March 19, 2012

Those tight lips and glassy eyes are gone. I was just looking at his picture at the kill pen, and saw how very worried he was. Tonight I sat on the big, round bale while he snuggled up close and munched his way through. I softly whispered, (he stopped eating, turned and listened)..."you'll never have to be hungry again. You'll always have as much as you want, your own herd, and green pastures. You'll always know love". He sniffed me from the top of my head, all the way down to my boots, and then back to my face, and lingered there. It's a love affair, really. I'm not sure if it's me feeling something, him, or there just isn't a line anymore. Same with Ecipse and Bit. I can feel the pull of the herd, how powerful it is. If I go somewhere else, I'm thinking about the horses, and wishing I was there. When I'm with one or all of them, I feel safety, comfort and joy. Dare say, I am herd bound.
Guess I will be taking all three horses down to Wichita to work cattle. Not Shaun, but he'll be along for the adventure. Maybe David can help me with him a bit. David studied with Ray Hunt an is a remarkable horseman...hell of a guy, too. I really love this horse.

It's summer

We hit 80 degrees today, which doesn't mean it can't snow at any time. For now, we are in full blown spring, flowers are blooming and pasture is starting to look scary green. Scary in that the sugar levels are going up, which can mean founder. Have pulled the herd off the big pasture in hopes that they will remain healthy and be able to maintain their nice, thin waistlines. Shaun looks good, but he does not need to gain any weight.
April 7th is coming up fast. It will be the first clinic that Shaun and I will go to together and hopefully it'll mark the official start of our riding. Or......I'll go really, really, fast and may set a new land speed record. :)

March 2012

We will be heading for our first clinic, Shaun and I. If we can get him loaded into the trailer. Tony and Jenny Vought will be putting on a young horse handling/ground work clinic for horses that need starting or restarting. That would be Shaun. It will be the first of his many encounters with Tony and Jenny. I may take all three horses to the five day horsemanship clinic at the end of the month. They all need a tune up.
He is comfortable being a horse, his feet are looking much better thanks to a great supplement, Formula 4 Feet. He is shiny, and healthy and has figured out his horsey behavior within the herd. It's still a bit funny to watch my 13 hh quarter horse, Bit push him around. Eclipse, my mft mare is a little more patient with him. Funny, when Ecilpse leaves with me, my lead mare, Shaun takes over lead horse position until we get back. Bit is a follower, and does not like the lead mare job. She's bossy, but she's not that confident. Shuan takes the job quite seriously. All he needs is a pocket protector and some nerdy glasses. I'm thinking he'll be that kind of ride, too. Yes, I plan on riding this big boy. A saddle may be the biggest challenge. His withers are so high, I'm not sure what kind of western saddle will work.

the winter that wasn't

It's Feb, which is always my most unfavorite month. Ugly cold, snow, and horses see me briefly for feeding, water and to check for boo boo's. I'm no whimp, but it's dang cold here in Feb. Cold enough to loose all feeling in hands and feet in a very short amount of time. You keep it short and sweet, just so you can make it back to the house before you die of exposure.
I've heard Kansas can have mild winters, but this winter has been blissfully warm. 40's and 50's, and perfectly rideable. No, Shaun has not been getting any saddle time, but he has been getting some ground work and lots of company. He's one fuzzy dude, and will sweat like crazy when he starts playing. You can watch the steam rise off his back in the morning. Tb's truly are a hot breed, and they eat a lot! He consumes twice what my mares do, and in the same amount of time! Fortunately, it's been so warm, there is plenty of grazing to be had, so not a lot of hay eaten. His feet are looking good, and he's holding weight well. He's moving better, more symetrical. Both sides moving the same, nice trot and his canter is looking better. I think this last nine months of pasture therapy has done him a world of good. Having two mares to hang with, well...he's a patient horse.

pretty ears!

It's been a journey, getting Shaun to relax at feeding time. Asking him to go to a certain place, wait, and then put those ears up, instead of pinning them at me. Oh, maybe not AT me, but they were pinned. Hard to change old habits. Sure has taught me about release and timing. It's taught me how important timing is, and how bad I am at it. You have to release as the horse decides to do what you are asking, which happens before the horse does what you want. He is teaching me how to be as soft as possible, to ask with a whisper, and celebrate those small steps quietly...together.

Jan, 2012

It's been a pretty mild winter, considering we've had some brutally cold one's in the past. Yes, there have been cold days, but mostly 40's and 50's. That's not bad. Snowed last night, ugly storm, but snow is mostly melted off this afternoon. Had to put metal shoes back on Shaun because Epona's would not stay on. He tends to spin on his front foot, which torks the shoe and rips it off, doing some damage to the already flakey hoof wall. This time, Eli put snow pads on with the metal shoes, and Shaunie seems to be doing fine.
Ottb's typically have bad ground manners. Now, the horses I worked with at the track and training center had very good ground manners. Depends on the trainer, I guess. As long as the horse is winning, he can do whatever he wants. Attempts (usually never follows through) to bite, kick and other wise maime are tolerated by the grooms who just keep doing what they need to do. Ottb's really do want to please, but like children without boundaries, they appear to be difficult. They are not, and are lovely horses, once they know how to be. They want to be calm and happy. When Shaun arrived, he was pretty fussy about just about everything. Don't pick up my feet, don't move my feet, and don't touch me, either. I can see how a human might get a bit frustrated and give up. Course, that wasn't going to work for me, so we've been working on that.
He's now pretty fluent in "horse". He didn't even know how to greet another horse. This human had to teach him. He likes "saying hello" a lot now. He's fine with picking up his feet, and is learning to give "pretty ears" when it's feeding time. Pinned ears do not earn you breakfast. They delay it, and it gets cold. Giving to me, getting those ears forward, transfers right to the saddle. I'm asking for softness, and he's learning that softness feels good.
Instead of frantically running everywhere, the mares are teaching him to mosey. Oh, he'll still kick up his heels and race around, but it's playing and not because he's afraid or worried. This spring I'll be taking him down to Tony and Jenny Vought's to be restarted. They are amazing trainers, their horses lining up, competing to be chosen to be played with and ridden. I'm going to pack up all three horses and go spend some time down there. He won't go alone, his herd is coming too.

winter 2011/12

Shaun is about as fuzzy as a horse gets. Twice the hair of my mares, and of course we are having a very warm winter for Kansas. 60 the next two days, and the poor guy breaks into a sweat if he gets out and moves around. Has a scratch on his butt when he hit Kansas mud and took a slider across the pasture, all four feet in the air. Kansas mud can be the slipperiest stuff on the planet. He's learned "go to your spot" and will immediately turn, go and wait at his spot for meals. Smart boy! He's loving his life, I think. Lots of room, freedom (as much as I can give him with a 40 acre fence line) and a herd to follow. His feet are growing well, and he's doing real well in the epona shoes. My mare, Bit is always spotless with nary a mud bit on her. Shaun? His new name is mud muffin. I can't believe how dirty he gets. When I saw him in the kill pen, he was very muddy. Now I realize, he just likes it that way. He was very thin, but the mud was his idea.
He's put on an amazing amount of weight, and muscle. He looks good, is moving well, and I think he's going to be ok. The only issue is his choke, which I manage by soaking his food WELL. It takes him a lot longer to eat, and I think he feels satisfied. Always first to greet me in the pasture, and walks with me up to the tack room to feed. Hope to be riding him this summer.