Life...........An Arabian Filly Injured.......Again!

It was a long day today starting off at the gym at 5 AM and then beginning to work horses at 7:30. I barely had time to feed the herd and eat a bowl of oatmeal before loading up and heading off to Richard's.

It was Richard's birthday today and he had plans so he wanted to be done with all the horses by noon. Packing things into that kind of a schedule when I'm just getting back to work really wore me out.

By the time I got home from my third trip, I was exhausted. I really wanted to sit down in the chair and nap......well, maybe sleep for the rest of the day and through the night would be more like it. But life did its thing in the form of dear Echo going through a fence.


I don't know what it is with this filly. She seems to have this thing about wanting to be someplace other than where she is. She's the same horse that I wrote about in More Life Lessons - an Arabian Filly Injured where she was hurt trying to make her own way out of her stall when she was a yearling.

Now she is a three year old and this would be her second fence in a month. The first one she didn't get hurt but the second time we weren't so lucky. She not only tore the fence down but cut open her leg. She has a 2 1/2 inch gash on the inside of her left leg on the high part of the knee. There in lies the problem.

This filly is NOT a good patient. For that previous injury, even drugged she was next to impossible to treat. Not only that but she so trashed her wound that she not only killed off all the tissue we were trying to save but she damaged underlying muscle as well. It was months before the wound finally healed and we were only able to accomplish that by modifying a shin guard to protect the wound from her.

Considering her track record, I've decided not to have this wound stitched. Even though I would have the vet close this wound up on any other horse, I'm afraid with Echo that's not a wise move. I'd spend hundreds of dollars (like last time) only to have her trash this injury as well. There's no point in doing it if she won't leave it alone.

Considering this location not far off from the first one, I'm thinking the odds are not good that she might leave the wound alone. Heck, the horse didn't want to co-operate to even let me look at the damage. It was clear from her actions, she probably hasn't changed.

I'm hoping by leaving it open and cleaning it every day, I can end up with a better result that with medical intervention. Without stitches and a dressing, I'm hoping she won't be irritated and maybe she'll leave the wound alone.

I cleaned the wound and began treating her with SMZ's to ward off infection. I'll clean the wound a couple of times a day and probably flush with a weak betadine solution. That should cause the wound to heal from the inside out. Maybe we'll get lucky and get hair growth and little scarring.

Cross your fingers and hope that Echo's sees fit to co-operate with this treatment plan. I already know she's not going to be happy about the stall rest. I'm going to hang some toys to see they'll help keep her occupied. Also, as this progresses, I'll take pictures IF she'll let me. Her dark color and the location of the wound may cause problems with getting a good shot. However, I think my biggest problem is going to be Echo. The rest of the time she is just the sweetest filly but she sure hates being a patient.

In this picture you can see the scarring on her right front leg from the first injury.

Tomorrow, I'll be back to my regular programming provided Life doesn't smack me again. In the meantime I'm still accepting submission for the blog carnival until tomorrow evening. If the blogcarnival submission form won't work. Please email the link directly to me to be included. (see my profile for email)



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Wordless Wednesday..........errr umm Thursday!

Also, please keep in mind the deadline is fast approaching for the next Carnival of Horses here on Feb 1. The deadline for submission is this Friday.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of the horses using our carnival submission form
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page

There have been a few entries trickling in, but still more are needed. The only theme is horses.....posts can be humorous, silly, educational, true stories, you name it.....




Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY

Answers to Let's Talk Questions about Spooking Horses

Nuzzling Muzzles did a blog post Let's Talk where she addressed the subject of Arabian horses spooking. Because she owns and rides Arabians she gets told a lot her problem is the breed of horse. So she put a list of questions to her readers. Since the source of these questions is the misconception that Arabian horses are spookier than other horses, I told her I would post my answers to those questions here.


Have you ever experienced a non-Arabian horse spooking?

Yes, lots of them. In particular when I was working at an Arabian show barn we had some track thoroughbreds in for legging up because of problems with the pipes at the track. That month the TB's were there, I saw more spooking than the whole 3 years I worked at that farm with Arabians. Those horses were a wreck.......now I'm not saying it was because they were TBs but more it was what they hadn't been exposed to....but those suckers can spook BIG TIME! They made our Arabians and half-Arabians look like light weights.

What usually triggers spooking?

I think anything unfamiliar or unexpected can trigger spooking. Heck sometimes things like that spook me.
I find the biggest type spook happens when my horse is concentrating really hard (like during a training session) and something breaks that concentration. That something can be anything sudden or unexpected....a bird chirping, a branch falling in a distance, a kid throwing a rock....some little thing that wouldn't normally bother the horse, will startle it when it's concentrating resulting in a spook.


What are the ways in which you've experienced horse spooks? (i.e. jumping to the side, bolting, jumping straight up, puffing up, snorting, kicking out...)

Me, I've experienced all of these things mentioned.

Do you believe that spooking is really tied into breed?

Not me, it's an equine characteristic period. I think that each horse reacts differently based on how observant they are. A horse that goes around in a fog may not spook as much as a very observant horse. But you can bet when that unobservant horse does spook, it's gonna spook big. I've actually seen those quiet horses do worse things because no one knew they needed to be taught to listen through a spook.

Do you believe that spooking can be worked out of the genes through selective breeding?

Nope! I think it will always be there. It's one of nature's defenses for the horse. I do think that some horses are more reactive than others but I think that has more to do with their awareness and attentiveness to their surroundings. Just like I said above, even those horses will spook and the odds are it will be worse than the reactive horse because their humans have taken for granted the horse wouldn't spook.

Do you believe that spooking is connected to the handler's reactions?

Yes, sometimes I think spooking can be directly related to a handler's reactions. When a handler lacks confidence and expects things to go wrong, they will probably go wrong. The horse can sense that lack of confidence and so it will be looking for something to go wrong too. At the first sign of something irregular, that horse will spook because it is expecting to be frightened by something.

If a horse and handler are in a new situation and the handler is nervous, most certainly the horse will be too.......unless of course, it's a seasoned horse that has seen just about anything. My horse like that would be Dandy......he's about as bomb proof as any horse can get. He does not pick up tension from his handler.

Do you believe that spooking is tied in with fear associated with abuse from humans or other animals?

Sure, horses have great memories. If they've had a bad experience and it involved humans, they're going to suspect humans unless they have good experiences to counter it.

I once knew a stallion who had been known for his kind disposition at the Arabian show barn where I worked. The horse was sold and several years later discovered in bad shape and labelled as a man hater.

Fortunately for the horse, he was returned back to his former residence where it took him months to regain his trust. That horse spooked at everything......even though he'd lived there before. He was hyper vigilant trying to protect himself. Gradually the horse regained his trust in humans and became the same sweet kind horse he had been before he was so badly abused. The spookiness stopped.

One can only wonder what was done to this horse to turn him so dramatically against people. Yet even with that terrible experience, the horse was able to work through it and trust again.

Do you believe that spooking is a survival instinct?

Absolutely! and a darn good one!

Do you believe that horses learn to spook from their dam and other horses?

I know horses learn to be affected by their dam and other horses. I have seen it happen. I have a mare that teaches her foals to be afraid of humans because she doesn't particularly trust people due to the way she was raised.

Her foals are born bold brave horses that walk right up to you. In five days times she has them climbing the walls to get away from anyone who approaches. It takes a while to get them through that "spookiness" and that can't even be started until after they are weaned. The only exception to that would be my daughter, Lindsay, who has bonded with that mare and cleans stalls and feed. Lindsay can win the foals over easily because the mare isn't worried about Lindsay either.

But by time these horses come out the other side they are back to being the brave, bold horses they were born. They are not spooky or jumpy about much of anything. Sure they will spook at things, but they get it under control easily.

Percentage-wise, how much of spooking is nature and how much is nurture?

I think that is probably different from horse to horse. It just depends on the individual.

If you believe spooking is isolated to Arabians, what is your logic? (i.e. Generations of Arabian horses suffering through sand storms, miles of desert with no exposure to anything but sand somehow got into their bloodline so that they jump at every new object and sound...)

I was going to do a whole post on this subject but I can't remember where I read the information I wanted to share. Even without the reference, I'm going to repeat what it said because it really made sense to me.

The characteristic head of an Arabian horse's has a lot to do with it's sensitivity. The placement and size of the eyes allow the horse to see farther distances than other breeds. The shape and placement of the ears capture sound more efficiently making the Arabian able to hear sounds frp, farther away. Also the way the nostril flare wide when excited make for a keen sense of smell. All of these things together make for a horse who will recognize a threat much sooner than other breed. Hence, you have horses that appear to be spookier when in fact they are much more sensitive and observant.

Do you believe that a horse can be trained not to spook?

Nope, but I believe a horse can be trained to handle spooking in an appropriate manner. Although I do think you can teach a horse not to spook at some things., that's for sure with proper desensitization. Mine don't spook at all kinds of things other horses do because we work on many things right from when they are first born.

The Chuck Kraft Clinic - Killer Part 3

Do you believe that a horse can be taught to spook in place?

Yes, I have done this and will continue to do this. God bless John Lyons who got me started on this in the first place. I've built on what I learned from him and can usually come up with a fix for any horse I've had issues with.

How are some ways that you have taught horses not to spook or to spook in place?

I've done different things with different horses. But I think it all comes down to teaching the horse what is acceptable behavior when it spooks in any given situation.

In hand I want a horse to be mindful of my position, to maintain the box I allow the horse to occupy and to listen to me. In the saddle I want the horse to stay soft, not change gait and listen to me. I guess the listening part is important to me because I want the horse to learn that he can trust me. As long as he listens he will be safe.

Right now we are working with Legs and his spooking in the show ring. We started with him on ground work . We crash things or whatever to startle the horse in the first place. When he does spook he hits that bit hard and he teaches himself that's not a good thing. So he's learning that he needs to stay soft and listen when he spooks. Then things turn out ok.

I had to de-spook Scandalous as well. With her I used trail obstacles, lots of raised complicated poles. She learned quickly that getting scared and trying to escape only made things worse. When she listened and let me guide her through the problem, she came out ok.



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What Does Ice and Snow Have to Do with Hamfattery?

It's funny how life works out sometimes. We got snowed out of working horses today so I found myself surfing around the internet, well, more specifically the blogosphere. In this expedition I kept coming across posts that tickled my funny bone. Some of them were not horsey at all which is my usual fare but I still found myself saving the links thinking I must really share these with my blogging buddies.

I had no idea how I was going to "tie" these posts in with my everyday posts. Then low and behold Danielle at Buried in Colorado bestowed on me the Hamfatter's Award. Since the story behind this award has to do with "being a ham," it seems the perfect time to post the links to the above two posts and bestow this lovely award on each of these two funny ladies.

This post from A Nut in a Nutshell ,as I said before, has absolutely nothing to do with horses but I have to admit it made me laugh. Oh no he Din't! A little black humor but humor none the less!

Then I located Gladys Tells All and her post, Walk of Shame tickled my funny bone as well. If you need a lift you might take a peek. I have a feeling there will be more posts like these.

In addition I'd like to give this award to other's who have tickled my fancy today. Linda over at the 7MSN Ranch hit the spot with her King of Soul rendition of Miss Eritha's hat.

From there it was on to visit Lisa over at Laughing Orca Ranch wrote about a little Goat Wrangling today. What princess wouldn't be entertained by that.

And for my final pick there is Anne at smellshorsey. She always has great wit and the post I read today Invite Us Somewhere -- We're All Smiles is a great example of Anne's humor. I've missed her regular blogging. I sure hope she's back for a while.

The story behind the award goes something like this: Andrea at Swamp Suburbia decided to contemplate on where blog awards came from. Her sister said they were made up. So Andrea decided to make one up, and well, the rest is history because this is what she found out: The word 'ham' originated in the early 1880s from a song called The Hamfat Man. It was a black minstrel song about an awkward man. After that, people would use the term hamfatter when someone was trying too hard to be funny and not succeeding. That was ultimately shortened to the word ham. So she made an award featuring her goat Joe. (Andrea, does that mean that Joe is a Ham?)

This award has it's rules:
1.Blog about the Hamfatter award, tell where the name came from (you can copy and paste, that is what I did!! me too, me too!!)
2. Post the Hamfatter Award Proudly on your blog!
3. Pick 5 blogs that just make you laugh and link to them in your post!
4. Link back to the person who gave you this hilarious Hamfatter Award!
5. Let your blogger friends know they were awarded a little something!

This was all great entertainment in place of my day working horses. Hopefully the weather will break and I'll be back on my regular schedule tomorrow. But if not, be prepared, you'll never know what I might dig up on these surfing expeditions of mine.


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Oops! I Missed Something - 2nd Year Blogging Anniversary

Somewhere in all of the weather woes and getting over my surgery, I totally overlooked the anniversary for my second year of blogging. It just doesn't seem possible that it's been two years since I started this journey. Two years and 629 posts later (to my anniversary date) and I'm still going strong. It seems with that kind of milestone, I should stop for a little reflection on this time and maybe acknowledge some of the posts and people along the way.

My first readers I am glad to say are still hanging in there Dressage Mom and ProPhoto By Lori and Cheri, who doesn't write a blog, but is one of my mare stare friends, go back to my very first days blogging. They all give me inspiration to keep plugging away when I sometimes really don't know where to start.

Since those first days, I've added some other great connections and found some wonderful blogs. So many of them in fact, I think I'm going to have to take a cue from Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch and build a blog just for all the links. Heaven knows the search engines are going to choke on all these links and my google reader has already made a mess out of them with double entries it somehow added with my blogger favorites. LOL

Although I am starting to believe this blog thing can be something of an addiction. I think my list is well up over 100. I may need an intervention and a twelve step program soon!

I can't believe all of the different types of posts there have been over this span of time. Beginning with that first post, Trash Talking Arabian Horses way back on Jan 7, 2007. Since then I've evan managed to be the target of a little trash talking myself in a couple of times. Trash Talking Comment However, that's not been enough to stop me.......heck it didn't even slow me down.

Not being afraid to voice my opinions I've racked up a whole lot of posts on just that. I've taken on everything I could think of like What's Up with Arabian Halter? Good, Bad, Ugly? and moving on into posts like What You Don't Know Will Cost You! Of course, a bit of integrity wouldn't hurt either, now would it?
Up Jumped the Devil - Integrity & Horse Trainers and there was Selling Horses which definitely has some objectional behavior in that process. I'm sure there'll be more posts like that coming down the pike.

I began that series on A Different Sort of Rescue Story that is yet to be finished. Even though the rescue involved asked if I wanted the other side of the story, that is yet to come. I'm not going to let this drop just because they haven't finished answering my questions. I'm willing to go with what I have so far and let my readers decide. Don't you think?

Then, of course, I've never been timid about my own perspective on raising babies either,
Attack Foal - Arabian Horses or training horses Ground Work versus Riding....What to Do? As Richard and I continue in our alliance training horses, there will be lots more on training........and even some on our mishaps, I'm sure.

I've never been shy about my feelings for Arabian horses in general. More on Those Wild and Crazy Arabian Horses along with their function in my life Arabian Horses as Healers or my tributes to them Special "Thanks" for Our Horses

Life has always done it's own thing and injected it's own issues into my posts with all sorts of incidents from the horse kind like Life Dares to Interfere with My Dream to fighting stallions
Twins Saga Delayed for Life Turns with Arabian Horses and Stallions Part 2 (can you believe dear sweet Storm was behind this?) And more than our share of drama with A Day in the Life....................911 to , of course, the human kind. A Day in the Life........up jumped the devil! That post didn't disclose the real injury which turned out to be four broken transverse processors (part of the vertebrae in your back). I'm sure there'll be more on this story as well.

The Baby Boomer series not only tells how I got started in this industry but has shared some of the tragedies I've experienced as well. The Legacy Continues - The Second Foal Crop nearly stopped me in my tracks. Not a day goes by I don't think about that time. Yet, I'm really glad I already had more mares bred to keep me going. As heartbreaking as times can get raising horses, they are worth every bit of the pain.

There have also been series on individual horses that I have raised like MiKael Meets Richard...............the ghost horse and Getting Started......and then there's Percy The future will bring more posts on these horses and a maybe even a mystery horse or two.


Somewhere in all of this I've even managed A Question on Color Genetics and a series on Clipping for the Arabian Horse Show Circuit - The Face although I've yet to come through with the promised post of body clipping. Hmmmmm maybe this year I'll get to that one........

All in all it's been a pretty exciting ride. Sometimes I thought I'd never think of enough stuff to write. Yet it seems to have gone just the other way. I seem to have this list of things to finish and things I haven't even started yet. I think it's a pretty safe bet I'll be at this at least another year. What do you think?

Are there any posts left undone or things I haven't covered that you'd like to see?

Also, please keep in mind the deadline is fast approaching for the next Carnival of Horses here on Feb 1. The deadline for submission is this Friday.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of the horses using our carnival submission form
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page

There have been a few entries trickling in, but still more are needed. The only theme is horses.....posts can be humorous, silly, educational, true stories, you name it.....




Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY

Sunday Stills........New Snow on the Arabian Horse Farm

I learned about Sunday Stills from Gizzards and Calf Fries and Life at the Rough String I thought it would be something fun to try. The way it works is each week an assignment is posted for the following Sunday. Once you have posted your assignment you leave a comment on the Sunday Stills site that it has been done so others participating can see what you've done.

I thought a project like this would be fun on a couple of different levels. It would be a way to meet more bloggers with similar interests (No, horses are NOT my only interest.....though pretty darn close.....you can bet I'll be looking for horsey ways to interpret my assignments! LOL) Since I have this new camera and can't seem to get myself in gear to learn about the thing, I thought that committing to a project such as this might actually get me motivated.

This week's assignment was potluck which is probably a perfect place for me to start. It is simple but it puts me out there on the limb so I'll have to keep hanging in and working this camera issue out!

Mother Nature provided me the perfect subject with a light dusting of new snow over night. I was out there in my jammies shooting the pond before the weather warmed up and the snow was all gone.........that's more motivated than I've been about pics in a long time so maybe this project will do what I hope.

I already have next week's assignment. It is highs and lows so I'm already thinking about new angles to take horse pics from. Well have to see what the week brings.

And just for the record, that snow I was so sure was going to melt off is melting all right but it's still falling at the same time. I'm not sure which process is making the most progress but for now it's cold and soggy wet out there.



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Noblesse Oblige Award

I'm really bad about posting awards. I love to get them but I'm always putting off til tomorrow posting that I've received one. The biggest reason for my procrastination is the challenge of finding someone who hasn't received the award yet. With that being said, Midlife Mom at Home on the Range
and Mrs Mom at Oh HorseFeathers! Daily Journal both have given me this lovely award what seems like eons ago! OK, maybe not eons but at least a week, maybe two. I want to thank both Moms so much you made my day. After a long cold day at an even colder barn, this really warmed my heart.

Award Conditions:

The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social,
Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
The Blog is refreshing and creative.
The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:

1. Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2. The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.
3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or older Post to support.
4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.I've chosen to pass this award on to the following 5 people. All of them have a delightful way of blogging and truly do represent all the fun that blogging has to offer:-)

I would like to pass this special award along to:


BrownEyed Cowgirls

Mustang Diaries

Glenshee Equestrian Centre

Of Horses and Art

Nuzzling Muzzles

Rachette

MidWestHorse Blog

HoleMole'


While all blog about horses and sometimes other things, each is very different in style and content. Each writer inspires me with her own unique way of looking at and living life with horses.

There are so many more blogs out there that I enjoy reading as well, it was hard to pick. Some have already received this award, and I had to leave some for these recipients to be able to pass it on, don't ya think?? so I stopped at seven which seems to be the unstated lucky number for this particular award......OK so I cheated and did eight, can you blame me??

To all of my blogging friends, it's been an amazing couple of years here in the blogoshpere! I appreciate each and every one of you! :o)



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Calling All Horse Bloggers...........

I want to remind all you horse bloggers out there that I will be hosting a blog carnival on February 1, 2009. The deadline for submissions is January 30. So far I have only two submissions and I know there are lots more great posts out there in horse blogiville that would be worth sharing.

For those who don't know about blog carnivals, it's a group of articles with common themes (in this case horses) from different bloggers posted on a "host" site to form an online magazine.

From blog carnival: We think blog carnivals are a great way for bloggers to recognize each other's efforts, organize blog posts around important topics, and improve the overall level of conversation in the blogosphere. Carnivals come in edited "editions", just like magazines or journals. The fact that carnivals are edited (and usually annotated) collections of links lets them serve as "magazines" within the blogosphere, and carnival hosts can earn their readership by providing high quality collections.

What they don't tell you is about how blog carnivals can work for you. Whether you see readership as a means to an end in your business or a way to connect with people of common interest, a blog carnival is a good vehicle to get seen in the vast world of the internet. The more people who read your blog, the more connections there are to be made.

The reason a blog carnival is helpful building readerships has to do with something called "back links." The host site posts the articles with links to the bloggers who wrote them. The bloggers who submit articles also post links to the host advertising their participation in the carnival. This creates "back links" between the host and the writers of the articles which are an important part of good search engine placement. Regular participation in blog carnivals can help boost a blog's search engine ranking which in turn generates more readership.

What I like about blog carnival's is it gives me an opportunity to build my back links AND highlight posts I think have special relevance or maybe something I thought was particularly fun. They also give me the opportunity to see what my blogging buddies particularly liked, that I may have missed or since forgotten.

With the numbers of horse blogs growing like they are (I can no longer keep up with daily visits because there are just too many!), a blog carnival is a great way to give those new blogs some exposure to more readers. It sure would be great to get this new year of horse carnivals off and running with some new faces and fresh perspective on the subject of horses as well as .........A Gathering of Old Friends......and New!

There are loads of great articles from these previous horse blog carnivals hosted here.

Carnival of the Horses from all Kinds of Horse Mommy Bloggers

MiKael's Mania - Arabian Horses Welcomes the 4th Horse Lovers Blog Carnival



Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of the horses using our carnival submission form
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page






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Frame versus Function

Before beginning with long lining the beginner horse, it's important to talk about frame and function. How the relationship between these two things is handled can make a big difference in how successful this process is.
To make sure there is no confusion, I will begin by defining each of these things.

For the sake of this discussion, function quite simply means proper impulsion. It doesn't matter what discipline a horse will be trained in, without a horse driving forward, deep under itself it will be unable to perform at peak function.

Frame, on the other hand, is the end result of proper function. The horse drives from behind, deep underneath itself, lifts its back and shoulder, then rolls over into the bridle in a collected manner. Depending on the discipline that frame will vary.

Western horses are expected to be vertical in the bridle. Hunter horses can be vertical or a hair nosed out of the bridle (although in today's Arabian show ring many hunters can be seen past vertical even though that is supposed to be penalized according to the rules). English pleasure horses are allowed to be "as bridled" as they are capable. It takes a pretty special english horse to be hinged well enough to bridle vertically.

Richard and I, both, believe function is more important than frame. We want the horse to be moving forward correctly. That is the number one objective right from the start. We want to teach the horse to go "forward" when asked. "Forward" means the horse is driving from behind squarely, reaching well underneath itself, lifting its back and shoulder at all gaits.

We have absolutely NO requirements for frame in early long lining sessions. As a matter of fact, we don't have that expectation for quite a while in this process. That frame, or collection, will come as the horse

builds muscle and learns to move correctly. It is a natural evolution of the process of good function.

The reason for this emphasis on function is based upon how the horse naturally moves. Since the horse begins movement from the back end and it travels on up through the nose, it makes sense to teach the horse in the manner they instinctually go in the first place.

Another natural response of the horse is when it reaches a barrier it will stop. Since the purpose of a bit is to be a barrier for the horse, it also makes sense if you want to push the horse up to that barrier and have it keep moving, you need to have installed a button so the horse can understand the request. That's why we work on function first.

Teaching the horse to go forward isn't about just getting the horse to move any old way. It is a very specific request to which we want a very specific response. We want to be sure the horse understands it is to go forward to it's peak function. It doesn't matter whether it's a long line or a rider's leg making the request. What's important is that the horse understand it means to drive forward, stepping well underneath itself, lifting its back and shoulders while travelling squarely.

There have been many young horses ruined right from the start by expecting frame before the horse ever understood how to properly perform to peak function. Expecting a horse to be "light" on the bit when it hasn't even learned to go forward properly can only cause confusion for the horse.

A horse with a great natural lope can be turned into what feels like a pile driver because the horse is confused and frightened of the bit and doesn't understand to go forward. Such a horse will shorten its stride in an up and down fashion in response to a request to go forward instead of reaching forward underneath itself. The end result is a rough riding unbalanced gait.

And that's just one example of how a horse can be ruined by teaching frame before function. There are many other issues found in problem horses that trace back to the horse not understanding how to go forward in the first place. Ask any successful trainer what's the most difficult issue to fix. They will tell you teaching a horse how to go forward that has been intimidated into a frame.

Cues with the Lines



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Wordless Wednesday

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Ground Work - Some Long Lining Basics

Before I get into the specifics of how Richard and I start young horses in the long lines, I think it would be best to go over some basics about the use of this equipment. There are several choices about how the lines can be run depending on what you have chosen for equipment. Where you want to run your lines and how you attach them to the bit, side pull or halter will be determined by what you are wishing to accomplish. I usually use a bit so I'll use that in my examples.

There are several choices as to how you can attach the lines to the bit. I'm going to go through those first and then I'll go over where the lines are run through the surcingle.

Choices for attaching the lines to the bit include:

Both lines can run through the corresponding surcingle rings on each side then directly to the bit attaching at the ring. The front view image shows the lines runs in this manner





The outside line can go the same as the above with the inside line going directly to the ring on the bit which it will pass through and then to attach to the surcingle. The center picture shows the inside rein run in this manner. The bottom image shows the outside line run in this manner.

You can run both lines through the corresponding surcingle ring. Then to the bit, through the ring and back to a higher ring on the surcingle like a draw rein would be.

Or you can run the outside line through the surcingle and directly to the bit while the inside line runs through the surcingle ring, through the bit ring and back to a higher ring on the surcingle.

Of course, which of these options you chose will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. These variations will give you lots of choices to help square the horse up, free up shoulders, etc.




Then there is the decision about where the lines will run through the surcingle in the first place. A common training belief is the higher a head set you want on the finished horse, the higher you want to run your lines through the surcingle. High powered english horses work with those lines right up on the top ring on each side.

Depending on whether you have the expensive surcingle with the extra set of rings or not will determine where you run the lines for the hunter style horse. With the expensive surcingle, the lines for the hunter horse will probably be run through the center ring. In a surcingle with only two rings on each side, you'd use the top ring for most hunters. Unless of course, you prefer your hunters long and low, the you'd drop down.

For most western horses the lines would run through that bottom ring on the surcingle. As I have said before, Richard and I prefer to use a western saddle in place of a surcingle on the western horse. We run the lines through the stirrups. This lower location makes for a nice line to the horse's hock. Since we use tapping the line on the horse's hock as a cue for forward movement, this placement is most helpful.

Once these things have been determined, you need to decide how you want to run the remaining line. With high powered (trained) english horses the lines are run over the horses back (working over the back) to the handler. Most horses, however, will work with the lines running down along side the horse's body to the handler. The outside line will rest across the horse's hock at the start.

If I confused anyone, please ask quesitons. In the next post in this series I'll go into starting the young horse in the long lines.

Frame versus Function

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A Question on Color Genetics

Instead of finishing my post on beginning long lining, I got caught up in answering a genetics question on Science VS Tradition blog post Probability Genetics are so fascinating I lost track of time as I worked on trying to describe in simple terms my answer to this color question. I though maybe others might be interested in this information as well, so I'm going to post my answer here and get my long line post ready for tomorrow.

The question is "A mare homozygous at the bay loci, EEAA, is crossed to a stallion who is heterozygous at the bay loci, EeAa. What is the probability that their offspring will be bay?"

OK, this is kind of my thing since I love genetics. Which doesn't mean I can answer all kinds of color questions because I'm not good at the patterns except basics and I'm only beginning to get the hang of dilutions but I'm usually good with the basic colors. With that being said lets break this down and see what we get.

The bay agouti A (no bay agouti is represented by a) is dominant. It can only express on black, however, restricting that black color to the points. The bay agouti A remains hidden on a red coat color. The lack of agouti a is recessive so must be present as aa (one from each parent) for a horse with black A to actually be a black horse.

Here we have a mare EEAA being homozygous at the E Locus. Since the E represents black and e is red, she is homozygous not just for the bay agouti AA but also black with EE.

Since the black gene E is always dominant over the red gene e, you must have ee (one from each parent - which in this case you cannot get because the mare does not carry an e) to get a red coat color that would not show the presence of the bay agouti A.

With the mare contributing E it doesn't really matter whether the stallion contributes an E or an e, the resulting foal will carry an E to produce a black coat color. That color, however, will be restricted to the points by the dominant bay agouti. That pretty much guarantees you a bay horse.


Note: The density of the coat color will be affected by the Black E gene versus Red e gene coming from the stallion.

I hope this all makes sense. If not, fire away with your questions.



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More on Ground Work - Long Lining

So far I've done a couple of posts on ground work. Ground Work versus Riding....What to Do? and So Let's Talk about Ground Work....What Is It and When to Start! It would be a mistake to post about ground work and not spend some time on the use of long lines.

One of the things I've learned about long lines is that having the right equipment to start can make a huge difference in how things turn out. For western horses, Richard and I, both employ a western saddle running the lines through the stirrups instead of a surcingle. For the english disciplines we like to use a surcingle where we can place the lines in a higher location for a higher head set on the horse.

While it's not necessary to have the most expensive surcingle out there, knowing where you're going to want to run your lines can make a big difference in which surcingle you buy. The more expensive ones seem to have more rings which gives you more options as to how you run your lines. That gives you more options to make necessary adjustments with different horses or problems.



The most important part of this equation is the lines themselves. I've learned, after many years of fighting long lines wondering why I wasn't getting my horse as forward as I wanted, that my lines were too light. It is the line bumping against the horse's leg that encourages the horse to step deeper under itself. Light lines are easy for the horse to ignore.

My early lines were a light nylon rope at the snap end. (see top image) Then it converted to webbing that was about 2/3 the length of the line. Trying to snap a correction through that line was like trying to flick a wet noodle.....it just didn't work. Now that I see the difference with heavier lines, I wonder why I didn't figure it out sooner.





The lines I have now are made from 5/8 inch mountain climbing rope (MCR) (see second image). Schneider's carries them in their catalog.....but we put mine together for less money and added our own modifications. They don't stretch and will hang nicely over the hock of a well balanced horse. A flick of the wrist sent down the MCR lines delivers a tap to the horse's leg encouraging the horse to step deeper underneath itself.

The afore mentioned modification to the lines is this. We built a twenty-five foot line with a knot at the end where we could add a five foot extension. The extension piece is built with a snap and clamp just like the longer piece. (The last image shows the two pieces attached for a thirty foot line.)



To me the nicest thing about this extension is the fact you can add it or remove it as needed. Since I've learned to work with this, I no longer am tripping over long lines dragging on the ground. I use the extended long line for the outside rein. When I change directions, I move the extension from one line to the other.......that way I'm not dragging that extra five foot from the inside line on the ground for me to trip over.

When we are starting young horses, Richard and I have different approaches to getting a rider on their backs. ( I've posted about Richard's adventures with the three geldings and their first rides Tag , Louie and Percy ) However, long lining has been an important part of the process of getting these horses broke to ride. On that part of the equation Richard and I share very much the same philosophy. From here I'm going into the specifics of the early long lining work that Richard or I do.

Long Lining Basics



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Back in the Saddle Again..........

The title should be sufficient but since I said I was going to try to ride next week. I should probably explain just a bit. I couldn't stand another day without riding, so I climbed up on not one but two horses today. It would probably be appropriate to also add the video Cowgirls Don't Cry as well. But since I just used that video in a post a couple of days, I'll just leave it at this, that song now has new meaning for me. I'm pretty sure you can figure out the rest.



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Richard and MiKael Updates and a Little Ground Work

Richard posted about his injury on his journal in this post There is a cartoon by Charles M Russell and modified by Richard's daughter, Larissa, to characterize the accident. Larissa changed the rider to make it look like Richard.

My friend, Bev, and I both thought this cartoon gives poor Tag a bad rap, however. He was not an angry, fighting beast. He was a poor horse with a pinching cinch trying to tell someone he needed help. However, Tag did take that sideways leap when he got pinched. Then another couple when Richard by accident bumped him with his spurs. Richard baled off the horse and landed on his hip against the wall.

The result was Richard broke 4 transverse processes of his vertebrae. By going to his journal entry you will find a case history very similar to Richard's.....complete with pictures.

I don't know if I ever mentioned that after the fact it was discovered the horse had not been longed before this accident. Once he was longed and the saddle fixed, the horse was ridden without incident. Knowing this horse and his attitude towards work, we have all concluded that he must have been pinched by the saddle.

I might mention on Richard's journal he says that he has 3 broken transverse processes. Just for the record I'd like to say the doctor's diagnosis was 4 broken transverse processes. So when you look at the expected recovery time for such injuries......bump that time up for one more broken bone. It is that last bone that's been causing the most problem. It is sitting right next to the bone it broke off from, rubbing it and causing pain.

Has it kept Richard from riding........only briefly. By last week his was up on Vee walking around the arena. The next day he said he would only walk and trot but I looked up to see him loping past. Sometimes it hurts to ride and other times it doesn't. Mostly it depends on what he's doing. Yesterday he tried to sit a working trot and that was very painful. It definitely slowed him down a bit..........but not for long.

As for me, I had another doctor's visit on Wednesday. This time he told me I was healing just fine but it would probably be two more months until it's not painful to ride.

There's no way I'm waiting two months more to ride. I'm already having major crab attacks from not getting to ride. I asked the doctor if riding now would cause any damage or interfere with my healing process. His answer was "No." So I said, that mean I can ride now. His answer to that was "Don't call me because you are in pain."

I sat in my saddle and I think I'm going to shoot for Monday for my first day back on a horse. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime Richard has written two posts on ground training for young horses. Since our philosophies on this are darn near identical, I figured I'd post the links for Richard's perspective Part 1 and Part 2 Then later I will post mine. In the meantime I'm working on a post on long lining equipment. My pictures need to be retaken so I'll get that one up tomorrow.

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Cowgirls Don't Cry.......

I know I promised I would begin my post about long lining today. But when I said that I had forgotten what a difficult day today would be. I had a memorial service to attend for one of my friends and I think I'm going to do a quick post on that instead.

First off, I'd like to say the service was to celebrate the life of Russell Hornbuckle. He is the father of my friend, Crystal Baker, who I've mentioned here more than a time or two. Russell died after a year and a half struggle with stomach cancer. Russell was a gem and he will be missed.

The service was a lovely tribute to Russell. They played this video for the song, Cowgirls Don't Cry by Brooks and Dunn with Reba McIntrye. While I'm not much of a crier and this song really could be my theme song, the tears began to flow just a bit at the sight of that little girl looking through the fence longingly at her daddy.

They couldn't have picked a more appropriate video and song for Crystal Baker and her life with her dad right from that first ride. Her rough spots were different than the video but Russell was always there for her through them. I know how much it broke her heart to loose him.

After the video was finished they had a slide presentation of Russell and his life. Just about the very first picture was Russell on a horse. From there on out there were all those pictures that showed Russell, Margie (his wife), Crystal and her sister living just like in the video. From horse shows, to trail rides, to delivering foals, and even taking their horses swimming. Horses and family are rolled together. The grandkids came along and it was more pony time. It really was a celebration of a great and loving man and his passion for his family and his horses.

In the recent post on Patrick Swayze there were comments about Patrick being "real." Well, Russell Hornbuckle was a "real" man too. He was kind and thoughtful and always helping someone out........whether he knew them or not, it didn't matter. What was important was they needed help.

Someone told the story about Russell always helping strangers. One time he stopped on Pacific Ave in Tacoma to help out a woman he thought was in trouble. As it turned out, the woman didn't need the kind of help Russell thought. (These are the cleaned up words of the story teller, if you know about Pac Ave in Tac, you'll get what this means.....) the woman was looking for a date."

The entire room burst into laughter at the thought of Russell innocently trying to help ............a hooker! That would have been Russell, all right! A bit naive, in love with life and kind as kind can be.......and he's raised kids who are just like him.

I think that's maybe why Crystal Baker and I are friends. She has that same naive, in love with life attitude as her dad.........and she is as honest and caring as they come. I'm going to miss Russell Hornbuckle but I'm sure glad he left behind great people like his daughter, Crystal, to be my friend.



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Wordless Wednesday

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An Argument for Good Ground Manners

I was posting about ground work in Ground Work versus Riding....What to Do? and in

So Let's Talk about Ground Work....What Is It and When to Start!
There are those who believe when you start can make a big difference in how the horse turns out. Part of the argument that seems to support this thought has to do with Richard's work with my Arabian horses.


I have been saying that the horses I breed are different. They have a great work ethic and really want to please. I've always thought that was because of their particular breeding and I've always included this information as one of the selling points for these horses.

When I first began working with Richard, he commented about the "mind" of my Arabian stallion, Scandalous Legacy. As usual I responded by saying, "All of my horses are like this. It's their breeding." In the beginning Richard's response was something like "I don't know, I've only worked with this one." Then after he'd worked with two, the number increased to two. I don't know how many horses it took before Richard decided it was ALL of my horses but the fact is he did.

When he reached that opinion, it soon became clear that Richard thinks this difference has to do with me. I have clung to it being their breeding because I don't think I do anything special. And, there is the fact that I have chosen individuals for my breeding horses that had a particular affinity for the human/equine relationship.

But Richard claims he's worked with horses of similar breeding and not had this same response. If Richard is right and it has something to do with me and my program, the only thing I can think is it must be this early ground work and our consistency.

I have so many horses I don't get to spend much time with any of the young horses as they're growing. They get that first early exposure to training and that's pretty much it. Other than making them mind when handled and getting them ready for our open house once a year, the young horses just hang out until they're mature enough AND I have time enough to start them.

Dave and Lindsay are pretty good at re-enforcing the manners my horses have been taught when they work around these horses. Both are also known for loving on the horses daily. Any young horse showing signs of resistance to human contact seems to become a welcome challenge for that pair. There's nothing they like better than bragging about their accomplishments winning over skittish young horses. I'm sure their extra attention aids in building that instinct to search out human contact that Arabian horses have.

Still according to Richard these horses learn faster and are more willing than any other horses he has trained. For me I have no other comparison because these horses I've bred ARE the only horses I have trained under saddle. So I'm going to have to defer to Richard on this point that the early ground work makes them "better" to handle and train when they're ready to ride.

When it comes to my experience with other horses, I will say, however, that most of the horses I have worked with as a groom, have seemed the same to me. When I offered that up to Richard as proof it is the breed, Richard wouldn't budge. He thinks if those horses were just like my horses it is because I was the one handling them.

The reason I'm mentioning this isn't because I want to toot my own horn. I really don't think I do anything special. I just expect the horses I handle to have good manners and if they don't I insist on it. If that does indeed make such a dramatic effect on how a horse will deal with training, it certainly makes a good argument for the importance good ground manners.

I know that Harvey Jacobs will not even begin to ride a horse until he has the kind of ground manners he wants in place. It is Harvey's belief if a horse does not have total respect on the ground, it is dangerous to be climbing on their backs. I have to admit I agree with Harvey on this point.

I did a series about Harvey Jacobs and Arabian Horses that was totally his method of ground work with horses. Much of what I do with my youngsters is based on this information with some John Lyons thrown in for good measure.


Thursday's ground work topic will be long lining.



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My Thoughts on Patrick Swayze, His Arabian Horses and Cancer

I don't know if you saw the interview that Barbara Walters did with Patrick Swayze last week. These videos are the five parts of that interview without commercial interruption.

I watched because I know that Patrick Swayze is an Arabian horse enthusiast. He was at the US Nationals one year when I was there. I never saw the star but did hear about the poor behavior of some of his fans hanging over the rail as he was riding his class and shooting pictures, not to mention all the screaming.

Swayze hasn't tried to show his own horses since. That somehow has made me feel connected to him. The thought of not being able to pursue one's passion seems to haunt me, so I can understand how it must feel to Patrick to have one of the things he loves most (acting) cause interference with another great love in his life........Arabian horses. I'd always hoped that maybe someday his fans would get wise and let the man live and maybe he'd get to show a horse again if that's what he wanted.

Then Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. Again, I felt a connection having battled demon cancer as it attacked my child. I hung onto my Arabian horses as a way to give me strength and get both of us through. I hoped that Swayze's Arabian horses were doing the same for him. Also I hoped he could find that same solice in their company that had been there for Lindsay and me.

When I heard that Barbara Walters was airing this special, I was immediately drawn to it..........as was Lindsay. I wanted to see how he is doing. I also wanted to get a glimpse of his Arabian horses wondering if they are helping him along this difficult journey. It didn't take long to get that answer.

There are clips of Patrick with his Arabian horses throughout this interview. He may not come right out and say Arabian horses are part of what's keeping him going but it is obvious by the prominence they play in this interview. For me the fact the horses are groomed to a tee with even their ears clipped says it was part of the plan the horses would be in the interview, it wasn't just happen stance. It tells me these horses are an integral part of their lives even now...........probably especially now would be a more appropriate to say. I'm glad the horses are there for both of them, Patrick and his wife.



I haven't really known much about Patrick Swayze other than some information about his horses and trainer.......you know the important horse stuff. After watching this interview I must say there's a lot of wisdom here as Patrick speaks about the quality of his life, what he's willing to do to stay alive and what's important to him.

"I'm not going to chase staying alive!" is a quote from Swayze that really struck me. I knew instantly what he was referring to. Chasing a cure was something we tried to avoid with Lindsay. I remember seeing parents so caught up in beating the cancer that their children had no time to live. The quality of their lives had long since been sacrificed for a cure. I didn't want that for my child and I sure wouldn't want it for me.




Patrick Swayze shows his strength with quotes like this "If it's about pain, I can deal with it" in referring to his fight. It's clear the fact he is still alive despite the odds is directly related to his attitude.



"We're all dying..........that makes me feel good from time to time........we're all dying, it's just a matter of when." says Swayze and he's right. It's not the thought of dying that will do you in, it's the fear of it. If we can accept that our life is limited and make the most of it, then we won't get lost in our fear and miss out on living.

Barbara Walters asked Partrick and his wife about their decision to renew their wedding vows this year. On a spur of the moment whim in four days they put together an intimate gathering on their ranch which Patrick described as " very Prince Charming and Snow White , I rode in on a snorting steed.........white stallion " as he spoke these words you could hear the significance of the horses to their commitment to each other and their lives. As Richard would say, "Good Stuff!"




There were statements along the way that told of Patrick's disillusionment with humanity. Maybe those things like fans robbing him of the ability to show his horses had contributed to that pain, but this new journey had brought a response neither he nor his wife had expected as the studio did the right thing and let Swayze do his new series despite his illness and the letters poured in from strangers lending their support, offering their comforting stories and prayers.

" It's amazing what ..what love can change and what courage love can breed in other people. " said Swayze as he said the studio doing the right thing and those letters of support have restored some of his faith in people after all.

When Barbara asked him how much time he had left one of his answers was "I plan on spending a lot of time on the back of a horse........back in the mountains.........." his message that he still has things to do before he is done with this life..........and those things involve horses.

Walters asked " Patrick, In your heart you're a cowboy"
His response was simple, "Yes, Mam........I am........just like my dad."

She also asked him if he thought about Ghost to which he replied. " Bigtime............ because the biggest line out of Ghost 'It's amazing Molly,.......... the love inside........... you take it with you.' "

I'm not really a Hollywood type person. I'm not real big on movies and I usually forget who starred in the ones I do see and like. I do, however, remember Patrick and Demi Moore from Ghost I will admit that when I first heard of Swayze's cancer I thought about that role and wondered if it would turn out to be prophetic. And I will always remember those particular lines.........I know they are true and they somehow make death not quite so scary to me.

Watching this interview with Barbara Walters and Patrick Swayze didn't quite turn out the way I had expected. Instead of just catching glimpses of some beautiful Arabian horses, I learned a lot about the man, his wife and their values.

Some, I know, think that this interview will do a lot for the Arabian horse and certainly Patrick Swayze has done that in the past. There was a clear message that Arabian horses are a huge part of the man's life. But for me the most powerful message of the interview is " It's amazing what ..what love can change and what courage love can breed in other people. "

This weekend Patrick Swayze was admitted to the hospital. He told reporters it was just precautionery to deal with pneumonia.

No one knows more than me what that can mean. It's not the cancer that kills most people it is the chemotherapy. It weakens the body and opens the door for things like pneumonia. I hope that Patrick Swayze gets to have that time in the saddle he was referring to.............I wish him many more hours in the saddle on the white Arabian stallion...........

Laura, in the comments provided this link for info on Patrick Swayze's Arabian Horses



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More Flooding Repairs and Their Effects on Trouble

We began the final stages of barn clean-up today. The last stalls that needed to be tended to were those of My Arabian horse twins, Trouble and Surprise. Their stalls had the worst issues after the waters receded.

Several years back I purchased eight hours of bulldozer work and eight hours of back hoe work from a silent auction for the Daffodil Arabian Horse Association. It was my plan to use that work to fix my problems with water during heavy rains. I wanted french drains in front of my barn as well as a drain from the pond directly to the creek.

However, the man in charge of the work was convinced that I didn't need French drains. Instead he would use his laser equipment to determine where to place a drain that he then channeled into the pond. Dave was convinced that this guy knew what he was talking about and the job was done their way and not mine.

At the first heavy rain it was clear this drain was useless. If it has siphoned any water off, we've never seen evidence of it from the outlet into the pond. Well, that is until this current episode. For the first time ever we saw water flooded around that drain and flowing as fast as the pipe would allow into the pond. It definitely saved us from heavier flooding this time around.

Because it didn't work in lesser circumstances, Dave had to put in the French drains that I'd wanted in the first place. Again he didn't do it totally my way using smaller pipe than I thought necessary. Now, it's clear that the larger pipe is necessary as well, so Dave will be re-doing yet another job. But it was a good thing we had both drains for this bad storm. With Dave's use of the smaller pipe, even with the now functioning second drain, we had very soggy stalls. Just moving around them, the water would ooze up over the mats although there was not measurable standing water.

I wonder if the reason the twins' stalls were worse than the others is because they are past the location of that original drain. The ground slops off down a bit on the twins' side of that drain. I think it may have cause the water that was too much for the French drain to handle to go into their stalls. The result was not only that their stalls got much wetter but their mats also shifted. I think from some floating at the height of the water.

While releveling the ground, relaying the mats and drying things out is a pain and time consuming, it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the trauma to the horses. Surprise seemed to not be too flustered once the standing water departed. But poor Trouble is a wreck!

When I tried to remove Trouble from his stall today so we could do this work, the poor gelding refused. He was too frightened to take even one step out the door. His eyes darted about as he tried to avoid my direction. The horse clearly thought the ground was going to swallow him up. He wouldn't cross the threshold with any part of him.

At first I went back to the basics I'd used in teaching him how to lead. I just asked for one step at a time and rewarded any forward movement, even a thought. That did not work this time. Trouble knew the drill but was just too scared to make any forward movement.

I could move him from side to side and even turn him around but no form of trickery to get just that one step worked. I even brought Surprise in and out several times to show him that there was nothing to fear but Trouble would not budge. The fear just stayed there in his eyes.

I eventually had to up the stakes and use the whip. I hate to do that but at the same time I don't think it's safe to leave the horse in a stall with mats all weird and sticking up and the whole thing a soggy mess for one more night. The last thing I want is a sick horse so I resorted to the whip with Trouble..

I learned from the start with the twins that they could not be persuaded by kindness and a soothing voice when they have made up their mind. The only thing that works with either of them is being able to be a bigger bully. It seems to be a trait of twins that are born equal size. It accounts for them trying to be dominant and Surprise getting the crap kicked out of her because she wouldn't give in to the bigger horses. It is a difficult trait to deal with, that's for sure.

I hate it.....and I have hated it from the very beginning. But thankfully, they are very smart. Once they know you WILL be a bully if you have to, they will USUALLY quit fighting.

That's not what Trouble did today. He didn't care that I had the whip at all. He didn't even care when I tapped him with it. His continued resistance only told me how truly scared he was. It was clear I was going to have to take drastic action.

I created a frenzy behind him with the whip, slapping the mats feverishly. Trouble decided that commotion behind him was scarier than the fear in front of him and leapt out of the stall over the walkway onto the french drain and into the field.

We tried to take him back onto that walkway but he again refused. This time just showing the horse the whip was enough for him to move although he didn't get comfortable with the walkway, he did behave so Dave took him between the barns and out to the field.

He had to lead him down that aisle way a few times too. The horse was just plain scared of the area around the barn. Once he was really listening, they were able to continue their journey to the field.

We really should have taken the time to put him in and out of that stall until he got past his fear. Since the daylight hours were fast leaving, we opted to deal with that tomorrow and get the stalls fixed today. I imagine I'll have a difficult time getting him into his stall tonight. Poor Trouble...............

This video is Trouble at the open house.



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Updates on Flooding, Repairs and Injuries on this Arabian Horse Farm

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With a break in the weather it was repair time around this Arabian horse breeding farm. There were lots of things to be tended to but none as important as the supports on our shavings shed.

The problems with the shavings shed were not something new. During at least a couple of deliveries the driver had clipped the edge of one of the poles supporting the roof. Despite my repeated warnings to Dave that these poles needed to be fixed, he somehow kept moving that job to the bottom of his ever growing list.

It wasn't totally his fault. It seemed that when the timing looked about right we might actually get the job done, the shed was too full of shavings to be able to do the work. When the shed was empty, Dave was at work or didn't have the help he needed. Either way, the job waited.

With our record snowfall in December the support provided by those compromised poles showed it was suffering. The roof of the shavings shed began to sag........... badly. We are very fortunate it did not collapse. That's probably a testament to the heavier than needed poles and such that Dave used in the first place.

Currently we can't get shavings even if we wanted to and Dave has no job. Hunting for one on the weekend isn't very successful but the weekend IS a good time for Dave to line up help to install the new poles..........so that's what happened around here today.

They had to jack the building up to put the new poles underneath. They also installed those new poles on the outside instead of inside of the shed. That way if we should ever be able to get shavings again and the driver accidentally hits the wall, the poles supporting the roof will not take the brunt of that mistake.

That's one big job finally completed and probably another dozen or more to go. After this round of flooding we can see what we need to do to keep that complex of stalls, feed and shavings storage dry. We're either going to have to enlarge the size of the pipe in our French drains or add additional drains. On the back side of that building we will need to add French drains there as well, these will have to be routed straight to the creek instead of into the pond.

The heavy rainfall also helped us to see what are problems with the location of the new stalls we are trying to construct. What we remembered happening with the ground water isn't exactly what happened. There must be modifications to those plans before we can continue on with this build. Better now than after, that's for sure. But it means it will take that much longer before I get all of my horses back at home.

On another note, I went back to the part today to leave notes for the horse owners there. Since I wasn't able to get much out of the park grounds keeper, I figured trying a more direct approach might work. When I reached the barns, I found all the stalls empty. I hope that means those horses were able to go back to their homes and their owners didn't sustain too much damage.

I still plan on doing some investigating to see if I can locate horse owners who might need help. But at least for now it looks like maybe these people in Orting did not have the catastrophic damage to their farms that happened in the early winter of 2007 to the farms in Lewis County. (Those folks are still trying to dig out and get their lives back in order.)

In the meantime we are still drying out a few stalls and cleaning up silt. It is slick work. That silt is every bit as slippery as ice or at least it seems that way to me. I've about fallen on my b*tt more than a dozen times. That makes this work on the slow side but each day I can see the progress. Maybe we'll get this farm whipped into shape before the next round of storms hits.

For those wondering about Richard, he did finally go see a medical doctor. They needed new x-rays so he had to wait for results. Richard and I use the same doctor. I happen to know from experience that he is NOT good at letting his patients know what their x-rays have said. So Angie bugged them until they finally got the results.

Richard actually broke four vertebrae in his back. One piece of broken bone is actually rubbing against the large portion of that bone causing pain. The only way to fix this is surgery. However, Richard doesn't have insurance AND (probably more important to Richard) the time for recovery is very very long. Richard has opted not to do surgery.

According to the doctor that is ok as long as Richard can tolerate the pain. Sooner or later it will go away as the bones heal. The doctor's assistant guessed it would take about a year before Richard rides another horse. Anyone want to take bets on that?

More to come on that story............and on me getting back into the saddle.............so stay tuned there's more posts on ground driving and still more to tell on Percy's kindergarten lessons, not to mention how Tag, Louie, Hope and Vee are doing. It's going to be an exciting year.



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