stood politely with her friends until they went past.

water sighted!

We went all over the park and followed lots of little trails. Zoe is not always the best at remembering how many legs she has, so she tripped more often than the other horses. One loop took us back in the direction of the trailer so she was like SMART ZB KNOWS WHERE WE R GOING FAST and tried trotting a couple times.

She didn't jig. Didn't throw fits. Didn't get mad. And when I asked her to walk, she just walked.

i also wore my kickass percheron shirt but the only hiker we saw didn't even notice to compliment me on it

About halfway through, my brain finally kicked things into gear and I realized I was actually having fun on my baby horse on her first ever trail ride. Loose rein. Smiling. Felt totally safe.

I mean, she's definitely a baby. Steering is still kinda, well, babyish. She kept wandering off the trail.

But that's literally the worst thing I can say about her.

To finish the ride, we had to cross through a marshy area and go over some concrete pipes that are partially exposed. Zoe trooped right up until the marsh and then was like HO SHIT GUYS DANGER which I think is a 100% rational response to the ground changing under your feet. The steady eddies were both not thrilled about the footing. It took some encouragement and a lead horse, but after a while, Zoe went through the marsh and up onto the solid ground.

But then the concrete pipes are right there.

And she was like HO SHIT WUT R THAT NO PlZ DO NOT WANT. (There are no photos because I blogger failed you).

Anyways. She'd been so damn good. She had literally just made it through the marsh with the sketchy footing. We were less than 100 feet from the parking lot. Oh and her "ho shit" response is literally looking at something quizzically and not offering any naughty behavior or getting agitated.

I just hopped off and led her over the pipes. She went first try with zero resistance and did fantastic. Calm, positive experiences. Next time will be better.

I R ZOEBIRD CHAMPION TRAIL BABY

Oh yeah. And loaded and unloaded like a freaking champion. Again.

I just. You guys.

What do I even say? She is the coolest little lady and I am so lucky to have her.

Teach Me Today: So Studly

what stallions look like

So here's a funny thing: when I first got Courage, he was the most socially awkward horse EVER. He really had no idea how to interact with anyone or what girls were or what boys were or anything. His idea of a good time was eating his buddies' tails.

And only part part of that has changed. Not the tail-eating part either.

what a sexpot

As in, he now knows what girls are. BIG TIME. There are two lovely, curvy mares at our dressage barn--one is a Friesian cross and the other is a fancy warmblood. Courage started noticing them this winter.

As in, they'd walk by with those wide, saucy, swinging hips, and he'd drop and make stallion noises.

Because that's not embarrassing.

He then spent almost our entire first dressage show hanging out annnnnnd as you might have read on Alyssa's blog, also tried to mount the indomitable Bacon at the last event derby.

only a stallion in his mind

I'm a little bit at a loss here. He was gelded at 4, sure, but that was still 6 years ago. SIX YEARS, HORSE. GIVE IT UP.

To this point, he's been perfectly manageable--I mean, he's very forward with the ladies, but he isn't aggressive to people or ignoring me or charging around or anything.

So aside from never tying him on the same side of the trailer as a mare again, anyone have some brilliant insights on how to manage a studly gelding?

Disappointment. Tears. That Stuff.

empty barn

This is going to sound overly angsty and it is.

And I'm not apologizing for that today.

Yesterday was clinic time. I had the day planned down to the minute, including an hour+ of wiggle room for "unforeseen adventures while hauling". I've been stressing about this clinic for two weeks, but once it was a concrete thing and not just on an amorphous horizon, I felt really good. I was excited. I was ready.

And Courage wouldn't get on the trailer for love or money. I thought I'd been embarrassed by a horse in every possible way--I mean, even if he bucked me off and took himself on a tour of the dressage barn with AK watched, well, it wouldn't be the first time that had happened to me in public.

We used every bit of my hour of wiggle time. We used more. I had to call the host and tell her we weren't coming because Courage would.not. get. on. the damn trailer.

Yeah, my horse who's loaded and hauled across the western states his entire life? The one I can take places by myself because he's so easy?

a turning right day?

It was not his day.

Not our day.

About halfway through what would have been my clinic time, we had him standing quietly on the trailer with the back door open. We didn't even try to close it. He was completely lathered. (And when I say "we", I mean Alyssa did most of it because she was least emotionally invested and very good at groundwork.)

He's not an easy horse and why he picked yesterday to make a difficult day, I'll never know. He probably doesn't know. I know we put the horse first. That's why it turned into trailer loading day instead of "just jam him in, slam the door, and go day".

I'm angry and disappointed and confused.

Is cute enough?

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure why I'm doing this.

I'm seriously considering selling him and buying some sort of ranch broke thing that gets on trailers and turns right reliably. It isn't rocket science.

Horses are supposed to be fun for me, but he's been a challenge every step of the way. Thoroughbreds are notorious for how hard they work for you, but he... doesn't? I don't know.

Is this even worth it? Tell me we're going to turn a corner or send me ads for my damned ranch horse. (NO MARES). 

PS The only positive lesson I can take out of this is that maybe we aren't meant to do dressage. Mounted shooting, here we come?

WE RIDE!! (and it is so bloody cold)

ALL THE ENERGY!!!

I know at the beginning of the week, I said I'd only go to the lesson if I got to ride Monday and Tuesday, since C-rage has done nothing for three weeks. Instead of clearing up, the fog got thicker and the ice got slicker and Courage did nothing. And then Wednesday morning came and Redheadlins and I were like "screw it, we're going" and we stuffed the ponies in the trailer and headed off to the trainer's barn.

I did warn the trainer that it was most likely going to be terrible and that Courage was just coming to get out of the ice, so we weren't doing the lesson, just lunging in the arena.

"Please don't embarrass me"

We had to go to an arena Courage had never seen before, complete with tiptoeing across packed snow and ice to get there. He had an epic spook at "something" while we tried to chill out along the rail.

He was sort of keeping it together, so I threw on his bridle and clipped the lunge line on.

Looking so calm

It was foggy and about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Courage hasn't been able to trot around his field in three weeks.

He's had crazy eyes for the past week and a half.

Oh, and the arena was full of other greenies coming from similar work schedules.

Showing off for the only non-greenie in the arena

It was really more like flying a kite.

I was actually impressed--we had a couple of leaping/WHERE R MI LEGZ moments, but mostly he stuck his head straight up in the air and trotted. And trotted. And then trotted some more. I got him to canter a little bit, but he wasn't losing his mind trotting and I knew he needed to blow off steam.

As long as he wasn't going to be crazy, I wasn't going to push him. Trotting is great.

So fancy

Frankly, he was putting on the best kind of show. I had warned everyone in the lesson that he was going to be horrible and a nut and all manner of bad things. I even told my co-workers that I was going to get bucked off.

And this is what he gave me. Gorgeous, animated, suspension. He whinnied a couple of times, but since his supermodel girlfriend was along, he was actually pretty settled.

Looking pretty relaxed

I hand walked him around the arena once and he was really good. He was a little damp from all the trotting, so I knew I either had to throw his cooler on and call it a day or get on and keep him going.

So I got on.

Little man was foot perfect.

We walked around and stayed out of the way of the people jumping. He didn't flinch. I was having some serious "oh THIS is why I love this horse" moments, not gonna lie.

Extra careful

We picked up the trot. Instead of sticking his ears up my nostrils and flailing his legs around, Courage reached his neck forward and down and stepped out. BAM! I was beyond impressed.

We even sort of joined in on the exercise. We started out trotting some poles. He canter/leaped them the first time, but then trotted through like a champ. I couldn't believe how calm and collected he was.

Why is the crazy lady wearing my clothes?

Then the instructor directed us to trot the poles, go around the corner, and jump a little box in the snow. Courage trotted in, then halted politely in front of it.

Wasn't his fault I asked him to cross the great wall of China, haha.

We did a little circle, then he let the instructor lead him over the tiny box. A light bulb flashed on. Not the great wall! A jump!

He's got this

And guess who is the best at jumps?

Courage.

He didn't even hesitate after that. Once he understood the question, he trotted right in, snapped his knees up over it, and landed cantering.

The last time through our instructor played "Eye of the Tiger" for him and he shook his head when he landed. Little dude was so proud of himself.

We even got invited back to ride as long as the arena is good. I am so.excited. It was beyond awesome to be back in the tack. This little horse is going to be so awesome.

Field Trip!!

First things first: Amy and Steady are running a sweet contest that I want to win over at Slow and Steady Wins the Race. Check it out! Don't feel compelled to enter though--the less people enter, the better my odds. ;)

Ok. So. Our beloved eventing trainer hosts a cool potluck/jumping night once a week for all comers. There's a wee baby group and an actual jumpers group and it's low key good fun. Naturally, that seemed like a good place to take Mr. Courage for his first outing as a "jump jump horse".

Redheadlins wrangled a trailer and her four year old mare and picked us up. Courage loaded like a champ (because, yeah, OTTB and all) and we were off!

He nearly fell out of the trailer when we arrived, possibly because he didn't know trailer rides could last less than 10 hours. Or maybe he forgot how to use a step down... not sure, he's definitely been on them before and did fine. Regardless, we unloaded.

Making friends

He did his worst.

Which is to say, he stuck his head straight up in the air and looked at things while standing still. So wild.

We did a little ground work to get him semi-focused. Simple walk/halt/stop and chat/walk sort of thing and his poll dropped right down.

Begin phase two.

Artsy and adorable

We tacked up with zero drama and headed out to the big arena. It was the largest space I'd ever taken Mr C in. It was also the busiest--we've ridden with one other horse in a much smaller arena, but there were at least 6 horses going all different directions and steering around jumps while the neighbors did construction on one side and fiddled with the irrigation on the other.

We did a little more easy ground work and let him get the lay of the land.



And then I got on.

Relaxed enough to do an ears shot

Horses cantered by, jumps crashed down, trucks and trailers came and went, no problem. We chatted with many of the participants, walked around on the buckle, looked at stuff, and overall had a great time. We even left the arena and hacked around with another rider. Her (young, green) horse was a little looky, but Courage bopped along on a loose rein and never put a foot wrong.

Visiting

I want him to learn that trips are fun, easy, and low stress, so we didn't do anything other than cruise around at the walk and take in the sights. Really, I couldn't be more impressed. Not a spook or a jump or a jig or even a suggestion of anything naughty. Didn't matter that he was in a new place with new horses doing different stuff.

You're probably all sick of hearing this by now, first about Cuna and now about Courage, but I seriously have the best OTTBs ever, bar none.

Too cute

First trip off property

A Scare

Given that some of you are Cuna fans on facebook, I figured you were owed a bit of an update.

What chestnut princesses are wearing these days

On Saturday morning, Cuna and I went for a trot in the hills with our eventing buddy and her fancy young thing. We've been conditioning with them this year, and Cuna always goes out hot and jiggs back to the trailer while the young thing calmly walks. He loves his hills almost as much as I do. :)

Saturday was different.

We started out normally, but then instead of racing the young thing, we followed him. When we reached the top of the hill, Cuna was huffing and puffing while the young thing bucked. As we continued, Cuna sweated profusely and lagged behind the leaping, pracing, dry young thing. He never quit or slowed down--he just wasn't racing to be at the front.

We walked down the steepest hill and started the trek back to the trailer.

Cuna was polite and slow, neck arched like a fancy western pleasure horse. He stopped to poo and didn't race to catch the young thing. He wasn't breathing hard, but his respiration seemed more rapid and shallow than normal. The lather on his neck didn't subside, even in the cool breeze.

Our eventing buddy is familiar with Cuna's proclivities and she was just as struck by his behavior as I was. He was not himself, not at all. He didn't want to step over the little gate to get out and he really didn't want to get on the trailer. I knew his hocks were getting back, but I had never, ever seen him like this.

I took him home and he almost fell out of the trailer. His steps were slow and short and his expression was dull. I almost cried as I curried him dry, picked his hooves, and looked for anything abnormal. His hocks seemed fine, but he didn't want to pick his back legs up at all and he shuffled back to his stall.

When I went home, I did cry. "I think I broke my horse," I told my husband. "I don't even know what I did."

Finally, I got a call from the barn. The possibilities were running through my head, none of them good. Cuna wasn't himself. There wasn't really a good way for this to play out.

The caller was one of Cuna's former owners and one of the most obsessive horse people I know. Nothing slips by her. We talked about Cuna's behavior and how he'd been in the hills. "I think he tied up," she said.

The pieces fell into place. It had to be a mild case, because he could still move. It explained the sweating, the lethargy, even the odd posture on the walk home. His back and hamstrings were rock hard and he was visibly uncomfortable.

I ran out to the barn and fed him all the carrots we had in the house.

The face of a horse who HATES handwalking

Since then, he's been on a steady regime of NSAIDS, electrolytes, hand walking, and warm blankets. Today, finally, he came out like a normal horse. His hips were swinging and his overreach was back. I think there's another day of handwalking in his future, but we're going to slowly start back to work after that.

We have no idea what caused it. He's never done it before. Here's hoping it never happens again. Now I have a set of data points to work with, so I know what it looks like if I see it again.

I know it sounds dramatic, but I thought I was going to lose him. I have never seen him like that before, and I am so happy to have him back.

Drivin' a Truck

Wondermare is out with a minor issue, so I got to spend my time this morning driving (and backing) the big rig around the barn parking lot. It probably doesn't sound all that exciting to non-horse women, but OMG BIG HONKING DIESEL TRUCK AND 4 HORSE GN LQ TRAILER!!!

We're taking multiple road trips in the near future and Stephanie thinks that I should be able to drive (and back) the rig.

She had a lesson to teach, so we hooked up the trailer and I got to go nuts. I'm so glad that most of you understand how exciting this is. It means that 1) I am being entrusted with something important and 2) I am actually useful and 3) I got to play with a giant truck.

I'm a reasonably intelligent person, but I really don't learn with people yelling at me. To just have a half hour to drive in tiny circles to learn about the turning radius and back up and pull forward and spend some time with the trailer was immensely helpful. I'll keep processing the information I gleaned to day, and hopefully will be even better next time I get behind the wheel.

Oh, and that will be soon. The current plan is for me to drive the truck every other day. It went kind of like this:

Steph: "I think you need to learn to drive the truck."

Me: "Awesome. I'd love to."

Steph: "My plan is for you to just work for me full time and make lots of money."

Me: "But you don't make lots of money, so it'd be impossible for you to pay me lots of money."

Steph: "But I make more money teaching than I do hauling, so if you learn to do the hauling then I can teach more and we both make more."

Me: "Let's do it."

Horse Trailers

I am officially summoning the wisdom of the horsey blogosphere. Please do contribute any knowledge you happen to possess. I am on a steep learning curve.

I am considering saving up this year and purchasing a horse trailer. I've been reading up on it a bit, but there is a LOT of information out there. So, if you're willing to help me out, please give input and qualify it by telling me 1) what truck you drive 2) what trailer type you haul 3) how frequently you use it.

Since I have one horse, I would like a two horse trailer. Since I've always used slant loads, I think I want a slant load. I would prefer a tack room over a tiny tack compartment (must accommodate my whoring tendencies). It must be bumper pull--the truck I have access to (newer Ford F-150 with tow package) has a bumper pull hitch and I see no reason to go to a gooseneck.

So... help me out. Steel vs Aluminum? Straight vs slant? Trailer height for a 16 hand horse? Width? Good manufacturers? Bad manufacturers? Any tips, pointers, ideas?