My Non-Horsey Post

Who, me?

It’s raining today, so I thought it would be a good time to do a non-horsey photo dump post. Except for the photo above where Leah is acting as “bait” for Tweed’s training as I rode her bareback around the park. 

The 2021 babies: Pilot, Epona, and Lucy 

We’ve had a schedule change around here and after next week, when Pilot’s dad will be gone all week for work, I will have most Mondays-Saturdays free to ride Tweed during the day. At least until Pilot gets out of school for summer break. But even then, it will be much better than my old schedule of no days off. 

Phlox growing wild on our property. 

My husband is scheduled to have knee replacement surgery May 1st. It will certainly slow him down for awhile, and probably me, too, but hopefully not for too long. 

Killdeer mating and nesting in our pastures. 

The general rule of thumb is not to plant before Mother’s Day, or near that time. We are excited to get the overwintered plants that survived out of the garage, but it’s too early. 

In the meantime, some of the perennials, like this blue vinca, have taken off. 

Daffodils. 

Our flowering plums. 

Flowers for the tea, store bought

We hosted a tea for special guest last Sunday. My mom brought up her Royal Albert tea set for me to use, and then she gave it to me to keep forever. 

She also shared her recipes for scones and cucumber sandwiches. 

Scone, clotted cream, and strawberry preserves 

They were yummy. We had lots of leftovers. I’ve really got to stop eating those leftovers!

Oops, another horse photo. A little mutual grooming. 

Time to talk chasteberry. Or chaste tree. Or monk’s pepper. 

Apparently, it comes from this tree that is native to the Mediterranean and western/Central Asia. It helps regulate menstrual cycles, pms, and the sexual desires of monks. 

In horses, it balances hormones, calms geldings / mares, and even helps manage symptoms of Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Cushing’s). It helps regulate the pituitary gland, aiding in shedding, reducing cresty necks, and improving overall metabolic function. 

Everyone I know who has used it, and that list is growing, says it worked. But, so far, all those people used it for mares and not geldings. At any rate, they say it takes at least 3 weeks before you can see a change and we are at about 10 days. 

I purchased two different types of chasteberry, one for humans and one specifically pelleted for equines. (Photos above) I don’t think there’s any difference, except in price. Tumbleweed has tolerated eating both, but I started him slowly to make sure he didn’t have an adverse reaction.  

It will be interesting to see if it changes him at all. We are doing so much training work on buddy issues that it might be hard to decipher what helped and how much. 

One of my friends said her horse built up a tolerance to it, so she would discontinue it for awhile and then start again. 

Looks like I’ve worked this post right back to horses, so I lied about it being non-horsey. 

I started this post out with Leah, and she is my old trail horse that I raised from a 2 year old and trained myself. She is from Quincy Dan lines and a super sweetie. She’s 21 this year. We put her on Equioxx a few weeks ago and it has made a huge difference and improvement in her arthritis. 

I’m taking her with Tweed to the park most days and working on her walk and whoa, besides being bait for his buddy issues. I have really enjoyed riding her again. 

I will usually work Tweed around her and rest him away. But Katie was working him away as I worked with her elsewhere. That made Tweed get upset when I’d leave the area and he couldn’t see her anymore. It also seemed to be setting Katie and Tweed against each other—in his mind. 

Sooooo, I’m going to help them out next time she rides by keeping her in the arena during his warmup. She’s going to let him make the choice to go to her, then do all his warmup work around her, and rest him way far away, like I do. He needs to see that as the undesirable place. 

He rode out on the trail alone very well Monday with Katie. They went on a great adventure along the river. Turns out, he’s more of “it’s okay to leave them, but not be left” kind of guy. 

Epona and Tumbleweed, Off to School

Watching Epona’s session from Tweed’s back.

Yesterday was the first day of Epona’s training, so she accompanied us to the park and went first. It gave me time to work with, then ride, Tumbleweed. 

Epona looks so small here. The photo was taken from atop Tweed looking down. 

Epona did great for her first time, but she needs lots and lots of exposure. All the new horses, and things to see, hear, and smell, had her very distracted. No surprise there. She’s just a young horse who needs adventures and trail miles. 

It was the first time my daughter had met Katie, and she was impressed with her. They have almost exactly the same riding/working with horses styles. Since my daughter works full time and is a mama when she’s off, there isn’t enough time to bring Epona along on her own. She sent Epona off for 90 days training the last couple of years, but it’s time to do the trails here now, and Katie, like with me and Tweed, will supplement her work and keep things going. 

The big question was how would Tumbleweed do with Epona there, and well, he did great. Quite a bit better than when Leah came. There was a small hiccup when he got back to the equestrian park. Epona saw him at a distance and started to whinny out. That got him emotional and wanting to rush back. 

Poor Tweed. It’s like the goofy kid in class who gets the other, studious kid, laughing, and then when the teacher looks, it’s the hard-working kid who gets in trouble. 

Off to the arena they went. Tweed was not happy and began swinging his head around at the gate, but he went back to work for just a little bit and ended on a good note. 

When he finally got back to the trailer, he wanted nothing to do with Epona and wouldn’t even look at her. 

Back home, I put them in their stalls for their supplements, but when I went out later to release them, Epona came out, but Tweed refused and wanted to stay in. 

It appears he is developing an independence. 

Speechless Wordless Stunned

 

Trail Training Videos by Ryan Rose

I am a big fan of Ryan Rose and have subscribed to his Patreon channel for almost as long as it has been available. I love the way he explains things. 

He has made some trail training videos, which I’m sharing here today and are free to watch on YouTube. A lot of what we already do, but some new stuff, too. And some very good points that I appreciate him making. 

For example, those first training rides should be with people who understand to stop and wait for you when you need to school your horse. 

I had one ride last summer where my friend got bored and asked if she could ride off while I schooled the hill that we had all the trouble on. I was like NO, please. I have enough to deal with without adding herd bound, too. A horse who’s already emotional doesn’t need to see his trail buddy ride off. 

Another thing he brings up is that it’s okay to dismount if the issue gets too big for you to handle in the circumstances. (Something I have done and written about on this blog.) You can always get to safety, then get back on. I don’t think it should be your standard practice, and whatever the issue is, it needs to be addressed, afterward, by you or a trainer or both. 

Tweed’s misbehaviors were in places that I couldn’t safely put him in a circle, steep hills, and they required more than I was willing to risk with my abilities. I did try to do it by myself for a long time, but had to cry uncle. 

When I could bushwhack down a hill it was always much better, for him, than riding the trail straight down. (Katie has discovered the same thing.) It puts his mind to work. Unfortunately, bushwhacking is not always possible. It’s maybe 50/50 in the terrain where we ride. Where he can’t bushwhack, Katie is backing him back up the hill (I did that, too) when he rushes it, or repeating the hill until he starts paying attention to his feet. (He can get upset about repeating hills, and that’s where I felt it was better to have Katie school it. She agrees that rushing hills is unsafe to ride, and that it needs to be addressed and she had quite the long lesson doing just that last week, plus putting him to work when he got back to the trailhead and buddy.)

The last video I’ve shared of Ryan’s is specifically about buddy sour training. I’ve done a lot of it with Tumbleweed and we will continue to do a lot more. He is so much better than he was two years ago and continues to improve. One day, he will be a brave, independent lead horse. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

There’s also a video on riding out alone, something I do a lot of since it’s so hard to find someone with a solid horse that has the time, same crazy schedule, and patience to let us school. 

I’m sharing them all here for personal reference and for others who are trail training a horse and need extra tips.

I hope he puts out more. 

 

Happy Trails!

Tweed’s Rainy Wonderful Ride

Katie and Tumbleweed riding off

Yesterday was a Katie Day, as I babysat my grandson and dealt with a painful cracked tooth. The tooth had been bothering me for a few months, but they couldn’t pinpoint the issue at my last appointment. It finally made itself fully known, and hopefully will be resolved at my emergency appointment this morning. 

It was raining off and on, but Katie wanted to ride anyway. Needless to say, we had the entire park to ourselves. 

I took photos of wildflowers as I waited for them to get back. 

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Biscuitroot 

Serviceberry

When they got back to the truck, it had stopped raining and we stood and talked for a few minutes. 

Tweed, looking tired

She had ridden him down to the river and taken him in, then rode back up a set of hills we had an issue with last year, (he wanted to go up them faster, since they’re steep), but was easily checked. All and all, she said it was his best ride yet. He was fully there for her. 

We didn’t have a mare that day, which probably helped. And I’d given him his first, very small, dose of chasteberry that morning, but that shouldn’t have made a difference so quickly. Katie said he definitely wasn’t “dull.” He still looked at scary things, like some graffiti on a building by the river, and a man and dog who popped out of nowhere. He didn’t love the rainy deluge either. She said he looked back at her like, really, we’re going to do this? But trudged on with good energy. 

If I’m going to ride between now and our next Katie Day, I will have to Cowgirl up like she did and brave the rain.  

But first, I have some tooth business to attend to. 

Happy trails!

59 and Grateful

Yesterday was my birthday, and what will be the last year of my 50’s. It started out appropriately for such an occasion, I was still sick with the grandson’s cold, thus a little tired and loopy. It was the perfect excuse to do nothing. 

Nothing can, actually, be quite nice. No expectations. No rushing around. Just a blank slate of a day “to be.”

My kids and grandkids came mid-afternoon bearing more flowers. 

And my favorite Bundt cake. 

We had a laid back dinner, opened presents, and then sat and visited for a few hours. 

When I went to bed last night, it was easy to be thankful. As I’ve said before, I think gratitude is a super power. It is certainly good medicine, because today I feel almost fully back to normal.

One of my gifts was a favorite wine called, “God Only Knows” by Cayuse. I told them I’d save it and open it next year on my 60th.

“God only knows” what will happen by then, a lot can happen in a year, but I will try to remember to cling to thankfulness no matter what unfolds.

From the documentary, Path of the Horse

Small, small things:

One leaf touched by the sun,
One small smell.
When we are dying,
I promise you,
The memories you will have
In your last seconds
Are about these small things
Touching our skin:
One leaf,
One moment with your child.
Not the big things.
We will remember the small things.

These small things are added
To a fulfilled life,
Or not.

Not the big things.

Klaus Hempfling

Working Through Buddy Sour and Other Stuff

 

Yesterday was Katie’s day to ride, and it was absolutely beautiful weather. You can see by the sweat, it was an eventful one. I had held off taking Leah down at the same time so that we didn’t have to work on herd bound stuff, but we’re introducing Epona to Katie next week, and she is even more bonded to Tumbleweed, so getting him ready by using Leah as “bait” was good exposure ahead of that. 

After reading the blog post Shirley recommended from A Horse Crazy American in Germany I decided to order some chasteberry and try Tweed on it. I’ve joked that the mares who broke free of their owners, or tried to break free, and get to Tumbleweed did so because he was handsome, but now I’m starting to think they actually smell something on him, like testosterone. It’s not normal to see otherwise trained mares running to you across parks and trails, lead ropes dragging behind. Tumbleweed looked innocent in it all, just doing his job when (surprise) here comes a mare. But last week he also wanted to get to the new mare, then whinnied for her when they passed. Usually that behavior is reserved for his own mares. If the chasteberry diminishes his need to be the head stallion, collecting a harem of mares, just a little bit, that would be a welcome change. And it can’t hurt to try. (I’ll follow up on this after he gets started and is on it for a few weeks.)

Back to yesterday, I got to the park early and did some groundwork with Tweed, enforcing my circle and his speed. Indeed, there was resistance there, but it was easily corrected and he was able to hold his lope on the circle with minimal encouragement (and work) from me.

When Katie arrived, I talked to her about it and she did the same, which made her job in-saddle much easier. (“Lazy Tweed” was just a way of him “doing what we wanted—kinda”.)

How, or why, did he get so sweaty? 

Well, that was a consequence of him wanting to speed up on the trail, and down hills, that he thought led him back to Leah. He did the things I experienced last year, but Katie addressed them by backing back up the hills he sped down or going up and back down again. 

When she got to the trailer, she put him to work at the obstacle course, where he wasn’t paying enough attention, so back to the arena, where he offered her some small bucks of disapproval. She rode it all calmly until he relaxed into what she asked, but he added on an extra 30 minutes of work for himself. 

Today I have a little head cold that I caught from my grandson, but it’s another beautiful day and I am free to ride Tumbleweed. I plan to ride solo and take him to the river, depending on how busy the park is and what frame of mind he is in when we get there. Friday’s at the park can be a bit much on the shared use river trail, bikers, hikers, dogs, and other horses. 

Rant: For some reason, everyone with dogs down there ignores the strict ON LEASH rule. They are hardly ever ON LEASH. I feel like it’s futile to scold or report them because too many refuse to do it. They seem to think the equestrian area is also a dog park and everyone thinks their dogs are “very well trained,” so won’t chase a horse. So far, that has proven to be true, but it’s a matter of time before one isn’t. 

All I can do is prepare Tweed, because it’s useless to expect dog owners to respect the rules. End rant. 

Happy trails, everyone!

Laziness As Resistance

I follow a lot of horse trainers and horse people on social media and sometimes their posts appear at the exact right moment. Some of them, like this one by Tim Anderson, are timely reminders of what I already know, but talk myself out of by saying, Maybe I’m being too picky. I get around other people who let things slide and roll their eyes when I nit pick, and I start to doubt myself. 

His post was very long and detailed, but here is how it starts out, and I recommend reading all of it here. 

The video above, which he linked in the comments, is an excellent example of how to bring our energy up without being aggressive. Those two things can easily get entangled, and I see it all the time, both in myself and others. I have learned to spot it in myself by the set of my jaw. I get that pissed off look like I’m ready to go to war. The good news is that I’m recognizing it faster in myself and then stepping back from aggression to increased energy. (From the link: Tim Anderson)

Increased energy is fair, not punitive. They do something dangerous, like coming too close into our space, we get them out by appropriate energy or force. It’s natural justice and they want those boundaries. It’s also in the moment and instinctual for them to challenge us like that. It’s not “bad” or “good” it’s just against the rules we have set for our relationship. 

I addressed a lot of that boundary challenging with Tumbleweed in January when we started back up. He didn’t want to be away from his herd and he didn’t want to do what I asked. It was a battle over who was going to lead, him or me. 

There’s not much of it left anymore. 

Or, is there?

If you read the full post I linked, there is another manifestation of it, and it’s going too slow. That is why the post was timely. (More from the Tim Anderson link).

Before I ride Tumbleweed on the trail, we warm up on the lunge line and then in saddle in the arena. Last night, he was going really slow, what appeared to be “lazy.” He did the same thing with Katie the other day and she had to ride him hard to keep him going. I did the same thing, worked harder myself. 

Often times, we’re glad to see “lazy,” as if it means we’re going to have a chill horse out on the trail. But it’s really another form of saying “no.” 

Don’t get me wrong, we had a nice ride, and he led out and tried his heart out, but he was definitely more looky and a little more testing of the boundary to check his speed and come back into vertical flexion when things got scary. Just a little bit, but I noticed, and I’m proud to be picky.

Today I’m going to address that laziness on the ground and not just go along to get along. I want to see what he’s hiding under that seeming laziness.

Last night’s ride was pretty close to perfect, but I can see we are still after that last 5-10% where they melt into the partnership. Some of it is just being green and needing exposure, and I get that, but part of it is also his resistance to giving up that last 5-10%.

And he’s too good of a horse not to go for it all.

On another note, he has fully won me over. Yesterday, I was talking about Cowboy but kept referring to him as Tumbleweed. 

It used to be the opposite issue. 

Tumbleweed has captured my heart and mind and pushed everything else out. Basically, he has captured my obsession. 

And that is something else that’s needed to get past the 5-10%. 

Everything is in Bloom, Even Tumbleweed

 

I can’t believe it’s April already. We went away for a wine weekend and when we came back, a mere two days later, the flowers had popped open.

It is also spring break for our grandson, who I will now refer to as Pilot, since he is an avid collector of airplanes and has memorized most of the US airports, their call names, and all the types of airplanes who take off and land at them. 

Grandpa and Pilot spend many hours tracking planes, then running outside to see them pass overhead. Grandpa even bought a laminated map for Pilot to see where the airports are located. 

When Pilot isn’t tracking planes, he is tracking grandma out at the barn in his dump truck mama got him for Christmas. 

Since it is spring break for Pilot, grandma cannot schedule any rides for herself. That is where the Katie Plan comes in handy. 

We met yesterday and we will meet again on Thursday for her to ride Tweed. I will go to the park with my husband in the evening, tonight and tomorrow, to do my part.  Having someone ride your horse is great, but there is no substitute for building the relationship yourself. 

The fact is, there are upsides and downsides to every plan, but one of my goals for Tumbleweed has always been that anyone can ride him. I’m not getting any younger, and if anything catastrophic happens to me, I want him to be able to make his own way through this life. Being able to be ridden by multiple people is a good start. 

The downside, as I mentioned, is that there is what feels like a watering down of the direct relationship between he and me, especially on weeks Katie rides him more. It may or may not be a real thing, but there is a part of me that wants to do it all and has a hard time watching from afar. 

Then I see her do something like she did yesterday, where she ended their ride going Man From Snowy River style down a steep hill to the trailer, and I’m like, Nope, glad it’s her and not me. 

It is amazing seeing what he’s capable of doing with her. 

One funny moment from yesterday, though, was when I heard a high pitched whinny break out across the valley. I was like, please don’t let that be Tweed. But there were only two horses out riding so a 50/50 chance it was, indeed, him. 

It was. 

I asked Katie about it and she said it occurred when they rode past the business area for guided trail rides. A mare there locked onto Tweed through the fence and he wanted to go see her. Katie had him go past with no real trouble, but when they took the trail away from her he grabbed the bit and threw a hissy fit. Katie shut that down quickly and easily with a mere smack on the butt with her rein end, but as they left the mare he continued to call out for her, and that’s what I heard. 

Oh, Tumbleweed. You really are a gelding, right? I mean, I saw them do the deed with my own eyes, so…yeah, you are. 

Spring is just a beautiful, crazy time. Green grass. Mares in heat. And a young, fresh, good looking stud gelding out in the big world.