Training and AOT

It’s Hard to See the Forest Through the Trees

Do you ever get that feeling like you’re just missing something? Maybe it’s right in front of your face and you just can’t see it? Yeah, me too. Since Duke got here in July, and even before that, my goal with him has been to get us to a (real) show, under saddle, IN A SUIT, all up in front of the public and NOT embarrass ourselves. We have hit roadblock after roadblock (he had an abscess that took forever to heal, I had surgery that put me off for 6 weeks, WINTER, mud, etc). It’s so easy to become frustrated and sit back and say we’ve gotten no where. The wheels of progress turn so slow, and the winds of change are barely blowing.

However, I cannot in all honesty say we have not made any progress. While the progress sitting in the saddle isn’t as noticeable as I wish it were, and we still have quite a way to go to be ready to hit the show ring, there are other areas where the level of progression is much more noticeable. On the ground, he is a different horse. I can put a brush to his face without him running backwards. I can put a blanket on without him running sideways. I can work around him without fear his teeth will take a chunk out of me when I’m not paying attention. I can use a mounting block. He still hates anything being sprayed on him, but we are working on it. He might squat a little but he no longe3r becomes a crash test dummy who would slam himself into anything around just to try and get away.

I have never dealt with such an incredibly sensitive horse in my life. So, what do you do when you have a horse that is so (over) reactive to literally every move you make? You just don’t react. You keep going. You take it slow, but you make it a point to continue on. Don’t panic when they panic, just keep going like nothing is happening. It’s just not your turn to have a meltdown. And it probably never will be.

I can’t say this is the way to go with ALL horses, but with Duke it has proven to work. After MONTHS of flailing my hands around his face, dropping things on purpose, kicking things all around him, touching him with any oddball thing I may be walking through the barn with (a broom, a rake, a pitchfork, a feed bag, a shavings bag, a giant rolling magnet, you get the point) he finally just stands and looks at me like I’m the most ridiculous human on earth with most things. He doesn’t shake in fear, he doesn’t run backwards or sideways or anything else. If I happen to drop something next to him, I don’t have to worry he might take me out on the way to getting the hell out of there, or that he will break the crossties trying to escape his fate. He stands there, 98% of the time. None of us are perfect, I’ll take 98%.

Duke: “There better be snacks involved after this”
This is his “are you serious?” face

I go by the rule that if you spook at it, you get to wear it or be by it or look at it so you can realize it isn’t scary. It may take a few days of seeing it, being touched by it, etc. Some people might think this is cruel, and to those people I ask: how else are you desensitizing your horses? How are they supposed to understand something isn’t going to hurt them if they aren’t exposed to it? If they are not physically shown there is no harm to come from being “brushed” with a broom or “ridden” by a bag? Or whatever else. Please. Enlighten me. I’m always open to new ideas. Everyone has good ones, and I’m ready to hear them. However, this is what is working so far on my extremely sensitive guy, and he’s no worse for wear. Until a better alternative is offered up or discovered, I will stay the course with this. Do I annoy him? Probably. Is he safer to work around (and even ride) because of it? Absolutely. Does Fizz look at me like I’m a horrible human for “torturing” his brother? Nope. Been there done that is probably laughing from the other side of the divider.

Anyway, just because you can’t see progress every single day doesn’t mean progress isn’t getting made. When you feel you’re in a rut, take a look back at where you were a month ago, 6 months ago, a year ago. Don’t focus on today, yesterday, and the frustrations you may feel in each moment. Don’t look at your end goal and think about how far you have to go still. It can make it seem hopeless, believe me, I get it. Instead, focus on where you came from, where you are, and where you want to be. Adjust along the way if necessary. Look at the big picture. See the whole forest (all the little hurdles you’re jumping on the way), not just one tree (your end goal). It’s OK to trip. It’s OK to stand still and evaluate. It’s OK to proceed with caution. As long as you’re not going backwards, you’re doing all right.

The Stubborn Abscess

In typical Duke fashion, he has caused trouble again. I mean, not intentionally but if I don’t make light of it and laugh at the troublemaker, I just might cry. I have dealt with lameness in the past before with Fizz, but never to this degree. It’s always been “Oh, you removed my shoes? I’m now crippled” or something else that is basically no big deal in the grand scheme of things. It’s never lasted more than 3 days. This had been going on since the end of September. It’s December now like really can Santa bring me an unquestionably sound horse?

On Sept 25th, we had the boys reset. Since we are going into winter in KY we had Duke’s show shoes (with the little leather pad) removed and plain plates put on. If you read/remember the post about Keratex, I was absolutely thrilled his feet were in good enough shape to even be able to do this. I thought, this will be GREAT for winter work. Then on the 28th, he turns up dead lame. My initial thought was, he’s uncomfortable after we took the pads off. Give him a bit for his soles to harden up, and he will be fine. So I waited a week, but he was the same. The farrier came out to put hoof testers on him and he removed a nail on one side where he noticed a little bit of heat, thinking it could have been a hot nail. I didn’t notice this heat, but I’m no professional. Anyway, it wasn’t that. He believed it was an abscess and suggested I soak and wrap for a week, and see where we were. I agreed and did as directed. Below you will find “how to” of sorts.

If you’ve never soaked a fidgety horses foot before, good luck, Godspeed. I hope you have the patience of a saint, especially if you’re trying to use a bucket or pan like normal people do. If you’re like me and have maybe just a smidge more patience than your horse who thinks standing still is stupid and knocking over buckets is funny, I highly suggest you invest in a product that stays with them as they move. There are multiple products out there but I got the little contraption below from my local Tractor Supply and it’s worked out well for soaking thus far (with the exception that Duke promptly broke one of the keepers for the velcro straps).

Dissolve some epsom salt in warm water with a splash of betadyne (if you have it or want to go buy it-my vet recommended it).

Soak the horses foot in the solution for a minimum of 15 minutes once daily.

I like to wipe it “dry” with a towel, inspect, then wrap.

There are some options with wrapping. You can just put some warm water and epsom salt into a baby diaper and wrap if you don’t have anything else on hand, but I find that an epsom salt poultice you buy is easier to use and stays “in place” better. You can also use something like icthamol drawing salve, or some sort of hoof packing like sole pack. In all instances, you still should wrap with a diaper (or other type of cotton) and duct tape boot on top. I use the diapers because the generic ones are cheaper than rolls of cotton and they secure on the foot so it makes wrapping slightly easier. I suppose you could put on a hoof boot or some other hoof wrapping if you choose but I haven’t found anything I like that works as good as the old duct tape way. If you have a better method, I would love to hear about it!

If you’re like me and you have never had to wrap a hoof by yourself before, again, good luck and Godspeed. haha. But really, don’t fear, for we don’t live in the stone ages and there is YouTube now.

This video will explain how to make a “duct tape boot” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FfUjQ8b8jg

Check out this video for some good wrapping tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TABfU2uLcA

After the initial week of soak/wrap process, nothing had changed. Another week of soaking/wrapping. Duke’s frog was soft and pliable and seemed to be bothersome, so the farrier came back out to trim his foot and make sure the shoes didn’t need anything. Still, the lameness persisted. I thought, let it go and give it a few more weeks. Still the same. Unfortunately.

I watched and waited about as long as I could tolerate him looking uncomfortable and to the point where I had exhausted all efforts that I knew of and that had been recommended to me. Then I called the vet. On Nov 3rd, they came out and performed an exam. He didn’t respond to hoof testers. His digital pulse was not elevated. There was no heat. But the lameness was evident. They did X-Rays to diagnose, since everything else looked normal. However, the X-Rays proved it is without a doubt, an abscess. As shown in the images below, the “pocket” of infection is clear. The vet was concerned about the infection spreading to the coffin bone, so prescribed antibiotics for that, bute to make him more comfortable, and ulcerguard to help ease his stomach from the bute. You would have thought I was poisoning his food, but he reluctantly ate it over the course of the next 10 days. The vet recommended to resume the soaking/wrapping and wanted a report in a week if he was still uncomfortable. It did not resolve.

The farrier came back on the 9th to trim and reset, and recommended another soak/wrap immediately following the trim. And then….I had surgery on Nov 11th!! I was not able to soak, wrap, or really do anything after the 10th! However, it still had not totally resolved. He seemed more comfortable on and off, but would still take “gimpy” steps trotting around the turnout and coming out of his stall. On Nov 17th, the vet returned to do magnawave therapy on his hoof to draw the remaining abscess out. They said improvement should be seen within 24-48 hours and if not, they could do another session, or more! At this point, I’m wondering (not for the first time during horse ownership) if I needed to find a street corner somewhere, or sell my soul to come up with enough money to pay for this insanity. How has it been 2.5 months and this thing is STILL hanging on?

Being the stubborn horse person that I am, I enlisted my poor non-horsey husband to help me soak and wrap… it can’t hurt, even if it hasn’t helped (yet). We did one day with epsom salt, then the second day we packed with sole pack. Left this on for nearly 24 hours. Yes, I realize the package says 18 hours max. But, being limited in what I could do, that’s the best I could manage. When this wrap was removed, a literal CHUNK of his sole picked away with a hoof pick. I was concerned, but it didn’t seem to bother him. I turned him out without soaking or wrapping and over the next several days, he seemed a lot more comfortable.

THEN, he threw a shoe. Actually, both of them did. They both threw one front shoe each. FAIL. Duke’s abscess side shoe was still hanging tight, but called the farrier anyway. Thank GOD for a good farrier, he showed up the next day. We had a nice chat about their work and living arrangements over the next few months and decided to pull ALL shoes off BOTH horses. I was SO nervous this was going to be a disaster, but the farrier assured me they would both benefit from it and if not, he would come back and nail shoes back on. Both barefoot boys pictured below.

He examined the abscess hoof and he thinks it may have blown out under the piece of sole that came off. I tend to agree. They have been barefoot for 2 weeks now and today, he was a hot mess but he looked like a SOUND hot mess! Praise the lord I (cautiously) think we are over this, but apparently this is the most stubborn abscess in history and soaking/wrapping usually works a lot faster! In extreme cases the vet can cut in and drain, but in Duke’s case the vet thought that would cause additional problems and felt it would be best to let it come out in it’s own time.

If you’re dealing with lameness, and everything you are doing isn’t working, PLEASE have your vet out to confirm an absolute diagnosis. It could be a (should have been more simple) abscess, but really while you’re blindly treating symptoms there could potentially be a bigger issue that if treated sooner, would have a better outcome. While my bank account may be drained, my heart is happy knowing I have done my due diligence as a horse mom and caretaker. I exhausted every effort I could do myself within a reasonable amount of time before enlisting professional help (and spending a small fortune) but at the end of the day, my horse is happy and comfortable now and I feel good that I didn’t let it go on and on without asking for help. As much as we ask of our horses, we owe them that much.

I’m Afraid of my Pizza Cutter

You read that right. I’m afraid of my pizza cutter. Laugh all you want, but you’ll understand the relevance if you keep reading. Years ago, I got a fancy new Pampered Chef pizza cutter. One of the first times I used it, I made a mistake in taking the cover off and it sliced the bejeesus out of my finger. I maybe should have gotten stitches, but I’m a stubborn fool and pretty much felt like since the finger was still attached, it was fine. It took weeks to heal, kept busting back open and bleeding-fingers are the worst place to have cuts. I think about that literally every time I use the stupid thing now though, and it’s been probably over 10 years. I think about how it cut me, but I still use it. I have come to understand my mistake and that if I use it correctly it won’t cut me anymore. I learned from my past experience. I moved on.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This is a blog about horses, why is this lunatic telling me about a stupid pizza cutter? I’m not here to read about how she doesn’t know how to appropriately use kitchen tools. Well, my misguided use of kitchen tools isn’t really the point here. The point is, fear from past experience is a real thing. When you are afraid of something, it affects your decision making and it alters your future choices. Sometimes permanently. Horses are not different in that regard. Helping your horses learn to move past or work through the things that “cut” them in the past, the things they fear in the present, or both, is what training horses is all about. Help them to learn. Help them to move on. We just have to try our best to maintain good judgement and hope we do not become a thing that “cuts” them too.

Horses are inherently flight or fight animals. They have an instinct built in that tells them if something is scary, to just run away as a first resort. If they can’t run away, their next instinct is to fight. The hurdle for us as trainers (or in my case, an amateur just trying to do what I can) is that we must find a way to teach horses that the things they think are scary, are actually not. To build a rapport with that animal so that they know you are not asking them to do things that will put them in danger. My opinion may not be the most highly sought after opinion on horse training, but I think this starts with trust. If your horse does not trust you, how can you expect it to “walk through fire” simply because you asked it to?

Exhibit A, I offer you Duke. He is absolutely not the bravest creature that ever walked this earth. Bless his heart he’s afraid of his own farts. I do think he is very talented and very special, and because of that, he was pushed to be something great before he was ready. Since he has a very high flight instinct, he was labeled a jerk, a no count asshole, difficult, and those are the nicer terms. He was not given the time he needed to mature, and some horses just take longer (cough cough FIZZ). Since he has arrived at my house, I have spent quite a bit of time offering him love, patience, and understanding. I have spent time learning his favorite places to be scratched, rubbing on him, telling him he’s a good boy, and making him feel safe just being around me. It’s been more than a month and we still have good days and bad and I expect that will continue. Possibly always. However, I did this with Fizz when he first came into my life and that horse WOULD walk through fire for me if I asked him to. Back then, I was just so happy to have a horse of my own that I enjoyed spending time “hanging out” with him, I didn’t realize this would be invaluable to our relationship as horse/human. So, I feel this is an important step to take with Duke also.

I can tell his attitude is slowly changing. This isn’t to say that he wasn’t ever offered love or understanding, but having someone spend that extra time just being near him, working around him in a way that shows them your intentions don’t need to be questioned, maybe doing things that are not quite “normal” just to give a reference point for trust. You may not think so, but that is also training. For example, I have “brushed” Duke with a broom several times. At first he thought I was coming to beat him to a bloody pulp. Now, he thinks it’s fun and tries to eat the broom. I drop things around him on purpose. He has stopped reacting to this now. I put strange things near where we work on purpose. He eventually stops snorting and running sideways. I am not gentle in the way I move around him, I am clumsy and flail things around and make a lot of noise simply to show him noise isn’t the enemy. Does he still react? Yes, but it is a simple head raise and ears pricked forward and maybe a slight body twitch as opposed to a running backwards or sideways, into whatever is in the way or over whoever is in the way like it used to be.

Yesterday, we did ground poles in long lines. I walked him back and forth and he walked right over them with me beside him on the first try. Not even a slight side step. Then I left his side, went into lining him as I normally would, and asked him to move over them without me. You would have thought the things grew legs and were standing up ready to take him down. So I went back to his side and we did it together. We had to keep going over and over them, with me gradually moving away each pass. By the end, he was going over them on his own. I wouldn’t say gracefully… but give him a break, it was his first try. He did good enough, he tried and that’s all I can ask of him. But it showed me something, he trusts me. He thinks if I am there doing it, he is OK to be doing it too (at least from the ground). It showed me that I need to work on his confidence, and that if I am asking him to do something alone, it is still OK to do even if I’m not right there.

Horses do talk to you. You just have to know how to listen.

Hay in my Hair and Sweat in my Eyes

It’s been nearly 3 weeks since I pulled the trailer into our driveway with my boys in tow.

Since we are honest folk here at Twisted Sisters, I’m going to lay it out nice and clear for you. If you are a person who dreams of owning a horse and keeping it at home, and also believes doing so is full of nothing but butterflies, rainbows, and unicorn glitter, you are sadly mistaken and living in a dream world. Come back down from the clouds and join the rest of us here in reality. If you are perfectly clean and look like a million bucks all the time, you’re probably doing it wrong.

That aside, it is still in all reality, a dream come true for me. I take pride in hosting my horses in clean stalls, making sure they are fed, and that they always have clean water. If that means I pick stalls every time I walk by and see a pile of poo, so be it. I have that luxury where I didn’t used to and I am grateful for a life that has given me this opportunity. So I will do all the things and I will be happy that I have that luxury. A lot of folks do not. A lot of folks would love to. Some are happy to pay others for the dirty work, but I’m not that kind of gal. I have always dreamed of a life where I could be intimately involved in every detail of my horses care and I FINALLY have that opportunity. I would venture to say most truly hardcore equestrians dream of a life where they can spend it day in and day out doing all the “horsey” things, even the dirty ones. Either way… here’s my experience and things I have learned so far as a first timer having horses at home.

Helicopter Mom: Apparently, that’s me. I installed a camera to spy on the boys. I check it incessantly. If I wake up during the night, I look at it. If I hear a noise outside, I look at it, if I am working or busy and can’t walk outside just to see if they are OK, I look at it. I mean, in the last 2 weeks I have looked at the camera like I believe at any moment either horses legs may detach from their bodies or some other horrific thing might happen. What do I find? Them munching away on hay, looking outside, or laying down sleeping. Perfectly content with life. OR I find Fizz rubbing his tail, and I can scold him through the talk feature on the camera. Both horses now think God talks to them, below is them listening-they don’t know it’s just little ole me.

Hay: I am pretty sure there will never again be a moment in my life where I am not wearing hay as an added accessory to my outfit. It’s itchy and it gets in places no one should have hay, ever. How does it even get there? Does it grow legs and crawl to really weird spots inside your clothing? Just, how?? Also, if you like to watch your money turn to poop… Just look at your horses happily munching on hay.

Sweat: It’s summer here in Kentucky. It’s HOT and it’s HUMID. I spend a lot of time outside and always have but when you’re working with horses it seems like the heat is amplified 10 fold. I can’t explain why. My eyes have never burned so much as in the last several weeks. I think I’ll keep this as opposed to frozen fingers, but still. I am pretty disappointed I’m not skinny yet after all of this sweating. The universe owes me an explanation on this.

Poop: So much poop. Like, I realize they are large animals and I have worked jobs where stall cleaning was a part of it (back in college and as a kid) but there is SO MUCH POOP. Literally they are poop factories. How did I not remember this? And I feel for all of you who have barns full of horses because just these two create so much!!!

Dust: There is literally so much dust. I use a combination of pellet bedding and bagged shavings, which I had read this combo was supposed to be low on dust. I would like to know what definition of “low dust” is on the internet because this is not it. Therefore, I have been researching this. Evidently, I need to “water” my stalls. Um, excuse me? I don’t even water my flower beds. Those things need to live off the water God gives them or they don’t survive well here. Somebody send help.

Crisis: If you think you’ll never feel like you are in a crisis, just give it a minute-one will come and your little fantasy bubble will have been popped. If you have thought about it and planned for every crisis you could think of (like me) and think you know how it will go, just know it goes nothing like you thought it would. Also know that of all the crises you could think of, the one that will happen is something you NEVER thought of. There’s a back story here I might visit later, but my first “crisis” was experienced and it is over now. Bless my husband, my friends, and my very lovely Vet for putting up with me. I probably worry way more than I should.

Bills: There are just SO many bills. Hay, grain, bedding, vet, farrier, supplements, and the list goes on and on and on into eternity. Some bills can be more than you expect, by a LOT. You might think about finding a street corner to call your own, but in the end you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure your horses are healthy and happy. Even if that might mean eating ramen and never leaving your house again.

Help: Having help is CRUCIAL. I can’t say this enough and to those of you out there doing it by your very lonesome, what kind of super hero DNA do you have and where can I get some of it? Or are you just an alien with weird superpowers I can’t even begin to imagine? Because I would NOT have made it even these last few weeks without my poor non-horsey husband who has gotten a very rude intro on how to restrain a contrary horse, how to work a twitch, and some of the other unpleasant things things that come with being around horses. He has also been learning how to pick stalls and he does so without even being asked. BLESS HIM. Ladies, a lot can be said for a man who isn’t into horses but cleans stalls without asking simply because he knows YOU want your horses living in the cleanest stalls in America. I would also not have survived without my Mom, who comes over simply to make sure I don’t die while working these creatures. She’s a saint.

Work: Having horses at home is work. I work a real big girl job. I spend every other amount of time doing things for the horses and the dog. What exactly is this “spare” time everyone speaks about? Who exactly in this world gets to “sleep in” because yeah, that’s not a thing here (for me). Everyone else is taken care of before me. I am the last to eat, the last to be clean(ish-you know, because hay exists…), and I’m fairly certain the horses stalls are cleaner than my house. I can barely manage to do something as simple as boil noodles and slap sauce on top for dinner most days. Dishes left in the sink? Oh well, maybe I’ll get to those tomorrow. Or not. As long as the 4-leggeds are taken care of those dishes can sit another day. Paper plates? Meals that don’t require silverware? Even better. Sign me up.

LOVE: These animals have so much love to give. They make me laugh daily and they fill my heart with so much joy despite all of the above. I truly enjoy simply watching them exist day to day. Every person has good day and bad days, and I believe all creatures do. Our job as humans and facilitators of these animals is to make sure their days are all as good as possible, and understanding that they too, have days that are “off” and they deserve our compassion and understanding. No one, and no animal, is perfect all day every day. These horses (and our Dog Dixie) give me a break when they know I’m having an off day. They offer me peace and acceptance, despite my shortcomings. The least I can do is offer them the same.

It’s ALMOST Time

LONG post alert, so if you’ve wound up here prepare yourselves. If you’re not willing to stay a bit, please pass on by to other content!! If you’re invested enough to read this whole thing, bless you!

I have dreamed of having horses at home since I was a little girl begging my parents to house a horse on their little 3/4 acre lot as a 6 year old. While that dream never came to fruition, here I am a 38 year old “little girl” a week away from my childhood dreams coming true. I have literally put blood, sweat, and tears (plus some, ok lots, of swear words) into this place for good measure. It’s been a process, and I have to say building outbuildings on this property has been one of the most trying “adventures” of my life. I have laughed, I have cried, I have cursed (a LOT). I have juggled obtaining permits, hiring contractors, contractors not showing up, having major delays, getting inspections, doing physical building, making hundred of phone calls, and trying to keep my husband from divorcing me over this whole process (I kid, I kid) but really… it’s been crazy to say the least. It has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. But I do think it will be worth it.

So lets talk about the emotional overload that is going through my head right now as someone who has never had horses at home. This is a subject so many horse people experience and yet, few really talk about it. I realize that being the primary caretaker of horses is work. I realize that it’s a labor of love. I am no stranger to doing hard things, but if I am being real and honest, it is a little bit terrifying to know I currently rely on someone else, who provides food, water, stall cleaning, training, and everything in between to my 2 horses… and soon all of those responsibilities will fall on me. Soon, 2 living breathing, very large and complicated animals will rely solely on me for their every need and overall wellbeing. In theory (as a horse person for the vast majority of my life) it sounds easy, but I’ve never been one to pull the wool over my own eyes.

I will have to procure hay, grain, and bedding and make sure it’s constantly available. I will have to clean stalls. I will have to make sure they are fed and watered. I will have to schedule vet appointments, farrier care, and any other care needed. I will have to make sure broken things are fixed and that every environment the horses are in is the safest it can be. Ya’ll, do I sound crazy for thinking those will be the EASY things? I have to WORK these beasts, continue their education, make sure they are upstanding citizens of the equine world. Basically ALONE. I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a little overwhelmed thinking about that part.

Back when I was working Fizz as a new AOT, I LOVED every second of the planning but lets be honest. I had zero idea what I was actually doing as a “trainer” and I flew by the seat of my pants most days. Looking back, I thank God every day that I ended up with such a smart, intuitive, and TOLERANT animal. That said, I feel like I have grown and I have learned a lot since 2013, and myself and both boys are better off for it. I have gained friends in this industry who have a wealth of knowledge that I have been able to tap into. I have people I can turn to for help now that I didn’t have back in 2013. How lucky am I? How lucky are my horses?

So lets talk about fears as the complete vulnerability of a “new” horse parent exposing everything for the world to see is something I have not run across. I’m not sure if people just don’t talk about this publicly or if I am that crazy overthinker who can’t stop “What Iffing” things to death. I’ve been riding and showing for a long time and I have cared for other people’s horses in the past. My first year of college was spent taking care of a farm of Friesians and Andalusians. But they were not on my property and I did morning feeding and stalls, and afternoon riding. I was not their one and only sole caretaker. I am not exactly a “new” horse owner, but being “new” to caring for them 100% of the time still comes with some real fears.

Fears about training 2 horses as an AOT, and doing it basically alone:

  • What if they regress with an amateur “trainer”?
  • What if I fall off and they get loose?
  • What if I can’t get them hooked to the cart for exercise?
  • What if there is an accident?
  • What if I have problems I can’t figure out?
  • What if I can’t work them enough?
  • What if I don’t do the right things? Or do the right things, the wrong way?
  • What if I get hurt and can’t exercise them?

Fears about keeping horses:

  • What if they get injured?
  • What if I don’t notice if something is wrong?
  • What if I can’t get what they need (hay shortage, etc)
  • What if I can’t be here?
  • What about vacations?
  • What about emergencies?
  • What about holidays? (4th of July and massive fireworks being shot off for weeks on end comes to mind)
    • What if I can’t get them calm?
  • What if I can’t get a vet here for emergencies?

These are things I can only think of off the top of my head as things I’ve thought about previously and had concerns about. However, as an overthinker, a planner, and a “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” kind of person I have taken steps to prepare for most of these and ease my mind to the best extent that I can. Some things will just have to fall into place after the horses are here, we have a routine, and I see that my incompetence isn’t actually as bad as it is in my head a lot of the time. I mean honestly I don’t give myself enough credit. Not to toot my own horn, but I am stubborn. I am tough. I am resilient. I do not give up and I do not lay down and sulk in my own deficiencies. I get up and I research and I ask questions and I strive to do better every day. In my opinion, there is no other option when such smart, also resilient, and talented creatures are relying on me to not only survive, but to thrive. So, lets go through the list again, this time with some answers.

  • What if they regress with an amateur “trainer”?
    • Keep doing things you know work
    • Have resources and don’t be too proud to contact them
    • Be humble enough to own your mistakes and do better next time
    • Don’t beat yourself up. Most horses are resilient and forgiving.
  • What if I fall off and they get loose?
    • Put up barriers on the property to contain them as best possible
    • Duh, ride better, don’t fall off (ha!)
  • What if I can’t get them hooked to the cart for exercise?
    • Teach them to stand quietly until you ask them to move
    • Ground work is just as important as other work
  • What if there is an accident?
    • Accidents happen, have a plan in advance
    • First Aid kit (horse and human)
    • Vet #
  • What if I have problems I can’t figure out?
    • Again, don’t be too proud to ask for help or bounce ideas off someone else.
    • Have a network
  • What if I can’t work them enough?
    • You can only do what you can, and it will have to be enough
    • Set your priorities and make a clear, easy to follow schedule ahead of time
    • yes it requires thought, but it’s important so DO IT
  • What if I don’t do the right things? Or do the right things, the wrong way?
    • If something isn’t working, change it
    • Try new things. Everything great was once just an idea.
    • Ask someone to watch you, give you tips or correct you
    • LISTEN when someone corrects you
  • What if I get hurt and can’t exercise them?
    • Then you ask for help. Remember your circle and keep them close. Support them on their journey, and offer help when they need it and they will, (should) support you too.
    • Otherwise, have (for us: create) a turnout area and let them be horses!! They may not make training progress, but they’ll survive and be happy.
    • If turnout (at home) isn’t possible, arrange for alternative care off property.
  • What if they get injured?
    • Keep vet information handy
    • Read up and have a good base knowledge of basic care for wounds, etc
  • What if I don’t notice if something is wrong?
    • know you can’t be there 100% of the time
    • make sure you know warning signs for common problems
    • know your horses “good” vitals and keep what you can documented
      • Temperature (Average horse should be between 99-101F)
      • Heart Rate (Average should be 36-40 beats per minute)
      • Respirations (Average should be 8-15 breaths per minute)
      • Gut sounds (A mixture of grumbles, tinkling and roars. There is no rhythm but you should hear a sound every few seconds)
      • Capillary refill (should be 2 seconds or less)
      • Hydration (If you pinch your horse’s skin it should return to lying flat within 1-2 seconds. The longer the skin stays pinched up before flattening, the more dehydrated the horse is.)
  • What if I can’t get what they need (hay shortage, etc)
    • PLAN AHEAD
    • Have a standard supplier
    • Have a backup supplier
  • What if I can’t be here?
    • Have a backup plan and arrange alternative care as early as possible
  • What about vacations?
    • Plan early, book a house sitter or arrange to take your horses off site as soon as you set dates
  • What about emergencies?
    • Keep all emergency contacts in an easily accessible location
      • Veterinarian (all contact information including emergency numbers)
      • Farrier
      • Insurance Agency (If horse is insured) to include their 24 hour line
        • details about insurance coverage
  • What about holidays? (4th of July and massive fireworks being shot off for weeks on end comes to mind)
    • Discuss with Veterinarian and have a plan IN ADVANCE (medication, ear plugs, stall fans, music, whatever it is)
  • What if I can’t get them calm?
    • Don’t doubt your abilities to handle a crisis
    • But for real, also don’t live without some reinforcements.
      • Make sure you have something from the Vet (Ace, etc) or otherwise (calming cookies, calm n cool paste, etc) and you know how to administer it incase you need to.
  • What if I can’t get a vet here for emergencies?
    • Get annual exam done so you are on file with local veterinarian and eligible for emergency/after hour calls
    • There is always the option to trailer to an emergency clinic
    • Again, know basic care and make sure you have basic items on hand to use/administer if needed and know what is appropriate for most basic situations.

So there you have it, me in all my uncomfortable vulnerability. Ew. Anyway, I wonder if any more experienced horse keepers have anything to add here? Words of advice, encouragement, knowledge to share, etc. I’m sure there is a lot I am not covering or not thinking about and I’m sure so many other things will pop up over time. I haven’t really talked extensively about this among my small circle, but I am sure if there is anything I need they will have my back.

Overall, I am excited beyond words and I can’t wait to have my boys home with me. So, if you’ve made it through this entire post, congratulations for your exceptional patience, haha, and enjoy these photos! I will make a post eventually on the barn build and how much of an experience the whole process has been! Maybe after I’m happily caring for my horses and the frustration from building has gone to the wayside and I can recollect the process without so many swear words.

What’s the Rush?

For all my (like maybe 2) followers, you might have noticed we added a page for a new horse!

Those that need a reminder, check out the post here: DUKE

Anyway, this guy is a 2015 model American Saddlebred. He is ALL BLACK you guys. My own personal black beauty. In real life. Like, how did I even get so lucky? My luckiness has not come without it’s struggles though.

Duke is, for lack of better words, a firecracker. He is bred to be hot. And HOT he is. When I first started driving Duke for his previous owner, the first time I grabbed the lines was at our first show together in Sept of 2020. We had a short little warm up that went really well. The literal MOMENT he stepped foot into the show ring though, I had a different horse. It took me by surprise, and I fell in love. That is a feeling I can’t explain. I have shown in many classes, on many different horses, in many different situations and places and this was a feeling that was completely new to me. I had a show horse. A fancy, fire breathing dragon who stomped the ground like he OWNED the place.

He had barely been pulling a cart for 30 days at that point, and since I had never driven him before we did have our share of mistakes. But we looked pretty good at our first show together and the few subsequent ones if I do say so myself. Evidence below. Disagree? You’re allowed but please kindly take your negativity elsewhere!

July 2021:

Fast forward to April 2022:

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Fizz and I moved to Brickyard Farms in early 2021, where Duke had been since late 2020. As time has rolled on, it’s becoming apparent that pulling a cart is not where Duke will ultimately excel so over the winter 2021/2022 we began to switch gears and focus more on riding. Duke has had a lot of negative experiences with riding in the past and has not been taught a lot, so we are basically working from the ground up here to re-teach him things that are paramount to his success.

So aside from my rambling because I haven’t talked much about this horse, my point is that too often, horses are rushed into situations for which they are not prepared. They are pushed too hard too fast and they do not learn everything they need to learn before they are expected to do all the things right. Then, when the FLIGHT animal shows it’s flight instincts, people misinterpret that as bad behavior. However, is it really fair to assume they are misbehaving, when infact, they just have never been given the chance to understand what is expected of them, and to learn a basic foundation on which they can rely on? The answer, in my book, is no.

Teach them the easy stuff. Let them understand the basics. Don’t expect them to know the hard stuff automatically just because you’re asking it. And if you are asking them over and over, and getting the same results, maybe evaluate how you are asking and ask in a different way. Just as with humans, horses do not all have the same personalities and they do not all learn the exact same way. This complicates things and makes training more difficult, but to me, a good trainer has patience. They have the good sense to know when to change their methods. They research. They learn new things. They are humble enough to ask for help.

All that said. We are still being patient. We are still researching. We are still finding new ways to ask for what we want. Slowly but surely, Duke is beginning to provide the right answers more often than not. We are in no hurry, when he’s ready, he will let us know. Check out the short video clip below. Please ignore my chattering, asking him not to “fall apart” since he was going along so nice!

Is 14 Really the Age they Grow Up?

Ya’ll. Again, it’s been a while. Things have changed, AGAIN. My husband Wes and I are in the process of building a barn at our home. We have been here for a year now, and I have only been trying to get a working barn built for basically the entire time. Hopefully soon it will be a functional space for Fizzy and Duke to come live, but in the meantime, they are happy and healthy over at Brickyard Farms. A little over a year ago when Phoenix Farm shut down their training operation, we were scrambling. We weren’t even sure if shows were going to be a thing for us. Plus, the stupid pandemic, you know. What an epic disaster.

Since Duke (before I officially owned him) had been living at Brickyard for a year, it was the obvious first choice for Fizz to go there too. That way, both horses I was showing could be in the same location and I could work with both of them at the same place. Luke at Brickyard welcomed Fizz to join the crowd there and got to work. And lord has it been the blessing we have been looking for. His alternative thinking and fresh outlook has been just what we needed. Plus, he loves Fizz and Duke like they are his own, and there’s no amount of money that can buy that kind of support.

Anyway, we only went to a few shows in 2021, but they were nice, successful shows. We had FUN. And isn’t that really what it’s all about anyway? So, fast forward to now. We have successfully gone to our first real show of 2022, the BlueGrass Arabian Horse Associations Spring Blast Open Show. Yes, that’s a mouthful. However, LOOK AT IT.

So, yeah. That happened. And I am just over the moon with how well behaved this horse was. He’s fourteen this year. I simply cannot believe it’s now been NINE years with this incredible horse. He continues to keep me on my toes, humble me, teach me new things, and the list goes on but I won’t bore you all. It seems like fourteen is the year my sassy colt has finally decided it’s time to grow up and play ball with the big boys. I do not deserve him. He is literally too cool for me, but I am just going to soak up every minute and feel grateful that he’s mine.

That’s all for now!

Sometimes Maybe it’s YOU

Ya’ll. Again, it’s been a while since I posted here. Things are ever changing and ever evolving and I constantly re-evaluate the horsey things in my life and wonder if I am making the right decisions. Sometimes I regret not making certain decisions sooner. Sometimes I think I suck, and sometimes I think I am a genius. Everyone has their days I guess. But here’s some facts for you.

I am what I would call an experienced rider. I like to think I can hold my own and I like to believe I can handle a tough mount and enjoy a good one with ease. BUT, when I watch a select few others ride my horse and NOT have the same problems I had, I started wondering if it was just ME. SO, a while back (maybe about a year or so-has it really been that long?) I decided to start working with a riding instructor. As an ADULT. Who has been riding since I was 6 years old. She comes to visit Fizz and I and she gives us lessons together. Sometimes she schools him, which is GREAT for both of us, but mostly she coaches while I ride. Do I consider myself a failure because of this? HELL NO.

I consider myself a badass. You know why? Because sometimes it IS YOU. Sometimes you need to be humble and you need to admit that regardless of your experience, you do not, and will not ever know everything. Others have had experiences that can help you. Others have knowledge to share. You need to be open to accepting their knowledge, to learning from them, and to reaching a new level of potential you maybe never knew existed within you. And you know what? IT FEELS GOOD.

That moment when you’re sitting on your horse and you have a ride like you’ve never had before. A ride where you don’t struggle with things you used to struggle with. A ride where you don’t fight with your horse. A ride where you realize for the first time in YEARS, your horse is HAPPY. All the puzzle pieces are there, and you made them fit together. Maybe you don’t have a perfect ride consistently, 100% of the time. BUT, you did it and you FINALLY realized that you’ve moved past the hurdles that once stood in front of you and you didn’t trip and fall on your face trying to jump them.

If something is not working, CHANGE IT. Get help. Keep working, keep training, both you AND your horse can benefit from it. I mean, even professional sports teams have coaches. This is just like that. Go out and DO WORK ya’ll. Respect and appreciate your coaches and learn yourself something. Your horse will thank you. YOU will thank you. That’s all for today, I’ll report on other news soon! ❤

So It’s Been A While

I guess it’s been a minute.  I have not posted to this page in a long time.  I have a lot of reasons for that, but mainly it’s because Fiz is still under the direction of Phoenix Farm and trainer Blair Cecil, and we have been VERY busy.  Let me explain:  Owning horses is hard.  Training horses is harder.  Caring for horses is challenging in many ways, albeit rewarding.  Giving up on training your own horses is the hardest.  I had a hard time letting go, and honestly, I still have days where it hurts me to my core that I don’t see Fiz and interact with him every day-or even every week sometimes.  My heart literally hurts.  Every.  Day.

BUT, I know it is for the best.  When we signed on to this journey, we made a promise to him to make the best decisions FOR HIM.  What we didn’t understand in the beginning is that those decisions may be hard.  They may hurt.  And they may be financially challenging at times.  But a promise is a promise, and we are keeping our word as difficult as it may be.  Blair is an exceptional trainer (and person) and we are grateful for the care and training she gives Fiz, and for the opportunities afforded to us due to having him in her barn.

This June, after showing Fiz primarily saddleseat for the entirety of our ownership (with some occasional trail riding) we have decided to go a new direction.  As the Phoenix Farm resident expert in all things dressage/Hunter/Jumper, our friend Emily showed him in his very first ASB Hunter class at the Lawrenceburg horse show and it’s been a whirlwind ever since.  He really took to this style of riding and we have decided to try and campaign him for the ASB Hunter classes at the World Championship horse show in 2020!  Now, we may make it and we may not, but we are certainly going to try.

For me, this means basically forgetting everything I know and re-learning how to ride in a new way.  Thanks to Emily, I am also learning some dressage techniques that she has used successfully on Fiz to help us in our new discipline and she has also been teaching Fiz (and me!) how to jump.  He LOVES IT, and is actually GOOD at it!  We will see how that goes in the future, but I am looking forward to it.

Also in store for next year is potentially having him carry Cindy’s oldest daughter to her first lead line classes if she decides she wants to.  This is super exciting as we have hoped from the beginning that one day he would be able to carry her girls to some of their first horse shows and the time is near!

This horse is quirky and infuriating on many levels but he has taught me SO much over the last 6+years and he holds a very special place in my heart for everything that he is, and everything that he isn’t.  There really aren’t words for what he means to me.

Emily showing Fiz in his very first hunter class, June 2019:

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Kayla and Fiz winning the Saddle and Bridle Hunter Classic at Owingsville, July 2019

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Kayla and Fiz winning the hunter under saddle class at Owingsville, July 2019

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A lesson in Bit Converters

When you’re an AOT, you should always, and I do mean ALWAYS be open to learning new things and to hearing others opinions and experiences.  Not everything works for everyone, and not everything works for every horse.  But having an arsenal of different things to try is definitely a good thing.  I feel blessed to know a few trainers who are willing to help me when I have questions.  This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go watch and learn from one of them.  Trainer Blair Cecil of Phoenix Farms, my AOT hat goes off to you and your awesomeness!

The lesson?  Bit converters. I confess, I bought a pair of these in August 2017 and I haven’t so much as snapped them to a single thing.  Yes, that’s been 5 months ago. No, I’m not afraid to admit my lack of confidence on things I know nothing about. Hence why I started asking questions, to learn from others!

What is a Bit Converter?  A bit converter is, as the name states, a contraption that “converts” two bits into one.  It allows you to line/jog a horse in a full bridle (two bits) using just one set of lines, making 2 bits usable as one.  The photo shows this on a short shank pelham bit, not a 2 bit weymouth style that we normally use in saddleseat, but the same general concept applies.

Bit Converter

Why do this?  My horse, like many others, is SO much happier when only ridden one, maybe two times a week.  He loves to jog, which is terrific for his back end, building muscle, and conditioning.  BUT, when you can only ride a few times a week, it’s difficult to log much time in a full bridle.  Without wearing a full bridle often, it’s difficult to get them completely comfortable wearing it.  As explained to me by Blair, using the converters in a lining/jogging situation is a lot more forgiving than riding.  Here’s why:  When you ride, there’s a lot more going on.  Your seat, how you shift your weight, your leg aids, how good your hands are, how much you’re in or not in their mouth, how you hold two sets of reins, and what kind of pressure you put on each.  Not to mention the stress on their backs from carrying a rider every single day on top of everything going on in their mouth.  All of that is removed when you line/jog using these bit converters.  The horse gets used to wearing the bits without all the stress from every day riding.

Equipment Needed:  Surcingle (with or without crupper), martingale (optional), full bridle (use the bridle/bits your horse is used to wearing), long lines, and 1 set of bit converters.  Oh, and if you use a lunge whip for lining, that too!

How to:  I wish I would have taken pictures.  When I attempt this with Fiz, I’ll definitely update.  Until then, I’ll do the best I can to describe everything.  So here goes. (NOW UPDATED WITH PICS!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!!)

Apply all the equipment as usual.  Tie reins for the bridle in a knot and attach them to the top of the surcingle using string, a double ended snap, whatever you’ve got, so they don’t just flop all around and get tangled in the rest of the equipment.  Or I guess you could remove them if you wanted to, your choice. To attach the bit converters, attach one snap to each bit on both sides of the bridle.  Running your lines:  Here’s where you’ll find there are different configuration options, which I never even thought of before visiting Blair! I promise to update with photos once it’s not so frozen outside and I can start working Fiz again!

  1. Run the lines through the converter ring and to the snaffle. This is where you should start with introducing your horse to the converter and lining in a full bridle.  The curb will be in their mouth, but basically it’s just there, with no pressure on it.IMG_20180121_1352572.  Run the lines through the converter and attach it to the curb. This puts pressure only on the curb bit. This seems better suited for a horse who is BROKE to the curb. IMG_20180121_140318.jpg
  2. Run the lines and attach to the ring on the converter. This puts pressure on both bits.                                                                IMG_20180121_140403
  3. All of the above configurations can be done running the lines through a martingale or not using a martingale. It’s up to your preference and what you and your horse are used to using.
    1. Adjusting the converter: If you have purchased a set of bit converters, they should come with some kind of adjustment holes, so you can adjust how much pressure goes to each bit.  Naturally, if you want even pressure, adjust them to the same length.  If you want more pressure on the snaffle for example, loosen the end going to the curb.  Proper adjustment for the horse you are working is the key to success.

Here’s a video of me lining Fizzy in the first configuration.

Fizzy Long Lining – Full Bridle

 

Let’s Just Throw This Away

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Yep, in the trash right along with all our hopes and dreams for how this summer was “supposed” to go.

Ok, so let’s be honest here.  There are times when your life and nothing in it goes as planned.  There are times as an AOT that it’s a struggle to justify how and why you do this.  There are times when you feel like everything you’ve worked so hard for is so far out of reach that there’s not a snowballs chance in hell you’ll ever get there.  This summer has been that.

We officially closed out the summer with one horse show in the books, our smallest to date since the summer we began showing in 2014.  This, after we’d planned to go to many events (conventional and not) aspiring toward a breed ambassador award with the American Saddlebred registry, to say the least was highly disappointing.  I’m no genius, but I’m fairly confident that no awards are to be given for one less than stellar show and nothing else the entire year.

Shoes have been pulled as of last weekend (10-1).  This means that 100%, we’re not going to another show this year.  That’s disappointing to say the least, as we’d really hoped to make good progress this year after finding what we think is the perfect bit combination for his show bridle.  I was looking so much forward to getting in the show ring and trying it out, but alas, no such luck.  Since Fiz pretty much destroyed his ride (our trailer) going to and from our first show (see the fun on that post here), that had taken out the rest of the season for us.  He still has no ride to date, as it’s still getting worked on.  Slowly but surely?  I guess that’s a thing that patient people say to keep faith that what they’re waiting on will one day come.  I wouldn’t really know, I am not a patient person.

Anyway, back to the point.  There are times when you truly might feel like giving up is the best option and you may ask yourself over and over, “Why do I put myself through this?”  You may also say things like “it’s easier not to have to pack for shows” or “maybe we should just trail ride instead” among other things.  But then, THEN… by the grace of God and everything holy you remember yourself.  You remember your horse. You remember why you started this journey, what it meant to you in the beginning, and you remember, YOU deserve better.  You deserve a chance to see what you can do, what your horse can do.  Damn the details, you deserve the satisfaction of “We did it” whatever version of success you see for yourself and your horse.

So, the show book might be going in the trash at the end of THIS show season, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get another year.  That doesn’t mean we don’t get to try again.  That doesn’t mean we can’t redefine and keep redefining our definition of success. That doesn’t mean we can’t still create goals, and take steps toward reaching them, no matter how far in the future they may be from being met.  That doesn’t mean there’s only one path.  We make our own path, and we are allowed to do whatever it takes to carve that path.  We can crawl, walk, jog, or run, or any combination of those things.  Just because we’re crawling right now doesn’t mean we can’t run tomorrow. I’m probably not even making sense anymore, so here’s this piece of advice:

goals

On that note, I guess I’ll stop and just share some photos from the last few months.

The Catching Games

Ok, so I’m going to share a secret with our readers, and anyone else who may stumble across our little blog.  Our beloved Fizzy, yes, this absolutely adorable little face that we rave about and praise most of the time. Yeah.  He’s a jerk.  Really, I mean it.

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On and off for the last few years, we’ve had problems with catching him in his field. It got so bad he actually turned and kicked at us, and there was a time that he ran AT me, ears pinned and everything… and I’d had enough.  It had to stop.  All of it.  He’s got a large field, about an acre or so.  Now, imagine trying to catch a horse on that much land when he decides he doesn’t want to have a halter put on.  Are you picturing lots of inappropriate and offensive words?  If you are, that would be about accurate.  So, let me tell you our story, and all about how we (think) we have remedied this issue.

For a good while, we put band aids on the problem because it was just easier, and quite frankly we didn’t know how to address and fix the real problem.  The band aid was, make him wear a leather breakaway halter 24/7.  It was, lure him with food and distract him while you sneak another halter on as you search for the destroyed one in the field.  It was cry because you couldn’t work him that day.  It was letting him win, over and over, leaving the barn upset because you failed… again.   Let me tell you a secret.  Those band aids?  They always fall off, eventually.  Then, you’re back to square one.  Band-Aids don’t work.  Let me repeat that again for good measure.  Band-Aids. DO. NOT. Work.

So, you ask, what does work?  Well, I’ll tell you what worked for us.  There will be a short summary at the bottom for those that don’t feel like reading our story, so scroll on down if you’re short on time, but read our story if you want all the good stuff!  Good old fashioned ground work and exercises in respect (and of the cardiovascular kind) is what ultimately works.  I’m sure all the natural horsemanship people out there knew about something often referred to as “join up” or something like that.  Well, I didn’t know squat about how to achieve this, until the day I did with the help of our boarding facility owner. And let me just say, it was epic.  I wish there was video evidence of this epic battle, that I eventually won!  It would surely have all of you laughing (probably at my expense) but hey, it’s worth it!

Here’s how it went down. I prepared myself as instructed with his halter, lead attached, and a long lunge whip, and I marched out to the field ready for battle.  Halter in my right hand, whip on the ground.  As instructed, I walked toward him calmly, speaking the word “whoa” in a very firm voice, giving him an initial opportunity to submit to my demand.  As expected, the little turd looked at me, saw the halter, and the game of wits began as he turned to trot away. As instructed, I began cracking the whip, chasing him.  Smacking it at him, on him, in his direction, whatever I could do to keep him moving.  If he thought running away was a good idea, I made it my idea to make him run.  If he wanted to stop, I didn’t let him stop.   Keep chasing, keep running:  Do. NOT. Stop.

Not until YOU want to, that is.  When I wanted to stop, I stopped.  I was told to lay the whip on the ground as to not appear threatening, and give him a chance again with the “whoa” as I approached.  If he stood, I kept walking forward, repeating the word “whoa” in a very firm voice.  When he would step away or turn to walk/run away, the game began again and I went after him.  3 or four times, this happened over a period of about 45 minutes.  Are you laughing yet?  Looking back on it, I am… I am sure we were hilarious.  My less than totally in shape self, chasing a much more fit to run horse around a gigantic field, flailing my arms and the whip around and yelling at him “get out of here” and all sorts of other things to make him move.

Finally, that moment came.  He was out of breath, I was out of breath, but the “whoa” worked, and he didn’t try again to run.  As directed, I approached him from the side at about his neck (never went toward his face) and used the lead rope first to go up under his neck and around, as to make a sort-of lasso, instead of going straight for his head with the halter.  Then, while keeping a tight grip on my “lasso” with my body facing the same direction as his (so basically my behind to his chest) put my hand up around his head, brought the halter up to his face.  He didn’t run.  THANK God, Sweet Baby Jesus, and everything Holy because I was tired of chasing him!

Then, much to his dismay, we went up to the barn and prepared for a session in the jog cart.  He was worked for another 25 minutes, while I sat on my butt in the cart!  He worked nicely, well behaved as usual, but I swear I thought by the end of it he was going to fall over he was so tired!  Then, I cooled him out and turned him back out, removing the halter.  There was no praise, no treats, nothing at all in the way of encouragement.

Next day, I walked out to the field prepared for battle again, but to my surprise, he only THOUGHT about running.  I could see it in his face, the wheels were a turnin! But, followed the “lasso” protocol, and he was caught.  This happened days 2-6, and each day he got lots of praise and treats for giving me no problems getting the halter on.  Then on that 7th day-It was NOT a day of rest.  This horse is so backwards! So, back to battle we went! However, I only had to chase him about ten minutes this time before he decided it was not a clever idea anymore.  No treats, no praise… just marched up to the barn, got ready, and worked.  No treats for working.  Nothing.  Not even a “good boy” voiced in his direction.  Day 8 rolled around and it was back to letting me catch him, treats, praise, etc.  Day 9, 10, 11, and so on… all good to go.  It’s been 34 days now since Day 1.  I haven’t been out EVERY one of those days, but I have been out MOST of them.  2 of those days were a battle (Day 1 and Day 7), and the other days have so far been GOOD. Even the day after we went to a horse show!

So, have we ripped off the band aid?  I think so!  He doesn’t wear a halter.  There hasn’t been a day since day 1 that I went out with the intention of working him that I haven’t worked him, and there certainly hasn’t been a day I cried because I didn’t know what to do.  So, if anyone out there has a horse they can’t catch, I can attest that this method has worked for us.  Eventually, they will get tired.  Eventually, they will give up.  You just can’t give up before they do!  DO NOT get intimidated.  Stand your ground and show your dominance as the “herd leader” and let it be known that they are to follow your commands, not the other way around.  As always though, stay safe!

As promised, you’ll find below 10 steps to happier catching.

  1. Give the horse a chance to be caught without issue.  Walk toward their SIDE, not their FACE, and firmly and calmly say “WHOA” as you walk up.
  2. If/when they run, make him keep moving. Use a lunge whip, your voice, whatever you need to do.  DO NOT let them stop when they wants to stop.  ONLY stop when YOU want him to.  Also, do not allow a change of direction, unless it is your idea.
  3. Give them a chance to be caught when YOU decide to stop. Make sure you drop your whip or anything else that could be seen as scary.  Remember, horses are flight animals and they flee in the face of danger. (YOU and your contraptions, whip, halter, lead, etc are the “danger” here) Again, walk toward the side, not the head, and firmly say “WHOA”
  4. If they move AWAY from you, make them move again, and do not let them stop again until you want them to. If they move TOWARD you, and in a calm manner, that is OK.
  5. CAUTION: Keep in mind the body language horses use.  Ears forward means they are interested, and OK with what you are doing.  Ears pinned back, not so much, so use good judgement.  If they are pawing the ground, they are trying to assert THEIR dominance.  Make them run, asserting yours.  There is potential they could run AT you.  Use your whip to deter them, but be cautious and use good sense to avoid getting hurt.  The point of this exercise is to establish yourself as the “herd leader” so that they understand they are to follow your commands, not the other way around.
  6. When they allow you up next to them, use the lead rope and go up under the neck and around, making a “lasso” around their neck. THEN with one hand on their head, use your other hand to bring the halter up around their head.
  7. NO TREATS and NO PRAISE if they make you work to catch them.
  8. If and when they let you catch them, give them all the treats and praise you want. Eventually, they will come to understand it is easier on them NOT to run, and they will always choose the easier way.
  9. At first, you have to be persistent and do this every day until you establish that dominance. If you’re lucky and you have a smart horse, it won’t be long before you’re back in charge. If you have a very stubborn horse, it may take a little longer! Be patient and keep trying until you win.
  10. Happy Catching Games, may the odds be ever in your favor!

Overcoming “Obstacles”

Anyone that knows me knows I truly despise cold weather with every fiber of my being.  I imagine hell to be mounds of snow, not fire and brimstone but who am I to question the bible?  Anyway… since we decided to pull Fiz’s shoes and it’s gotten colder outside, we have not really been doing a whole lot, but we have still been learning and overcoming obstacles.  Or running through them, whatever your definition of the word “overcome” encompasses.

So in this post I’m going to talk about the water obstacle.  Following our big successes lately with tarp training, I got this brilliant idea that Fizzy should learn to go through water calmly at home under controlled conditions rather than out on a trail in the middle of nowhere.  Well, what I learned is that no matter how much “control” you think you can have in the comforts of “home” and an indoor arena, you simply cannot control a horse’s reaction to things they have not done before.

Let me give you a little back story. This horse is a pig.  And by that I mean he will find the ONLY wet spot in the pasture to roll around in or stomp around in as to get himself as dirty as possible.  But god forbid you ask him to step in the only puddle around if you’re leading him.  He will avoid it like the plague and even more so if you’re saddled up and riding.  WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE????  How much sense does that actually make??  Horses…

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Anyway, so I got permission from the barn owner to set this contraption up in the indoor arena and I went forth with confidence that my execution couldn’t have been better in building this obstacle.  I brought Fizzy to the arena to introduce him to my handiwork only to find that he was not nearly as impressed as I was with my ingenious build.  We couldn’t even walk near it, Fizzy snubbed it completely.  It was complete garbage, and he was above acknowledging its existence.  I was so disappointed that he didn’t find it as glorious as I did. I am also disappointed that I did not snap any photos of my incredibly awesome obstacle in all its glory.  Here’s the jist of what it looked like and how it was made:

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Anyway, my Momma didn’t raise a quitter, so I just kept at it and finally Fizzy decided to try and shut me up by stepping in.  You would have thought I had asked him to step into shark infested waters, because he went flying backwards at the splash of water that his hoof produced and proceeded to snort and blow in that direction for the next several minutes.

Since I had put a saddle on him prior to bringing him into the arena, with the intent of eventually riding him (calmly, you know, walking like a sane normal horse) through the water obstacle, I decided maybe I could better encourage him from his back.  Yeah… well, he had other ideas about what was appropriate.  My encouragement produced a horse that charged through the water obstacle like he was riding into a war zone.  I mean, REALLY?  Is that necessary?  Whatever makes you happy Fizzy.  But at the end of the day, he DID do what I asked and he went through the obstacle.  Not with the calmness I would have liked, but he went in his own way, and he did it because I asked him to.  I can’t ask for anything more than that.

After all was said and done, he was still a happy horse in his new trail riding gear, which I did get a photo of.

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Cavallo Simple Boots: An Initial Review

First and foremost, I am in no way, shape, or form paid by or affiliated with this company, nor did anyone give me any incentives to review these boots.  I did my own research, and decided on this purchase due to the good price of these in comparison to other brands, plus the reviews I read on the internet (which, lets be honest, you can’t always trust).

Short version:

Cavallo Simple Boot is well constructed, easy to apply, and immediately helped Fizzy walk across rocks like he still had shoes on 10 days after having them removed.  They stayed on at a walk, trot, canter, and gallop, and did not twist or turn.  I look forward to using them a while and writing another review!

Long version:

Let’s backtrack for a minute and let me explain what led us to the decision of purchasing hoof boots to begin with.  If you read our blog, you read about the shoe throwing incident on the day from hell a few weeks ago.  If not, that story:  Just Stay Home!  Well, the farrier could not get out to reapply the shoe, and Fizzy managed to destroy that hoof in the two weeks it was off.  We had planned on one more show this year, but did not want to put the shoe back on a shorter hoof, just to pull all 4 shoes less than a month later.  We decided to go ahead and pull all 4 shoes, and let him go barefoot until spring.  However, he is very uncomfortable walking on rocks, as we also shared, and seems not as comfortable even in the arena as he was with shoes on.  It’s now 10 days after the shoe removal, and it’s obvious it will be a long process to get him comfortable being barefoot.  To aid in this and allow us to keep working him lightly and maybe even go on a few more trail rides, we decided to try the boots because, well, we will do anything to make our horse happy and comfortable.  That plus the cost of them is less than one shoeing for 4 hooves!  Since our plan is to keep him barefoot until April, we’ve got 7 months ahead of us.

So, I ordered the Cavallo Simple Boot via Amazon Prime (sold by Cavallo Inc) in a size 2 Friday night after measuring using the tool they had provided on their website www.cavallo-inc.com.  First of all, it was VERY easy to measure using this tool, and if you know even the slightest teeny tiny little bit about horses you can use this tool.  The boots and also the pastern wraps (purchased separately) had come by Sunday.  Oh the joys of amazon prime and 2 day shipping especially as a horse owner, but that’s another conversation.

Anyway, I was excited as a kid on Christmas morning opening up my (Fizzy’s) new boots! They even sent me a free hoofpick and another free gift (some digital info on barefoot trimming that is very informative). From here on out, I will probably refer to these boots as his “Nikes” because they are indeed comparable to a tennis shoe for horses. They came in a box very similar to a shoe box human shoes come in, too!  Upon initial inspection, I can tell in their new state that the boots are well constructed, sturdy, and to me very interesting looking contraptions! They appear easy to apply, so I head on over to the barn to give them a go. I wish I had taken photos and video of him actually wearing them, but I was a little bit pressed for time and wanted to pay him the attention he needed while I was there.  I promise I will provide more photos at a later date, and also intend on doing a follow up review after using them for a while.

Putting them on was not hard, once I figured it out. I’ll admit,  I might be slightly slow with new things I’ve never seen before.  I proceeded to put on the pastern wraps first. Of course I read the directions! (Those of you who don’t know me, understand this is the first thing I normally throw away). Yes, I will admit I tried to put them on upside down, then felt really dumb after I actually DID read the instructions. I felt dumb again after I put the first boot on the wrong hoof and didn’t realize it until I went to latch it.  I share these mishaps with you all because it does us all good to be able to laugh at ourselves at times.  Anyway, once I got them on the correct hooves, and all latched up, I took Fizzy to the arena (across the rocky driveway at the barn) and could immediately tell a difference in his level of comfort vs. having nothing on his feet.  Praise Jesus! Because watching him walk on rocks barefoot as it is right now makes me want to cry.

We did some free lunging at a walk, trot, canter, and Fizzy’s personal favorite, the uncontrolled gallop.  They stayed on at all speeds!  They stayed latched and didn’t twist or turn.  So far, so good and I am impressed!  I look forward to using them to work and hopefully trail ride him some this fall, and then I will update with another review of how they performed doing those things.  So far, I love them for what we purchased them for and would recommend them to a friend. I feel like if Fizzy could speak, he’d recommend them to a friend too, because he seems to feel like a million bucks wearing them on rough ground vs not wearing them.

Check out the video of Fizzy wearing the boots!

Cavallo Simple Boots Video

 

Scratches, AGAIN

Every year, without fail and without warning, this crap pops up on Fizzy’s leg(s).  The first time, we had no idea what it was as we had never seen anything like it before.  So, to try and help any readers we may get from the frustration of this crazy stuff, here’s an explanation of what it is and how to get rid of it.

Scratches is also called greasy heel, mud fever, dew poisoning, or in more technical terms, pastern dermatitis or pastern folliculitis. Anyway, it’s some sort of nasty fungus that happens when the conditions a horse lives in are muddy, wet, etc. It seems to be worse when there is repeated wetting/drying of the legs.  Horses that live in fields are prone to it since overnight can get dewy (dew poisoning) and then during the daytime the field dries out. Even more prone to it are white legs.  Lucky Fizzy, he has 3 white legs!!

Early on, it might just look like some kind of liquid/gel on your horses leg(s) and if detected early, will be no big deal.  The earlier you begin treatment, the easier it is to treat.  As it progresses, it will look like scabbing, and it can be very sensitive to the touch and in bad cases even cause lameness.  Avoid picking at it, trust me on this one.  I tried to “wash” it off the first time Fizzy had it, and that did not turn out very well and he was very uncomfortable.  I feel like a bad mommy because I didn’t know any better.

Some recommend you have it diagnosed by a veterinarian and receive anything from antibiotics, antifungals, to steroids… I know, I can see the dollar signs too.  However, THERE IS HOPE!!  I’m here to tell you (and save you some major money) that you don’t necessarily need that for this junk to go away.  However, if you try my method and it’s just not working, then by all means, you need to call a vet.

Anyway, I remembered to get a few photos this time since the last few years I did not.  I was at the barn Wednesday morning, did not go Thursday morning, and showed up Friday morning to picture #1, below.  This tells you how fast this stuff can pop up. I always groom Fizzy’s legs (and use polo wraps/splint boots) so there’s no way I would not have noticed this Wednesday.

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I immediately knew what it was as we had dealt with it before, so I began to treat it with what I am going to call my miracle mix.  Yes, you will get funny looks buying these items together at the department store or pharmacy.  Yes, your horse is worth any humiliation you might experience.  #1, Bordreaux’s Butt Paste, I buy the larger tube size in maximum strength, with 40% zinc as this is the active ingredient. I assume generic diaper rash cream might work, but I like using the best of the best with the 40% zinc. #2. Jock Itch Cream. These are usually in small tubes like .5oz, I buy 3 or 4 of them in a generic brand because they all basically have the same ingredients.  #3. Triple Antibiotic, again, small tubes in 1 oz, I’ll buy one or two in the generic store brand.  Mix it all up, and there you have it: Miracle Mix. I keep it in tupperware at the barn, and it’s held up and kept well til I need it.  I always have it on hand so I can begin treating this immediately when I notice it.  That way, it doesn’t spread.

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Put it on the affected area, and leave it alone.  Because we really have no other option, we have to turn Fiz back out, so he goes into the field with this on.  Apply it daily (or as much as you can) and the scabs will start falling off.  Keep applying until the scabs are gone and the area starts growing hair back.  If after seeral days to a week, the scabs persist, please call a vet and get some more serious treatment for your horse.  However, this is the treatment that has worked without fail for us on Fizzy every time for the last 3 years.

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I didn’t take a photo after the first day, this is after the 3rd day of treatment.  As you can see, the scabbing is going away but still present.

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Below is after a week, and not treating every single day.  Only a small amount of scabbing remains.  I keep putting it over the entire area anyway, just as a precaution.

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His first case was VERY bad.  I only have a photo of the spot after it had begun healing. As you can see, this area is much more largely affected than the above, because we didn’t know how to treat it and it spread.  Once we began treating it with the cream I talked about above, it looked like the below photo within 2 weeks.

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