Let The Training Begin

Misty and Marley were evaluated this afternoon by a natural horsemanship clinician who is holding a colt starting/special project clinic for the month of April. Misty and Marley were worked on the ground to see how attentive they are, how much they understand, and how they move when asked to yield to pressure.

The clinician was holding Misty while her co-clinician worked with Marley. I was a little embarrassed when my spoiled mare acted like a lap dog, crowding the clinician, getting in her face and trying to give her kisses. A few gentle but firm reprimands from the clinician and Misty stood quietly at a respectful distance on a loose lead. She's a bright mare and learns quickly.

Marley was quite stiff and braced as he worked in a circle, especially his hind end. When the assistant walked the rope around his rump and pulled gently on the lead line, asking him to turn and yield his hind quarters, he stood for a long time with his head bent around to his shoulder. And while standing bent like this, he started nibbling on the lead rope, oblivious to what the trainer was asking of him. When she applied a little more pressure with the rope to his hind quarters, he finally moved. But rather than yield his hind quarters and turn with a fluid motion of both his hind and front ends, he kept his back feet firmly planted and moved his front feet around in a circle while pivoting on his back feet. The trainers found this to be interesting and a significant reason why he has been so successful in running off with his former riders. They said we need to get control of the motor.

The game plan for Marley is to get him moving and yielding those hind quarters and improve his flexibility and bending on the ground and under saddle. They will work on his control issues (the mental ones) and will ride him out away from the barn and away from Misty and place him in a situation that will challenge him.

Misty was the opposite of Marley. She was more fluid with her hind quarters, but a little braced in her front end. She was acting a little spooky about something she was seeing in one corner of the arena. She is inexperienced, but willing. She just needs some training hours put on her.

We return to the ranch on Friday morning to begin training. I'll be observing and learning for now.

P.S...Let me add too, that this was my first time hauling both horses. We did ok, although Misty got a little freaked out loading into the trailer for the return trip home. But the trainers helped me get her in. They also had to back my rig out of my parking space for me. It required advanced trailer backing skills as the afternoon progressed and more boarders and visitors arrived, parking their vehicles helter skelter along both sides of the one lane driveway. The trainers got my rig backed into a T-branch off the driveway - a 90 degree turn with other vehicles to maneuver around. Then they turned it over to me and guided me forward and back so I could make the turn onto the main driveway, again with more vehicles ranging from pickups to little sports cars parked along the sides of the drive and in front of my truck. A couple of vehicle owners came out of the barn a little cranky and concerned about their vehicles during all this back and forth maneuvering of my rig. For heaven's sakes, it would have been a lot easier for them to have moved their little cars and trucks and been courteous to the fact that this is a horse stable, training is going on, and people will be bringing horse trailers onto the property. But it is all a learning experience and thank goodness for skilled drivers to help me out of a bind. Although, they did say they charge extra for trailer backing lessons...but with a giggle. ;-)

Misty's Monday Muse

What's wrong with this picture?

I'm a pretty easy going mare.
I don't complain much.
I get along well with others.
But sharing my snacks with a gluttonous pony has its drawbacks.
Fortunately, the service here is excellent.

Waitress! Waitress!
I'd like a refill on my Pony Pop please.



Horsea Salt flavor makes me smile.
I'm so happy, I'll even share with Marley.


Oh rats!
She put the top on to slow us down.
But Marley is always up for a challenge.


Go Marley! Go Marley!
Work that tongue pony boy!

Frosted Toes & Other Blessings

It's Saturday. Do you know what that means? Another Spring snowstorm to hamper the weekend activities. Humph!

I was looking forward to attending a horse clinic today, but it was cancelled due to weather.

Pictured are Misty's tootsies as she was standing at her trough in her stall eating lunch today. It's not snowing heavily (at the moment) but the wind is really fierce. My face stung as I was pelted with tiny snow flakes on my short walk to the barn. Snow is swirling and blowing into the stalls. It's a day to stay indoors and reflect.

Friday was a sad and stressful day at my office. Extra security staff walked the hallways on all floors. Human Resources staff had flown in from corporate headquarters; they stuck out like sore thumbs in their professional business suits amidst the rest of us dressed in "Colorado casual" attire. The office grew very quiet except for whispered conversations between co-workers.

"I just saw 'John' being escorted from his cube."

"Is that 'Jane' carrying a box out to her car in the parking lot?"

"Oh no, 'Joe' just went into a conference room with his manager."

"It doesn't make sense. These are bright, hard working people."

We all sat at our desks, stunned, waiting to see if the axe would swing our way.

By 11:00am our manager notified us that our work group was not affected and we gathered in a small conference room where we all expressed our sadness and confusion. How did they choose? It didn't make sense. What was the criteria? We'll probably never know. Then we were dismissed for the rest of the day. Nobody was in a frame of mind to concentrate on work and upper management realized this and gave us the afternoon off.

As I sit inside on this cold, blustery day, with Friday's somber mood still lingering, I need to count my blessings. Here are just a few:

• I'm grateful for a warm and comfortable house on a day like today.
  
• I'm blessed to have a husband who was willing to move away from the suburbs and build a barn and put up fencing so I could bring horses home.
  
• I'm grateful for Misty & Marley and the joy they bring to my life.
• I appreciate our barn and the good workmanship of the craftsman who built it. It's creaking and rattling today in this wind, but it provides excellent shelter for Misty & Marley. I know they like it...judging by all the poop piles inside today rather than outside.
  
• I'm happy there is hay in the hay loft and grateful to my family for helping hoist it up there.
  
• I'm thankful for my job...so very, very thankful for my job.

I hope our economy improves soon, for the sake of my displaced co-workers, the horses that are going unfed, the rescues that are trying to take up the slack, and all those people struggling to make ends meet.

Silly Sign

There is a grocery store in town that sells horse feed.

Feed prices are posted on a sign at the front of the store.

I'm pretty sure horses are vegetarians.

So, why are they selling Rolled Cats?

Misty's Monday Muse

"A horse is a horse, of course of course."

(Mr. Ed Theme Song by Ray Evans & Jay Livingston)

You can call me a horse, of course.
You can call me an equine.
You can call me an odd toed ungulate.
But don't call me late for dinner.

Honestly, I won't be offended if you call me an odd toed ungulate. It's sort of like when Mr. OnceUpon gives Mrs. OnceUpon a hug and says, "You smell like a horse." And Mrs. OnceUpon replies, "Why, thank you!"

I'm proud to be an odd toed ungulate which means I'm a hooved animal with an odd number of toes on each hoof.

Thankfully, I have only one toe per hoof or my farrier bill would be huge!

My taxonomy (or how those smarty pants scientists would describe a horse):

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Perissodactyla (enter the odd toed ungulates)
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Species: Caballus

Please give a carrot to your horse, of course!

Aloha Springtime

Shorty: "What happened to Spring?"

Sam: "We're in Colorado. This is Spring!"

Shorty: "Could someone please throw me a rope."


Thursday morning started out with blue skies over the prairie and ominous storm clouds tumbling over the mountains, promising to engulf the towns below. By Noon the temperature had dropped into the low teens, the winds were howling, and the snow was flying...horizontally!

A typical spring blizzard in Colorado.

By evening, Misty and Marley were bedded down in their stalls with fresh shavings and straw. Stall doors were shut tight. Dinner was served and I bid them goodnight.

Early Friday morning we awoke to abiding winds and frigid cold, but the snow was lighter.

By mid morning it ceased snowing and the gray sky took on a brighter cast. Misty and Marley were ready for those stall doors to open.

Ummm...frosted Pony Pop.



C'mon Misty...let's go!



Maybe there's grass under this stuff.
A horse can hope.



My wips ah fwozen.


Silly mare.
You eat snow while I enjoy this delicious Pony Popsicle.


Welcome home from Hawaii, Mr. OnceUpon.



You missed the blizzard, but we saved you some snow.

Unbecoming of a Lady

There is a useless, narrow ditch running across our dry lot. The horses usually walk around it, but when they run and frolic they race across it. I worry they might trip or sprain a fetlock. So I've been filling the ditch with manure; it'll turn to dirt eventually.

Recently we found Misty napping in the ditch-o-manure...

Ok, so she's no Sleeping Beauty.
Be brave, click to get a little closer...




Then she awoke from her slumber...




...and decided to roll in the poo!








Oh Misty, this is not ladylike behavior.

Misty's Monday Muse

Have you hugged your horse rescuer today?

Or better yet, give them some cash if you can spare it.

But do your homework and make sure you are contributing to a legitimate rescue.

Here are qualities I would look for in a legitimate U.S. horse rescue. I know, because I came from such a rescue:

• They are (or have applied for) a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
  
• They don't breed their rescue horses.
  
• They are a member of a state or national rescue group. Legitimate rescues help each other out; they don't compete with one another.
• They rehabilitate, train, and find homes for their adoptable horses; they don't hoard them.
  
• Their adoption fees are reasonable, indicating they are more interested in placing their horses in a good home rather than "selling" them.
• They screen their adopters carefully and do post-adoption followup.
• They answer to a board of directors consisting of reputable people in the community.
• They have a working relationship with law enforcement and animal control.
  
• They follow horse care guidelines established by the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners).

Times are tough. We equines don't have mortgages, but we are losing our homes just the same.