Obviously, I haven't been writing, but that doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything. After the South Dakota ride in June 2009, we went camping in August, in the Medicine Bows, southern Wyoming with two other couples and their Tennessee Walkers. We had a great time, a couple of challenging rides (for me) and Tim did some workouts separating Brego & Strider, by leaving one tied to the trailer while taking the other one away. Everything helps, but we are still working on Brego's separation issues.
The first week of September was the Fort Robinson APHA ride again. We felt that Brego & I weren't ready to tackle being separated from Tim & Strider, so we left Brego home and I rode Cody for the week. Although I was sad to leave Brego, I was glad to feel very comfortable and relaxed on Cody, and even entered a trail trial team competition. My team won the beginner category. Good for Cody!
Brego still gets a bit freaked out if the other horses leave him behind, and gets nutty trying to catch up. One day when we were out at Smith Lake, Tim and another friend on Cody went ahead. I kept Brego back for a bit, but when I let him catch up he took off running faster than I've ever gone, got quite bouncy, and I couldn't slow him down. He seemed like he was going to run right into Strider & Cody, then stopped so fast I fell off. I was prepared and rolled off, so it wasn't too bad for me, and fortunately I didn't get stepped on. This did rattle my confidence a bit. Since then we've practiced cantering and stopping, and I'm gaining in confidence. Tim has also begun to help me with cantering and learning to get Brego into the correct lead, which is helping me feel much more comfortable riding the canter as well. Next time he takes off, perhaps I'll do better.
In March we attended some clinics at the Rocky Mtn. Horse Expo in Denver with Moses Woodson, who specializes in gaited horses. He was teaching some ground and saddle work to help strengthen their hindquarters, get them more collected, and smooth out their gait. We've begun to do some of these exercises with Brego & Strider, and hopefully they'll ride more smoothly. I'm sure just the time spent with me and Brego continues to give us a better partnership.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
South Dakota
We went on our first group trail ride of the summer, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was fun to see a lot of the same people from last year, beautiful scenery and some fun and challenging rides. We had our friend, Misha, with us to ride Cody, and we enjoyed having him along. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of rain, and between the rain and the mud it produced, conditions were not so nice.
It was raining when we arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and the stalls we were given for the horses were deep with sloppy, black mud. The campground did the best they could to improve the muddy road by covering it with gravel on Thursday, and that helped tremendously, but the stalls remained muddy.
There was a break in the rain and we were able to ride with a small group on Thursday morning. I got a taste of Brego's need to stay near Strider and away from other horses. Other than that, he was my champ, tromping right through mud and puddles. It rained all that afternoon, and we stayed in the trailer and napped.
Friday morning was beautiful. We went for a morning ride with a small group again. At one point, Tim was descending a steep incline and Strider got his rear foot stuck under a rock and went down--he just kind of sat. Tim got up, and Strider remained seated until Tim asked him to get up calmly, which was nice--good thing he didn't freak out and struggle with Tim's foot in the stirrup. Strider is fine--no injury.
The ride officially began with an afternoon group ride. The weather remained clear and was nice--not too hot, not too cold. I experienced more of Brego's interaction with other horses, which would be my challenge for the duration. Whenever Tim went off to the side or ahead of the line on Strider, it wasn't long before Brego had to follow. At times he would break into a canter, just worried that he was being left behind, I suppose. I found that as long as we were single file, with Strider either in front or behind, we were fine, but getting bunched up in a group of horses was uncomfortable for him (and therefore, for me). Eventually I knew I would have a problem, and followed Tim as soon as he veered away from the group. It was funny that at times Brego would freak out and try to canter to catch up, even though Strider was only a short distance ahead. We weren't sure if Brego was trying to get to his alpha, Strider, or his other alpha, Tim. At any rate, we will need to work on this.
The other challenge with Brego was to keep him a safe distance from the horse in front of him in line. When we followed Strider, he kept getting so close that Strider kicked at him 3-4 times. That should have taught him, but didn't seem to do the trick. He did stay farther behind Strider some of the time, but without as much distance as I would have liked. With any horse in front, I had to keep trying to slow him down, constantly, and it was ineffective. It was the worst on Saturday on the way home, downhill. At times the hills were very steep, Brego had his momentum going and I could understand him running into the front horse, but we need to learn to avoid that. Tim was also having similar difficulty with Strider--constantly pulling him back from the horse in front, which was usually me.
Saturday's ride was beautiful, and we made it to the top of Custer Peak, at about 6800 feet. We climbed about 1500 feet in about 7-8 miles, then back down again. Most of the ride was cross-country with little or no trail. It only rained a little, but the ground was still quite soaked. There were a couple of boggy areas we had to get the horses through, and Brego's butt was quite muddy from the soggy stuff being kicked up (along with everyone else's horses). The people in the back of the line complained that the trail was so trashed by the time they got there, that on some of the steep downhills their horses were basically sitting in the muck and sliding down. I'm glad we stayed near the front. We had to do a lot of waiting for the back of the line to catch up, on both the uphill and downhill slopes. The view at the top was beautiful, and Tim got shots of several people, but we didn't manage to hand the camera to someone to take our picture. Tim did get one of me with Brego at the top. Misha did great on Cody, and was like an old pro by the end. Everyone enjoyed Misha and complemented him on doing so well. Of course, he was on Cody! Cody was pretty sore by the end of Saturday's ride, and Tim felt badly that we hadn't conditioned him enough prior to the trip.
The weekend was nice in some ways, challenging in others. It was nice to see everyone, but with the rain and cold, we didn't spend near as much time outside talking with them. It wasn't as much fun as last year or as I had anticipated for this year. It poured during the night and early Sunday morning. The weather forecast for Sunday was for severe afternoon thundershowers, we wanted to let Cody rest, and we saw no point in staying any longer in the rain and mud. We skipped the Sunday morning ride and left around noon. Many people had already left, some as early as 4-5 am.
On the drive home we saw a beautiful double rainbow in Wyoming that was full and bright, and stayed with us for several miles. We enjoyed cleaning up and doing chores around the house on Monday, and Misha left in the afternoon.
It was raining when we arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and the stalls we were given for the horses were deep with sloppy, black mud. The campground did the best they could to improve the muddy road by covering it with gravel on Thursday, and that helped tremendously, but the stalls remained muddy.
There was a break in the rain and we were able to ride with a small group on Thursday morning. I got a taste of Brego's need to stay near Strider and away from other horses. Other than that, he was my champ, tromping right through mud and puddles. It rained all that afternoon, and we stayed in the trailer and napped.
Friday morning was beautiful. We went for a morning ride with a small group again. At one point, Tim was descending a steep incline and Strider got his rear foot stuck under a rock and went down--he just kind of sat. Tim got up, and Strider remained seated until Tim asked him to get up calmly, which was nice--good thing he didn't freak out and struggle with Tim's foot in the stirrup. Strider is fine--no injury.
The ride officially began with an afternoon group ride. The weather remained clear and was nice--not too hot, not too cold. I experienced more of Brego's interaction with other horses, which would be my challenge for the duration. Whenever Tim went off to the side or ahead of the line on Strider, it wasn't long before Brego had to follow. At times he would break into a canter, just worried that he was being left behind, I suppose. I found that as long as we were single file, with Strider either in front or behind, we were fine, but getting bunched up in a group of horses was uncomfortable for him (and therefore, for me). Eventually I knew I would have a problem, and followed Tim as soon as he veered away from the group. It was funny that at times Brego would freak out and try to canter to catch up, even though Strider was only a short distance ahead. We weren't sure if Brego was trying to get to his alpha, Strider, or his other alpha, Tim. At any rate, we will need to work on this.
The other challenge with Brego was to keep him a safe distance from the horse in front of him in line. When we followed Strider, he kept getting so close that Strider kicked at him 3-4 times. That should have taught him, but didn't seem to do the trick. He did stay farther behind Strider some of the time, but without as much distance as I would have liked. With any horse in front, I had to keep trying to slow him down, constantly, and it was ineffective. It was the worst on Saturday on the way home, downhill. At times the hills were very steep, Brego had his momentum going and I could understand him running into the front horse, but we need to learn to avoid that. Tim was also having similar difficulty with Strider--constantly pulling him back from the horse in front, which was usually me.
Saturday's ride was beautiful, and we made it to the top of Custer Peak, at about 6800 feet. We climbed about 1500 feet in about 7-8 miles, then back down again. Most of the ride was cross-country with little or no trail. It only rained a little, but the ground was still quite soaked. There were a couple of boggy areas we had to get the horses through, and Brego's butt was quite muddy from the soggy stuff being kicked up (along with everyone else's horses). The people in the back of the line complained that the trail was so trashed by the time they got there, that on some of the steep downhills their horses were basically sitting in the muck and sliding down. I'm glad we stayed near the front. We had to do a lot of waiting for the back of the line to catch up, on both the uphill and downhill slopes. The view at the top was beautiful, and Tim got shots of several people, but we didn't manage to hand the camera to someone to take our picture. Tim did get one of me with Brego at the top. Misha did great on Cody, and was like an old pro by the end. Everyone enjoyed Misha and complemented him on doing so well. Of course, he was on Cody! Cody was pretty sore by the end of Saturday's ride, and Tim felt badly that we hadn't conditioned him enough prior to the trip.
The weekend was nice in some ways, challenging in others. It was nice to see everyone, but with the rain and cold, we didn't spend near as much time outside talking with them. It wasn't as much fun as last year or as I had anticipated for this year. It poured during the night and early Sunday morning. The weather forecast for Sunday was for severe afternoon thundershowers, we wanted to let Cody rest, and we saw no point in staying any longer in the rain and mud. We skipped the Sunday morning ride and left around noon. Many people had already left, some as early as 4-5 am.
On the drive home we saw a beautiful double rainbow in Wyoming that was full and bright, and stayed with us for several miles. We enjoyed cleaning up and doing chores around the house on Monday, and Misha left in the afternoon.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Frisky Brego
It was rainy today, and Brego was frisky, playing with Cody and Strider. Tim stepped out to get some shots. Here's a few:
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Brego is a Star!
Today we took Brego and Strider out to the North Fork of the Poudre River. It was beautiful, lush and green, with lots of wildflowers. I never managed to take out the camera, I just have "memory photos".
Brego was a star! He did great, I was relaxed with him, and we had a great time. There were several river crossings and Brego went through like no big deal. He kept up with Strider easily, and boy is that a switch from lagging behind and trotting on Cody to catch up all the time! Occasionally I lagged back a bit, but easily caught up by running in his foxtrot, and what a delight! It was definitely a more comfortable ride, between the smooth running walk and the slimmer saddle size. On a few long, gradual uphill grades we both gaited the horses, and that was nice. Brego likes going fast. I could tell his little legs were moving a lot faster than Strider's long ones, just to keep up, but he didn't seem to mind.
As we ate our lunch, we heard some thunder rumbling in the distance, so started back at a fairly good clip. There were a few times that Brego seemed a little out of control, and acting a little nutty/emotional, going faster than I'd asked and not slowing down when asked. Tim was experiencing similar things with Strider. I guess they were in "going home" mode. I practiced slowing him and calming him down. I realized at one point (after the fact), that perhaps when Brego was speeding up (and not looking where he was going) I may have been squeezing with my legs to hold on, and therefore giving him the mixed message to speed up, while trying to slow him with the reins. I'll have to watch out for that in the future. We both stopped a couple of times just to calm them down, and they got a lot better.
There were a few raindrops as we got nearer to the parking lot, and just as we reached the truck it began to rain more heavily. We got back just in time!
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful, successful ride. Brego is a great horse, and a great fit for me. I realized that he has really become my "partner", in the horse-partnership sense. (Tim is truly my partner in life!!)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Work and Planning
Oh, wow. The last post was in April! It's not that we haven't worked with Brego, we've just been very busy with our GARDEN and haven't given as much time to the horses. Now that the garden is planted and just being maintained, there's room to breathe and time to spend with the kids.
I guess I'm going to have to get a new photo of Brego. He's shed his winter coat and boy, oh boy, is he looking good!!
Brego is very cute--when I'm in the garden he usually comes and finds me there and stands outside the fence near me, just watching. I'm sure he's waiting for a pet, or better yet, a handful of grass, but it's awfully nice of him to keep me company.
I've been wanting to canter on him, but his canter is so uneven and he's a bit rocky just getting into it, and I've been hesitant. I told Tim recently that it would be good for me to canter Cody again, just to get used to the feel of it and feel more comfortable. Today I got on Cody, and starting in the round pen worked on trotting and cantering. Boy, it's been so long even since I've trotted! On Brego, I get into his foxtrot gait often, but he doesn't really trot much (so why bother?). Anyway, I got to feeling much more comfortable trotting, then cantering on Cody, then we went out to the pasture and cantered in the bigger space. I must say it was nice to ride Cody again--he turns when I ask him to, speeds up when I ask, stops when I ask...very nice. I've gotten accustomed to Brego's lack of respect. I need to be more consistently tough with Brego, to get him to respond when I ask!
Meanwhile, while I was on Cody, Tim worked with Brego on his canter (and other issues). Later, I got onto Brego in the round pen with Tim there (and Cody standing in the middle). I got him cantering several times and felt quite comfortable. Yahoo! I'm not experienced enough to notice, but Tim was pointing out that he often uses the wrong lead when circling to the left. So, we worked on turning his head in (to the left) when cantering toward the left, to get him into the left lead. Tim would have me canter a bit, then slow down, then canter again, and so on. We will need to work on this some more, but it was nice to feel successful.
Brego still is not as responsive on his left side--he doesn't turn as well that way, I've already mentioned he doesn't pick up the left lead, and he also doesn't flex to the left as well for lateral flexion exercise. He chews on the bit and resists for quite some time before giving in. We will continue to work on that, and some day I'll read this and remember what it used to be like.
Today the horses all got their shoes for the summer. We thought about leaving them shoeless, but after the last time they were trimmed, we took them out on the road, and they didn't seem to like the gravelly road. We don't know what all kinds of conditions we'll be in on our rides, so Tim decided to go ahead and get them shoed as usual.
We plan to work with them some more for a bit during the day tomorrow (Friday), then take them out for a ride on Saturday. Our first trail ride for the summer is coming up, June 12-14 in the Black Hills. We're looking forward to it, and gradually getting ready. This year we will be taking along Misha, the 15 year old son of some friends of ours, and he'll be able to ride Cody. It'll be nice to take all three horses along and not leave anyone home alone.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tim has been getting out the past couple of days to work with Brego a bit, warm him up and get him into a more energetic "working" mode, then I get on and follow up with some exercises Tim suggests. This has been working well. Tim has been doing a little groundwork with him, then getting on to work on his gait and also cantering him, to get him into a more relaxed canter.
So far, I've mostly been working on walking straight, speed changes and stopping. We've been "riding the rail" or rather, alongside the fence, to keep Brego going in a straight line. It's good practice both for Brego and me. For me, I'm practicing sitting relaxed in the saddle and holding the rein loosely with one hand. Brego still goes a bit crooked when we get off the fence and go across the pasture, but we're getting better. This is good. Today I was even successful at getting the back gate open while on Brego. Tim was going out back with the tractor, and went right by us with no worry on Brego's part. Later, I was in the barn with Brego, just about to let him out to the paddock when Tim came into the barn on the tractor. Brego didn't even twitch with the tractor running right next to him. The fact that I was giving him snacks at that moment may have helped, but he's a good boy!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Brego's wounds on his leg are getting better, and he does not seem to have any muscular problems due to the injury. It looks like the fence wire rubbed against his leg kind of like a "rope burn". There are a few open spots that are scabbed over, and some dead skin around those flaked off, but he is definitely mending nicely.
While we were still taking it easy with Brego, Tim and I took him out one day last week with the other horses--I rode Cody, Tim on Strider, ponying Brego alongside. It was nice to get out, and nice to ride good ole' Cody again, and Brego got to come along.
We got out to work with Brego (and Tim with Cody) a bit a couple of days ago, and as Tim observed the problems I was having with Brego, he realized he needs to work on some of the issues first with Brego, while I observe, then have me continue the process so I can learn, too. It's hard for me to think quickly enough how to correct Brego and get him to understand cues, which in my case are not as consistent as they should be. So, hopefully with Tim giving him more attention to teach him what the cues mean, then it will be easier for me to learn the cues and give them more consistently. Since I am still learning, I think it will be easier for ME to get the cues down if I'm on a horse that isn't misbehaving so much.
I am frustrated that I seem to have such difficulty catching on. There are so many things to remember all at once, that when I'm remembering one thing to do I don't realize I'm causing a problem in another way. For instance, if I'm leading his head to the left, I need to remember to release pressure from the right at the same time, or I'm confusing him with conflicting cues. Sometimes I'm so focused on the left hand I don't pay attention to what my right hand is doing.
I just need to be more observant of what the horse is doing, as well as other things going on all around, while at the same time thinking about what I'm doing with my entire body, all while being relaxed in the saddle.
Yesterday I was comparing this to my working years. As a waitress, or office administrator, I had no problem multi-tasking, thinking of several things at once and doing more than one thing at a time, while being aware of others and the environment around me. I don't know why I can't seem to do that on the horse (or at the end of his lead rope). I suppose it's because I'm working with a 1,000 pound creature who has a mind of his own, and who thinks differently than I do. I suppose it's a matter of time and consistency--I was a waitress and office administrator for a lot of years, after all!
This whole adventure is much more challenging than I ever imagined, and I'm afraid at times that I'm not going to get this. I'm sure I'm able, I'm hopeful that I'll "get it" and eventually laugh at the days I had such difficulty. Right now, it's frustrating, and I'm disappointed in my lack of progress.
Yesterday we practiced stopping and also getting him to go straight. He tends to veer off to the left or right, so Tim had me ride along the fence to get him to go straight and keep his speed more consistent, at a fast walk. It's strange how he veered so much to the right at one point (fence at left) that he ran himself right into the bushes, and after I straightened him out he did it again. He's done this with me before. Was he just not paying attention? Was he paying more attention to the bunnies, or the neighbors cows? Hmmm...anyway, we have lots of work to do! I'm glad Tim is planning to spend more time with me and Brego.
While we were still taking it easy with Brego, Tim and I took him out one day last week with the other horses--I rode Cody, Tim on Strider, ponying Brego alongside. It was nice to get out, and nice to ride good ole' Cody again, and Brego got to come along.
We got out to work with Brego (and Tim with Cody) a bit a couple of days ago, and as Tim observed the problems I was having with Brego, he realized he needs to work on some of the issues first with Brego, while I observe, then have me continue the process so I can learn, too. It's hard for me to think quickly enough how to correct Brego and get him to understand cues, which in my case are not as consistent as they should be. So, hopefully with Tim giving him more attention to teach him what the cues mean, then it will be easier for me to learn the cues and give them more consistently. Since I am still learning, I think it will be easier for ME to get the cues down if I'm on a horse that isn't misbehaving so much.
I am frustrated that I seem to have such difficulty catching on. There are so many things to remember all at once, that when I'm remembering one thing to do I don't realize I'm causing a problem in another way. For instance, if I'm leading his head to the left, I need to remember to release pressure from the right at the same time, or I'm confusing him with conflicting cues. Sometimes I'm so focused on the left hand I don't pay attention to what my right hand is doing.
I just need to be more observant of what the horse is doing, as well as other things going on all around, while at the same time thinking about what I'm doing with my entire body, all while being relaxed in the saddle.
Yesterday I was comparing this to my working years. As a waitress, or office administrator, I had no problem multi-tasking, thinking of several things at once and doing more than one thing at a time, while being aware of others and the environment around me. I don't know why I can't seem to do that on the horse (or at the end of his lead rope). I suppose it's because I'm working with a 1,000 pound creature who has a mind of his own, and who thinks differently than I do. I suppose it's a matter of time and consistency--I was a waitress and office administrator for a lot of years, after all!
This whole adventure is much more challenging than I ever imagined, and I'm afraid at times that I'm not going to get this. I'm sure I'm able, I'm hopeful that I'll "get it" and eventually laugh at the days I had such difficulty. Right now, it's frustrating, and I'm disappointed in my lack of progress.
Yesterday we practiced stopping and also getting him to go straight. He tends to veer off to the left or right, so Tim had me ride along the fence to get him to go straight and keep his speed more consistent, at a fast walk. It's strange how he veered so much to the right at one point (fence at left) that he ran himself right into the bushes, and after I straightened him out he did it again. He's done this with me before. Was he just not paying attention? Was he paying more attention to the bunnies, or the neighbors cows? Hmmm...anyway, we have lots of work to do! I'm glad Tim is planning to spend more time with me and Brego.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Owie!
Brego's got an owie. :( Perhaps I'll take a picture and post it later. When Tim looked out the window this morning, he hollered, "Oh, Laurie, your horse is in the neighbor's pasture..." Somehow he was on the wrong side of the fence! Tim got out quickly to get him, looked him over, and by that time I was dressed and looking out the window. Tim saw me and gave me the "phone" sign. I got out there with the phone, but as he was walking towards the neighbor's gate, he asked me to call the vet. Yikes! I didn't know what was wrong, but Brego didn't seem to be limping badly. I had to wait until Tim got back with him.
Brego has some cuts on his leg, a large tear in the skin near the stifle, and it was swollen. The vet came out and cleaned it up, felt of it, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong but the wound (no muscular or bone problems). He gave us some meds and instructions to put hot packs on it twice a day and some goopy ointment to keep the swelling down. He should be fine.
Tim looked along the fence to see if he could find how Brego got through. There is a spot with some reddish fur on the top wire, and fresh blood on the other side. Brego must have somehow gotten tangled up in it and went either through or over it. He must have struggled a bit to get out. Ya gotta wonder what these silly horses are doing in the middle of the night! I think mine must be accident-prone.
We've got him in a small pen to keep him from being chased around by the other horses, but he does need some exercise, so today I took him out for a couple of walks and so did Tim. Each time he was a bit stiff at first, but loosened up as we walked. We'll keep doing that for a few days until he's well on the way to recovery. Hopefully he'll be fine soon!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Pawnee Buttes Photos
I got some of Ed's photos of our ride to Pawnee Buttes! I've noticed that in Firefox, the photos are a bit skewed, and I can't figure out how to fix them. Try IE or Google Chrome.
The End!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Pawnee Buttes
Yesterday we went out to ride at the Pawnee Buttes, about an hour & a half east of us in the middle of nowhere. Our friends Carolyn & Ed went with us, and Ed was able to ride Cody, so it was nice to be able to take all three of our horses.It was 70ish, warm, sunny, and not very windy at all. The area is known for being very windy, and very hot (summer) or very cold (winter), so this was PERFECT. It was very dry out there in the desert. Interesting place, with these buttes that pop up out of the flat plain.
Brego did great. I was a little nervous at times, as we had to go down into and up the other side of many little canyons, or "arroyos". I wish I had taken some photos of them, but we were a little busy hanging onto our horses. (I found some photos online which you can see HERE or THERE.) Going up and down these things, Tim was careful to lead us to a safe place, then slowly take Strider a few steps and stop, so the rest of our horses wouldn't be tempted to bolt through, either down or up these arroyos. At one point we rode right through these passages with walls on both sides of us, like we were in a maze. I was just worried we would get to a spot where there was no way out. A couple of times Tim went up a dead end, and we had to back the horses up a bit. Good thing I've practiced backing up between tight spaces! Brego did great. I honestly got a little tired of coming up to another arroyo after another, and began to feel, "Oh, no, not another one!", wishing it would be over. I think Carolyn agreed, but the guys were having a great time. We survived, and had a great day.
At one time Tim and I were off the horses, leading them to stretch our legs, when there was a particularly steep spot. I was trying to traverse this little ridge with very flaky rock that crumbled easily, leading Brego along. He didn't seem to like it any more than I did. I was slipping, he began to slip, and I had to let go. Brego slid down the bank on his feet backwards, but he was not freaked out and at the bottom he just stood there until Tim got down to get him before he got tangled in his reins.
I know the challenge is good for me, and I learned a lot, particularly that Brego is a reliable, confident horse. He did wonderfully with the challenges, even tight squeezy spots and steep inclines on crumbly rock.
On the way home we planned to stop in a little town, Ault, to eat at the "Bison Breath Saloon". When we got there it was closed, which was fine: it looked kind of dumpy. We came back to Wellington and ate at Beauregard's, which was delicious.
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