I realized today that I hadn't ridden Dawn since the kids came up at Thanksgiving. Partly that is because Dash is my first love so I usually ride her just because I enjoy her so much. Partly it is because Dawn is a pig and likes to roll in mud so it's faster to tack Dash up because I don't have to do so much cleaning. And partly it's because Dawn occasionally has attitude and most of the time I don't want to deal with attitude, although truth be told she seems to have outgrown most of it anyway.
Dawn usually goes on the tough rides, the posse rides, and the posse training ride, however, and this weekend we are having a mock search. So I need to ride her because she usually settles down if she's ridden three days in a row. So that's my goal for this week, to ride Dawn every day.
So I went out about 3:30 and put the other two away and led Dawn to the tack room. She wasn't as filthy as she was right after the last rain so it didn't take that long to brush off the mud and put on a saddle. I took her into the round pen to settle her down and she immediately began tearing around, which is what she normally does when I first bring her into the round pen.
I let her run, then started controlling her. In about five minutes I was able to bring her down to a trot and walk on command, then back up to a more restrained canter. Many reversals of direction were done to further engage the "thinking side of her brain" as the horse whisperers call it. Finally I slipped on a bridle and got on her and rode her a bit at the walk and trot but only in the round pen.
She did fine. She's really wonderfully responsive, even more so than Dash, and I started working her on collection a little bit. I'm planning to start taking some dressage lessons soon and I'm debating about using a lesson horse or maybe trying to do it on Dawn. But she's a long way from collecting on command so I'll probably take the lessons on the trainer's horse and try to teach Dawn some of it on my own time once I start getting the hang of some of it.
But it was good to get back on her again. And I need to be sure, now that tax season has arrived, to give Dawn her turn in the rotation and not just ride Dash all the time because it's quicker. The more Dawn is ridden, the better she gets. I say all the time that she's actually the better horse. But Dash is the one I love, so unfortunately for second-born Dawn, she's still second choice for my pleasant evening rides.
Until the going gets tough. Then she's #1.
I think sometimes about selling her to someone for whom SHE will be #1 all the time, but I enjoy having both of my girls, and their mother, and I know it would be hard on both me and the horses to separate them, so as long as I can still scrape up the money to feed them all, I will keep her.
And I'll be back on her every day this week, so when it's time for the mock search this Sunday I will simply load her up and let her do her job, instead of taking Dash again.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
Riding 29 year old Sandy in 1997
Showing posts with label riding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label riding. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Back to normal
Got some tax work out of the way today and had time to actually get on Dash for a ride. My riding buddy Tessa got off work early and called while I was at the grocery store, saying she would be home in 20 minutes. I grabbed a gallon of milk and abandoned the rest of the shopping trip to rush home to my horse.
I'd been concerned that she might not be quite 100% after her illness. There hadn't been much opportunity between sub teaching and trips out of town to really evaluate how she was feeling; all I could do was monitor intake and output but her overall attitude still seemed a bit "off."
But after she stood quietly for saddling, something two properties over caught her attention (I never did see what it was) and she got a bit snorty and blowy and prancy, which I took as a good sign (except for the fact that I thought she had been desensitized to just about anything, let alone something two acres away).
So I did some circling with her and made her lead over to the fence line to look at whatever it was that was disturbing her and finally she sighed and settled down and I got on, called the dogs, and rode over to Tessa's.
She was very good on the ride, perfectly willing and responsive. As usual I was riding in just the halter and lead rope without a bit. Part of the time we led and part of the time we followed Tessa's mare, Jessie. Just about the time we were thinking of turning around so we could get back by dark, we heard voices and then saw a white tent and bonfire, and then four dogs ran out to meet up with our four dogs.
Humans came and controlled one of the dogs; the other three were small and no fights ensued. The horses were both a bit boogered. Tessa had dismounted but I stayed in the saddle. There was an old bin that it looked like they had been using for target practice that was bothering the horses so I rode Dash up to it and had her touch it with her nose.
We turned around and all of a sudden my horse who had been nervous, but willing to approach the camp, the fire, and the scary old bin suddenly decided it was time to get out of there. She bolted a little, clearly nervous about having all those scary objects, people, and dogs behind her where she couldn't see them, and I pulled her up and decided to get off and lead her.
I'm not sure who was leading who, though, and I kept having to stop her, back her up, or circle her. Eventually she settled down and I got back on and had an uneventful ride the rest of the way home.
Contrasted with the ride of December 26, the day I discovered she had the fever, she seemed to be back to normal today. On that day, she had been so quiet, compliant, and non-reactive I had wondered aloud if she might be sick, and it turned out she was. But today she was in tune with her surroundings and showing some spunk.
I think my girl has come back to normal, except for continuing to refuse to eat teff hay.
I am relieved, of course, because these last three + weeks have been a constant worry, wondering what was actually wrong with her and if it was truly over. I still don't know what was wrong, but I believe it is truly over.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
I'd been concerned that she might not be quite 100% after her illness. There hadn't been much opportunity between sub teaching and trips out of town to really evaluate how she was feeling; all I could do was monitor intake and output but her overall attitude still seemed a bit "off."
But after she stood quietly for saddling, something two properties over caught her attention (I never did see what it was) and she got a bit snorty and blowy and prancy, which I took as a good sign (except for the fact that I thought she had been desensitized to just about anything, let alone something two acres away).
So I did some circling with her and made her lead over to the fence line to look at whatever it was that was disturbing her and finally she sighed and settled down and I got on, called the dogs, and rode over to Tessa's.
She was very good on the ride, perfectly willing and responsive. As usual I was riding in just the halter and lead rope without a bit. Part of the time we led and part of the time we followed Tessa's mare, Jessie. Just about the time we were thinking of turning around so we could get back by dark, we heard voices and then saw a white tent and bonfire, and then four dogs ran out to meet up with our four dogs.
Humans came and controlled one of the dogs; the other three were small and no fights ensued. The horses were both a bit boogered. Tessa had dismounted but I stayed in the saddle. There was an old bin that it looked like they had been using for target practice that was bothering the horses so I rode Dash up to it and had her touch it with her nose.
We turned around and all of a sudden my horse who had been nervous, but willing to approach the camp, the fire, and the scary old bin suddenly decided it was time to get out of there. She bolted a little, clearly nervous about having all those scary objects, people, and dogs behind her where she couldn't see them, and I pulled her up and decided to get off and lead her.
I'm not sure who was leading who, though, and I kept having to stop her, back her up, or circle her. Eventually she settled down and I got back on and had an uneventful ride the rest of the way home.
Contrasted with the ride of December 26, the day I discovered she had the fever, she seemed to be back to normal today. On that day, she had been so quiet, compliant, and non-reactive I had wondered aloud if she might be sick, and it turned out she was. But today she was in tune with her surroundings and showing some spunk.
I think my girl has come back to normal, except for continuing to refuse to eat teff hay.
I am relieved, of course, because these last three + weeks have been a constant worry, wondering what was actually wrong with her and if it was truly over. I still don't know what was wrong, but I believe it is truly over.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A perfect ride on a perfect horse on a perfect day
I love my beautiful bay mare, Dash. I expect to be buried with her someday. Bill Gates doesn't have enough money to buy her from me. She's one of those once-in-a-lifetime horses that you know is your horsey soul mate.
That is Dash. I bred her from Dottie, a mare I chose for her beauty and disposition, bred to a stallion I met personally before Dottie was bred to him because it was important to me that the stallion not just be beautiful and well-bred, but I wanted him to be nice, and friendly, and manageable. And Poco's Super Buck was all those things. I became friends with his owners and occasionally took care of their horses while they traveled, and "Buck" was one of those good stallions that you don't have to handle with chains and a pitchfork. He was manageable and mannerly and a joy to handle.
So the product of Gold Poco Dots (Dottie) and Poco's Super Buck was Buck's Poco Dash, followed a year later by Buck's Poco Dawn.
Dash was named before she was born. She came into the world on St Patrick's Day, and she was friendly and sweet and curious from the moment she hit the ground. I had just been laid off, and was in the process of preparing to move to Arizona, so I had plenty of time to bond with little Dash. Every day for the first month of her life, I haltered her, led her, handled her, brushed her, and started the process of desensitizing her to things that might have frightened her.
She had a two-foot-tall black and white stuffed penguin for a toy. An old tarp lay in her corral and was dragged all over the place by the curious filly. The sprinkler that watered her 20x100 foot grazing strip ran a river across the south entrance to that area, so she learned at a very young age to cross water without fear. At 11 days old, I led her on a loose rope into the horse trailer -- in front of her mother, not following her mother. She was an absolute joy, and learned faster than any other horse I'd ever owned.
Fast-forward three years -- after trying to train her to saddle by myself, I realized I didn't really have the nerve to finish the job so I sent her to a professional trainer, Sally Wills of Pine, who sent her back to me six weeks later with an outstanding start. She was a bold and willing trail horse who would go anywhere you asked her to go, and would stand quietly for mounting -- in fact Sally taught her to sidepass over to a mounting block or fence on command. She was light and responsive to weight and leg cues, would stop in an instant on the word "whoa" and move hind or forequarters in either direction from leg pressure. She would back on a loose rein with a light stroking of heels on her side.
She's now seven years old. She's developed into a gorgeous, classic foundation Quarter Horse mare, and still has that calm and willing and friendly disposition that she got from her mother and father.
And I ride her in a halter, with a bareback pad.
Yes, I sometimes put a proper bridle on her -- mostly if I'm riding with people who might be worried about my ability to control her without a bit, but most often, the bridle is just hanging on her face for decoration, and I am actually controlling her with the halter under the bridle, and using the doubled lead rope for a rein.
On the ride up Gibson's Peak, described here previously, she wore the bridle but I never touched the reins. She went up and down that hill under control of the halter and lead rope.
She's so amazingly responsive -- I can ride her under a tree, stop her on a dime, try to break off a branch that is in the way, apply the calf of a leg to her side and have her move sideways if the branch doesn't break, back her up, turn her 180 degrees in place, then turn her up or down a hill and ride around the tree, all without ever even tightening the lead rope that is tied to the halter. The more I ride her the more she seems to be able to almost read my mind.
Tonight was one of those "after this I can die happy" nights. My neighbor and riding buddy, Tessa, wanted to go for a long ride. I chose Dash and the bareback pad and rode over to meet her. We headed into the woods on our usual trail, rode over to trail 433 and headed toward the wash. En route, we heard a quad coming, moved off the trail until it came into view, put up a hand to slow it down, then motioned it forward. It rode past us while Dash stood like a statue on loose rein, then I lightly reined her after it as it rode up the trail away from us.
When we reached the wash, Tessa took the lead on her mare, Jessie, and we cantered awhile, and I relaxed into Dash and she rocked along in Jessie's wake until Tessa felt like stopping.
There's no better feeling in the world.
We turned back, rode most of the way home, then turned down another wash that I'd only ridden in once. There were trees to duck, logs to step over, a few times we had to climb out of the wash to go around fallen trees. Dash was such a joy, doing everything I asked, calmly, with no protest, and all on a loose rein. I could feel her muscles moving under me through the bareback pad. It felt so good to just relax and trust my horse and not have to worry about her bolting or acting up or refusing to go as would have been the case with so many of the horses of my past.
The weather was 75-degree-perfect, only the merest touch of a breeze, and we rode through the wash toward home, arriving just as the sun was setting.
If there are no horses in Heaven, I don't want to go; I think I may already be there. Because I'm not sure anything can top the ride I had tonight, it was so perfect in every way -- a wonderful, sweet horse to ride, with the closeness and bonding made possible by using the bareback pad instead of a saddle; a good friend to ride with; perfect weather to ride in; and the natural beauty of the forest to please the senses in every way. Even the smell of the air was heavenly -- the cool pine scent of a forest recently rained upon.
No, it doesn't get any better than this. I have been truly blessed to have this special horse to share my life with. And I am double blessed -- her sister Dawn is almost as perfect, and even smarter than Dash.
But Dash is the one who stole my heart over seven years ago as a newborn foal, my firstborn foal, and I treasure every ride on her.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
That is Dash. I bred her from Dottie, a mare I chose for her beauty and disposition, bred to a stallion I met personally before Dottie was bred to him because it was important to me that the stallion not just be beautiful and well-bred, but I wanted him to be nice, and friendly, and manageable. And Poco's Super Buck was all those things. I became friends with his owners and occasionally took care of their horses while they traveled, and "Buck" was one of those good stallions that you don't have to handle with chains and a pitchfork. He was manageable and mannerly and a joy to handle.
So the product of Gold Poco Dots (Dottie) and Poco's Super Buck was Buck's Poco Dash, followed a year later by Buck's Poco Dawn.
Dash was named before she was born. She came into the world on St Patrick's Day, and she was friendly and sweet and curious from the moment she hit the ground. I had just been laid off, and was in the process of preparing to move to Arizona, so I had plenty of time to bond with little Dash. Every day for the first month of her life, I haltered her, led her, handled her, brushed her, and started the process of desensitizing her to things that might have frightened her.
She had a two-foot-tall black and white stuffed penguin for a toy. An old tarp lay in her corral and was dragged all over the place by the curious filly. The sprinkler that watered her 20x100 foot grazing strip ran a river across the south entrance to that area, so she learned at a very young age to cross water without fear. At 11 days old, I led her on a loose rope into the horse trailer -- in front of her mother, not following her mother. She was an absolute joy, and learned faster than any other horse I'd ever owned.
Fast-forward three years -- after trying to train her to saddle by myself, I realized I didn't really have the nerve to finish the job so I sent her to a professional trainer, Sally Wills of Pine, who sent her back to me six weeks later with an outstanding start. She was a bold and willing trail horse who would go anywhere you asked her to go, and would stand quietly for mounting -- in fact Sally taught her to sidepass over to a mounting block or fence on command. She was light and responsive to weight and leg cues, would stop in an instant on the word "whoa" and move hind or forequarters in either direction from leg pressure. She would back on a loose rein with a light stroking of heels on her side.
She's now seven years old. She's developed into a gorgeous, classic foundation Quarter Horse mare, and still has that calm and willing and friendly disposition that she got from her mother and father.
And I ride her in a halter, with a bareback pad.
Yes, I sometimes put a proper bridle on her -- mostly if I'm riding with people who might be worried about my ability to control her without a bit, but most often, the bridle is just hanging on her face for decoration, and I am actually controlling her with the halter under the bridle, and using the doubled lead rope for a rein.
On the ride up Gibson's Peak, described here previously, she wore the bridle but I never touched the reins. She went up and down that hill under control of the halter and lead rope.
She's so amazingly responsive -- I can ride her under a tree, stop her on a dime, try to break off a branch that is in the way, apply the calf of a leg to her side and have her move sideways if the branch doesn't break, back her up, turn her 180 degrees in place, then turn her up or down a hill and ride around the tree, all without ever even tightening the lead rope that is tied to the halter. The more I ride her the more she seems to be able to almost read my mind.
Tonight was one of those "after this I can die happy" nights. My neighbor and riding buddy, Tessa, wanted to go for a long ride. I chose Dash and the bareback pad and rode over to meet her. We headed into the woods on our usual trail, rode over to trail 433 and headed toward the wash. En route, we heard a quad coming, moved off the trail until it came into view, put up a hand to slow it down, then motioned it forward. It rode past us while Dash stood like a statue on loose rein, then I lightly reined her after it as it rode up the trail away from us.
When we reached the wash, Tessa took the lead on her mare, Jessie, and we cantered awhile, and I relaxed into Dash and she rocked along in Jessie's wake until Tessa felt like stopping.
There's no better feeling in the world.
We turned back, rode most of the way home, then turned down another wash that I'd only ridden in once. There were trees to duck, logs to step over, a few times we had to climb out of the wash to go around fallen trees. Dash was such a joy, doing everything I asked, calmly, with no protest, and all on a loose rein. I could feel her muscles moving under me through the bareback pad. It felt so good to just relax and trust my horse and not have to worry about her bolting or acting up or refusing to go as would have been the case with so many of the horses of my past.
The weather was 75-degree-perfect, only the merest touch of a breeze, and we rode through the wash toward home, arriving just as the sun was setting.
If there are no horses in Heaven, I don't want to go; I think I may already be there. Because I'm not sure anything can top the ride I had tonight, it was so perfect in every way -- a wonderful, sweet horse to ride, with the closeness and bonding made possible by using the bareback pad instead of a saddle; a good friend to ride with; perfect weather to ride in; and the natural beauty of the forest to please the senses in every way. Even the smell of the air was heavenly -- the cool pine scent of a forest recently rained upon.
No, it doesn't get any better than this. I have been truly blessed to have this special horse to share my life with. And I am double blessed -- her sister Dawn is almost as perfect, and even smarter than Dash.
But Dash is the one who stole my heart over seven years ago as a newborn foal, my firstborn foal, and I treasure every ride on her.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)