Birthdays and head wounds...

Saturday morning I took Duke for a ride to our local fairgrounds to check out their 100' round pen and huge riding arena. It was something new to do and we had a great time. Amy brought the girls over but they're just not ready to climb on Duke's back yet. To them he must seem like a giant! That's okay, we have plenty of time...

Relaxing with Duke after a nice long ride at the fairgrounds.

When Duke and I returned to the barn I noticed a nasty cut above his left eye, and for the life of me I can't figure out how he cut himself. He didn't have the cut when I loaded him at the fairgrounds, and I didn't notice it when he stepped off the trailer. It wasn't until he was in his corral that I saw it.  I was a little panicked and called a friend who got me calmed down and pointed me to a great product called Vetricyn, which I've seen advertised heavily on RFD-TV.  My tack room is stocked with several first aid products, but with a wound so close to the eye the risk of the medication running into his eye is too great.  My biggest concern was get the wound clean without getting soap or medication in his eye. Vetricyn can be sprayed directly on the wound without damaging or hurting the eyes. All the while I'm cleaning the wound, Sammy is calling wondering where I am (I'm at least an hour late in returning home by that time). I explain the situation, he's pretty sure I'm exagerating until I show him the pictures. A quick trip to a local pet store and I returned to tend to the wound. This stuff is amazing!! Within 20 minutes of spraying Vetricyn on the wound, the swelling reduced by half!! If you have animals, you need to check out Vetricyn! It's not just for horses.
Duke annual dental work and vaccinations were coming up, so we visited the vet on Monday to have the wound checked out (ironically it was shaped like a check mark). I thought the vet would opt to stitch the wound, but in the end it was best to cut the flap of skin off so the wound could heal cleanly.

 

Day 1: Saturday, July 31. Right after I first noticed the wound.

Day 3: Monday, August 2 after our visit to the vet. Still swollen and looking very painful.

Day 6: Thursday, August 5, swelling gone and healing is underway. He even looks happier.

I've been going out twice a day to apply the Vetricyn, but we've reached the point where we can cut the daily treatment back to once a day.

Dukey loves his kitten.

We have several barn cats, two of which had litters this spring. Three of the kittens from a feral mother adopted me last April and they've been living in Duke's hay room ever since; they just showed up in the room when they were about three weeks old. Only two remain now, exactly one month before making the decision to put Rumbeau down I had to make the same decision for one of the kittens who did not have any use of her hind legs. She just dragged both behind her; a visit to the vet revealed she had no hip joints. As I debated taking her home with me, the vet took me aside, and offered guidance as to the amount of care she would need. She would not be able to urinate and defecate on her own, she would require constant care, and such care demands 100% comittment from every family member. Then the doctor left me alone in the room to make the decision. It was a very difficult decision, the kitten who I had named Honey was barely six weeks old at the time. Concerned that I would want to hold the kitten during the procedure, the vet explained this wasn't something I would want to see because of the way she would have to put her down. I hated having to do it, and even today I still cry. Born to a feral mother who probably didn't get enough nutrition during the pregnancy to feed herself, let alone her babies, I just wanted to give the kitten a chance for a normal life.  Her brother and sister, who I've named Boots and Bitsy, are happy, healthy and thriving today; and Dukey loves his little babies.

Sam turned 55 on Sunday. We celebrated the occasion with dinner at Amy's on Saturday and dinner with friends on Sunday. Amy prepared a wonderful grilled steak dinner and our friends put together a crawfish feed (fresh from the Snake River). Both were scrump-dilly-lish-ous!!!

Snake River crawfish....yum!

This horse of mine...

Every now and then he blows me away.

It's like he can read my mind. He's always one step ahead of me.

I need to give this boy of mine more credit.

He deserves it.


Saturday Duke and I had one of the best sessions ever! And I really needed it. I'd had a tearful morning...been feeling a bit emotional lately and it all bubbled to the surface Saturday morning. So when I headed down to the barn that afternoon I was ready for something good. I don't know if he sensed my emotions were fragile or what, but from the moment I put the halter on Duke he was unusually compliant and extraordinarily willing to please me. It started with picking out his hooves; as I moved from hoof to hoof there was no fight, no brace...no resistance. I remember thinking to myself Wow, that went really well.

We played around at liberty in the round pen a little bit, then out to the trailer to tack up. I decided to ride in my older Fallis saddle (for several various reasons) and wow, what a difference going back to that saddle made. Duke was amazing. He was soft with just the right mix of go and whoa. On a whim I thought about practicing our side pass so we can open gates. Not one of our strong points (that should read not one of my strong points)! Opening gates by side-passing has been a goal and Saturday after he figured out what I wanted he was side-passing like a dream!!! Oh, you want me to walk sideways toward the gate! Usually he wants to push the gate open with his head, lol!

Our list of goals now are:

• Briding without the brace
• Confidence in Zone 4
• Restoring our draw

That's the short list...there's more but for now those are my immediate concerns. His attitude toward the trailer is improving every week. We have sessions almost every day and bit by bit he's improving. Trailer loading has become a game to him and I'm finally figuring out how to turn everything into a game to keep him engaged, confident and wanting more. I'll have to set up the camera one of these days...it will be interesting to watch that.

We've been trail riding at Hell's Gate State Park twice this year. Great times both days. It was sunny and warm in February, but cold and rainy in March.

All Morgan trail ride, Hell's Gate State Park, February 28, 2010

 L-R: Dona and Duke, Barb and Elvira, ? and Squirrel, ? and Sabrina, Ray and Chelsea, Cary and Martina. Not pictured: Leigh and Ember.

Sheriff's Posse Poker Run, March 21, 2010

Barb and Elvira, Dona and Duke
El and Duke are looking very Morganesque in this pic.

Riders returning in the rain. March 21, 2010

From Baby Steps

Sometimes I don't realize how far I'm come on this journey. I think it's about reflection and taking the time to reflect. I have the perfect place to do this with my journal, and I need to give myself time to write about it. So, I'm making a promise to myself to spend more time reflecting on our journey.

Besides officially completing Level 1, Duke and I have gone out of our comfort zone numerous times the past two week. And I'm finding myself moving away from 'Oh no' and thinking 'Oh boy!' more often.

First, there was the goat. And through this goat I experienced a successful It's not about the... from start to finish. :) Duke met a goat face to face a couple of weeks ago. At first he was skeptical and a little nervous, then he became curious, and within a few minutes Duke was sniffing and licking the goat. :) The key was approach and retreat. I had been riding when the goat came in with a young girl. When I saw this opportunity my heart skipped a beat. This was something I wanted to do for some time. Before purchasing Duke in 2008, his former owner told me about an experience he had while riding Duke when they encountered a herd of goats in a small field. Duke refused to pass by the field and went into flight mode. I'd seen the behavior once before when I brought Duke into the arena while a girl was practicing goat tying. At the time my confidence was minimal so I kept the approach and retreat session short and our distance from the goat long as we made our way to the round pen located at the far end of the arena.

But I couldn't shake the lost opportunity from my mind.

What kind of leader was I? A safe one, for sure, but at some point we'd have to leave our comfort zone. Fast forward to this month. We're enjoying a lovely, connected ride when we hear the sound of foot falls on the bridge outside the arena. From Duke's back I can see over the wall between the arena and the hallway and I see the top of someone's head bobbing up and down. I watch as they round the corner and approach the gate, leading a goat. Duke's head immediately went up and he stopped in his tracks. Stay calm.  Go slow. Oh boy! Now we get to play with a goat! I will admit the riding session was coming to a close as it was getting a little boring for Duke. Well, our session was about to get very interesting.

As I dismounted the girl saw Duke's reaction and offered to leave. The look on her face when I asked her if she would mind if I introduced Duke to the goat was priceless. When I explained that this was something we needed to do, at first I don't think she believed me. Maybe she wasn't sure she heard me right. She kept saying 'I know most horses don't like goats, so if you want to keep riding, we can leave.' I convinced her this is good, and I've been wanting this kind of opportunity for some time.

Slowly we approached the goat, who was completely unaware of us, nor did he seem to care. Duke's ears were forward, he appeared calm but his head remained a little high. I wanted to switch over to the halter and lead rope (better tools for the task), but they are on the other side of the arena. When we turned away from the goat to fetch the halter, Duke's life came up and he began to dance around me. Okay we'll face the goat again, and back up to where the halter is. Nope. Dance...dance...dance. Hmmm. What to do...what to do. Adjust to fit the situation...use the tools I have. If we were on a trail ride and the halter was back at the trailer, I'd have to use the bridle and reins. I wasn't keen about doing this with a bit in his mouth, so I unclipped the right rein from the bit (I love these Parelli reins!) and I now had a 22' lead rope.

A few steps forward, watching Duke's reaction (ears, eyes, head, mouth), he's relaxed. Take a few steps back. Stop. Breathe! He's blinkin' and thinkin'. Ears forward. Head has lowered. Forward a few more steps. Watch. Back a couple. He's curious...this is good. The entire time I remained calm, not once did I hear the echo of my heart pounding. Yea!!! This is what confidence feels like...finally! I'm moving a little closer to horse savvy!!!

We repeated this and I'm guessing it took between three and five minutes before Duke was standing in front of the goat with a mere few inches of separation. Through it all Duke remained curious. I noticed him breathing more when he stretched his neck out to sniff, then touch the goat with his nose. Check the goat's rope to be sure Duke doesn't get tangled up in it. I backed him off one step, and watched him confidently approach the goat again, head down, breathing normal. All this time the goat was still ignoring Duke and I, but then he turned around and the two were face to face, eye to eye. The goat's owner observed how it must feel to be a goat having something that size coming toward you, but the goat was calm and perhaps curious too. Clearly he wasn't afraid of horses.

Duke got closer and closer sniffing and investigating this strange little creature until the goat was almost under his neck. When he started licking it I wondered how long it would take before curiousity turned to dominance. I've played enough with him to know two things: 1) he comes down quickly from fear and 2) once he gets past his fear of something he immediately wants to dominate it.

Time to move on. I thanked the girl and she expressed a grateful and hearfelt thank you; I think she was in shock. Maybe in the back of her mind she was thinking this isn't how most horse owners react...they always want the goat to leave. :)

This time when I turned Duke away from the goat to retrieve his halter, nothing changed. He calmly followed me, relaxed and confident.

What goat?

Since it was time to clean his stall and corral, and I knew the goat would be in the arena for a while, I wanted to further maximize this opportunity. After switching over to the halter, I left Duke tacked up and tied him to a pole near the goat...about 20 feet away. Allow him time to take this all in, give him another perspective of the goat while I clean.  Twenty minutes later when I walked past Duke to take a wheelbarrow load to the designated dumping site, he was standing quietly, facing the goat, watching. Smile.

Chores complete it was time to untack Duke outside at the trailer. By this time the girl was talking to a new boarder, a young man who recently offered to train Duke for me (that's another story). As I walked past, I noticed they were talking about horse training and I overheard him commenting about how few trainers there are in this area (not quite true, but...) and how he normally charges $49 per hour (funny, he quoted me $7 last month). Someone was definitely struting his stuff and it wasn't Duke. Outside at the trailer, we get untacked and go back inside for a little roll before dinner. Duke must have been thinking about that goat because as we came down the alley his attention was on the arena. Ears foward...where is it? Around the corner, through the gate, there's the goat and without hesitation Duke walked right up to the goat, ears forward and curious the entire time. As if they were best buds...reunited; the same way he greets Elvira when she visits. Again I thanked the girl, and again she thanked me with a tone of gratitude and relief. It was amazing. We walked off to find the perfect place to roll, then back to his stall for dinner.

As I stood watching him munching away, I remembered something...a moment, a gift Duke gave me. During the initial approach and retreat, after I decided not to fetch the halter, Duke and I had just retreated from the goat. It was during that quiet moment as I was debating whether it was time to get a little closer, Duke slowly turned his head to me, softly touched my right hand with his nose, then turned his attention back to goat, licking and chewing. Even now it brings tears to my eyes. What a truly beautiful gift for him to offer. I noticed it at the time and remember thinking He wants to do this. Trust him.

Trust him. I haven't allowed myself to trust Duke. There's this part of me that holds back. The toxic remains from a word of caution carelessly offered by a person just minutes after she retold the story of the time she climbed on the back of a green three year old mare she didn't know, with no preparation, only to find herself later trying to stop a runaway who only wanted to return to the safety and comfort of the barn. And she's giving me advice. Don't you trust him! If she only knew. When it comes to horses, everyone has advice. They give it because they once had a horse, or rode ponies as a child. But they always give it...without thinking, without knowing. I'm learning being a horse owner doesn't make one an expert on the subject; I own a closet full of clothes, but that doesn't make me a clothing designer.

Everyday I thank God I found Parelli. Parelli keeps me safe, sane, well-grounded and on the path to continuous improvement. Better your best. Never let it rest. Get your good better and your better best.

Well, this entry took longer than I originally planned. Another reason I don't write so often, it takes me hours to write one entry. Okay, we can work on that!  There are more baby steps to write about, but I need to wrap this up and move on to some household duties before heading down to the barn today.

Brrrrr...what happened to fall?

Okay, it's been in the mid 20s for the past five nights. Highly irregular for October. Decided to blanket Duke since his winter coat isn't quite filled in yet. He's done a thorough job of getting it dirty already. Yep that's my horse.

I bought another Fallis saddle about a month ago, it's much newer than the first one and very different. Have only ridden in it a couple of times, yesterday being the latest. Pics to follow; forgot my camera yesterday so I didn't get any pics.

Spending lots of time on ground work, rehearsing for my Level 1 skill audition. A Parelli friend and I spent a whole Saturday afternoon working on it two weeks ago, it was a lot of work, and hot that day (hard to believe, but true). We had fun and this is the first time I've seen myself playing with Duke; quite an eye opener. Got lots of good footage, and several out takes. Duke was fantastic, but after a couple of hours, the rebel clown in him came out. Playful guy that one...with a twist of naughtiness. The look on both our faces at the end is priceless. Oh my Dukey horse, he keeps me on my toes...always thinking! He's waaaay too smart and I'm way too slow. After this, he earned the nickname RC, for Rebel Clown. We started indoors, and worked through the skills/games, but after a couple of hours Duke started making up his own games. During the squeeze game between me and a barrel, he made it clear he wanted to play dominate the barrel, so we moved outside, ending up in the parking lot with two chairs. Here are the out takes and the reason why I affectionately call Duke my Rebel Clown.

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

My dad would always ask me if I had whenever he hadn't heard from me in awhile, cos he was certain I had fallen off.

Truth is I returned home from the Parelli Celebration completely and totally inspired. The Celebration was excellent, it exceeded my expectations. We laughed...we cried...and Sam really enjoyed himself. He went back to work and when asked about it, Sam summed it up by saying "Anyone who is thinking of having children should attend a Parelli event and learn about the program. It's not just about horses."

I whole-heartedly agree. Parelli = love, language and leadership...in equal doses.

Duke and I have been playing and working on passing our Level 1 skill tests. Our relationship is evolving every day and Duke is slowly revealing himself to me. That's one thing I've learned in recent months...when it comes to Duke I have to take things real slow.

More later...I promise. With videos of us playing.


Keep it natural!

Ahhhh, finally spring has arrived

What a week this has been! Mostly good, packed with duties and desires, and lots of out of the ordinary activities.

But first, in one of my previous entries I think I may have given the impression that Duke is traveling to Reno with me, but he is not. When I asked should we, I was contemplating a purchase option between regular tickets priced under $100 a piece, or Gold Savvy Club tickets loaded with lots of benefits but priced at $350 a piece; after thinking it over for several weeks, I decided on Gold. :) Why not?

Last Saturday I had 3 ton of hay delivered after finding a local farmer selling his hay at a very competive price, $150 a ton, delivered from his farm 70 miles away. I've been buying hay from a local feed store at $9 a bale...thats $297 a ton!!! The average weight of a bale of grass hay is 55 pounds, Duke eats about 18 pounds a day so one bale lasts about 3 days. I can get a half a ton of hay in Duke's tack room, but lacking a place to store a ton or more limited my feed options to the local supplier. When I learned the owners of the boarding facility allow us to use unoccupied box stalls in one of the arenas for hay storage, at no extra cost, I jumped on it!! Then I found the farmers ad, gave him a call and after a few weather delays (snow...in April...whaaaa?) finally got Duke's hay delivered. Now instead of paying $9 a bale, I paid $3.94 a bale. And this supply should last about 10 months.

Not having to haul hay for almost a year is a huge bonus for Sam, as he has hay fever...or maybe that should be suffers from hay fever. Bad...real bad. Love knows no boundaries like that of a man who willingly hauls and stacks hay for his woman, hay fever and all; he steps up every time, without hesitation. No complaints, barring the sound of sneezing and nose blowing.

Duke and I have finally started cantering, or should I say I finally found the bravery to canter Duke. Fear has kept us at a walk and trot up to now. The third time I rode Duke last year I was nervous and kept him on a very tight rein, which he responded to by breaking gait into a trot, especially when pointed toward the gate of the outdoor arena. I kept pulling on his mouth and doing everything wrong, until finally he decided he had enough and he bolted into a gallop. I kept my seat (somehow!) and stopped him with a gentle one rein stop. Right then I decided I wasn't getting off just yet, I needed to stay with him and work on the relationship. After that ride, he didn't bolt again, but the question of would he do it often entered my mind. That's when I realized it was time to sharpen not only my riding skills, but my equine psychology skills as well. That decision proved to further enhance my relationship with Duke as I learn to better understand the nature of his complicated mind.


At times I can't believe I used to canter and gallop horses all the time as a teen, back then I only knew two gaits, walk and canter. I rarely trotted a horse (too jarring!). In late March, Duke and I took the plunge and cantered (aka loped) a short but controlled circle for the first time. We've done it several times since and each time we improve our balance a bit; he getting used to cantering with my weight and the tack, and me getting my mind and body in sync with his. I never realized how much is going on during a canter, as a kid I just did it. I have since learned better!

Duke play races with a young colt in an adjacent pasture. Notice how they mirror each other?

When we canter, my favorite part is the rocking horse feel of Duke beneath me. Then there's that split second moment when I first ask him to go into the canter; when I feel him making that first stride I also feel my heart stop momentarily as he shifts his weight in order to lift his front legs and then reach under his belly with his hind legs. It is such a thrill! But we only canter after we properly warm up, spending the first 15 minutes of our ride at a walk reviewing cues and aides, then on to a nice soft jog (trot) for a few minutes. Then, if we are in tune with one another, and Duke is listening to my leg cues and responding to my hands, we will go into a short canter for about a minute. We're taking baby steps here, working to build up Duke's body condition and my riding skills. Slowly we are working toward the goal of total collection (mental as well as physical). He's such a patient and forgiving teacher.

On Sunday, Duke and I embarked on our first riding adventure of the year outside the confines of the arenas. We participated in the annual Sheriff's Mounted Posse Poker Run at Hell's Gate State Park on the Snake River. I've been wanting to get Duke on a trail ride since I brought him home, but again the fear kept me back. Riding him at the cabin last Labor Day was a huge step for us, and that went so well, I was never scared or fearful that he would spook or bolt on me.

Our trail partners Sunday, Ember with Leigh Ann up, Martina with Cary up (hidden) and Elvira with Barb up. I need to remember to hand my camera to other people so I get in a few photos when I'm on Duke.

200 riders turned out with their horses and trailers for the ride. There's a lot of money tied up down there.

On our trail ride Sunday at Hell's Gate Duke took very good care of me. He was in his element and loved the trails! He steps right out and sets a nice easy pace; the only trouble I had with him is he wants to be the leader and out in front, at all times. I few times I put him behind the other three horses we were with, and he wanted to pass them every time; at one time he saw some horses ahead of us and for a moment I thought perhaps he'd try to get a head of them. Fortunately he didn't, because the three in our group were having a time keeping up with him. We had to stop, circle back, slow down (ha!) many times to allow them to catch up. Duke didn't like waiting for the other horses, until we hit a very steep, deep sand hill and he had to stop halfway up to momentarily 'blow' (catch his breath). All in all we had a great ride and a wonderful day, and I can't wait for our next trek to Hell's Gate SP. The only bad thing that happened is I lost my watch; we back tracked most of the way we came, but never saw it. Oh well, I had been thinking about getting a new one anyway.

Untacking Duke after the ride. The weather was perfect, an exceptional day! Like my new Aussie hat? It's an early birthday present from Sam, that I found at a recent Back Country Horse event.

Riders returning from a day on the trails.

I'm a huge fan of George Strait and I have most of his CD's from 1989 on. I love his new song 'Troubadour.' Click this link to watch the video. ->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aca3s7l_Db0

Of building bridges and dreams...

Duke and I after playing in the arena for over two hours last Saturday.

For months I pondered it. Could we? Would we? Should we? Oh gawd I'd love to! I want to!

So I decided to do it. The other day I bought two tickets to the Parelli Celebration coming to Reno in May. I'm so happy I'm dancing inside!!! Woooooo hooooooooooooo weeeeeeeee! Even Sam is excited about the prospect of spending three days with Pat and Linda Parelli.

I know it may be hard for someone to understand what this really means to me, so I can summarize it by saying if not for Parelli Natural Horsemanship, I would not be enjoying the relationship I have with Duke. Pat and Linda made it all possible. It could easily have gone the other way, my dream could have died, and I'd be yet another first time horse owner who got frustrated and gave up because she didn't know what to do and when to do it. I came close, but chose instead to patiently persist in the proper position. :) They gave me the tools I needed to build my bridge from dream to reality.

And what a beautiful bridge it is...

Let the countdown to the celebration begin!!!!



Here's a teaser of what's in store...from the 2008 USA tour.

Fancy footwork...

Yesterday I realized something, it's been 8 months since Duke came into my life; notice how much my journal entries have dropped? And I can say with certainty that he has certain traits and characteristics. He is very complex, like me, so in that way we relate to each other. He can go from being soft and obedient to bracy and disobedient in a heartbeat. He's always thinking, very mouthy, confident, naughty, dominant, and playful. He keeps me on my toes and teaches me something new everyday; he is an awesome teacher.

What has he taught me?

• To be patient, again
• To relax and not be such a direct line thinker
• To be as gentle as possible but as firm as necessary (assertiveness)
• To say "Oh boy!" instead of "Oh no!"
• The fine art of moseying
• Leadership

I could go on, because it's something new every day.
Thankfully for me he's also patient...most of the time. And one other thing I've learned is he gets bored with arenas. Bored! Bored! Bored! This time of year we have to stay inside, in the arena to play, whether on the ground, or in the saddle. I love playing on the ground with Duke. I love riding too! But the ground work is so important. If you don't have respect on the ground, you won't get it in the saddle.
The other day I was playing with Duke and had one of those moments...a moment where I was able to work my way through a situation with him. To keep him engaged in the activity, I have to be provocative and mix things up. Repetition isn't his thing. When learning something new, once he gets it, move on.

So, this time I decided to get out some barrels and ground poles; two and three, respectively. The barrels to play a 'squeeze' game to help both of us become more comfortable with trailer loading, and the poles to keep Duke's mind engaged during the 'circle' game we play. I thought, if he has to think about where he's putting his feet, he won't be so bored with circling. Additionally, lately I've noticed him tripping over his feet, even though we pulled his shoes and trimmed his hooves on January 5th. Could be laziness or boredom, but I thought perhaps an exercise in moving over an object, and having to pick up his feet, would be useful and beneficial.

I set the two barrels on end about three feet apart, and the poles off to the side in a V pattern, but with the extra pole in the middle. We played on-line (on the ground with a halter and lead rope) with the barrels, backing Duke in between, which is difficult for him because he's not confident with objects behind him. From there I sent him forward into a circle, using the barrels as obstacles in his path to keep him from getting bored with the mindless act of going around and around and around in an endless circle. At a walk then a trot, we went around one barrel, then between the two, then out away from the barrels, then back around one, change direction, and go the opposite direction. My timing was off several times and the lead rope hung up on the barrel causing Duke to stop when he felt the pressure, so I need to work on that. I get so into watching his movement that I often forget I have a lead rope in my hand.

Then we moved over to the poles, starting Duke off at a slow walk first so he could negotiate the placement of the poles. Immediately Duke offered to trot. The first two circles he completely avoided the poles, first skirting around the outside, then skirting the inside toward me. Oh boy! The third time I positioned myself properly putting Duke right over the poles. Going over he hit them with his hooves and stepped on them, knocking them around while tripping and losing his balance...and his confidence. He genuinely looked frustrated and very sour. So we went off to other games...touch it, sideways, porcupine...all things he knew giving him time to gain back his confidence and me time to think of a different strategy for him. Then I had a thought...what if I went over the poles with him, both ways, so we do the exercise together? Back to the poles we went, walking together this way over them, and then back in the other direction. I gave him a moment to think before I took up my position and I sent him over the poles again. First at a nice calm walk, then Duke offered to trot and this time I watched as he crossed over the poles, placing his feet perfectly between each pole, never hitting or tripping as he moved. He looked like he was prancing...so beautiful!!! As soon as he finished his expression changed to excitment as he happily trotted right to me, licking his lips, ears forward, attentive and ready. If he could talk he might have said, "Wow! That was fun!" Considering our past experiences with poles at a trot always resulted in him clumsily striking them and tripping, this moment was a major breakthrough.

And with that, we called it a day.

I've also learned to end our sessions on a positive note. We'll both remember that next time.

The journey continues...

Duke's Snow Day

We got more snow on Friday and it's snowing now. Our tree farm is doing okay, sales are down from the past, but we know it's because of the economy.

Sam was sick this week, on Wednesday and Thursday. He's doing better today but there for awhile he was just miserable. It's one of the hazards of having a tree farm; we stand outside for hours in the bitter cold, or somedays we spend our time going in and out of the house, going in and out of the cold air really hammers on a person's body.

I love the snow, not so crazy about the cold or driving in the snow; too many crazy drivers out there. Getting out to see Duke every day is a challenge; the road closest to my house is a steep, winding hill outside of the city limits and low on the counties priority list (it now looks like the street I live on, pic below), so to be on the safe side I go the long way. It's an extra 6 miles out of my way, but the roads are maintained and pretty bare. Yesterday when I went to feed Duke and clean his stall my fingertips and toes were so cold I couldn't feel them, and I was layered in clothing. Had my CuddlDuds on (thermal under garments), jeans, turtleneck, sweatshirt, winter coveralls, a Pacific Trail coat, two layers of gloves (knit and ski but not too tight), and my heavy Columbia boots. In this cold we increase the amount of hay we feed to help the horses generate enough body heat to keep warm. I'm keeping track of his weight to ensure he doesn't gain too much and prevent another laminitis event.

Friday when I took him out for a little walk in the snow Duke's energy came up and I could tell he wanted to play. I thought about turning him loose in the outdoor arena, but hestitated because of the ice and concern about him getting all worked up and breathing in too much cold air. Yesterday, I decided to stop worrying so much and I turned him loose. I thought maybe he'd roll around, trot some, canter a bit, but I never thought he'd do what he did!!! And here I was worried that all that extra hay I'm feeding him would make him heavier.




Apparently he's feeling pretty light on his feet. :) I just hope he never does that when I'm in the saddle! :O

Pre-winter whinney

Brrr, it's getting a bit chilly out there. Tuesday it was 2 degrees, right now it's snowing. Duke has quite the winter coat...he looks like a big plushy toy.

But he still enjoys his daily roll, mud and all.

Pre-snow rolling, of course.

Last week during his daily turn out he engaged in a little friendly game of sparing with another gelding.






Mr. Tough Guy. Ears pinned, nostrils flared, seriously mean look. "Back off!" He looks very serious, but this is all what makes horses who and what they are. Everything they do is driven by order, establishing a hierarchy...a pecking order. In a herd of two or more, there can only be one leader.




When I'm around, when it's just me and Duke, I'm the leader. It's taken me months to earn Duke's trust. Every day he tests me because horses vote for their leader every day. Every day he checks to see if I'm paying attention, if I'll let him get away with this little thing or that. He's teaching me a lot.



And when I watch him interact with another horse, I've observed something interesting. The dominance games he used to play on me are now directed at other horses.



Another gelding checks out the scene.

Keeping it real

Between my new job and Duke, my daily schedule has stretched my time. I used to work 8 - 5 Monday to Friday and my evenings were always open, usually spent here on my computer. Now I work 7 - 5 Monday to Thursday, then 8 - Noon on Fridays (love that!). After work I change into my horsey clothes and devote the next two hours to Duke (cleaning his stall and playing with him). Most evenings by the time I get home it's 8 or 8:30, I eat a bite for dinner and then it's time for bed.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Before I got Duke I truly thought I'd done all my homework about horse ownership. Oh boy, was I in for a major shift in my thinking. There is sooooo much I don't know.

Duke is no ordinary horse and he has issues, having spent the last five years of his life as a pasture pet and basically allowed to do whatever he wanted, when he wanted. On the ground he was disrespectful of my space, pushy, dominant, willful and greeted me with pinned ears and hard eyes. In the saddle he pushed through the bit, wouldn't stop or listen to my leg cues, was bracey, and definitely had more go than whoa. On the other hand, he is calm, smart, gentle, friendly and very curious.

In May I became a student of the Parelli Natural HorseManShip teachings. I'm currently studying Level 1 (Partnership) and on the brink of beginning Level 2 (Harmony). When I'm ready, my goal is to have my Level 1 skills assessed by a professional; I've learned this can be done by video and YouTube is an excellent outlet for these assessments. It's a bit scary but it's what I want to do.

The relationship I now have with Duke is due in large part to what I've learned from Parelli. At the stable there are always people ready to hand out advise, but I've learned to filter most of it away from me. At one point I had to bring in a professional trainer to address three critical short comings in Duke's training: trailering, backing/stopping, and pulling back when tied. She was a huge help and much better prepared to deal with these areas than I.

From Duke I am gaining valuable insight into the horse. Man I thought I knew horses, but I didn't know nothing. And you can't fake it with horses, they will see right through any bluff or pretense. They keep things real. Very real.

The journey continues...

Music for the video is "In Your Shoes" written and performed by Katie Drake (niece of Pat Parelli)