Petal Pattern Power!

52 minutes - 0.53 miles - Rhulain
25 minutes - 0.28 miles - Morgan

Rhulain and I did some ground work before saddling up and working in the yard.  It was a lovely way to spend an hour and I am really starting to like the petal pattern!  It's something she's really good at and helps us to settle.  I think I'll incorporate it into our sessions from now on.

Had just enough daylight left for a quick ride with Morgan.  We hung around the house checking out "scary" objects and then we worked on the petal pattern.  She was not happy about having to do circles; I can tell I've let her sit too long.  We'll have to work more than once a week to get back in the swing of things.  What's wonderful is that even on her worst day, she's still awesome and it's nothing we can't work through together.  She builds my confidence every time we're together.

First Trail Riding Lesson for the Kid

60 minutes - Kid's first trail riding lesson
25 minutes - 1.21 miles - Morgan
21 minutes - 0.11 miles - Rhulain - groundwork

The kid has his first trail riding lesson with the trainer today.  They were gone an hour, which is the longest time he's ever spent on horseback.  The trainer she said he did pretty well, but sometimes he daydreamed and forgot to watch where the horse was going. :)

While we were gone, the other side of the mare motel got graded.  Now we can begin working on the turn out and the goat pen.

 The light was fading fast, so Morgan and I only got in a short ride.  She was fine up until we headed towards the gate ... then the neighbor's dogs rushed at us in full force, yapping and running underfoot.  I hopped off and shooed all six of them away while she stood still waiting for me.  

I had a few minutes before it became too dark to see, so I grabbed Rhulain.  She was clingy and seemed really nervous in the dark. So we worked on holding still while I mounted, and then flexing her neck to both sides.  It was a good session. 

More Ground Work & Lips Runs Free

60 minutes - Ground work - Rhulain

Rhulain and I did more flag work until it didn't seem to bother. Then we worked on lunging and stopping on command. A few more bending and flexing sessions, then back to lunging.  Good session and I like where we are heading.

Bill let Lips out so she could wander the yard while he relocated her pen.  She followed me around, head-butted trees, checked out the tack shed, and generally was an adorable nuisance.  Her new pen is closer to the mare motel so she can have company.  The yard will be leveled and construction on the turn out and the goat pen will start next week.

Ground Work, Petal Pattern

87 minutes - 0.75 miles - Rhulain (40 min ground, 20 min tack/untack, 27 min walk/ride)

 I was thinking about Rhulain's back legs issue and decided to go back to square one.  Started with touching her all over with the lead rope, a riding crop, and finally the flag.  She looked like she was praying the flag would go away, but then resignedly reached out and touched it. We worked all over until she stopped flinching when it touched her legs.

Picture from Jonathan Field Horsemanship
https://jonathanfieldhorsemanship.net/ 

 Then we took a break and spent extra time grooming before saddling.  We worked in the yard doing a "petal" pattern which focused on setting back on her haunches for a nice, tight 360 degree turn before going back out.  She did really well on the right turns, less well on the left turns, but she was balanced throughout.

Then she got to blow off steam by selecting the direction and pace in the far side of the yard.  I was completely passive and curious to see what she chose to do with the freedom.  She stopped and drank out of the dog's water a few times and seemed to have a good time.

We unsaddled and just stood for a few minutes.  When I lead her to the stall, she stopped outside the gate.  She didn't want to go in ... which to me meant she had a good time.  So did I Rhu!

Wasabi Needs Work

34 minutes - 0.97 miles - Wasabi

Took Wasabi for a walk this morning. She has started rearing when she doesn't want to do something, so we spend more time circling than walking forward. Little snot.  She was contrite and soft eyed after 20 minutes, but still tried to push past me on the way home. Sigh.

On a good note, Rhu was happy to see me when I got back :)

Wasabi the Escapee

 5 minutes - ground work - Wasabi

 

 Bill looked out the kitchen window and saw Wasabi wandering around the yard. What?  I went out and she walked right up to me for snuggles.  Checked the gate, still locked. Checked all the panels and it looks as though she might have stepped through one after kicking down a bar. Sigh.

Since she was out, and I hadn't worked with her in a while, I decided to spend a few minutes working on trailer loading.  It took a few tries, but soon she was loading her front half in the trailer willingly.  Bill called from the front porch and told me lunch was ready, so I rubbed her big head and put her in the turn out.

Ground Work Pays Off

30 minutes - 0.86 miles - Rhulain

Rhulain practically loaded herself today.  She stood patiently and waited until she was asked to back out. 

Then we went for a walk, where no matter what was thrown at her, she remained calm and steady.

When we got back, I realized I had left the hose on and flooded the area near the gate.  Rhu initially jumped over the puddle (quite beautifully I might add).  I sent her back through the gate and asked her to walk in calmly, then stop in the puddle.  She did on the first try.

All this ground work is really starting to pay off ... teamwork.

I Love the Smell of Morgans in the Evening

36 minutes - 0.85 miles - Rhulain

Had such a good time last night, I decided to do it again!  First, some grooming, then some groundwork, a bit of trailer loading, then let her snack while I tacked up.

 Three quick laps around the yard and then I was going to call it quits and let her eat dinner. On the last lap, she picked up speed and we loped right past the hitching post.  We zoomed by the turn out, then made a quick turn only to find the ground had been washed out.  She slammed on the brakes and we avoided any catastrophes.  Gotta love self preservation!  We turned back the other direction, hopped over the fallen log, and then untacked.

Five days in a row I've been able to spend with my horses ... I feel like the luckiest woman alive!

Ride Interrupted

33 minutes - 0.65 miles - Rhulain

 I only had a half hour before the kid's bath time, so I decided to do some ground work with Rhulain.  We breezed through the regular warm up, loaded in the trailer three times with no issues, and she was locked on to my every step.  I knew what that meant ...

Time to saddle up!  We did three quick laps around the yard before my timer went off.  Neither of us was done ... every time I guided her to the hitching post, Rhulain would veer off to the side and speed up.  

I know Rhu, me too.

Oh how I have missed my horses

73 minutes - 1.15 miles - Rhulain

Seven days without either of my horses caused seriously withdrawal.  I snuggled Morgie this morning and checked her head wound.  She was eating, but stopped to give me some snuggle time.  Love that girl.

I missed Rhu ... she flattened her ears at me when I fed her ... which means the feeling wasn't mutual.  Ah well.  It was windy when I went out in the afternoon. Rhu was unusually high strung, she spooked and pulled back when a shovel clanged against the tack shed.  

She stopped panicking rather quickly and though she allowed me to touch and rub her, she wouldn't relax.  I let her stand there for a bit to see how she would react to the pressure on her face.  I pulled a broom out of the tack shed and "shooed" her forward a step.  Once the pressure was off, she licked her lips and leaned her head into my torso.

We spent some time doing ground work, then we rode around the yard.  We did a mile, but we were not connected.  I couldn't sit the trot today, at all.  She shied from a plastic bag, and couldn't calm down.

I hopped down, walked beside her for a bit, then got back in the saddle.  I took a deep breath and released the tension in my shoulder blades, and we both seemed to calm a bit.  We walked two more laps around the yard.  She didn't want to approach the hitching post so I hopped off and walked her over.  We spent a few more minutes together, but she was too tense to enjoy the massage. Ah well.

More ground work. Definitely more ground work.

Eye Injury & Night Work

61 minutes - 0.42 miles - Morgie & Rhulain

There's sunshine when I get home now ... only 15-20 minutes left, but just enough time to spend it with Morgan!  I grabbed a halter and ran outside, only to find Morgie had a cut above her left eye.  I removed her from the turn out and cleaned her forehead so I could get a better look.  Looks like a small gash that stops right before her eyelid.  WHEW!  

Cleaned off the dried blood and debris ... it must have been tender because she kept lifting her head away.  I put her in the large stall and will check it in the morning.  Wish I knew what happened, but I feel absolutely fortunate it didn't need stitches or injure her eye.

The sun had dropped below the mountains while I worked on Morgie's injury, so riding was out of the question.  I haltered Rhu and we did some ground work.  Then we worked on trailer loading for a while.  She wouldn't step in until there was some pressure on her face ... but then, the trailer was very dark.  Once I opened the "escape hatch" she stepped right in and stood still until I asked her to back out.  I was impressed with her effort.

Decided to do some trust building, so I saddled her up next to the trailer.  By now it was fully dark, Ryver kept running around her hind legs, and our foster boy was stomping around the yard in his shoes that light up.  Rhu looked worried.  

I tossed on the treeless and the bitless, while giving her lots of rubs and praise.  Two trips down the driveway, then circles on each side, and back to the step stool.  

I dismounted, rubbed her and stepped back in the saddle, flexed her neck to both sides, sat for a bit, then repeated the process three times.  I just wanted to sit in the saddle and breathe with her, no pressure, no work, nothing but being right there in the moment, together.

Four Horses Got Cuddle Time

31 minutes - Morgan, Bill & Majesty - 1.59 miles
23 minutes - Rhulain - 0.90 miles
10 minutes - Wasabi - ground work

 

Rhu was inspecting Bill's hoof cleaning technique

She seemed to approve (really, she was begging to go too)

Morgan and I heading out & waiting on the boys

It was such a lovely ride ... no stress, no fuss, no worries ... weather just right and the clouds were amazing

Once we got back, I put a halter on Rhu and went for a walk down the street to the sand dunes

She got a bit nervous, then I realized she had spotted the quad coming down the road.  We stepped off the road and let them pass.  She watched it for a few seconds, then we continued on 

We climbed a dune, let her survey the area (and snack a bit) before we headed down the dune at a walk.  We took a different path home, crossing the open desert with jackrabbits bounding about

Great walk ... The only thing is, she doesn't hold still for pictures!

Wasabi wanted some attention too.  So, I tossed the halter on and took her for a walk around the monorail.  She pressed her nose to the glass, then stepped back and nodded.  I'd swear that horse was admiring her reflection.  Oh Bill, you have one spoiled horse.

I put Wasabi back, then started to walk back to the house when I heard Rhu call out.  I turned to see all four mares standing there watching me.  I sighed with contentment ... I get to live out childhood dreams every day.

Fly Masks Are Our Friend

Rhulain
40 minutes ground work
15 minutes tacking
5 minutes saddle time

It's been windy lately so there hasn't been much flies about bothering the horses.  Realized Morgan had a few on her face, so I pulled out the fly masks.  Rhulain wasn't sure about the crazy thing I held in my hand, but she only slightly flinched when it touched her shoulder the first time.  Then she let me rub it all over her neck and ears.  I placed it on her face and secured it with no problems.

Later in the day I put a halter on Rhulain and led her around the yard again.  She handled the gate like it's been part of her everyday routine, didn't try to get ahead of me, and moved out nicely when asked to circle around.  She did so well that I decided to walk her out the front gate and into the street.  Not an issue.

We saw an ATV coming down the road, but she just looked at it for a few seconds then gave it her patented "so what?" look.  We climbed some of the sand and dirt piles on either side of the road, stepped over a log, and then I let her taste some of the local fauna.

I took her over to the tack shed and picked out her front hooves, then lifted the backs.  Much, much better than yesterday.  I took her back to her stall and gave everyone their lunch.

Later I decided to try on her tack.  I took off her fly mask and put on the bitless bridle.  I spent a few moments teaching her how the bitless works.  She was fine with it, but kept reaching out for the fly mask.  I laughed.  Didn't take her long to figure that out.  I put it on over the bitless bridle.

Saddle pad looks striking, but it's too long and she needs a cut out for her withers.  Saddle fit fine, although I'll need to switch out the cinch (36" is way too big).  No issues with cinching.  She stood there with her back leg cocked the whole time.  So, I put weight in the stirrup.  No movement.  I slid over and into the saddle, no movement.  I kissed and she moved forward.  

Had a little trouble with the bitless ... every time I picked up a rein, her head came around to touch my boot, but she didn't turn her body.  Ok.  I asked with leg cues and she turned on the forehand nicely, but a bit stiffly to the left.  Kept it short, two laps around her stall and one figure 8, then asked for a halt and she stopped immediately.  Slid out of the saddle, untacked, and put on her beloved fly mask.  She's going to be fun to ride!

Learning about Rhulain

60 minutes, ground work

I wanted to spend some time with Rhulain, so I tossed on a halter and asked her to exit the turn out.  She rushed through the gate, so we worked on where to stand and not to move forward until asked, then progressed to walking calmly through the gate.  It only took three passes before she was executing gate manners perfectly.

Morgan didn't want to be left behind, so I opened the gate and let her wander the property.  Rhu kept an eye on Morgan and one on me.

We started with basics: leading, stopping, turning, and backing. Moved on to lunging in both directions at a walk and trot.  She's got a great stop.  We walked around the yard and whenever we got out of Morgan's sight, Morgie would come trotting to where we were.  Rhu didn't crowd my space, but she did try to walk ahead of me if Morg was around.  Minor corrections and we were fine.

She's got a "So what?" attitude which is great.  Giant tractor tire? So what?  Monorail in the yard?  So what?  Jackrabbits jumping out of bushes?  So what?  The only thing that seemed to hold her attention was the dogs ... not that she seemed scared, but interested.

Ran into a bit of trouble when I tried picking up her hooves. Fronts were no problem, back right was hesitant, but there was no way she was giving up the back left.  Ok. This is not an issue, just an opportunity to get to know her better.  Worked on it for a few minutes and once she gave up all four hooves and let me hold them for 5 seconds each, I moved on to something else.  I'll work on picking up her hooves everyday until it isn't an issue.

She is a little stiff flexing to the left, but very pliable on the right.  Good to know.  She ties off to the trailer like a champ.  There's a few little holes in her training ... could be that the cue was different.  It's certainly fun to figure each other out!

Possibly Reagan's last ride

24 minutes
Rode Reagan, ponied Morgan
1.13 miles

20 minutes
Reagan, ground work

Reagan leaves either later this week or early next week.  I wanted to get in another ride or two to work out any kinks before she goes.  Figured I'd take Morgan with us, just to spend time with them both.

They are so adorable together.  Morgan took being ponied well, though she lagged behind most of the time.  Can't complain about the ride, they both did everything asked of them with nice forward momentum.

Such an odd view for me

Reagan gave me some guff when we got home ... she decided to run away from me when it was time to be put back in the turn out arena.  This caused her to have to work an additional 20 minutes after she was caught.  I was not happy having to chase her around, but was happy with her ground work.  Though she hadn't done ground work in nearly three years, she responded quickly to requests and kept her focus on me with only minor corrections.

Not going to lie, I'm going to miss this mare.  Wish I had room for six sometimes.  But, she will thrive being somebody's only horse ... she loves the attention and the grooming that comes with being somebody's absolutely favorite mare.  I'm happy for her and her new owner :)

Morning Work Out

30 minutes 

Ground work 20 minutes & Riding 10 minutes

Since it's so bright at 6:30 am, I decided to switch to a morning work out instead of in the dark.  She looked like she was falling asleep as I tacked her this morning.  I think I may have heard her snore :)

We walked over the boards for 10 minutes, then walked out the front gate and into the desert for 10 minutes before I climbed up in the saddle and had her trot back to the house.  She didn't want to trot ... she really wanted to move out much faster so it was a bit of tussle to keep her at a trot.  Then we rode at a walk through the yard and over the boards for a cool down.

Since she's not a fan of the sand dunes, I think I'll alter our path and head down the street for our next walk.

More exercising

Ground work, 30 minutes

Morg and I put in 20 minutes of brisk walking tonight, followed by 2 minutes of jogging.  To change things up a bit, we wandered through trees and added a walk to the front driveway in addition to stepping over boards.  Then we worked on flexing her neck to both sides while standing still for a bit.  I love hanging out with my Morgie girl and getting in shape!  She's a great partner :)

Topline Exercises

Ground work for 30 minutes

Sticking to the plan!  Morgan and I getting ready to start our 20 minute walking exercise

To add some fun and to work on rebuilding her topline, I set up some planks for us to step over.  I was hoping this would encourage her to stretch out her neck and lift her back.  Plus, it gave us something to do for 20 minutes in the pitch black.

Making shadows and burning calories

This is the best shot I got of Morgan stretching and stepping over the planks ... we'll continue to work on it until we're both back in shape

After 20 minutes of walk/plank work, we spent an additional 10 minutes on flexing her neck on both sides.  Just wanted a refresher course for our upcoming mounting lesson.

Morgan and I hanging out

Trailer Loading Trials With Wasabi, Part 2

Tuesday, September 16th  30 minute groundwork  92° 
Trailer Loading with Wasabi

Morgan just figured out she got left behind ... Sundance offered comfort

I figured I'd spend a more time with Wasabi on trailer loading.  Morgan had been napping when I went in to collect Wasabi.  When she saw Wasabi and I on the other side of the fence, she started scolding me ... she was whinnying, nickering, and running the fence line for 10 minutes before she settled down.

Wasabi and I went right to the trailer and did basic groundwork for a few minutes before I asked her to load.  She initially refused, so she got to do a few more figure 8s before she got to rest.  She stepped right in the trailer the next time I offered her the chance.  I got most of her body and three hooves in the trailer, but just couldn't figure out how to get that last hoof and rump in consistently.  At least we had no more refusals.  She was standing in the trailer when Bill got home, so I opened the "escape" door and let her get muzzle snuggles from him before putting her away for the evening.

It occurred to me later on that I "send" her horizontally from the trailer door and she does just fine. Perhaps I could try "sending" her vertically and see if that will encourage the forward momentum needed to get her whole body in the trailer.

Great fluffy clouds and beautiful colors tonight

Trailer Loading Trials With Wasabi, Part 1

Monday, September 15th  60 minute groundwork  99° 
Trailer loading with Wasabi

Normally Wasabi is a light grey (like her rump) ... with all the sweat, she's nearly black!

I went to gather Morgan from the turn out pen when Wasabi got in my way.  She was rather insistent, and I figured I could pony her off Morgan, so I haltered her up and took her too.  However, once she got away from the turn out, she turned bratty ... walking in to my space and generally being a nuisance.  So she got to do ground work.  Lots of ground work.

That's one tired mustang ...

After 20 minutes she was listening but still resisting, so I decided to transition our work into a trailer loading session. She loathes trailer loading. 

We worked on circles, figure 8s, sending her back and forth, side to side, anything to get her closer to the open door of the trailer. Then I asked her to stop moving at the trailer door and let her catch her breath a bit.  I asked her to move in to the trailer and she balked, so off she went for another round of circles and such.  When I let her stop the second time, I again asked her to step in to the trailer.  She popped her front hooves in and I let her stand there as long as she wanted.

Morgan was really tired of me paying attention to everyone BUT her ... look at that face!

Another few tries and I'm happy to report that Wasabi will now willingly step up in to the trailer ... with her front hooves only.  We'll work on the back half of her body later.  In the meantime, Morgan wandered around the yard, pretty much ignored.  She was really in need of some cuddling after I put Wasabi away, and I was glad to oblige.