Thursday, September 20, 2007
Again..... sorry folks- I'm not giving up on her. She was/ is to expensive to own and I've put to much time in her to quit. (:) Unless I am Forced to, and I don't see that happening.
Abby IS THREATENING to rear due to evasion- I know that. First it was fear, now if she even threatens its because SHE thinks its time to go in and that was because she had not wanted to listen to any one else ( hahaha- those who might have different thoughts towards driving or going to the barn). Wow, she had a lot of training holes as per many drafters who are started incorrectly, and we have " filled those in " with more knowledge. She was just disaster bound from the beginning of her driving career.
She was Just 18 months old the only time I saw her go up.... This was at her very first auction. ( She was being sold because her owner realised she wasn't going to end up 18 hands tall, even though Abby is of top quality and they were moving to another smaller farm.) She had been driven on snowy lanes in Maine a few times so she'd be " Broke to drive by sale time". I had decided she was the one I wanted for my belated Christmas gift from my husband. ( he told me I could own any show filly I chose, that he was prepared to buy her for me ) I knew her from her show career in New England, and had seen her photo in magazines,etc. I Knew she was a good mare but young.
Not to worry, I'd started plenty of horses under saddle and the same w/ driving. Never had one who caused trouble at all because I know what I'm doing. ( Been hitching horses for 17 yrs now, training saddle horses for 39 yrs) I dont' rush those who need more time to mature, nor am I in a hurry w/ those who are mentally/ physically ready. There's plenty of time to have a " Made Horse" -to ME anywho. Abby reared twice in being hitched there. Both times the surrounding arena was over dose loud, with horses working all over the place ( I don't know how many of you have been to a draft sale, but the day of hitching tends to be mass panic in some arenas) - it was a cart she'd not ever been hitched too and she was scared ! Who wouldn't be at just 18 months ?? It was nerve racking to me .
Once she was hitched, she drove off really well ! She got " stuck'' one time and began backing up. Her owner/ driver just sat there....Took out a standing gate, but she wasn't scared when it crashed to the ground. She was just soooooooooooooooooo green - and it showed. Afterwards,I talked to her owner who told me she'd only been driven abt 7-8 times because it had been so snowy. Well, that explained a LOT of her behavior to me at least, but I wasn't sure I could deal with a mare who'd go up when she was scared. I visited her in the stall and she was so incredibly sweet, I Knew there had to be more to it. Took her for a walk around the stalls,etc. and she was quiet as can be, but so curious and a little unsure of what was going on. It sure wasn't like that at the shows she'd been to. So Glenn bought her for me :D
When we got her home, she was aloof and ignored me a lot. Abby was good, but not bonding. She HATED having her mane combed out, and I quickly understood why- if you'd had your thick mane thinned repeatedly since weaning, had it shortened, and then thinned by pulling hair out some more so it would lay over nicely, wouldn't you Too get real tired of being in pain when someone else ( as you think) is going to do it AGAIN ?? Her forelock had been shaved on the sides so it could have a thin braid for the halter classes as well..... it looked real dumb to me, but that's the life of a halter horse in some instances. I told her never again would she be so coiffed. Abby has a wonderful thick wavy mane and forelock, so there would have been a LOT of pain to have her mane thin enough to lay over like some TB's might. She had on scotch bottom shoes that fit really well, but wow, once they came off, I found out how heavy they were...she had the side flares on her hind feet as well. This filly was not quite 18 months old, again. She'd been clipped and blanketed- again, the life of a show horse, so I couldn't turn her out w/out a couple of blankets to keep her warm. Abby has opinions and they are Very well founded. She hardly understood what it was like to be outside ALL day long and wanted to come in only after a couple of hours. That winter she was pampered some - more than the other horses here who know what its like to BE a normal horse. Now ? She Loves being outside all night long and happily meets us at the gate each morning to come in for breakfast.
As time passed, I learned how sweet and kind this filly really was. She has Never offered to kick, strike or bite. Always listened well and tried to be a good girl. That spring when she was two, I thought I'd ground drive her some and wait til she was older to actually hitch her. I carried the first part of the harness out ( Mine comes in three pieces :) and she immediately got scared. When Abby is scared, her lips tremble..... and boy she was trembling then. Her muscles were shaking on her shoulders, and thighs too. FEAR. I quickly realised she had been harnessed w/ a big old work harness.I remembered seeing it at the sale. No doubt it had been thrown over on her all in one big mass- basis for fear. We worked on that, and to this day, if I catch her unaware, she steps sideways looking at me in fear. My poor filly was very upset at this harnessing stuff. I didn't work w/ her much due to her being immature and needing to grow up some, that first year. ( her two year old year) We worked on the harness, and some ground driving. She didn't care for her thick snaffle bit so I changed it to some different ones, and she stopped throwing her head , mouthing the bit to much w/ a mullen mouthed liverpool. THAT one Abby liked a lot...had her teeth checked by Two folks- one professional horse dentist and a vet up here. Both said she had a fine set of teeth and nothing to cause trouble. We did have her wolf teeth pulled when she was younger. It was that bit she just didn't feel right with. Ever since I changed it to a solid mouthpiece, she's happy as a clam. :)
Fast forward a couple of years. I admit, I put off hitching her because I was not Sure she'd keep her feet on the ground...... So we worked on desensitations a bunch - from the ground. Last April I decided it was time or I needed to send her out to get trained or do SOMEthing with her. Now, I AM a horse trainer...have been for some time- so that whole idea bothered me. " stop being a sissy, Kris" is what I told myself, but I have discovered that when I hit the ground now, It HURTS !! No more bounces now. I thought I'd work w/ her some and then decide what to do... sell or send her to my friend who trains drafters.
Last April, It was finally The Day of Abby's first hitch here. I asked a couple of horsey friends I'd met up here who'd be a big help thru all this. We worked forward in careful increments, watching her reactions to each one. Nothing. Abby was ready to "DO Things !!" and she showed it. NO threats, no nothing and I was so proud of her , I was almost in tears. ALL of that careful slow work had paid off. Abby had been hitched w/ not one problem. So because I was busy showing my older mare ( the one who won for me so many times- and I trained her also ) that Abby kind of got put on the back burner. Also I had a younger filly to work with too- one has so many hours in a day it seems. We hitched her a few more times and each time she was great, til one day she kept stopping and tossing her face like it was a threat. Front feet bouncing off the ground a little bit. Not being positive as to why, I did what I did w/ my other Very Hot tempered mare, Dixie, and let her work thru it. Easier than causing a HUGE fight- which is what Abby was looking for. No response to her temper confused her- gave her no reason to have a hissy fit, and we had a pretty good time. I really wanted her to learn that driving was great fun .
This spring, it was the year to get Abby moving forward and to try some shows. She has been shown a LOT in halter, and is great, but pulling a cart in a class ? Ha..... After I got to the point where I could trust my strength and most of the back pain had gone, I tripped in the barn and blew out an elbow.. MORE time off as I couldn't even straighten the danged thing ! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Finally this April , we began work w/ Abby- dabby again. She still tried to evade being harnessed, but was much better. She just had so many negatives and bad treatment memories from before. We've been trying to drive every other day or so to get her muscled up some more, and lightly at that. The last three- four drives, Abby has done NO threats, no instantaneous stops, w/ ears back, listening to me. She's moving forward, giving to the bit softly, she's paying attention to where she is being asked to go, and is JUST beginning to collect properly. I don't ask for much as I don't want her to be sore- and add more negatives to her list she already has. ' One day at a time' We have a good time and only work for maybe 30 minutes or so. She's doing this happily, and loves doing a kinda /sorta extended trot. Yesterday, she asked if she could canter, but I said nooooooooooo- we'lll wait to do that. Today she gave me a teeny fuss about going past the OPEN gate out of the ring, and was so good. She collected properly for the sweetest little slow trot I'd seen her do. Light, soft, flexing her poll and jaw for me, and was fingertip control... boy I was ear to ear grins. No threats, not a bit of temper, just a lot of forward Fire outta this mare. I am thinking we're on the way back from Abby's hell, and we're Both liking it a Lot :)
Abby loves getting her apple pieces too for being such a good girl.... She has for a few years now, let me brush all the tangles from her thick mane, and lets me shorten it too - she just stands there dozing, in fact. She is wonderful to get trimmed by my farrier now, and she gets a rub on the neck from him as he knows how awful she was before. This mare is So smart and is so sensitive, that she could have been very very dangerous, but I HOPE we are now moving forward in this driving stuff. :)
Hope this explains my Abby a little better. She is NOT a bad mare, just has had a tough time in some instances. If I thought she was dangerous I'd not have taken all this time to help her past her 'demons'.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Lynn's Story of her trip to the Farm Show in PA
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Lynda's Description of her adventure to the Pa. Farm Show 1 2-07
I "overheard' this as Lynn was telling BoJangles of her long weekend away from home. We just got her back home from the Farm Show, and they were busily 'chatting' as she ate her hay. Lynda is my soul mate, it seems .We have been together since 1992 and she has never failed me.We let a student of mine show her at the PA Farm Show in Jan. 2007, and this is how Lynn saw it all...
Seems that she was telling him all about it and that first, she got to this big
(picture of a BIG barn-like structure) place and mom put her in a stall - yellow stuff that wasn't so good to eat, but the 'green' (hay) was pretty good. They gave her a bucket w/ water in it and left. Then they came back with 'stuff'- images of all kinds of brushes, washing things, tack. She didn't get all of her green eaten but the 'short human' (my student) took her to another place with water all over the place. Lynn got wet, but the water wasn't cold like before, and then the 'short one' put foam all over her! Lynn didn't understand that much, but then mom got out the smelly good stuff (a whitening shampoo- smells like grape soda) and washed her really well. Lynn, that is, not my student. Then back to her yellow house (stall) and more good hay. Mom put her pretty cover (a wool cooler ) on her, which made her feel warm and comfy. Then after a while, they both came to put that black horrid thing on her (image of my saddle and pain between her shoulders) which is not wide enough since Lynn grew her winter coat.
Then the bit and Lynn tells Bo about how SHE gets the bit in her mouth as Bo is always a little scared to be bridled. (shes' trying to let him know its a good thing) So,she has to leave her hay, and go thru this low tunnel-like place with pieces of wood on the ground,then into a HUGE dirt pasture! She was telling Bo about how HUGE it was... the show arena that is. The short human is riding her, and the saddle isn't comfortable but Lynn knows it won't last for long because her mom knows it hurts Lynn, too. Around they go and she tries hard to be perfect for the short human who sends so many different messages that Lynn sometimes gets confused about them all. She guesses which one is right. Most time she nails that perfectly. After a while, some little horses come in that pasture and they are going all over the place! (these were the roping horses used in the rodeo the next day- the riders were giving them some much-needed exercise) They were laughing at her because she is SO tall and pure white- Lynn doesn't let it bother her due to her knowing that if any of them give her a tough time, she is BIGGER, and can kick pretty good. Around they go, hearing that laughter, and Lynn getting tons of messages and signals she has to guess at.Thank goodness the short human doesn't bang on her back like she did at home.
Then its back to the yellow place (her stall) and that awful tack is removed. She gets some water to drink and mom n' dad stay outside her stall for a few minutes, then they leave her all alone there. She's alright because they always return- Lynn is confident in that I'll never leave her anywhere by herself. The short one brings her breakfast the next morning and it is Exactly like what she gets at home! Imagine THAT- food that is the same! She has breakfast and thinks that her place is a little small for a ''Draft Mare of Great Size''. She watches all the other horses get pretty, and then she has her forelock braided in pink/navy colors, and some kid human braids her tail up. Lynn realizes that it's going to be a very important day when That happens. (Bo interjects here that he knows those things too- as does Carli, who is listening in) They go to one of those pastures in her white pretty dress up halter and Lynn has to stand around for a long time- boringgggggggggggggggggg. Finally back to her stall again-
She waits and mom/dad come to see her. Lynn nickers real softly in that special
'' Mom, I love you'' whisper- and she sees her mom smiling and saying happy things back to her. All is good in Lynn's life again. Even Dad smiled at her! Its time to go do that important thing- but instead of mom going, the short human sits on her.?????????????????????????????
Lynn accepts this as mom says she must. It is off around all these cars n' trucks (parking lot) that aren't moving- she has no clue what is going on as this isn't' like a normal "important" time... then into that big dirt pasture again. She walks around and around, bored to tears, then is told to whoa. Lynn listens to the person on her, and all of a sudden the 'sky' (aka- show announcer) says something and ALL THOSE PEOPLE act like they are going to JUMP on her !!!! (standing up for the Nat'l Anthem and the arena was Packed) Lynn tried to move away fast so they wouldn't get her but the short one said 'no- stay here'. Oooooooooooo- it was scary! The scary people didn't get her. they were Singing. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, might this human be smart Too? Then the people sat down again and Lynn felt better right away. The 'sky' said to trot, so before her human told her, Lynn Trotted. She didn't like the thump on her back when she started and the human wasn't expecting it either.
All of a sudden the voice from the sky said something else, and her human told her to go faster- but with one foot ! WHaaaaaaaaaaaaa??????????????? OH- canter, that's the signal for canter. Lynn did, and it was going really good- no thumping from the human and the other horses were going fast too- it was kinda fun. All of a sudden there was a black horse in front of her and Lynn could see that this horse from her other trip ''to do important things w/ mom'' (this mare was also at the Worlds... right across from us). All of a sudden, that horse tripped and stumbled - right in front of Lynn! Lynn didn't know what to do- so she jumped out of the way as fast as she could and all of a sudden her short person was GONE. She didn't know what to do, again and was scared a little. So she trotted to the first person she saw w/ grey hair (like Glenn n' I have)- surely he would save her.
That was the ring steward, that Lynn went right to. That one said she 'was alright and had been a good horse'. Lynn liked that and he made her feel better. There was the short human again- only on the ground. Lynn didn't know how she had gotten there but she was walking a little weird. Lynn was glad to see her. The humans talked for a few seconds and Lynn was led out of the big dirt pasture. At this point, Bo is all but scratching his head wondering what had happened... Carlene told them that humans sometimes just fall off of horses' backs. No reason, they just do... And if you buck a little some will go off faster. It was kind of fun, Carlene said...
After that, back at her stall, no one rode her or paid to much attention to her. Lynn figured she'd let them down- but hadn't she done a good thing to save herself from a bad fall? Hadn't she helped her human not get hurt? Then mom led her back outside, and the short person was getting on her back again. Whaaaaaaaaaaattt???? They had to walk up n' down where all those cars were again- didn't make any sense to her. Her rider was scared though, and was very very sad.... once her short human got off again, Lynn had a big warm hug from her, and she knew her short human understood that SHE had been a good horse, and hadn't been bad somehow. Her little human thanked Lynna for 'saving' them from a bad fall.... (Lynn is boasting here big time)
So it was back to the yellow place again, she got groomed some by mom (who's back was hurting too- but she never did have saddles on her, so Lynn wasn't too sure about the 'why') and got a piece of carrot to eat. Mom n' Dad left and she was there alone. She slept some, ate some more green stuff, drank the water that tasted 'green' too, and slept some more. She made friends w/ the brown horse on the other side (A Clyde named Sandy...) and they told some stories too. Finally, it was time for more feed and some hay. Lynn got to go for a walk outside which was fun, and the sunshine felt good on her back and ears.
She waited and waited for her mom to come, but she didn't. Not for a Long time ! All of a sudden there they were and Lynn was whispering her "mom whispers" to her, and got the smile again. All was good in Lynn's life again- her mom was there. After a few minutes of moving stuff - that black thing was taken away- YAY! - she got her halter on, and went with mom to the outside again. Wow- another walk she though- but then she saw her BOX !! The gold one that takes you places w'/out walking there. Oh, Lynn was so happy, she took Mom to the walk-up, (ramp to go in the trailer) and went on all by herself! After all, she had done it many times before- why not just go by yourself? Mom didn't really need to go too. But mom hurried along with her, laughing at her. Lynn expected some green in there but there was none, so she just wanted to GO- NOW. She pawed and got yelled at to stop, so she figured she might do that. The ride home was boring with no green but then they were HOME. Lynn called and called- so happy to be home again, and now she was tired of telling everyone about her time away and was going to take a nap.
Bo n' Carli discussed their times ''away''- one time seeing a grey thing with a long tube out its face (an elephant at the Great Circus Parade in WI) that kind of smelled bad, and of the time when the round 'clouds' came to land on the ground, ( Hot air balloons- Carlene's story ) only to stay there going up n' down. They both thought those a little weird. Lynn piped up to say that the worst things were the railroad tracks- Bo agreed, and that you had to beware of those because Sometimes the long pipes jumped up to trip you.
And that was about the end of the whole conversation ! At least for me as my head hurt from it all .
Lynda's Description of her adventure to the Pa. Farm Show 1 2-07
I "overheard' this as Lynn was telling BoJangles of her long weekend away from home. We just got her back home from the Farm Show, and they were busily 'chatting' as she ate her hay. Lynda is my soul mate, it seems .We have been together since 1992 and she has never failed me.We let a student of mine show her at the PA Farm Show in Jan. 2007, and this is how Lynn saw it all...
Seems that she was telling him all about it and that first, she got to this big
(picture of a BIG barn-like structure) place and mom put her in a stall - yellow stuff that wasn't so good to eat, but the 'green' (hay) was pretty good. They gave her a bucket w/ water in it and left. Then they came back with 'stuff'- images of all kinds of brushes, washing things, tack. She didn't get all of her green eaten but the 'short human' (my student) took her to another place with water all over the place. Lynn got wet, but the water wasn't cold like before, and then the 'short one' put foam all over her! Lynn didn't understand that much, but then mom got out the smelly good stuff (a whitening shampoo- smells like grape soda) and washed her really well. Lynn, that is, not my student. Then back to her yellow house (stall) and more good hay. Mom put her pretty cover (a wool cooler ) on her, which made her feel warm and comfy. Then after a while, they both came to put that black horrid thing on her (image of my saddle and pain between her shoulders) which is not wide enough since Lynn grew her winter coat.
Then the bit and Lynn tells Bo about how SHE gets the bit in her mouth as Bo is always a little scared to be bridled. (shes' trying to let him know its a good thing) So,she has to leave her hay, and go thru this low tunnel-like place with pieces of wood on the ground,then into a HUGE dirt pasture! She was telling Bo about how HUGE it was... the show arena that is. The short human is riding her, and the saddle isn't comfortable but Lynn knows it won't last for long because her mom knows it hurts Lynn, too. Around they go and she tries hard to be perfect for the short human who sends so many different messages that Lynn sometimes gets confused about them all. She guesses which one is right. Most time she nails that perfectly. After a while, some little horses come in that pasture and they are going all over the place! (these were the roping horses used in the rodeo the next day- the riders were giving them some much-needed exercise) They were laughing at her because she is SO tall and pure white- Lynn doesn't let it bother her due to her knowing that if any of them give her a tough time, she is BIGGER, and can kick pretty good. Around they go, hearing that laughter, and Lynn getting tons of messages and signals she has to guess at.Thank goodness the short human doesn't bang on her back like she did at home.
Then its back to the yellow place (her stall) and that awful tack is removed. She gets some water to drink and mom n' dad stay outside her stall for a few minutes, then they leave her all alone there. She's alright because they always return- Lynn is confident in that I'll never leave her anywhere by herself. The short one brings her breakfast the next morning and it is Exactly like what she gets at home! Imagine THAT- food that is the same! She has breakfast and thinks that her place is a little small for a ''Draft Mare of Great Size''. She watches all the other horses get pretty, and then she has her forelock braided in pink/navy colors, and some kid human braids her tail up. Lynn realizes that it's going to be a very important day when That happens. (Bo interjects here that he knows those things too- as does Carli, who is listening in) They go to one of those pastures in her white pretty dress up halter and Lynn has to stand around for a long time- boringgggggggggggggggggg. Finally back to her stall again-
She waits and mom/dad come to see her. Lynn nickers real softly in that special
'' Mom, I love you'' whisper- and she sees her mom smiling and saying happy things back to her. All is good in Lynn's life again. Even Dad smiled at her! Its time to go do that important thing- but instead of mom going, the short human sits on her.?????????????????????????????
Lynn accepts this as mom says she must. It is off around all these cars n' trucks (parking lot) that aren't moving- she has no clue what is going on as this isn't' like a normal "important" time... then into that big dirt pasture again. She walks around and around, bored to tears, then is told to whoa. Lynn listens to the person on her, and all of a sudden the 'sky' (aka- show announcer) says something and ALL THOSE PEOPLE act like they are going to JUMP on her !!!! (standing up for the Nat'l Anthem and the arena was Packed) Lynn tried to move away fast so they wouldn't get her but the short one said 'no- stay here'. Oooooooooooo- it was scary! The scary people didn't get her. they were Singing. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, might this human be smart Too? Then the people sat down again and Lynn felt better right away. The 'sky' said to trot, so before her human told her, Lynn Trotted. She didn't like the thump on her back when she started and the human wasn't expecting it either.
All of a sudden the voice from the sky said something else, and her human told her to go faster- but with one foot ! WHaaaaaaaaaaaaa??????????????? OH- canter, that's the signal for canter. Lynn did, and it was going really good- no thumping from the human and the other horses were going fast too- it was kinda fun. All of a sudden there was a black horse in front of her and Lynn could see that this horse from her other trip ''to do important things w/ mom'' (this mare was also at the Worlds... right across from us). All of a sudden, that horse tripped and stumbled - right in front of Lynn! Lynn didn't know what to do- so she jumped out of the way as fast as she could and all of a sudden her short person was GONE. She didn't know what to do, again and was scared a little. So she trotted to the first person she saw w/ grey hair (like Glenn n' I have)- surely he would save her.
That was the ring steward, that Lynn went right to. That one said she 'was alright and had been a good horse'. Lynn liked that and he made her feel better. There was the short human again- only on the ground. Lynn didn't know how she had gotten there but she was walking a little weird. Lynn was glad to see her. The humans talked for a few seconds and Lynn was led out of the big dirt pasture. At this point, Bo is all but scratching his head wondering what had happened... Carlene told them that humans sometimes just fall off of horses' backs. No reason, they just do... And if you buck a little some will go off faster. It was kind of fun, Carlene said...
After that, back at her stall, no one rode her or paid to much attention to her. Lynn figured she'd let them down- but hadn't she done a good thing to save herself from a bad fall? Hadn't she helped her human not get hurt? Then mom led her back outside, and the short person was getting on her back again. Whaaaaaaaaaaattt???? They had to walk up n' down where all those cars were again- didn't make any sense to her. Her rider was scared though, and was very very sad.... once her short human got off again, Lynn had a big warm hug from her, and she knew her short human understood that SHE had been a good horse, and hadn't been bad somehow. Her little human thanked Lynna for 'saving' them from a bad fall.... (Lynn is boasting here big time)
So it was back to the yellow place again, she got groomed some by mom (who's back was hurting too- but she never did have saddles on her, so Lynn wasn't too sure about the 'why') and got a piece of carrot to eat. Mom n' Dad left and she was there alone. She slept some, ate some more green stuff, drank the water that tasted 'green' too, and slept some more. She made friends w/ the brown horse on the other side (A Clyde named Sandy...) and they told some stories too. Finally, it was time for more feed and some hay. Lynn got to go for a walk outside which was fun, and the sunshine felt good on her back and ears.
She waited and waited for her mom to come, but she didn't. Not for a Long time ! All of a sudden there they were and Lynn was whispering her "mom whispers" to her, and got the smile again. All was good in Lynn's life again- her mom was there. After a few minutes of moving stuff - that black thing was taken away- YAY! - she got her halter on, and went with mom to the outside again. Wow- another walk she though- but then she saw her BOX !! The gold one that takes you places w'/out walking there. Oh, Lynn was so happy, she took Mom to the walk-up, (ramp to go in the trailer) and went on all by herself! After all, she had done it many times before- why not just go by yourself? Mom didn't really need to go too. But mom hurried along with her, laughing at her. Lynn expected some green in there but there was none, so she just wanted to GO- NOW. She pawed and got yelled at to stop, so she figured she might do that. The ride home was boring with no green but then they were HOME. Lynn called and called- so happy to be home again, and now she was tired of telling everyone about her time away and was going to take a nap.
Bo n' Carli discussed their times ''away''- one time seeing a grey thing with a long tube out its face (an elephant at the Great Circus Parade in WI) that kind of smelled bad, and of the time when the round 'clouds' came to land on the ground, ( Hot air balloons- Carlene's story ) only to stay there going up n' down. They both thought those a little weird. Lynn piped up to say that the worst things were the railroad tracks- Bo agreed, and that you had to beware of those because Sometimes the long pipes jumped up to trip you.
And that was about the end of the whole conversation ! At least for me as my head hurt from it all .
Evie update and other Misc Items 1/3/07
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Evie update & other misc items 1 3 2007
Hi all,
Here we go again. Evie has grown ! She's now a smidgeon under 15.2 and is level on her top line for the first time in ages. She's going to turn 9 months old this coming Friday ( Jan 5th) and isn't learning much at all. Just re-hashing the old things, and getting more practiced at them all.
Glenn was out w/ his camera and got some up to date photos of her. She had been laying down in the greasy mud, which got my attention. So I'd gone out to check her out. Seems she just wanted to lay on her hay and was fine. I Think Alli may have connected with one of her kicks from last night - stupid ol' mare had a grumpy stick up her butt- and Evie learned to back OFF, when her auntie is grumpy.'Nother lesson learned....
She's brown, thanks to the sun, but looks real dark, like dark chocolate. She has learned 'go to your dish" very well, but tests me to see if I do mean what I say. She has learned to use kisses as a way to get out of doing something..... Not good. <> She is fascinated by Bob the Belgian. She'll stand there gazing over the fence at him as though she's trying to figure out just WHAT he is doing here. She doesn't act grumpy, just more interested in him. He looks back and she walks off. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
She still looks at the farrier like he is going to beat her or something . I didn't know Bill was that frightening . She leads real well for Glenn now- no more testing on that idea. He had to yell at her one time and wriggle her lead - voila ! Perfect filly. Evie has decided to find something to scare herself about every time we go up the barn aisle or towards her stall. She looks real hard at the kitty hut w/ blankets in it- one day it might just Jump to get her, so it must be watched. Then , oh my, the 2x6's standing up against the aisle wall are dangerous as well. The big white carriage ? Nope, nothing scary about it, nor the show cart with the naugahyde cover, nor the old show cart covered in white plastic. Nope.... Just that kitty hut and those boards ! Go figure. We have to pay close attention to her while leading her in or out, due to these monsterous items. According to Evie, anywho. I sure don't want to get blasted sideways by a filly who mentally is so young but as big and heavy as a mature riding horse.
Soon, we'll learn more about towels, plastic bags n' more- as I get better that is. Right now, I'm on "horsey leave'' till my back heals a bit more...Haaaaaa- like a flippin MONTH. Sheeeeeeeeesh.... BUT I will listen to the Dr, because as my older brother reminds me, I'm not 30 anymore, and don't bounce back like before. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, sit I shall. But I'll complain every chance I get too !
Evie update & other misc items 1 3 2007
Hi all,
Here we go again. Evie has grown ! She's now a smidgeon under 15.2 and is level on her top line for the first time in ages. She's going to turn 9 months old this coming Friday ( Jan 5th) and isn't learning much at all. Just re-hashing the old things, and getting more practiced at them all.
Glenn was out w/ his camera and got some up to date photos of her. She had been laying down in the greasy mud, which got my attention. So I'd gone out to check her out. Seems she just wanted to lay on her hay and was fine. I Think Alli may have connected with one of her kicks from last night - stupid ol' mare had a grumpy stick up her butt- and Evie learned to back OFF, when her auntie is grumpy.'Nother lesson learned....
She's brown, thanks to the sun, but looks real dark, like dark chocolate. She has learned 'go to your dish" very well, but tests me to see if I do mean what I say. She has learned to use kisses as a way to get out of doing something..... Not good. <> She is fascinated by Bob the Belgian. She'll stand there gazing over the fence at him as though she's trying to figure out just WHAT he is doing here. She doesn't act grumpy, just more interested in him. He looks back and she walks off. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
She still looks at the farrier like he is going to beat her or something . I didn't know Bill was that frightening . She leads real well for Glenn now- no more testing on that idea. He had to yell at her one time and wriggle her lead - voila ! Perfect filly. Evie has decided to find something to scare herself about every time we go up the barn aisle or towards her stall. She looks real hard at the kitty hut w/ blankets in it- one day it might just Jump to get her, so it must be watched. Then , oh my, the 2x6's standing up against the aisle wall are dangerous as well. The big white carriage ? Nope, nothing scary about it, nor the show cart with the naugahyde cover, nor the old show cart covered in white plastic. Nope.... Just that kitty hut and those boards ! Go figure. We have to pay close attention to her while leading her in or out, due to these monsterous items. According to Evie, anywho. I sure don't want to get blasted sideways by a filly who mentally is so young but as big and heavy as a mature riding horse.
Soon, we'll learn more about towels, plastic bags n' more- as I get better that is. Right now, I'm on "horsey leave'' till my back heals a bit more...Haaaaaa- like a flippin MONTH. Sheeeeeeeeesh.... BUT I will listen to the Dr, because as my older brother reminds me, I'm not 30 anymore, and don't bounce back like before. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, sit I shall. But I'll complain every chance I get too !
1st Trailer Ride and a Wedding 1/1/2006
Thursday, September 20, 2006
Evie's 1st trailer ride , wedding 1- 1 2006
This has been an eventful weekend for Evie and us too. Due to the fact that she has to go into the trailer and on a 30 minute trip to the Horse Show this coming Thursday morning, we decided to have a trial run first. Aunt Alli went along too. I think SHE was more nervous than the filly ! Alli loaded well, and was a little confused about backing into her stall, so once Glenn got that accomplished ( Whatttt a good job he did too )- Evie was MORE than happy to walk right up that ramp into the trailer. Hahaha- we STILL don't understand that backing stuff, but she's trying. Glenn decided to just take a little cruise around town- it has a LOT of bumpy areas, turns , stops, etc... Plus THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE ! My pal, T, came along to help too- one of those 'just in case' things ? We gals rode in the back with the horse girls.
So,off we went... Evie was mystified and a little scared as we bumped long the road from the house.... She did accept some hay from my hand, but was to busy tryin to figure out why the world was suddenly so bouncy/ trouncy. Then we stopped- she braced for it... off we went again- up hills, along noisy bumpy roads, past a family picnic- THAT got a look out of her window !! Then into town, around some turns/ stops, and back towards the farm . She got a little scared w/ the NOISE in that trailer ( WOW, I didn't like it either - will have to fix them) but as she got used to them, and saw that Auntie Alli wasn't concerned, she relaxed into learning how to stay upright in her big stall. She has WAY to much room in it, as its built for mature drafters of huge heights. Evie is teeny still, so she had a lot on her plate so far as understanding things went.
By the time we were on our way home, she'd relaxed enough to dip her head to get some hay, and still stay upright. I do so love this little gal ! So we're on our way to becoming a good hauler :D
**************************************************************************
WE did NOT get wet on Saturday for the wedding !! When we arrived at the chosen spot,it was cloudy, and rained the whole way down there. The rain had been spotty in showers all morning too. The pick up time for the bride n' her dad was around 3:15 and they weren't on time, of course. The clouds held off on the rain and I think the' keeper of the rain clouds' might have been helping us out as it didn't Rain - NOT a drop ! Lynn was perfect as usual, but the down hill slope for dropping off the bride n' her dad surprised her a little.
Hahaaha- those two folks IN the carriage were clowning around big time. We just laughed the whole time during our drive.
Evie's 1st trailer ride , wedding 1- 1 2006
This has been an eventful weekend for Evie and us too. Due to the fact that she has to go into the trailer and on a 30 minute trip to the Horse Show this coming Thursday morning, we decided to have a trial run first. Aunt Alli went along too. I think SHE was more nervous than the filly ! Alli loaded well, and was a little confused about backing into her stall, so once Glenn got that accomplished ( Whatttt a good job he did too )- Evie was MORE than happy to walk right up that ramp into the trailer. Hahaha- we STILL don't understand that backing stuff, but she's trying. Glenn decided to just take a little cruise around town- it has a LOT of bumpy areas, turns , stops, etc... Plus THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE ! My pal, T, came along to help too- one of those 'just in case' things ? We gals rode in the back with the horse girls.
So,off we went... Evie was mystified and a little scared as we bumped long the road from the house.... She did accept some hay from my hand, but was to busy tryin to figure out why the world was suddenly so bouncy/ trouncy. Then we stopped- she braced for it... off we went again- up hills, along noisy bumpy roads, past a family picnic- THAT got a look out of her window !! Then into town, around some turns/ stops, and back towards the farm . She got a little scared w/ the NOISE in that trailer ( WOW, I didn't like it either - will have to fix them) but as she got used to them, and saw that Auntie Alli wasn't concerned, she relaxed into learning how to stay upright in her big stall. She has WAY to much room in it, as its built for mature drafters of huge heights. Evie is teeny still, so she had a lot on her plate so far as understanding things went.
By the time we were on our way home, she'd relaxed enough to dip her head to get some hay, and still stay upright. I do so love this little gal ! So we're on our way to becoming a good hauler :D
**************************************************************************
WE did NOT get wet on Saturday for the wedding !! When we arrived at the chosen spot,it was cloudy, and rained the whole way down there. The rain had been spotty in showers all morning too. The pick up time for the bride n' her dad was around 3:15 and they weren't on time, of course. The clouds held off on the rain and I think the' keeper of the rain clouds' might have been helping us out as it didn't Rain - NOT a drop ! Lynn was perfect as usual, but the down hill slope for dropping off the bride n' her dad surprised her a little.
Hahaaha- those two folks IN the carriage were clowning around big time. We just laughed the whole time during our drive.
First Show Clip - Eve 10/3/2007
She did GREAT !!!!
For a youngster who's Never been clipped before, and only " met" the clippers one time earlier, I'm again, So proud of my filly. We loaded in the trailer Again, this time w/ no hesitation, she backed into "her" stall better than before and immediately looked for HER hay bag. Which of course I held open for her to snack on. Then we practiced trotting on line once we were outside again.. She's got this down pretty well, but thinks it a little stupid to trot to nowhere then come back again. Go figure, right ? She's learning exactly what I want her to ... that most humans are crazy and must be Humored ! { :) The older horses just sigh and say- " Ok- where are we trotting again, ya stupid human ? "
Yesterday, I worked on getting her a little bridle path, Welllllllllllllllllllllll, she kept shaking her head, trying to get rid of those FLYS buzzing around and its a littttttle longer than I'd planned. But its there ! Each time I turned the clippers on and off, she'd bug her eyes out at the noise- but then would settle right down. So it was on / off... on/ off.... on, raise the clippers in the air above her line of sight, and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down to her knee level.... letting the sound change . She got so this was pretty dull, so I raised them faster and dropped them down faster. She wasn't impressed, so I rubbed the cord on her neck- THAT got a look, but not to worry. Then I rubbed the clippers up n' down- trying to NOT clip hair - which is tough.... After she was cool w/ that, I ran them up on her crest between her ears- where I wanted to clip, but didn't. She was really good- the A-5's were just humming along and she thought they were flys once again. In dodging her shaking head, I actually got her bridle path clipped pretty well.. She was not scared, but just didn't care for being "bugged" by the noise. I was so impressed... a filly who THINKS.
Then I tried her ears. When she was teeny, I would turn them inside out practically, and make buzzzing noises while I ran my hand all over them She had remembered but this was Much more annoying. So rather than botch them up ( yanno- the longer you clip, the shorter the hair ...;) and have her looking really stupid for this show day after tomorrow, I stopped and praised her to the high heavens. I got her muzzle clipped- she was cracking me up w/ her nose/ lips moving ! " Evie, go like this " And she stood so still for me to get those long uggy jawline/ lower face hairs gone too. Remember- this was all done on a loose lead and no fear- just baby 'questions', which were answered by me :)
This evening, I'd asked Glenn if he'd hold her lead while I got her ears neat n' tidy. She's got such pretty well shaped ears- they look like big araby ones, all pointed and classy looking. She was not feeling on top of the world due to being de-wormed this AM ( don't want to get behind in that )- so she was nice n' quiet. Also- being outside all day helped . Got the clippers out, let her see them and turned them on. Not much reaction at ALL. So I went thru the whole thing again, and we moved along right fast. Not a bit of trouble other than " ewwwww, make that NOISE go away - BIG FLYS !!!" from Evie. She didn't understand the 'whys' again, but she'll learn that its not a bug, but just those troublesome clippers again. She wasn't scared - but for one time when I tapped her by mistake w/ the blades - DUH. She was going down w/ her face as I was coming up. That was done with quickly though. All in all she was very very patient w/ all this new stuff and those Flys too.. <> She's grown some more- her shoulders/ chest area is really opening up but her behind still looks like a AQHA's.... Half Percheron filly, and half who knows ! <>
Lets hope in the next day, she rounds out again ?? Instead of looking like all these misc. pieces of horses stuck together ..... I'm so lovin' this marvelous filly.
Tomorrow afternoon, we get our first BATH.
Oh dread.... I'm glad it is warmer for a couple of days as we will both be soaked !
For a youngster who's Never been clipped before, and only " met" the clippers one time earlier, I'm again, So proud of my filly. We loaded in the trailer Again, this time w/ no hesitation, she backed into "her" stall better than before and immediately looked for HER hay bag. Which of course I held open for her to snack on. Then we practiced trotting on line once we were outside again.. She's got this down pretty well, but thinks it a little stupid to trot to nowhere then come back again. Go figure, right ? She's learning exactly what I want her to ... that most humans are crazy and must be Humored ! { :) The older horses just sigh and say- " Ok- where are we trotting again, ya stupid human ? "
Yesterday, I worked on getting her a little bridle path, Welllllllllllllllllllllll, she kept shaking her head, trying to get rid of those FLYS buzzing around and its a littttttle longer than I'd planned. But its there ! Each time I turned the clippers on and off, she'd bug her eyes out at the noise- but then would settle right down. So it was on / off... on/ off.... on, raise the clippers in the air above her line of sight, and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down to her knee level.... letting the sound change . She got so this was pretty dull, so I raised them faster and dropped them down faster. She wasn't impressed, so I rubbed the cord on her neck- THAT got a look, but not to worry. Then I rubbed the clippers up n' down- trying to NOT clip hair - which is tough.... After she was cool w/ that, I ran them up on her crest between her ears- where I wanted to clip, but didn't. She was really good- the A-5's were just humming along and she thought they were flys once again. In dodging her shaking head, I actually got her bridle path clipped pretty well.. She was not scared, but just didn't care for being "bugged" by the noise. I was so impressed... a filly who THINKS.
Then I tried her ears. When she was teeny, I would turn them inside out practically, and make buzzzing noises while I ran my hand all over them She had remembered but this was Much more annoying. So rather than botch them up ( yanno- the longer you clip, the shorter the hair ...;) and have her looking really stupid for this show day after tomorrow, I stopped and praised her to the high heavens. I got her muzzle clipped- she was cracking me up w/ her nose/ lips moving ! " Evie, go like this " And she stood so still for me to get those long uggy jawline/ lower face hairs gone too. Remember- this was all done on a loose lead and no fear- just baby 'questions', which were answered by me :)
This evening, I'd asked Glenn if he'd hold her lead while I got her ears neat n' tidy. She's got such pretty well shaped ears- they look like big araby ones, all pointed and classy looking. She was not feeling on top of the world due to being de-wormed this AM ( don't want to get behind in that )- so she was nice n' quiet. Also- being outside all day helped . Got the clippers out, let her see them and turned them on. Not much reaction at ALL. So I went thru the whole thing again, and we moved along right fast. Not a bit of trouble other than " ewwwww, make that NOISE go away - BIG FLYS !!!" from Evie. She didn't understand the 'whys' again, but she'll learn that its not a bug, but just those troublesome clippers again. She wasn't scared - but for one time when I tapped her by mistake w/ the blades - DUH. She was going down w/ her face as I was coming up. That was done with quickly though. All in all she was very very patient w/ all this new stuff and those Flys too.. <> She's grown some more- her shoulders/ chest area is really opening up but her behind still looks like a AQHA's.... Half Percheron filly, and half who knows ! <>
Lets hope in the next day, she rounds out again ?? Instead of looking like all these misc. pieces of horses stuck together ..... I'm so lovin' this marvelous filly.
Tomorrow afternoon, we get our first BATH.
Oh dread.... I'm glad it is warmer for a couple of days as we will both be soaked !
Percheron World Congress 10/29/2006 Lexington,VA
Glenn n' I went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant for our anniversary on Sunday evening...we were so full of anticipation of actually MAYBE getting a look from the judge and having a horse worthy (maybe) of being shown at the Worlds !
We got there Monday afternoon, and Glenn had to pick his way around the area with the truck/ trailer once we checked in & found our barn . BIG RIGS- Semi's full of drop dead Gorgeous Percherons , all slicked up, still in short summer coats that were gleaming in the little bit of sun we had. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr- it was COLD there in Lexington, Va !
Huge trailers behind, filled with big hitch wagons, shining patent leather harnesses, hay, straw, feed enough for the week there. Lots of help from well trained teams there, unpacking it all, setting up house. Slowly the Va Horse Center became a small Percheron City . We unloaded our things into our tack stall, disinfected Lynn's stall, bedded it and let her settle in w/ some hay while we finished unloading the millions of things needed for a week long show ( well- actually 5 days, but we traveled the other two). Turns out that the little red wagon we bought back when we first moved here to move weeds, tree branches, and general Junk really proved it's worth !! What a great buy that was..
We got done, then fed Lynn some dinner- she was whispering to me on the other side of the stall wall - she'd heard what sounded like dinner being poured into her bucket. I kept her on low doses of bute due to her side bone flare up. No need to be in pain while we wait for it to ossify .This container is apple flavored but, she figured it out pretty fast- so I added some vegie oil and that did the trick. Next time I'll be sure to get the vanilla flavored bute . She's been getting BL Solution and it works great here at home, but I wanted to be sure she had a good time Too. My vet said it'd be fine for a week of bute, just keep it as low dosage as possible. Then we went to look around. There wasn't much going on as the actual show would not begin until Wed. morning w/ the gelding halter classes.
Our neighbors were great- turns out we knew the folks stabled across the aisle from us, and the gal beside us with the Percheron stallion ( ridden dressage is his forte`) was the one who was carrying the American flag for the opening ceremonies each evening. The guys on the far end had some massive hitch geldings- and we got to be friends w/ all of them too.I met an online pal, Carol, and she's as great in person as via emails ! GOOD to have seen ya there , Carol. I Finally found my long time pal, Kathy from California- her horses were beautiful to see, but we caught them in the middle of having some snacks so we didn't visit for long. I saw Jill Malone again- she and her hubby had some grand looking horses there too. Her stallion, Charles, looked simply marvelous- I was so happy to see him there. He was acting so proud of himself too. We met some other people who drove and showed in pleasure classes too- which was wonderful .( they loved our new Gig !) The Percheron breed is so versatile and it was good to see so many under saddle
( western And English ) as well as those "workin' boys'' pulling farm implements and plowing the earth. Not to forget the Huge hitch horses with fire in them as they trotted along side their handlers. It was a sight to behold for me again. It made me so very proud to be one of a group of owners of such calibre horses.
Tuesday was fun ; It was very cold n' windy with the temps not getting out of the 40's. Luckily I didn't body clip Lynn as I'd thought to do earlier ! The mid weight blanket I bought from a gal on Ebay worked perfectly. Lynn got a Much needed bath- with the both of us shivering and complaining ( Me, more apologizing to Lynn while SHE complained )- but my mare was back to WHITE again. Letting her dry in her stall w/ two coolers on to help her stay warm, we went exploring.
There were Percherons Every Where ! White, greys, blacks, babies, mature stallions, weanlings , mares, and geldings- everywhere we looked, there were world class animals about . I told Glenn it made me realise how small-time we really were. That's where I choose to be now, having been showing horses at national levels for so many years... its fun to kick back w/ just one mare and one insignificant class (to the big time hitches anyways). WE could have fun there, and not have to work our behinds off like so many who brought in 10 - 18 horses to show. Some big farms had up to 18 horses.... Windermere had , I think, 14 ?? All world class animals- who didn't look any different than my Lynna standing there feeding their big ol' faces in their stalls. It wasn't til later when those blankets came off, horses got baths, manes rolled, tails done up and hooves shined that the difference became VERY apparent. Our neighbors were the Blacks / Ryanday folks. They had HUGE Geldings - OMG- no lie, those wheelers were 19 hands tall !!! I was amazed at how sweet they were- but SO BIG. One time, when it was time to harness their hitch, there were 6 black geldings tied to stalls, and one of those wheelers was tied to Lynn's stall front. I tossed a flake of hay in for her to munch on, and this big boy thought perhaps HE should get some too, so he stood there from WAY above my head, begging for a handful. In the meantime, Lynn was trying to impress on this horse that her hay was HER hay, pinning her ears back, postering, and generally looking Wicked. She looked like some Welsh pony standing there in front of that huge gelding !! I moved her hay so she could eat in peace, and all was well.
She's such a pro at this showing thang :D
We Did get to the coliseum to see the stallions on Wed morning- missed the one horse I'd wanted to see, but that was alright- I saw him in the barns up close n' personal. We are Considering breeding a mare to him next year.... IF there's the money to do so.It is SO expensive to breed mares anymore and the fees alone knock me simple. Then there's mare care, foaling, and raising that baby to be safe n' sound.... so when I Do breed, I breed the best to the best possible. Its a TON of work having foals around when things are done correctly, so we want to have show quality foals hitting the ground when we choose a mare to be a mommy.
Wednesday was show day for us... Glenn and I polished brass on the harness, shined up the patent leather and that was set to go. Keeping DUST off things was a major undertaking due to the dry conditions and that winddddddddddddddddddd. Covered it all back up, and then got the Gig out to get it sparkling clean as well. I'd cleaned it all the week before but had not done brass fittings, so it was pretty easy. We made it to the ringside to see the stallions get pinned/ placed - I have a photo of Blue Ribbon Farms' Prince ( now owned n' shown by Windermere Farms)- who went Grand ( and World) Champion Stallion that day. Gerald was SO happy, he jumped in the air when it was announced.
Wednesday night was Show night for us . Pleasure Driving/ Cart... with breast plate harness only. We buffed n' polished all one more time, I found all my fancy driving clothes and felt Myself being oh-so nervous about this whole thing one more time. I've Never shown at world level and wished a little that I'd just stayed home. I kept telling myself that IF the class was judged as it should be, I would place somewhere down the line . If not ? We'd be one of those who were asked to leave " In no particular order" . THEN the winners would be awarded their winning ribbons. The judge placed up to tenth place, and there were supposed to be 15 entered - so I was nervous. ALL this work, to be asked to leave as we were not good enough for the World Percheron Congress.....
Glenn was so great, he ignored my being scared to death, and sniping at way to many trivial things ( Kris was getting in 'show mode' ). He just kept grinning ( I wonder if he was gritting his teeth ??) and telling me to go get ready, where was my whip, did I have my white gloves for under the seat ( Ladies always have some ready, once they are set to get off their vehicle ) and where was my driving apron ?? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- this was TOO much to think of , And then to get Lynn harnessed Too ! Glenn got battered by Lynn tossing her head, and therefore hitting him w/ her bit, as I adjusted her harness and then the cart to Perfection. We were ready. My stomach was totally butterflys and I really felt like this was all a dream. It was almost surreal. Gorgeous black slick horses prancing along, wonderful clothing their drivers were wearing, harnesses, and then there were the gelding teams waiting to go in the ring before us as well. It Was like a dream come true for me n' Lynn. In all actuality, Lynn acted like this was Just Another Show. She was calm, and right on the bit for me, nothing fazed her - not the big hitch wagons rumbling by, not the dark shadows waiting to enter the classes, not people popping out from darkness, nothing . As before- Lynn is a PRO- I am too- BUT, neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrr at the World Congress !! We drove around the warm up ring and checked out our competition, trying not to run in to anyone else. Its amazing how small a big warm up ring gets with 12 other carts in there.
It was time..........................Up til now, I was had been nervous about doing everything correctly and not embarrassing myself, or my fine mare who'd won so many first place ribbons for me during our life together. Glenn looked so grand in his " header" attire too. He was excited at all this too... I was just Nervous and scared to even be trying this. I knew my mare, knew that if the class was judged correctly we might place, but still, ''What IF" ??
The ring man called our class, and off we all went, one at a time. When I got to the 'in gate' - it hit me.... I was showing at the WORLD CONGRESS !!! Me.... and my little ol' white mare. One class, one horse - in a world of beautiful tall, dancing on air animals when they moved-- it was like it was seemingly make believe.
We trotted into the arena - wow, it seemed Much bigger now. I told Lynn, " we're here- so lets go have some FUN " I'd already figured that we were not going to do well, so why not have a blast doing it ?? We were asked to walk, then trot, then I heard something said but it was muffled... The other horses all were stopping and we, being at the far end of the ring, had not heard the announcer say to STOP. Once I realised it, we did- a perfect four point stop- w/ no movement afterwards. I asked Lynn to stay in dressage frame and ready to trot on- which she did happily. The mare was perfection- she popped right back to 1998 when we were winning in driven dressage classes against the light horses. I could not believe how she turned it on- I do love this special mare. Anything I asked for, I got - tenfold.
The announcer asked us to trot again- from a stop- which we did easily. Then to reverse ( I don't remember that real well- I was in a fog of excitement ) and work in the other direction. Then to line up. We ended WAY up at the far end of the ring, which meant poor Glenn had to walk the entire length of the ring to get to us. He'd joked before hand that when I lined up to pulllllease be down at the gate end so his poor knees wouldn't ache so much w/ the long walk..... Oh well :)
At long last, after working his way down the line of gorgeous horses, the judge hardly asked me to back, never checked out my harnessing job - or anything ! That meant I wasn't getting placed.... at least in most shows it did. The announcer began calling numbers of the winners . She released a couple who didn't place at all, but never called my number. She began at the 10th placing, and worked her way up. Never calling my number ! Right about then, I thought perhaps we hadn't been judged- but that we'd been forgotten. It got to where there were three left in the ring- and they still hadn't called my number, down to two- that's when I thought " OMG- we might be second at the Worlds !" But nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo- we won the class !! I was in tears as Lynn n' I did our winning drive around the arena- there were a ton of people cheering and clapping- some even standing up and cheering for us- we had WON. WE had become World Champions. My little ol white mare with no show shoes on, barefooted behind and me had cleaned their clocks at the World Congress ! As I took my first place ribbon, I was still in tears, and had to stop outside to wipe my eyes so I could see. From all over, there were calls of congratulations for our win- from whom, I don't know as it was dark. I got back to the barn and everyone outside wanted to know how we'd done- and when I told them, there were more cheers and clapping for us. Draft horse people ( Most of them) are so kind that way- light horse folks would have been griping behind backs about it all- but the drafter folks were all so pleased. Of course my ear to ear grins and tear streaked face helped them realise how much this win meant to us. Lynn was cooled out, given some hay, and all over the barn, folks were teasing me about sleeping w/ that ribbon, and saying congrats !
A gal from Canada who happened to be a photographer got these shots of us -and was kind enough to email them to me. Here we are in the line up, waiting..... Then me hearing our name being announced that we had WON. Then Lynn and I leaving to get our ribbon...And me looking at it in tears as I see its' Real.
Wintertime Evie.... 12 .3.2006
Thought while I had some extra time today, I'd catch you up on the ''goin's on in the barn" and what's been happening w/ HERSELF. Today is Eve's 8th month birthday. ( Happy Month-day, Eve !!) She's a smidgeon shorter (1/4" under)than 15.1 hands at her withers ( little over 5' tall at the top of her shoulders) and is almost 15.3 hands tall at the top of her butt ! I guesstimated her weight at close to 900 pounds . The weight tape is right at 890, and I add a little for her BIG bones. So this filly is a Big Girl. Her body is still so baby like, but those Legs !! OMG, they are like mile long stilts. She knows how to use them still too.. canters up hills to see her 'aunties'' in the mornings, and races about like some Thoroughbred race horse . She's almost faster than Alli, but doesn't realise its alright to Pass her on these up hill gallops.
She calls to me now in the mornings before I feed, and as I finally get to her stall wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down at the end of the barn, she's whispering sweet nothings to me- she gives me eye contact, so I Know all that sweetness is directed at me. Some just want that danged food, but Eve is talking to her people. She is learning to do " Heads UP, Evie!" when we are leading out to the pasture. She's Kinda sorta learning to set herself up, but whew, that takes Thought and Eve hasn't much time for THAT. She's learning to listen and try though... it all takes time and patience to learn how to Learn.... All four feet are able to be picked up and that big gold horse trailer isn't so scary now as we walk past it... but the Truck is a different story ! <> Oh- her stall keeping is getting MUCH better - Finalllllllllllllly. Whew, what a piggie she's been since weaning !
Evie has a temper and is getting to be a bit of a bully in the pasture. She isn't very polite to our Suzi pony, so I imagine if she keeps it up ( WHY Suzi doesn't just pound on her some is beyond me !) I shall just take Suz' out and into another pasture where she'll have more peace n' quiet. When one is 44 yrs old, one doesn't need to be beat up on by some dumb kid.... Used to be Suzi would wallop anyone doing that sort of thing, but not now. I'm thinkin' our Suzi is getting old. Alli still puts the fear of the Horse God into Evie should she act a ninny around HER. Ears back, nostrils wrinkled, eyes glowering and neck snaking about - looking Oh So Evil... And Evie backs off fast. So far so good with the "proper baby" manners needed so desperately to be a Proper Draft MARE in a few years. She's going to be flippin Huge and I want her to know how to be nice to her friends. No one likes a bully.
So far, she is good at :
Where she lives in the barn ( Heaven forbid, I change her stall location !)
Picking up all four feet for cleaning,etc
Leading is wonderful.
Going where her person heads to also
Stopping when asked- no matter what speed ( mostly trot / walks)
Standing in the aisle to be groomed
Kind of being in crossties- more practice needed
Clipping is getting so much better
Loading in the trailer- she tries to aim her butt towards "Evie's Stall" even.
OFF loading. This used to be a mad run down the ramp to 'safety'. Lol - NOT fun.
Eating.. she's ALWAYS done this well, but now she eats ALL of her breakfast n' vitas
Learning the phrase " Go to your dish,Evie"- this is when she's fed and she has to put her face / body in that direction so I can fit in to dump her feed.
I tried to have her walk over plastic tarps, but we'll have to work at that.
Stuffing her face IN plastic buckets, mooshing it about IN a plastic tarp, but oh don't put your Feet on it !!
Being handled ALL over, including her tail, little udder ( which gets crud in it sometimes) and showing no signs of " don't do that" to me.
Being trustful...... a progress still in the working. A life long job for a horse owner / horse.
And she STILL offers the side of her muzzle to get some "Evie Kisses" from me n' Glenn- AND those who know what she is doing.
I'm so loving having this marvelous filly in my life ! Everyday she makes me chuckle over something or another. This AM, I was finishing stalls and Glenn told me that for some odd reason, she had her neck/ head lifted WAY HIGH into the apple trees in the neighbors yard. To get what, I don't know. She thinks, does stupid baby horse things but manages to get herself out of trouble like she got there in the first place. If she doesn't stop 'twanging" my wire fence I'm gonna duct tape her lips ...... Our little filly is growing up so gracefully in knowledge - just not physically yet. Physically she looks like she's been raiding a body parts shop and got the wrong pieces ! Or that all those pieces are growing and don't want to all be coordinated. I'm off to get a couple of photos of her, but you won't be able to tell much due to that heavy winter coat she's got now. Just that she's kinda brown/ black and when you pet her, her coat is like petting soft expensive silk.
She calls to me now in the mornings before I feed, and as I finally get to her stall wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down at the end of the barn, she's whispering sweet nothings to me- she gives me eye contact, so I Know all that sweetness is directed at me. Some just want that danged food, but Eve is talking to her people. She is learning to do " Heads UP, Evie!" when we are leading out to the pasture. She's Kinda sorta learning to set herself up, but whew, that takes Thought and Eve hasn't much time for THAT. She's learning to listen and try though... it all takes time and patience to learn how to Learn.... All four feet are able to be picked up and that big gold horse trailer isn't so scary now as we walk past it... but the Truck is a different story ! <> Oh- her stall keeping is getting MUCH better - Finalllllllllllllly. Whew, what a piggie she's been since weaning !
Evie has a temper and is getting to be a bit of a bully in the pasture. She isn't very polite to our Suzi pony, so I imagine if she keeps it up ( WHY Suzi doesn't just pound on her some is beyond me !) I shall just take Suz' out and into another pasture where she'll have more peace n' quiet. When one is 44 yrs old, one doesn't need to be beat up on by some dumb kid.... Used to be Suzi would wallop anyone doing that sort of thing, but not now. I'm thinkin' our Suzi is getting old. Alli still puts the fear of the Horse God into Evie should she act a ninny around HER. Ears back, nostrils wrinkled, eyes glowering and neck snaking about - looking Oh So Evil... And Evie backs off fast. So far so good with the "proper baby" manners needed so desperately to be a Proper Draft MARE in a few years. She's going to be flippin Huge and I want her to know how to be nice to her friends. No one likes a bully.
So far, she is good at :
Where she lives in the barn ( Heaven forbid, I change her stall location !)
Picking up all four feet for cleaning,etc
Leading is wonderful.
Going where her person heads to also
Stopping when asked- no matter what speed ( mostly trot / walks)
Standing in the aisle to be groomed
Kind of being in crossties- more practice needed
Clipping is getting so much better
Loading in the trailer- she tries to aim her butt towards "Evie's Stall" even.
OFF loading. This used to be a mad run down the ramp to 'safety'. Lol - NOT fun.
Eating.. she's ALWAYS done this well, but now she eats ALL of her breakfast n' vitas
Learning the phrase " Go to your dish,Evie"- this is when she's fed and she has to put her face / body in that direction so I can fit in to dump her feed.
I tried to have her walk over plastic tarps, but we'll have to work at that.
Stuffing her face IN plastic buckets, mooshing it about IN a plastic tarp, but oh don't put your Feet on it !!
Being handled ALL over, including her tail, little udder ( which gets crud in it sometimes) and showing no signs of " don't do that" to me.
Being trustful...... a progress still in the working. A life long job for a horse owner / horse.
And she STILL offers the side of her muzzle to get some "Evie Kisses" from me n' Glenn- AND those who know what she is doing.
I'm so loving having this marvelous filly in my life ! Everyday she makes me chuckle over something or another. This AM, I was finishing stalls and Glenn told me that for some odd reason, she had her neck/ head lifted WAY HIGH into the apple trees in the neighbors yard. To get what, I don't know. She thinks, does stupid baby horse things but manages to get herself out of trouble like she got there in the first place. If she doesn't stop 'twanging" my wire fence I'm gonna duct tape her lips ...... Our little filly is growing up so gracefully in knowledge - just not physically yet. Physically she looks like she's been raiding a body parts shop and got the wrong pieces ! Or that all those pieces are growing and don't want to all be coordinated. I'm off to get a couple of photos of her, but you won't be able to tell much due to that heavy winter coat she's got now. Just that she's kinda brown/ black and when you pet her, her coat is like petting soft expensive silk.
Evie Updates 3/26/2007
Here we go again! Evie has been a good girl but has had some changes in her life, it seems. Her dam, Kate, was sold yesterday, much to my sadness in missing her, but Evie ? Did she miss her mama at all? No Way. She was out in the field w/ her Aunt Allie, busily searching for bits of green grass to nibble. March is tough on us in central Pa- leaving the ground soft n' gooey- making the most Wonderful mud to wallow about in if one is a 4-legger. So Allie and Eve have been coming in FILTHY with dried mud. This time of year, I'm sad to tell folks that my once white/ grey horses are now painted Percherons. Not the pretty light grey or white they USED to be... oh noooo, they look horrid. The Good thing is that all are shedding like mad (even Bob the Belgian at long last) and it comes right off with the use of a shedding blade. I like this ! Anyways, back to Ms Independence.... Evie's mom loaded like a dream and Evie never even turned an ear. So this proves what a successful weaning it was.... Neither was concerned at all.
Stats on herself : she is an honest to gosh 16 hands now, as an almost yearling- still looking SO baby like. I'd guess her weight to be right around 1000 pounds, but am not positive. Her first true birthday (yearling) is on April 5th, so we'll have to get her some kind of gift and add some sweet apples to her birthday 'dinner'. She's just so odd looking for one so tall. Some days all those big parts seem to fit and others ? Oh dear- she looks like someone hit the "extra horse part'' area of the local junk yard and went to gluing parts to create some semblance of a Percheron. She's getting it all together and sometimes If I look with my eyes squinted almost shut, I can imagine the mare she is Going to be one day ! We have a LONG ways to go though ...
Back to Evie's new life as a Percheron...without mama around at all. Because of the mass destruction team being stabled together (side by side in stalls), we finally got tired of re-building stall partition walls over n' over again. BoJangles was being REAL BAD about pawing and simply knocking boards loose. Lynda was getting oh so tired of living in a stall with loose boards (and NAILS) hanging in her stall and had begun 'helping' BoJangles do these things. BAD HORSESSSS !!!! So, I got tired of it, and told Glenn that this was going to be stopped. I learned Years ago, that sometimes separating two destructive horses works great- but ehhh, sometimes not too. Evie needed to be up in the front half of the barn so she could see more of what goes on... horses being groomed/ cross-tied/ taught misc. things, etc,etc. She had become WAY to aware of another horse being next door to her and then of " Omg- someone is OUTSIDE MY WINDOW !!!" I didn't understand her panic at any sounds outside her stall.... but there was Carlene peeking in on "her filly". I was in Eves' stall one morning- Carlene was out supposedly eating her breakfast hay. I heard a clomping about outside Eve's stall window, looked up to see a BIG white Clydesdale nose w/ black polky dots on it peeking at me. So I tapped on the window saying " Hello, Carlene !" and the nose disappeared. Soon it was back again though. Any-who- Evie must have thought a demon from Hades had appeared - all she could see was a chin and nostrils!! We cleaned those two stalls real well, and Bo was moved down the aisle to be neighbors w/ Bob the Belgian and Evie was moved into the second stall between Carli n' Lynn. NOW she would be able to see/ hear everything. Even when hay is delivered or feed was being brought in. First evening, she cried and called to Aunt Alli who went on down the aisle to her stall sort of across from Evie's old stall. Well that was not to be allowed- so Evie yelled like a banshee until food appeared, then that was more consoling. Food is always good for a lost filly, it seems. Not much more panic from Evie and Alli could have cared less. Hahaha- Alli knew where Evie was,so why call back ?? So that's been going on for about a week now. Oddly enough ... no more broken stall boards, no more damage to that poor wall, or even in BoJangles' new stall beside Bob. Those two are quiet and peaceful too. Evie has some new "friends'' to be with and Lynn is SO pleased that her stall is once again her 'haven of poop' and no boards attacking her at night. All is peaceful in my barn again, and I was right - breaking up the duo of destruction worked! So now when Evie goes into her stall at nights, she runs to her feed tub to check for dinner, and if its not there, she yells for Alli- and gets no answer. She's cool with all the horses going past her stall too, when they get turned out or brought in at night. First off, even that was a little scary ! Now, she'll do these soft whispers to them all. And wow, is she happy to see her Auntie each AM ! All's well with that big change. Nothing huge in the realm of our lives, but for Evie, it was.
Alli has this very very bad habit of deciding WHAT Time she should come in for feeding. Now, if its sunny n' warm on her old body, she's fine to stay out ALL day long and more. But let it be cloudy, or heaven forbid- Rainy, she has a fit and is ready to come in just a few hours later. She walks the fence, looking and yelling to the house the Whole time and Grinding up the earth with her hooves. This might begin at 1 PM or at around 3, depending on how 'dark/ cloudy' it is. Oh lord, if she gets WET ? That's worse than anything. Sometimes I give in ,and let them come in early on those miserable days, but Alli begins it all. Because of this fence pacing, we have a Bog up the side of the long pasture...thanks to Alli's fretting about coming in. Evie also helps w/ that as she has not realized that she doesn't HAVE to follow her herd leader yet. It's beginning to dawn on her that If she stands at the bottom, near the gate, guess who comes right back down that long hill ? Yep, Aunt Alli. This realization is just beginning to hit Evie's little filly brain. I have seen her do it a couple of times recently, but its slow in coming. Eve is getting more independent. I'm sure Lisi,a friend's draft filly, didn't have this problem much but its hard work, this learning ''to be your own horse" and have some independence about yourself. I figured it might dawn on Evie around a yearling and it is... slowly. Percherons are basically quiet critters out in the pastures, and Evie will learn too. Well, most of the time, they are but not this morning. The greys must have hit haul-ass mode three times during a riding lesson. They went full tilt up that long hill and wow, it Was Impressive !
But I keep getting off track here. What we did was to switch fields... Evie and Alli into the pasture around the ring, and the greys into the long pasture which runs the length of the farm. The grass is trying to make a showing and will be better as the weather/ temps hold to warm.We were still breaking ice from outside tubs just last week. The greys are usually more quiet and will not cut up the land so badly- like Alli does. So they are there, and Eve n' Alli are in the 'sacrifice pasture". Now, to explain things- we have a one eighth of a mile track that has a vinyl fence around it making it my ring. All else around it is fenced in to make a pasture area. That is where Evie n' Alli are. Its not real big, but is alright to chop up as its a small area. The greys had a wonderful morning, nibbling grass and Galloping from the bottom ALL the way to the top of this long hill pasture. Bucking and leaping about- oh it was a glorious sight to see ! Due to the ring being built to drain off properly, we end up with big deep, puddles. Evie is the one who loves pawing in the water tubs, so she was in filly heaven when she discovered these big "tubs" !! If Blanche is reading this , remember how she Loved those puddles when she was teeny ? I think you took a photo of her in them? She STILL loves pawing and playing in these puddles. She'll miss them once they dry up I am sure. This new puddle is around 12'' deep and Evie was having a most wonderful time playing. Of course that meant she was soaking wet from her tummy, down !Seems we have a water baby here, Big time.
I just looked up the hill to their new pasture, and it seems Evie has discovered that she can stick her head thru the fence n' the sight wire with out being shocked. Hmmm, I hope our new solar charger battery arrives soon- Or we will have a loose baddddddddddd filly.
Stats on herself : she is an honest to gosh 16 hands now, as an almost yearling- still looking SO baby like. I'd guess her weight to be right around 1000 pounds, but am not positive. Her first true birthday (yearling) is on April 5th, so we'll have to get her some kind of gift and add some sweet apples to her birthday 'dinner'. She's just so odd looking for one so tall. Some days all those big parts seem to fit and others ? Oh dear- she looks like someone hit the "extra horse part'' area of the local junk yard and went to gluing parts to create some semblance of a Percheron. She's getting it all together and sometimes If I look with my eyes squinted almost shut, I can imagine the mare she is Going to be one day ! We have a LONG ways to go though ...
Back to Evie's new life as a Percheron...without mama around at all. Because of the mass destruction team being stabled together (side by side in stalls), we finally got tired of re-building stall partition walls over n' over again. BoJangles was being REAL BAD about pawing and simply knocking boards loose. Lynda was getting oh so tired of living in a stall with loose boards (and NAILS) hanging in her stall and had begun 'helping' BoJangles do these things. BAD HORSESSSS !!!! So, I got tired of it, and told Glenn that this was going to be stopped. I learned Years ago, that sometimes separating two destructive horses works great- but ehhh, sometimes not too. Evie needed to be up in the front half of the barn so she could see more of what goes on... horses being groomed/ cross-tied/ taught misc. things, etc,etc. She had become WAY to aware of another horse being next door to her and then of " Omg- someone is OUTSIDE MY WINDOW !!!" I didn't understand her panic at any sounds outside her stall.... but there was Carlene peeking in on "her filly". I was in Eves' stall one morning- Carlene was out supposedly eating her breakfast hay. I heard a clomping about outside Eve's stall window, looked up to see a BIG white Clydesdale nose w/ black polky dots on it peeking at me. So I tapped on the window saying " Hello, Carlene !" and the nose disappeared. Soon it was back again though. Any-who- Evie must have thought a demon from Hades had appeared - all she could see was a chin and nostrils!! We cleaned those two stalls real well, and Bo was moved down the aisle to be neighbors w/ Bob the Belgian and Evie was moved into the second stall between Carli n' Lynn. NOW she would be able to see/ hear everything. Even when hay is delivered or feed was being brought in. First evening, she cried and called to Aunt Alli who went on down the aisle to her stall sort of across from Evie's old stall. Well that was not to be allowed- so Evie yelled like a banshee until food appeared, then that was more consoling. Food is always good for a lost filly, it seems. Not much more panic from Evie and Alli could have cared less. Hahaha- Alli knew where Evie was,so why call back ?? So that's been going on for about a week now. Oddly enough ... no more broken stall boards, no more damage to that poor wall, or even in BoJangles' new stall beside Bob. Those two are quiet and peaceful too. Evie has some new "friends'' to be with and Lynn is SO pleased that her stall is once again her 'haven of poop' and no boards attacking her at night. All is peaceful in my barn again, and I was right - breaking up the duo of destruction worked! So now when Evie goes into her stall at nights, she runs to her feed tub to check for dinner, and if its not there, she yells for Alli- and gets no answer. She's cool with all the horses going past her stall too, when they get turned out or brought in at night. First off, even that was a little scary ! Now, she'll do these soft whispers to them all. And wow, is she happy to see her Auntie each AM ! All's well with that big change. Nothing huge in the realm of our lives, but for Evie, it was.
Alli has this very very bad habit of deciding WHAT Time she should come in for feeding. Now, if its sunny n' warm on her old body, she's fine to stay out ALL day long and more. But let it be cloudy, or heaven forbid- Rainy, she has a fit and is ready to come in just a few hours later. She walks the fence, looking and yelling to the house the Whole time and Grinding up the earth with her hooves. This might begin at 1 PM or at around 3, depending on how 'dark/ cloudy' it is. Oh lord, if she gets WET ? That's worse than anything. Sometimes I give in ,and let them come in early on those miserable days, but Alli begins it all. Because of this fence pacing, we have a Bog up the side of the long pasture...thanks to Alli's fretting about coming in. Evie also helps w/ that as she has not realized that she doesn't HAVE to follow her herd leader yet. It's beginning to dawn on her that If she stands at the bottom, near the gate, guess who comes right back down that long hill ? Yep, Aunt Alli. This realization is just beginning to hit Evie's little filly brain. I have seen her do it a couple of times recently, but its slow in coming. Eve is getting more independent. I'm sure Lisi,a friend's draft filly, didn't have this problem much but its hard work, this learning ''to be your own horse" and have some independence about yourself. I figured it might dawn on Evie around a yearling and it is... slowly. Percherons are basically quiet critters out in the pastures, and Evie will learn too. Well, most of the time, they are but not this morning. The greys must have hit haul-ass mode three times during a riding lesson. They went full tilt up that long hill and wow, it Was Impressive !
But I keep getting off track here. What we did was to switch fields... Evie and Alli into the pasture around the ring, and the greys into the long pasture which runs the length of the farm. The grass is trying to make a showing and will be better as the weather/ temps hold to warm.We were still breaking ice from outside tubs just last week. The greys are usually more quiet and will not cut up the land so badly- like Alli does. So they are there, and Eve n' Alli are in the 'sacrifice pasture". Now, to explain things- we have a one eighth of a mile track that has a vinyl fence around it making it my ring. All else around it is fenced in to make a pasture area. That is where Evie n' Alli are. Its not real big, but is alright to chop up as its a small area. The greys had a wonderful morning, nibbling grass and Galloping from the bottom ALL the way to the top of this long hill pasture. Bucking and leaping about- oh it was a glorious sight to see ! Due to the ring being built to drain off properly, we end up with big deep, puddles. Evie is the one who loves pawing in the water tubs, so she was in filly heaven when she discovered these big "tubs" !! If Blanche is reading this , remember how she Loved those puddles when she was teeny ? I think you took a photo of her in them? She STILL loves pawing and playing in these puddles. She'll miss them once they dry up I am sure. This new puddle is around 12'' deep and Evie was having a most wonderful time playing. Of course that meant she was soaking wet from her tummy, down !Seems we have a water baby here, Big time.
I just looked up the hill to their new pasture, and it seems Evie has discovered that she can stick her head thru the fence n' the sight wire with out being shocked. Hmmm, I hope our new solar charger battery arrives soon- Or we will have a loose baddddddddddd filly.
Evei's New "Chews" 5 31 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Evies new "chews" 5 31 2007
Hi all,
It seems that since I'm going to be promoting Herself this year in some bigger shows, that we need Shoes. No, not those big wide buggar ones that cause splints and horses stepping on their own feet, but small " Baby/ training" shoes. Right now, Eve is in size 3 saddle horse shoes and she's not real sure about how to move her feet ! Bill the farrier was here this AM to do trims, pull shoes from Carlene and Alli. We 're TRYING them barefoot to see how they do as Alli's on rest and Carlene isn't going to be going any place this summer. Its good for feet to go barefooted and I HOPE this works well. This way, Alli can wear off her hooves as she wants to ( needs to) in order to be more comfortable and Carlene won't be costing me $75.00 every 6 weeks. BUT if they don't do well, I'll have Bill return and put those shoes Back on. Alli will be the one as she's VERY tender footed on the fronts. I Hope its mostly due to having shoes for so long..... stay tuned.
Abby, BB n' Suzi all got trimmed, same w/ Lynda. I put no shoes on her this time due to her not being used as much, and her feet are more healthy barefooted any how. BoJangles got his hinds correctly trimmed due to his dilemma- I hope he feels more comfy now. Turns out Lynn has some DEEP thrush in both front feet.... She grows these tremendous frogs ( big n' healthy) and by the time its trim time, I can't get that deep down to clean them. So we're treating that , along with painting the bottoms of Alli n/ Carlene's hooves now too.
Evie was Wonderful !!! She has been trimmed since she was 3 weeks old ( going thru the motions mostly that time) and had gotten so Bill the Farrier wasn't so bad After All. Remember how Terrified she was of him ? Well, turns out that when one is a LOT taller than the feared thing, the feared thing isn't quite so scary ! So now, she's cool w/ him holding her legs,etc. I just got fronts on her, and she was very, very good with that hammering, sound of hammer hitting steel, etc. She was even great in holding her leg up for such a Long time ! Wow, I'm SO happy with how this filly responds to things.... Side note- turns out that Box Fans sitting on benches are Terrifying !!!!! OMG- she all but fainted from surprise when she came from her stall to see them sitting there ...... She was all crouched down, body tense, ready to Leave Town, and eyes all but popping outta her face. <> I didn't even think that those monsterous items would be noticed, but Eve did . Whew. In about 30 seconds of "shopping'' she was fine that they were sitting there... I moved them to the floor Just in Case she might back into them and they'd fall off. NOT smart !! Talk about a 16.2 hand Explosion ??!!! Thaaaat'd be one. First Bill gave her front feet the normal trim, and Eve figured that was it- back to her stall, right ? Noooooooooooooo.... gotta wait here some more, Evie. So she got Evie kisses, got brushed off some, and her hind legs scratched too. I found one great itchy spot right on top of her spine, and thought I'd save that til when Bill was nailing her shoes on. She got bored with mooshing thru his tool box on the floor and realised it Moved ! So she was shoving it all over- as much as I'd let her. Then she wanted the nails in the boxes to no longer BE in the boxes; that was stopped too. She took the rasps off their holders and almost smacked me w/ one- so that was returned... Then it was " lets' chase the lead" - nooooooooooooo, you gotta just Stand here ! <> Big sigh, and she did, til a fly found her tummy. Then we started all over again. She paid real close attention to all the noise Bill was making outside, and found that pretty fascinating- especially when he dunked the HOT shoes into the water bucket. Steam !! Wooooooooooooooooooooo- head up, ears pointed, eyes taking all in. Her head moved up n' down as Bill dunked that shoe, she was studying it all so closely. Its like I can SEE her thinking / learning- she's so Open about everything. Bill just smiled and shook his head when she all but fell down in surprise from the fans. ( he's got AQHA's and I guess they don't see scary thangs !) He doesn't have much patience w/ bad behaved horses as he's been hurt very BADLY by some in the past, so I go further in teaching the heavy horses to REALLY be good- I don't want Bill loosing his temper or being shoved around by a one ton of bad behaviors. And I don't want them thinking its alright Anyways. So the deal is here, that IF they misbehave, I do the screaming bloody murder at them and he drops the hoof and gets outta the way. Didn't have to talk to Evie but twice this time. .. mostly She n' I just stand there, thinking about "things" . This was a little different- took more patience on her behalf in standing there keeping her balance and being out of the stall for silly things. ( or so She thinks)
So , Evie has front plates on, and is on her way to learning to use her legs w/ a teeny more weight on now. Eventually- IFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF she does some winning, we'll consider hinds for the one A-rated show this Fall. Otherwise, her fronts will have to do :)
Am going to get some photos soon, and will send them along in another email . :) I Hope she stayed Clean !!
Evies new "chews" 5 31 2007
Hi all,
It seems that since I'm going to be promoting Herself this year in some bigger shows, that we need Shoes. No, not those big wide buggar ones that cause splints and horses stepping on their own feet, but small " Baby/ training" shoes. Right now, Eve is in size 3 saddle horse shoes and she's not real sure about how to move her feet ! Bill the farrier was here this AM to do trims, pull shoes from Carlene and Alli. We 're TRYING them barefoot to see how they do as Alli's on rest and Carlene isn't going to be going any place this summer. Its good for feet to go barefooted and I HOPE this works well. This way, Alli can wear off her hooves as she wants to ( needs to) in order to be more comfortable and Carlene won't be costing me $75.00 every 6 weeks. BUT if they don't do well, I'll have Bill return and put those shoes Back on. Alli will be the one as she's VERY tender footed on the fronts. I Hope its mostly due to having shoes for so long..... stay tuned.
Abby, BB n' Suzi all got trimmed, same w/ Lynda. I put no shoes on her this time due to her not being used as much, and her feet are more healthy barefooted any how. BoJangles got his hinds correctly trimmed due to his dilemma- I hope he feels more comfy now. Turns out Lynn has some DEEP thrush in both front feet.... She grows these tremendous frogs ( big n' healthy) and by the time its trim time, I can't get that deep down to clean them. So we're treating that , along with painting the bottoms of Alli n/ Carlene's hooves now too.
Evie was Wonderful !!! She has been trimmed since she was 3 weeks old ( going thru the motions mostly that time) and had gotten so Bill the Farrier wasn't so bad After All. Remember how Terrified she was of him ? Well, turns out that when one is a LOT taller than the feared thing, the feared thing isn't quite so scary ! So now, she's cool w/ him holding her legs,etc. I just got fronts on her, and she was very, very good with that hammering, sound of hammer hitting steel, etc. She was even great in holding her leg up for such a Long time ! Wow, I'm SO happy with how this filly responds to things.... Side note- turns out that Box Fans sitting on benches are Terrifying !!!!! OMG- she all but fainted from surprise when she came from her stall to see them sitting there ...... She was all crouched down, body tense, ready to Leave Town, and eyes all but popping outta her face. <> I didn't even think that those monsterous items would be noticed, but Eve did . Whew. In about 30 seconds of "shopping'' she was fine that they were sitting there... I moved them to the floor Just in Case she might back into them and they'd fall off. NOT smart !! Talk about a 16.2 hand Explosion ??!!! Thaaaat'd be one. First Bill gave her front feet the normal trim, and Eve figured that was it- back to her stall, right ? Noooooooooooooo.... gotta wait here some more, Evie. So she got Evie kisses, got brushed off some, and her hind legs scratched too. I found one great itchy spot right on top of her spine, and thought I'd save that til when Bill was nailing her shoes on. She got bored with mooshing thru his tool box on the floor and realised it Moved ! So she was shoving it all over- as much as I'd let her. Then she wanted the nails in the boxes to no longer BE in the boxes; that was stopped too. She took the rasps off their holders and almost smacked me w/ one- so that was returned... Then it was " lets' chase the lead" - nooooooooooooo, you gotta just Stand here ! <> Big sigh, and she did, til a fly found her tummy. Then we started all over again. She paid real close attention to all the noise Bill was making outside, and found that pretty fascinating- especially when he dunked the HOT shoes into the water bucket. Steam !! Wooooooooooooooooooooo- head up, ears pointed, eyes taking all in. Her head moved up n' down as Bill dunked that shoe, she was studying it all so closely. Its like I can SEE her thinking / learning- she's so Open about everything. Bill just smiled and shook his head when she all but fell down in surprise from the fans. ( he's got AQHA's and I guess they don't see scary thangs !) He doesn't have much patience w/ bad behaved horses as he's been hurt very BADLY by some in the past, so I go further in teaching the heavy horses to REALLY be good- I don't want Bill loosing his temper or being shoved around by a one ton of bad behaviors. And I don't want them thinking its alright Anyways. So the deal is here, that IF they misbehave, I do the screaming bloody murder at them and he drops the hoof and gets outta the way. Didn't have to talk to Evie but twice this time. .. mostly She n' I just stand there, thinking about "things" . This was a little different- took more patience on her behalf in standing there keeping her balance and being out of the stall for silly things. ( or so She thinks)
So , Evie has front plates on, and is on her way to learning to use her legs w/ a teeny more weight on now. Eventually- IFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF she does some winning, we'll consider hinds for the one A-rated show this Fall. Otherwise, her fronts will have to do :)
Am going to get some photos soon, and will send them along in another email . :) I Hope she stayed Clean !!
Longe Lessons
Thursday, September 20, 2007
3rd Longe Lesson.... Eve 7 20 2006
It seems my precious little filly is growing up and has formed yet More opinions on her own. She's decided that now she understands " walk on" on the longe line that she knows it all. So when pressed for a little "Trot"- she has a hissy fit and rears up. HIGH. At first I thought she might be confused and reacted as such. But when I asked her to merely walk on ( Which she knows by now)- she went up. Temper temper temper ! Baddddddddddddddddddddddddd Filly . I yelled at her and she went along well for a bit, but got bored, and angry at me for insisting she pay attention to ME, not Suzi or Carli. SO she squealed and went up again. Another good yelling at and a couple of jerks on the line. That's when I realised it WAS temper and not misunderstanding. She walked along with her beautiful ears way back but not pinned... just mad at her 'mom' for making her listen to HER. Then I asked for a lttle teeny Trot, which she picked up pretty well, back to a walk after about 10 strides at a trot ( lordy, she can Move !!). She stopped and pawed. No, Walk on.... Up she went AGAIN. This time I tilted her head a little and she ended up sitting down on the ground . Surprise ! No more rearing after that. I didn't want to push the issue and get her pissy again. She did what was asked and stopped perfectly- and we stopped there. We practiced some backing- perfect- and setting up - not so perfect- but she tried. Ellie had the nerve to trot up her fence line as we were leaving the ring, and Eve whirled to see her.' No, WALK ON, Eve.'.... <> 'OK !' So it seems she has developed a temper and I sure don't care for it one bit. She MUST learn to pay attention to her person and Not the other horses.... this too shall pass. I Hope. <> She's my baby, and I Hate yelling at her and giving her a much needed discipline but I have to remember how big she is going to be and that I won't stand for temper tantrums of the young n' foolish.
Above is a photo of her. (glenn photos) 16.2 hh and GORGEOUS. I tried to make them small... I hope I DID.
A very dark bay- not black any more.( damned sunshine) Oddly enough, she's getting grey hairs all thru her body... might she go grey ? I certainly don't mind in the least - I Love the greys. Just don't wanna have to change those papers any time soon, so I'll wait a few years to be Sure. (;)
3rd Longe Lesson.... Eve 7 20 2006
It seems my precious little filly is growing up and has formed yet More opinions on her own. She's decided that now she understands " walk on" on the longe line that she knows it all. So when pressed for a little "Trot"- she has a hissy fit and rears up. HIGH. At first I thought she might be confused and reacted as such. But when I asked her to merely walk on ( Which she knows by now)- she went up. Temper temper temper ! Baddddddddddddddddddddddddd Filly . I yelled at her and she went along well for a bit, but got bored, and angry at me for insisting she pay attention to ME, not Suzi or Carli. SO she squealed and went up again. Another good yelling at and a couple of jerks on the line. That's when I realised it WAS temper and not misunderstanding. She walked along with her beautiful ears way back but not pinned... just mad at her 'mom' for making her listen to HER. Then I asked for a lttle teeny Trot, which she picked up pretty well, back to a walk after about 10 strides at a trot ( lordy, she can Move !!). She stopped and pawed. No, Walk on.... Up she went AGAIN. This time I tilted her head a little and she ended up sitting down on the ground . Surprise ! No more rearing after that. I didn't want to push the issue and get her pissy again. She did what was asked and stopped perfectly- and we stopped there. We practiced some backing- perfect- and setting up - not so perfect- but she tried. Ellie had the nerve to trot up her fence line as we were leaving the ring, and Eve whirled to see her.' No, WALK ON, Eve.'.... <> 'OK !' So it seems she has developed a temper and I sure don't care for it one bit. She MUST learn to pay attention to her person and Not the other horses.... this too shall pass. I Hope. <> She's my baby, and I Hate yelling at her and giving her a much needed discipline but I have to remember how big she is going to be and that I won't stand for temper tantrums of the young n' foolish.
Above is a photo of her. (glenn photos) 16.2 hh and GORGEOUS. I tried to make them small... I hope I DID.
A very dark bay- not black any more.( damned sunshine) Oddly enough, she's getting grey hairs all thru her body... might she go grey ? I certainly don't mind in the least - I Love the greys. Just don't wanna have to change those papers any time soon, so I'll wait a few years to be Sure. (;)
Tantrums of the Young & Foolish..... 2 06 2007
Oh wow, She and I had a ''go 'round'' this AM. We are keeping some horses in mornings, and putting others out mornings. Then we switch those horses and put the other's out for the afternoon until this Horrid cold snap LEAVES. Evie is an 'afternoon' horse- when its a little less freezing and the winds are not so awful. Along w/ her Auntie Alli.
Ha- she just about has a filly heart attack over all this !!! Screaming bloody murder, RUNNING around her stall/bucking, knocking what's left of her water from her bucket so it splashes all over with her butt/ shoulders, and kicking at her feed tub. The 'straw to break the camel's back " here this AM was her Rearing at the door ! So, Miss Evie got her nose smacked each time it showed up on the other side of her stall w/ "Mr.Whippy" (Aka- my old dressage whip). I had stood there ever so quietly, waiting for her to think she had the Upper hand. Well, she Didn't like THAT one bit, so she got reeaaaaaal mad. When a baby Percheron has a temper tantrum, its TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny! She stomped her feet, pinned her ears back,looking her MOST horrid - but yanno? She didn't crash into her stall door any longer. She's smart, but Holy-moly- WHAT a temper she's got.
Then I had the gall to give her her breakfast hay..... HA! She tore into that, shaking it ALL over her now very poopy stall (all that running about, see ?). As much as I wanted to let her have it verbally, I just walked away, letting her see that she's not " ALL THAT" in the barn. Only GOOD horses get nice attention, not bad screechy spoiled ones.
A BAD morning for 'Miss Independence'! It is hard work growing up, it seems.
Ha- she just about has a filly heart attack over all this !!! Screaming bloody murder, RUNNING around her stall/bucking, knocking what's left of her water from her bucket so it splashes all over with her butt/ shoulders, and kicking at her feed tub. The 'straw to break the camel's back " here this AM was her Rearing at the door ! So, Miss Evie got her nose smacked each time it showed up on the other side of her stall w/ "Mr.Whippy" (Aka- my old dressage whip). I had stood there ever so quietly, waiting for her to think she had the Upper hand. Well, she Didn't like THAT one bit, so she got reeaaaaaal mad. When a baby Percheron has a temper tantrum, its TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny! She stomped her feet, pinned her ears back,looking her MOST horrid - but yanno? She didn't crash into her stall door any longer. She's smart, but Holy-moly- WHAT a temper she's got.
Then I had the gall to give her her breakfast hay..... HA! She tore into that, shaking it ALL over her now very poopy stall (all that running about, see ?). As much as I wanted to let her have it verbally, I just walked away, letting her see that she's not " ALL THAT" in the barn. Only GOOD horses get nice attention, not bad screechy spoiled ones.
A BAD morning for 'Miss Independence'! It is hard work growing up, it seems.
March 16th 2007 Evie
Evie loves snow. She will walk around just like her mom used to ; head down w/ her nose in it- making nose trails in it. Katie does the same thing ,and I don't know how Eve learned as it never snowed when they were together. We kept the horses inside the barn yesterday due to rotten weather, so they were all pretty eager to go OUT today in this snow. They all behaved pretty well but for Guess WHO. Right- my prancy-dancey yearling filly. Oh she just couldn't contain herself as well as the older horses- so she bounced down the aisle to outside.
Then : OMG- she saw the blue tarp over some hay and the dreaded shavings bags in the hay stall ! THOSE warrented a good close look for certain. Eyes bugged out, feet askew, she froze, looking at them and blowing. She was Sure they were monsters and that they certainly were going to eat her as a snack. Soon they were no longer interesting ( like 30 seconds) and it was off to Other Things. She then began the bounce till we got to Glenn who was returning from turning 'Aunt Alli 'out- HE was scary TOO. Of course, he had snow on his shoulders and didn't say anything to her. Ha- once he said "G'mornin' Evie !" she knew who thaaaaaaaaat was. Once she was loose, she grabbed some hay from Alli's pile and took off up the hill - effortlessly galloping. A big turn around Dixie's grave and back down, sliding to a stop in front of another pile of hay, grabbed some more,a snort or two, and took off down the hill this time. Bucking/ farting herself down and allllllllllll the way back again. I think thats' about it for a Percheron so far as exercise goes. She played some more, made some nose trails, and settled down to eating breakfast hay.
SO far, Evie is 15.3 and 7/8ths hands tall. Not Quite 16 hands yet, but come April, she will be...so I'm hoping for at least 18 hands once she's all done growing. She's a hoot to be around, listens pretty well and is developing her own definate personality. I am careful to not squelch this personality as some trainers will in order to have the youngsters listen to them. She MUST behave though. Still she hasn't discovered that she doesn't HAVE to follow Aunt Alli all over the place. Especially when Alli is walking/ trotting the fence in hopes of coming in First. There's Alli, andddddddddddddddd Eve following along, and from her face, wondering "and Alli's doing this, WHY ?? " One of these days Eve will get confident enough to NOT follow along, but that's up to her. I've already seen her making the choice to hang w/ the greys when Alli is doing this stuff..... so its coming.
All the other beasties are fine- Carlene is SOUND and happy as a clam... I do believe we've won the WAR with this grand mare !! The greys are fine, Bo's heel is healing up real well, Suzi is still a little sore but only a teeny bit on her hind leg. That is looking good , too.
Hope you enjoyed this shortened version of March updates. Plans for hitching are AGAIN put on hold- thanks to this stupid snow. When its COLD out, my reaction times are slow and so are the body parts to react, ( not to mention knees that ache in this weather) so I have learned to not bother w/ trying to work green horses nor ground drive them at all. HA- plus walking thru all that @#(*&@(* snow. GRRRRRRRRRRR... I sure did NOT want all of this white stuff, things had dried out SO nicely. <> But- it won't last for everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!
Then : OMG- she saw the blue tarp over some hay and the dreaded shavings bags in the hay stall ! THOSE warrented a good close look for certain. Eyes bugged out, feet askew, she froze, looking at them and blowing. She was Sure they were monsters and that they certainly were going to eat her as a snack. Soon they were no longer interesting ( like 30 seconds) and it was off to Other Things. She then began the bounce till we got to Glenn who was returning from turning 'Aunt Alli 'out- HE was scary TOO. Of course, he had snow on his shoulders and didn't say anything to her. Ha- once he said "G'mornin' Evie !" she knew who thaaaaaaaaat was. Once she was loose, she grabbed some hay from Alli's pile and took off up the hill - effortlessly galloping. A big turn around Dixie's grave and back down, sliding to a stop in front of another pile of hay, grabbed some more,a snort or two, and took off down the hill this time. Bucking/ farting herself down and allllllllllll the way back again. I think thats' about it for a Percheron so far as exercise goes. She played some more, made some nose trails, and settled down to eating breakfast hay.
SO far, Evie is 15.3 and 7/8ths hands tall. Not Quite 16 hands yet, but come April, she will be...so I'm hoping for at least 18 hands once she's all done growing. She's a hoot to be around, listens pretty well and is developing her own definate personality. I am careful to not squelch this personality as some trainers will in order to have the youngsters listen to them. She MUST behave though. Still she hasn't discovered that she doesn't HAVE to follow Aunt Alli all over the place. Especially when Alli is walking/ trotting the fence in hopes of coming in First. There's Alli, andddddddddddddddd Eve following along, and from her face, wondering "and Alli's doing this, WHY ?? " One of these days Eve will get confident enough to NOT follow along, but that's up to her. I've already seen her making the choice to hang w/ the greys when Alli is doing this stuff..... so its coming.
All the other beasties are fine- Carlene is SOUND and happy as a clam... I do believe we've won the WAR with this grand mare !! The greys are fine, Bo's heel is healing up real well, Suzi is still a little sore but only a teeny bit on her hind leg. That is looking good , too.
Hope you enjoyed this shortened version of March updates. Plans for hitching are AGAIN put on hold- thanks to this stupid snow. When its COLD out, my reaction times are slow and so are the body parts to react, ( not to mention knees that ache in this weather) so I have learned to not bother w/ trying to work green horses nor ground drive them at all. HA- plus walking thru all that @#(*&@(* snow. GRRRRRRRRRRR... I sure did NOT want all of this white stuff, things had dried out SO nicely. <> But- it won't last for everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!
Evie & the Soda Machine at KILE 10 9 2007
Or Evie's First Horse Show.
When we were at the horse show ( the Keystone Livestock International Exposition in Pennsylvania each Fall) on Thursday, Evie didn't want to be left by herself, so we (she n' I) did a Lot of wandering about the showgrounds. We walked outside, watched the big draft horses of all breeds being hand walked in the morning. We checked out some suspicious garbage cans- the lids were especially scary- and then discovered we could walk thru some people doors after all! Evie loved exploring the place and began taking the initiative to "shop" herself.
She liked the golf carts- but from a distance as those moving things all but did her in. She liked to watch the horses come off their trailers, and she spoke to each one as they did. " Hello! I'm Evie, how are you?" Only one big Belgian gelding answered her and she thought that was just SO thrilling! She touched her muzzle to my arm in excitement. We wandered back inside to see the sights and find Glenn. I wanted her to see all she could so the next time, it wouldn't be so traumatic for her. We walked up n' down aisles with huge 18 hand and taller horses gazing over the tops of their stalls at her. We checked out covers on the big hitch wagons and show carts- Evie has this thing about items being TALLER than she is, so she was learning that this was now an okay thing. She was not the tallest horse there, not taller than some wagons (Some rose over 8' in the air !) and she certainly was not taller than the ceiling. She'd look up every now n' again, to see it. Pretty interesting stuff up there, it seemed...
Glenn's knee was aching w/ the nasty weather change (from bad to GOOD ) so Evie n' I were on our own sometimes. All three of us walked thru the tunnel to the show ring, where she n' I watched some Percherons being shown in halter at the in-gate. She lifted her head high when they had to trot w/ their owners, watching intently. She wanted to go in to see those flowers that were put out as decorations, but we weren't allowed, so we gazed at them from afar. Ok- that was boring now. Each time a person or group of people would walk by, she'd put her ears up towards them in interest... Maybe THEY wanted to pet her ???? No, they all just smiled and walked on. Eventually, she learned she wasn't the center of attention as she was at home. Bored again..... Well, perhaps another walk, Evie? Off we went- back down the tunnel lined w/ gorgeous Shire horses, some foals and mamas, waiting for their turn to impress their judge, some big tall black Percheron horses waiting patiently and "ho-hum" boring sights, by now.
All of a sudden, she stopped dead. Ears alert, head above mine, and frozen. There was a Soda Machine that she had missed on her way thru before. OMG- she didn't quite know WHAT to think of it. It was brightly colored plastic on the front with big hand-sized buttons to push to choose which soda/pop one wanted, and it was "purring". It was actually busily cooling the sodas - but to an Evie of very small brain and experience w/ these things - it sounded like a purr. Wow- she wasn't sure if she could even walk past it, let alone get any closer. Eyes bugged out as Evie has been known to do, ears all but touching together in alertness, and all muscles prepared to RUN should she need to. I asked her to come closer which she tried to do but her knees wouldn't bend much w/ taunt muscles. I rubbed her neck, explaining all about sodas and how the machine worked, as she took it all in. Moving her head up n' down and then relaxing a second only to be on alert again- just in case it would attack. The gals at the food booth right next door were cracking up as was Glenn too. I tried really hard to not laugh as SHE was petrified! At long last (abt a couple of minutes) I asked Evie to touch that monster machine. Again, she tried, but no go, so I did.
OH MY !!!!! No way was she coming near that thing now. She jumped back and scared the weanling Shire that was standing calmly against the wall. Now four horses were on alert, "Just in Case''. I rubbed her neck and laughed at her being so silly- all for a soda machine. She relaxed and took a step towards it... everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so slowly, she touched it w/ her nose. The buttons moved and she jumped back in surprise, bug-eyed. Again, she tried to touch the plastic.... nothing, so she shoved it some. Noise, and another jump in place. She got so she thought it fun to shove the buttons and hear the funny sounds after about three touches. Each time w/ eyes popping and ears flapping forwards in surprise. I could hear laughter coming from the food booth each time she'd shove a button, with a look of glee on her face. The food booth ladies were enjoying Evies' adventure too.
This filly learns so fast and is getting to be so trusting. We were busy laying a great foundation for a yearling to be shown next year and be trusting in the things I ask her to do. Evie has impressed me again it seems. She turned 6 months old that day, and there have been SO many 'firsts' this past month. She's come thru them all with class and interest. After I'd blown my foot, (badly twisting my bad ankle) we went home- I hurt SO much. This little filly loaded herself, I scurried up the ramp behind her- and she was trying really hard to back her little black butt into "Evie's" stall before I could get turned around. I think our filly was more than ready to get moving towards home. She traveled like a trooper, guzzled her hay all the way back to the farm and the only thing that startled her then was a big silver semi making a LOT of noise as it passed us. Open trailer windows= Lots of noise and stink from trucks! Ughhhhhhhhhhh. She learned so much on one short trip and was conked out in her stall soon after finishing her evening meal of baby feed n' oil. Evie was poohed out from a day at a horse show.
When we were at the horse show ( the Keystone Livestock International Exposition in Pennsylvania each Fall) on Thursday, Evie didn't want to be left by herself, so we (she n' I) did a Lot of wandering about the showgrounds. We walked outside, watched the big draft horses of all breeds being hand walked in the morning. We checked out some suspicious garbage cans- the lids were especially scary- and then discovered we could walk thru some people doors after all! Evie loved exploring the place and began taking the initiative to "shop" herself.
She liked the golf carts- but from a distance as those moving things all but did her in. She liked to watch the horses come off their trailers, and she spoke to each one as they did. " Hello! I'm Evie, how are you?" Only one big Belgian gelding answered her and she thought that was just SO thrilling! She touched her muzzle to my arm in excitement. We wandered back inside to see the sights and find Glenn. I wanted her to see all she could so the next time, it wouldn't be so traumatic for her. We walked up n' down aisles with huge 18 hand and taller horses gazing over the tops of their stalls at her. We checked out covers on the big hitch wagons and show carts- Evie has this thing about items being TALLER than she is, so she was learning that this was now an okay thing. She was not the tallest horse there, not taller than some wagons (Some rose over 8' in the air !) and she certainly was not taller than the ceiling. She'd look up every now n' again, to see it. Pretty interesting stuff up there, it seemed...
Glenn's knee was aching w/ the nasty weather change (from bad to GOOD ) so Evie n' I were on our own sometimes. All three of us walked thru the tunnel to the show ring, where she n' I watched some Percherons being shown in halter at the in-gate. She lifted her head high when they had to trot w/ their owners, watching intently. She wanted to go in to see those flowers that were put out as decorations, but we weren't allowed, so we gazed at them from afar. Ok- that was boring now. Each time a person or group of people would walk by, she'd put her ears up towards them in interest... Maybe THEY wanted to pet her ???? No, they all just smiled and walked on. Eventually, she learned she wasn't the center of attention as she was at home. Bored again..... Well, perhaps another walk, Evie? Off we went- back down the tunnel lined w/ gorgeous Shire horses, some foals and mamas, waiting for their turn to impress their judge, some big tall black Percheron horses waiting patiently and "ho-hum" boring sights, by now.
All of a sudden, she stopped dead. Ears alert, head above mine, and frozen. There was a Soda Machine that she had missed on her way thru before. OMG- she didn't quite know WHAT to think of it. It was brightly colored plastic on the front with big hand-sized buttons to push to choose which soda/pop one wanted, and it was "purring". It was actually busily cooling the sodas - but to an Evie of very small brain and experience w/ these things - it sounded like a purr. Wow- she wasn't sure if she could even walk past it, let alone get any closer. Eyes bugged out as Evie has been known to do, ears all but touching together in alertness, and all muscles prepared to RUN should she need to. I asked her to come closer which she tried to do but her knees wouldn't bend much w/ taunt muscles. I rubbed her neck, explaining all about sodas and how the machine worked, as she took it all in. Moving her head up n' down and then relaxing a second only to be on alert again- just in case it would attack. The gals at the food booth right next door were cracking up as was Glenn too. I tried really hard to not laugh as SHE was petrified! At long last (abt a couple of minutes) I asked Evie to touch that monster machine. Again, she tried, but no go, so I did.
OH MY !!!!! No way was she coming near that thing now. She jumped back and scared the weanling Shire that was standing calmly against the wall. Now four horses were on alert, "Just in Case''. I rubbed her neck and laughed at her being so silly- all for a soda machine. She relaxed and took a step towards it... everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so slowly, she touched it w/ her nose. The buttons moved and she jumped back in surprise, bug-eyed. Again, she tried to touch the plastic.... nothing, so she shoved it some. Noise, and another jump in place. She got so she thought it fun to shove the buttons and hear the funny sounds after about three touches. Each time w/ eyes popping and ears flapping forwards in surprise. I could hear laughter coming from the food booth each time she'd shove a button, with a look of glee on her face. The food booth ladies were enjoying Evies' adventure too.
This filly learns so fast and is getting to be so trusting. We were busy laying a great foundation for a yearling to be shown next year and be trusting in the things I ask her to do. Evie has impressed me again it seems. She turned 6 months old that day, and there have been SO many 'firsts' this past month. She's come thru them all with class and interest. After I'd blown my foot, (badly twisting my bad ankle) we went home- I hurt SO much. This little filly loaded herself, I scurried up the ramp behind her- and she was trying really hard to back her little black butt into "Evie's" stall before I could get turned around. I think our filly was more than ready to get moving towards home. She traveled like a trooper, guzzled her hay all the way back to the farm and the only thing that startled her then was a big silver semi making a LOT of noise as it passed us. Open trailer windows= Lots of noise and stink from trucks! Ughhhhhhhhhhh. She learned so much on one short trip and was conked out in her stall soon after finishing her evening meal of baby feed n' oil. Evie was poohed out from a day at a horse show.
Evie & The Tarp 3/27/2007
Hi all,
Evie met the Tarp last week...... its a bright blue one that we had bought cheap for covering the stall front with our $$$ harness, etc in the tack stall while at the Worlds. Its , ohhhhhhhh, around 10 x 8. I had Eve out in the aisle way practicing ground tying and grooming her. After picking up all four feet, I looked for something to get into so far as letting her see yet MORE scary things. There was The Tarp. Just laying there, all folded up on top of the shavings bales. Looking ever so innocent , it only interested Evie for a few seconds . Then I unfolded it. Well THAT was more interesting and “maybe a little scary, mom ??”
Evie met the Tarp last week...... its a bright blue one that we had bought cheap for covering the stall front with our $$$ harness, etc in the tack stall while at the Worlds. Its , ohhhhhhhh, around 10 x 8. I had Eve out in the aisle way practicing ground tying and grooming her. After picking up all four feet, I looked for something to get into so far as letting her see yet MORE scary things. There was The Tarp. Just laying there, all folded up on top of the shavings bales. Looking ever so innocent , it only interested Evie for a few seconds . Then I unfolded it. Well THAT was more interesting and “maybe a little scary, mom ??”
I laughed at her and her reactions like I always do- one because she's a hoot and two, to not let her see that I am scared of it in any way. Therefore, she hasn't a reason to be.... This has worked for nigh on 38 yrs and still works w/ these high flight babies.
I held it UP and down, watching her the whole time. Eyes got BIG, and she lifted her head WAY high,but not leaving- when it went UP but was instantly boring when it was below her line of sight. So we went UPPPP some more, and I shook it this time- THAT got some attention, but only til it stopped and she realised it was only making noise, and not attacking her. By the end of this short session, I had it laying on her back, as she was looking for hay treats on the aisle floor.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....what ELSE ?? I took it off her and put it on the ground " walk on Evie" and over she went- NO hesitation what so ever. We walked over , around and back over again... nada. This was fast becoming boring for ME, let alone Herself. She wanted to put her nose down to check it out and the end result was pawing it , bunching it way under her tummy, and then having to turn all around again in order to paw it some more - What grand fun this was !!
I pulled it away and she was mystified... HOW?? So I flapped it down again, and the fun was on. Pawing, stomping, trying to pick it up w/ one's teeth ended up w/ a hole in the middle ( poor little tarp !).
Then Glenn showed up and HE flapped it about some, we played " Peek a BOO !" with it and Glenn 'hiding' behind it > THAT was wonderful fun- and Evie thought one of the rules of the game was to flap her front leg at this thing that kept having Glenn appear , saying ''Peek A BOO !! Eve !'' He'd flip it up over his head again really fast and voila ! Glenn was GONE. Took a few times for her to realise he Was there after all- and all one had to do was walk up to him, and stick one's head over top of the tarp to find him ! This whole thing had me laughing so hard - Glenn too; he could barely get his '' Peek a Boo's'' out right. Evie thought all of this was great fun and wanted to carry the tarp off with her in her teeth. Nooooooooooooooooo- the tarp didn't wanna go live in Evies' stall over night, and she had to leave it behind. Now, when we go past it, she wants to go pick it up and take it with her to the pasture . <> And I thought the tarp was going to do her in mentally.... Nope, she just thought it was FUN. <>
Try as I may, its getting harder n' harder to find scary things for her. Moving vehicles still startle her some but thats because she's not been around them much. This year of showing will get her past those. Oddly enough, when we showed at KILE..... the trucks/ trailers n' cars did not phase her. Here ? HA- they are coming to get HER, and her alone ! She'll get past this too..... eventually.
I held it UP and down, watching her the whole time. Eyes got BIG, and she lifted her head WAY high,but not leaving- when it went UP but was instantly boring when it was below her line of sight. So we went UPPPP some more, and I shook it this time- THAT got some attention, but only til it stopped and she realised it was only making noise, and not attacking her. By the end of this short session, I had it laying on her back, as she was looking for hay treats on the aisle floor.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....what ELSE ?? I took it off her and put it on the ground " walk on Evie" and over she went- NO hesitation what so ever. We walked over , around and back over again... nada. This was fast becoming boring for ME, let alone Herself. She wanted to put her nose down to check it out and the end result was pawing it , bunching it way under her tummy, and then having to turn all around again in order to paw it some more - What grand fun this was !!
I pulled it away and she was mystified... HOW?? So I flapped it down again, and the fun was on. Pawing, stomping, trying to pick it up w/ one's teeth ended up w/ a hole in the middle ( poor little tarp !).
Then Glenn showed up and HE flapped it about some, we played " Peek a BOO !" with it and Glenn 'hiding' behind it > THAT was wonderful fun- and Evie thought one of the rules of the game was to flap her front leg at this thing that kept having Glenn appear , saying ''Peek A BOO !! Eve !'' He'd flip it up over his head again really fast and voila ! Glenn was GONE. Took a few times for her to realise he Was there after all- and all one had to do was walk up to him, and stick one's head over top of the tarp to find him ! This whole thing had me laughing so hard - Glenn too; he could barely get his '' Peek a Boo's'' out right. Evie thought all of this was great fun and wanted to carry the tarp off with her in her teeth. Nooooooooooooooooo- the tarp didn't wanna go live in Evies' stall over night, and she had to leave it behind. Now, when we go past it, she wants to go pick it up and take it with her to the pasture . <> And I thought the tarp was going to do her in mentally.... Nope, she just thought it was FUN. <>
Try as I may, its getting harder n' harder to find scary things for her. Moving vehicles still startle her some but thats because she's not been around them much. This year of showing will get her past those. Oddly enough, when we showed at KILE..... the trucks/ trailers n' cars did not phase her. Here ? HA- they are coming to get HER, and her alone ! She'll get past this too..... eventually.
Abby's First Show June 2007
6 30 2007
Abby's First Show :Well we survived. (:)
It was our first pleasure driving show for Abby. As usual I screwed up on the arrival/ show start time, soooooooooooo we were in a panic. Not the leisurely walk around for Abby, nor ME. I only found out where the ring was because the announcers building was right there and we were LATE. I threw on my show clothes and sort of tucked things in, grabbed my hat n' shoes, and apron. Glenn was at the trailer, holding (or trying to) Abby, who was high blowing, prancing in circles, and holding her little stubby drafter tail up Straight in the air. OH BOY, I could hardly wait to get in the ring w/ this explosion on four legs ! We were in classes # 3 & 4- nothing wrong w/ arriving, and going RIGHT in the show ring, ehhhhhhhhh ?? We almost had to. I had one pony class to let Abby look around some, which she did a LOT of. She was fascinated by all the horses and those lovely carts, but she zeroed in on a dark bay Clydesdale...
" CARLENE IS HERE ??????" ( Abby)
" noooooooooooooooo, that is a horse who LOOKS like her..." ( me)
" Oh". ( Abby)
We trotted some, I tried to find her slow trot- it had come along with her, as well as a nice working trot. I KNEW there was no way I'd get much of a strong trot as she was SO busy looking around. I let her- saw this as one giant " shopping " trip for my little black mare. And boy, howdy, did she ever get in some Serious window ''shopping''. She checked out the big draft crosses by the barns, those minis were amazing, the folks sitting in chairs in front of their harness supply vendor area might have carrots, yanno.... All in all, Abby had a BRAIN, and was settling down nicely on the outside of the ring.
Our class was called and in the ring we walked- harness that needs more adjustment (she is NOT as broad as Lynn or Carlene,and the traces only have ONE slot - will have THAT fixed soon) a 15 yr old cart that had been used around the farm for training babies and for working older horses. And me, with my shirt tail out in back. Thank goodness for LONG jackets. I had one shoe on and one kind of on, too, but my hat was good to go. I was SO nervous about how this one was going to behave (or MISbehave) that I couldn't have spit if someone offered me $500.00 to do it, my mouth was THAT dry.
The walk went well. Trot went well, then she heard another horse behind her in the sand " Mom !! WHAT IS THAT !?!?!??!!" Head shot up, ears flapping back towards the sound.As the nice quiet horse trotted past us, Abby's head swung around to see. " Oh, a horse" and my Abby-dabby trotted on a lot more quietly. Then a slow trot- we nailed that.THEN the words "TROT ON !" came and Abby had no clue, she has Only just begun understanding that at home, so I didn't press the issue. She slowed down to see the golf cart beside the announcers booth- she Likes golf carts! That was good, but there was a white bucket or something that needed a closer look, and we all but crowded the fence some looking at it- all at a good crisp working trot. Then a reverse, and Abby was getting a teeny bit tired now. She did Wonderfully the other direction, and what fun she was having then. She understood that the squeechy sounds behind her were other horses in the 'herd', and when they passed, she was fine w/ that. Luckily no one got too close- or things could have gotten scary for her - and me. We placed 5th- beat Two whole horses in that class. I didn't expect to place at ALL, but we have a pink ribbon (:) Abby looks good in pink, I think (:)
Next class was more serious- Novice Working Horse. HA- I had no Working horse, I had a chubby tired young black mare . We stayed in the ring, and did alright there too. She was much more relaxed..heck tooooo relaxed ! Abby just didn't understand about horse shows, and how you have to keep going even when there's a cute little mini outside the ring to watch. She walked when we were supposed to be trotting, bounced when a walk had been called and STOPPED in front of the ever patient judge as we were doing a diagonal reverse! (Lol!) The whole thing cracked me up- Abby could have sworn that human in the ring had treats in her hand (nooooooooooooooo way). By then I knew there was no way we were going to get anything, after all, this was all for Abby. We hadn't gone to win ribbons, instead as a learning experience. We got thru that second class and Abby was more than happy to stand in the line up, looking around. She liked being next to her Clyde pal a lot ; kept looking over at her. The folks next to us said how good she'd done, and I explained it was Abby's FIRST driving show in her whole life, and I was happy we'd not gone airborne over it all. They laughed and said "no, she had looked fine". I was a little embarrassed over the whole class. The judge came over and said I'd placed last - which I already knew, but thought was so kind of her to take that time. She said nice things about Abby, and I thanked her for that. < big smiles>
So, we were done. Abby wasn't as pooped out as she acted in the ring, as she had ALL three trot speeds outside ! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. She Totally surprised me in being such a slow poke. I had her figured the other way around, but nope, Again, she has surprised me 100%. I'm glad it was That kind of surprise though.
We unharnessed, loaded her in the trailer w/ some hay, got something to drink, and left for home. Glenn had some important things to get done this afternoon, and I was expecting a load of sawdust, so we wanted to get on home. Abby traveled like a dream, and was happy to be back in her stall. She was constantly looking for her carrots, which are now going to slowly become a thing of the past as she's been doing so great. Soon she'll have to work for 'praise' instead of working for food. :)
There ya have it- we came home safe n' sound with a happy mare and two bright pink ribbons. The MAIN thing is that she never ONCE even threatened to go up in the air, even with all the excitement before the two classes- not once. She was oh so brave in her very first driving classes- where the horses PASS you-
and I am Very very proud of this mare, once again.
Abby's First Show :Well we survived. (:)
It was our first pleasure driving show for Abby. As usual I screwed up on the arrival/ show start time, soooooooooooo we were in a panic. Not the leisurely walk around for Abby, nor ME. I only found out where the ring was because the announcers building was right there and we were LATE. I threw on my show clothes and sort of tucked things in, grabbed my hat n' shoes, and apron. Glenn was at the trailer, holding (or trying to) Abby, who was high blowing, prancing in circles, and holding her little stubby drafter tail up Straight in the air. OH BOY, I could hardly wait to get in the ring w/ this explosion on four legs ! We were in classes # 3 & 4- nothing wrong w/ arriving, and going RIGHT in the show ring, ehhhhhhhhh ?? We almost had to. I had one pony class to let Abby look around some, which she did a LOT of. She was fascinated by all the horses and those lovely carts, but she zeroed in on a dark bay Clydesdale...
" CARLENE IS HERE ??????" ( Abby)
" noooooooooooooooo, that is a horse who LOOKS like her..." ( me)
" Oh". ( Abby)
We trotted some, I tried to find her slow trot- it had come along with her, as well as a nice working trot. I KNEW there was no way I'd get much of a strong trot as she was SO busy looking around. I let her- saw this as one giant " shopping " trip for my little black mare. And boy, howdy, did she ever get in some Serious window ''shopping''. She checked out the big draft crosses by the barns, those minis were amazing, the folks sitting in chairs in front of their harness supply vendor area might have carrots, yanno.... All in all, Abby had a BRAIN, and was settling down nicely on the outside of the ring.
Our class was called and in the ring we walked- harness that needs more adjustment (she is NOT as broad as Lynn or Carlene,and the traces only have ONE slot - will have THAT fixed soon) a 15 yr old cart that had been used around the farm for training babies and for working older horses. And me, with my shirt tail out in back. Thank goodness for LONG jackets. I had one shoe on and one kind of on, too, but my hat was good to go. I was SO nervous about how this one was going to behave (or MISbehave) that I couldn't have spit if someone offered me $500.00 to do it, my mouth was THAT dry.
The walk went well. Trot went well, then she heard another horse behind her in the sand " Mom !! WHAT IS THAT !?!?!??!!" Head shot up, ears flapping back towards the sound.As the nice quiet horse trotted past us, Abby's head swung around to see. " Oh, a horse" and my Abby-dabby trotted on a lot more quietly. Then a slow trot- we nailed that.THEN the words "TROT ON !" came and Abby had no clue, she has Only just begun understanding that at home, so I didn't press the issue. She slowed down to see the golf cart beside the announcers booth- she Likes golf carts! That was good, but there was a white bucket or something that needed a closer look, and we all but crowded the fence some looking at it- all at a good crisp working trot. Then a reverse, and Abby was getting a teeny bit tired now. She did Wonderfully the other direction, and what fun she was having then. She understood that the squeechy sounds behind her were other horses in the 'herd', and when they passed, she was fine w/ that. Luckily no one got too close- or things could have gotten scary for her - and me. We placed 5th- beat Two whole horses in that class. I didn't expect to place at ALL, but we have a pink ribbon (:) Abby looks good in pink, I think (:)
Next class was more serious- Novice Working Horse. HA- I had no Working horse, I had a chubby tired young black mare . We stayed in the ring, and did alright there too. She was much more relaxed..heck tooooo relaxed ! Abby just didn't understand about horse shows, and how you have to keep going even when there's a cute little mini outside the ring to watch. She walked when we were supposed to be trotting, bounced when a walk had been called and STOPPED in front of the ever patient judge as we were doing a diagonal reverse! (Lol!) The whole thing cracked me up- Abby could have sworn that human in the ring had treats in her hand (nooooooooooooooo way). By then I knew there was no way we were going to get anything, after all, this was all for Abby. We hadn't gone to win ribbons, instead as a learning experience. We got thru that second class and Abby was more than happy to stand in the line up, looking around. She liked being next to her Clyde pal a lot ; kept looking over at her. The folks next to us said how good she'd done, and I explained it was Abby's FIRST driving show in her whole life, and I was happy we'd not gone airborne over it all. They laughed and said "no, she had looked fine". I was a little embarrassed over the whole class. The judge came over and said I'd placed last - which I already knew, but thought was so kind of her to take that time. She said nice things about Abby, and I thanked her for that. < big smiles>
So, we were done. Abby wasn't as pooped out as she acted in the ring, as she had ALL three trot speeds outside ! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. She Totally surprised me in being such a slow poke. I had her figured the other way around, but nope, Again, she has surprised me 100%. I'm glad it was That kind of surprise though.
We unharnessed, loaded her in the trailer w/ some hay, got something to drink, and left for home. Glenn had some important things to get done this afternoon, and I was expecting a load of sawdust, so we wanted to get on home. Abby traveled like a dream, and was happy to be back in her stall. She was constantly looking for her carrots, which are now going to slowly become a thing of the past as she's been doing so great. Soon she'll have to work for 'praise' instead of working for food. :)
There ya have it- we came home safe n' sound with a happy mare and two bright pink ribbons. The MAIN thing is that she never ONCE even threatened to go up in the air, even with all the excitement before the two classes- not once. She was oh so brave in her very first driving classes- where the horses PASS you-
and I am Very very proud of this mare, once again.
New Folks ?
I ran an advertisement on craigslist for Horseless Horse-people- asking if there were any near by that wanted to learn and help out on a horse farm. I got Three emails in reply! One by one they came to visit and it seems that they will all work out well. One is a mom of Five (!!) and two are mid-teenagers. All love horses - some know nothing and will learn from the absolute beginning, some are more experienced and have some riding miles and some just want to learn how to do things " Right". I'm So very pleased and hope they keep coming around to help w/ stalls, and more. This way, with morning help- I can get Abby driving more often. I'm looking forward to these ladies coming here. Good company and teaching them will help me get the 'cobwebs' out of my brain too. I'll be sure to take my camera this week, so I can get some pix.
Shanna came over yesterday and gave her favorite fella a bath. She scrubbed and scrubbed until he was pure white again. Here's a photo of BoJangles before he was totally dry:
He's SOOOOOOOO clean ! He isn't today though....
he'd rolled last night in the dirt.
This is a more close up shot.... I Love this horse's kind, gentle eye !
Monday, May 17, 2010
" CRONK !!" ???
Ok- this was getting ridiculous. I stood in the middle of the barn, listening closely for it to happen again. Must have stood there for 2-3 minutes until whatever it was sounded off once more. Now I knew where the sound was coming from. The chicks have been living in an empty stall during the night because I don't have a 100% safe area for them outside. That is where the noise was coming from. Walking over quietly, I peeked in thru the stall bars and was very quiet. ''CRONK !! ''
AH HA- Guess who now owns a rooster ???? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah- ME. I specifically ordered ALL hens when I made my order at the local (And obviously not good chickens) feed store. NO ROOSTERS was on my order. Well, they messed up and I have at least one now- and he's trying to Crow. This gorgeous bird is not going to remain here. I'm not sure What I'll do with him- but he's not staying here...
Might anyone want a purebred Partridge Plymouth Rock ROOSTER ??
Please, anyone, want a lovely Rooster ? Anyone??
Monday, May 10, 2010
Brrrrrrrrr
For the second weekend in May, it was COLD !!! Happy Mother's Day to every Mom who is reading these- I hope it was a great day for you .
The husband and I took Saturday " off " this weekend. This is something that doesn't happen often, so when it does, we have a great time together. We drove to his hometown and got some errands accomplished . On the way back, we stopped at a horse show grounds to see a friend of ours showing her first American Saddlebred horse. This horse is owned by someone else but she was asked if she would enjoy showing it- of course she was Thrilled ! The wind blowing was frightening to many of the horses there, and there were some almost disasters but luckily no one was hurt. My friend's horse decided it was fun to buck himself around some corners of the ring, but she stuck with him. The two classes for that day won two 4th place ribbons. Not bad for only the horses' second time in a show ring.
After that, we headed home. A long peaceful drive but for the interstates and busier roadways. I prefer driving on country roads, but sometimes one Must head towards the busier roads. We got home and the husband cooked a great dinner which we enjoyed immensely.
Below is my friend on BZ , her favorite pal. This was right after he stopped bucking....
.JPG)
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The husband and I took Saturday " off " this weekend. This is something that doesn't happen often, so when it does, we have a great time together. We drove to his hometown and got some errands accomplished . On the way back, we stopped at a horse show grounds to see a friend of ours showing her first American Saddlebred horse. This horse is owned by someone else but she was asked if she would enjoy showing it- of course she was Thrilled ! The wind blowing was frightening to many of the horses there, and there were some almost disasters but luckily no one was hurt. My friend's horse decided it was fun to buck himself around some corners of the ring, but she stuck with him. The two classes for that day won two 4th place ribbons. Not bad for only the horses' second time in a show ring.
After that, we headed home. A long peaceful drive but for the interstates and busier roadways. I prefer driving on country roads, but sometimes one Must head towards the busier roads. We got home and the husband cooked a great dinner which we enjoyed immensely.
Below is my friend on BZ , her favorite pal. This was right after he stopped bucking....
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This is after their ride and waiting to see how they placed....
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Sunday , I decided to head out to a local show. Still chilly for May and a blustery wind blowing. Turned out I was Happy that I had remembered to grab a winter weight coat as I left the house. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !! Horses were full of bucks, and some broke free from their handlers to run off exploring the whole show grounds as they galloped thru the trailers and horses tied there. Again- no one was hurt badly and once things settled down and the show classes began, all was quite peaceful. Still kids fell off and horses went bonkers , thanks to the big winds. I remembered thinking how glad I was that I had decided to leave my mare, Abby , at home that day ......
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