Welcome 2022

 Christmas morning has arrived. I am sitting here once again enjoying my coffee and the peacefulness that early morning brings with it. An excellent start to another beautiful day. I can't believe 2021 is coming to an end,and it is time to look back on the year already. 

The year started like every other winter in Montana, sometimes snowy and cold and other times nice and sunny. 😉

We did find out early in 2021, that the place where I boarded my horses was going to be put up for sale in spring. That meant we started 2021 to find a place to board 7 horses. We had time, so I just started the hunt by keeping my eyes and ears open. January rolled into February, and brought some of the coldest temps I have ever seen here in Montana. We were dipping into the -20 and -30s. It lasted for about a week, I guess. I can't remember exactly how many days, just know that it was cold and miserable for that time. For the first time ever since owning my little Mazda, it wouldn't start. The cold finally did the battery in. 

Once we climbed out of the extreme cold, I was back on the hunt for a place to board the ponies. I found a place that could take all 7, so we reserved our spots for spring and felt a huge weight lift off our shoulders. In February, we also decided to buy our own house with land. This was both an exciting and scary decision. 

But wait, February still had more surprises for us in store. The last weekend of the month was the loose horse sale, so of course, we attended as part of the horse rescue. Long story short, at the end of the sale, Sarah K found herself standing in the parking lot with a 4.5-month-old colt that wasn't halter broke. He was given to us because of his crooked leg. So what do you do? Well you call the owners to where you board and ask permission to bring home a baby horse to foster (now named Gage). 

Ok, I think we can move on from February now. Winter rolled into spring, and we found ourselves very busy. We were caring for the new baby foster horse and ours, all while hunting for a house with land. The housing market was pure craziness; you had to put in an offer the minute the house came on the market. April brought the house that we would put an offer in on. A tiny house on a hill that had 14 acres. Two days later, we got the call; our offer had beat out the others, and we would be homeowners. Let's just skip the next two months because they ended up being a giant blur of excitement to finally have my horses at home with me and stress. 

Summer was arriving; by June, it was proving to be a hot and dry year. We were in a drought, and hay shortages were on the horizon. It did not matter to me because my heart was happy the day we moved into our new little house with the dogs, and the horses would be home a few weeks later. Literally, nothing can compare to the feeling of bringing my horses home! 

Here is how we spend summer: Moving, buying and stacking hay, fencing, and building new shelters/ buildings on the property with my parent's help! Literally could not have made this move or completed all these projects without Garry. We were so thankful!  Oh, and we made probably 300 hundred trips to the dump. I literally have never been to the landfill as much in my life as I have been this summer.

Lots of happenings this summer, in the middle of everything else, we had a wildfire within 7 miles of the house, emergency trip to Bozeman in the middle of the night on July 3rd for Gage as he colicked due to his hernia. 

As summer was coming to an end, we agreed to take in another foster horse until she could be adopted. In August, we welcomed Miss Molly, a Belgian mare. Molly was supposed to be here for maybe a month then available for adoption. Garry was here building and working on our property in that time frame, and he fell in love with her. So Miss Molly would stay as my parents decided to adopt her. 

With fall arriving, it meant winter was right around the corner. Yikes, where had summer even gone? Fall was spent getting ready for winter. And well, here we are now in winter. 

2021 almost seemed to blur together. We had so much going on. We both stayed at our same jobs. Sarah loves her job at a small animal veterinarian's office, and I love my career as a medical coding advisor. We have been in our new house for 6 months now; it still seems like a fairy tale some days. I can't believe it, we finally got our own home with land for my horses. I open the door every morning and say good morning to my horses 😀. I love every second of it. 

In 2022, I look forward to being a bigger part of Team 1 Horse and assisting in saving more draft horses. The rescue helped many horses this year. Enjoy pictures of some of their pictures. 

 From my family to yours Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope 2022 brings everyone happiness. 

  

Ending 2020, Looking Towards 2021

It is Christmas and once again I am sitting down enjoying the peacefulness of early morning. Every year I say it and I will say it again next year, time flies by. I feel like it was just yesterday I was sitting down the write the recap of 2019. 2020 has been a different year as a whole for the world. 

January started and we were pretty lucky that the winter season had been nice to us. I was finally going into my last semester for my Bachelors degree. The horses were still in Columbus staying with our friends Kelli and Clint. Our days were filled with the normal things around our house work, school, dogs, oh and dreaming of Spring of course. 

As winter slowly started to fad into spring we were heading into March with some crazy weather swings.  It would be warm then snow storm then back to above freezing. It was a weird weather pattern that seemed to be repeating itself. Unfortunately, weather swings like that are always hard on horses. The first week of March we found ourselves saying goodbye to our sweet foster horse, Asher. He had been with us since November of 2019 and we thought we were on the up side of the battle, but colic was too much for him to handle and he left us and many others with broken hearts in his absence.

As March continued 2020 started giving us a glimpse of what was to come for the year. Pixie was diagnosed with Heaves. We got notice that we needed to move the horses again and talk of a new virus was starting to ramp up.  

As Spring was finally arriving in Montana, I had been sent home to work remote due to COVID-19. Sarah's work place had decided to shut down for the month of April out of precaution due to Covid. That meant we were home together all the time! That was both good and bad. 😉

April and May we worked on moving all 6 of the horses to their new home in Laurel. Yes, Laurel! Less than 15 miles from my house. For the past 6 years we had been driving 50 miles to see them in Columbus. I was excited to have them near by again! We found the nicest family that has pasture and land to ride on. I can't say it enough that we were beyond blessed to have meet them and have them welcome us and the horses to their home.  

In May, I officially graduated from MSUB with my degree in Business and Accounting. It was a day I had worked long and hard for!  

Spring started to turn to summer and COVID was still the talk of the world. Restrictions had started to lift, Sarah was back to work full time, me...well I was still working from home for the most part. I thought I would be home for a few weeks, but it was looking to be months. We carried on with what would be our new routine for 2020, which included seeing the horses daily with 2 that need meds once a day for PPID.

Summer we found ourselves busy with the horse rescue, we were both on the board. We fostered a Belgian Stallion named Boomer for a month. He was a good boy during his stay and we were happy to be part of his new chapter in life. 

I feel like before we knew it summer was coming to an end. We had stayed busy with horses, dogs, work and of course the horse rescue. We had didn't ride as much as we have in the past years, but that was ok as we were enjoying our time with the horses and dogs. 

In August after 5 months of working from home I went back to work in the office. That was a change, but it was nice to see people again. 😃

Fall was coming and I was planning a trip to Corvallis to spend the weekend with Jasmin at the Rescue for the annual fundraiser. The weekend was a huge success with a fun filled day. I was able to meet some of the drafts I hadn't meet before and I was able to celebrate my birthday with special friends, including my life long friend Hannah. 

As fall continued on we welcomed a new foster horse, Charm, a Belgian cross. We also extended our backyard for the dogs. They enjoyed having a much bigger yard to run in! 

Winter was arriving in our area and COVID started to surge come November. I found myself back at home working for most of November. Mid November I passed my exam to become a Certified Orthopedic Surgery Coder. As Sarah put it I got more letters to go behind my name.😀

Here we are back to December, it has been a different year to say the least in the face of the pandemic. This year we made some new friends, got to see some old ones and for that I am thankful. I can't wait to see what 2021 has in store of us. 

From my family to yours, we wish you the best for 2021!

The Battle Against Canker Starts

Three farrier appointments later, two of those three included a vet so we could sedate Charm, and we had back shoes with plates officially on by Nov 10th. We were set! I had the shoeing stock at my barn, stationed right next to my trailer (delivery of the stock was delayed due to mud). The trailer has lights so for the short days ahead due to winter. 

All we had to do going forward was to unbolt the hospital plate from the shoe and pack with gaze then wrap one time, bolt the plate back on the shoe and away we go. See pictures below:

No problem, right? We have the shoeing stock and oral sedatives. The farrier made the process look fairly simple. The was one problem, ok maybe 2 problems. Charm was barely touched by the oral sedative and my farrier has what I would compare to super human strength. Charm isn't what I consider a huge horse, he is smaller in size for a draft horse cross probably weights about 1500lbs. So compared to my Goliath, not a super big horse. Not huge, but plenty big enough to make it nearly impossible for me to pick up his feet. The plan was that I would be doing this alone since I don't really have anyone to come help me before 5:30pm on the week days. 

It was quickly discovered that I would not be changing his bandages alone. Heck if Sarah and I could get his bandages changed with both of us there it would be a miracle. The first day we attempted it without my farrier it took 2 hours! 2 hours of fighting to get his foot tied up to the stand. We got it up there more than once, only to have him fight and rip it away mid bandage change. We just couldn't get it tied tight enough. We called defeat that day and put him out without the plate on. The next day we gave him the oral sedative and somehow were able to get both feet done and bandages changed. That day gave us all sorts of hope! We had, with minimal fight, gotten him to take the oral drugs and he didn't try to kick or fight too bad while drugged. So we went into Sunday feeling like we got this! Phew just give the drugs and all will be fine. 

Sunday came and it did NOT go like it had the day before. He knew our plan with the oral drugs now. So he was not having it that day! Remember we are short, old, and out of shape when compared to a draft horse. So even in a stock trying to get him to hold still to get the drugs UNDER his tongue is a little bit of a workout. We got it done, but he was already worked up and 45 minutes later he was sleepy, but not sleepy enough to not fight. One foot got done, the next one not so much. Ugh we called defeat a few hours in. He had a few minor cuts on his leg from kicking the wood block and fighting the ropes so much. 

After we put him back in his pasture, I was in tears. It was hard on us and hard on him. There was lots of cussing and wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Did we need to call complete defeat and say it wasn't possible, we couldn't treat his feet? I sent a message to the founder of the rescue and the advisor saying I wasn't sure we had the ability to treat him. He may need to go back to the rescue headquarters. 

But here is the thing, neither Sarah or I like to give up easily. Or well give up at all on an animal that we know could have hope. The next day the brainstorming started. There are no guarantees, but we are taking a different approach now. 

Meeting Charm...

 I think the conversation started something like this between Sarah and I:

      Me:" Hey this horse has canker in all 4 feet, do you want to foster him?" Her: "What?! How is he standing, and what did you just sign us up for?" Me: "I don't know?"

Flash forward 1 month later, I found myself staying at the public auction yard with a sort of skinny draft mix horse that needed electrolytes as he had just arrived from MN. Easy peasy! Well we both wore a little of it and he got most of it, but that was as good as it was getting. I said good night and walked away wearing his green alfalfa slobber in my hair and all over my shirt. Overall, he was a pretty chill dude that most definitely had canker in all 4 feet. I knew as I walked back to the car from his paddock that our adventure was just getting starting. 

My farrier had already laid out a plan for us because I knew next to nothing about canker. What I did know was that it is hard to treat and most people are only trying to treat it in 1 foot at a time. Why not try to tackle all 4 feet, right? Just treat each hoof daily, sounded easy enough. 

The next week Charm arrived at my barn. I gave him a few days to settle in and then went to see how he was with this feet. Started with the front, safer that way. I didn't know if he was a kicker. Personally, I don't like to get kicked, it hurts. So off to work we went, I leaned over and said "foot" he stomped and then swoosh he tried to kick me with his back foot. Yes, he kicked forward with his giant back leg. Ok, well that was a first for me. Clearly this wasn't going to go quite as well as I had planned. Let's try the other front foot. Lots of stomping with it is what we got. No trying to kick my head off though on that side, so there was that. Well we left it at that for the day, no way I was winning that battle. Put a call in to my amazing farrier told him that we might have a slight problem because it appears Charm doesn't like his feet handled. He said ok we will figure it out.  

With that our adventure with Charm and trying to treat his canker in all 4 feet officially started...

Riley,Thyroid issues, and switching vets.

People close to me know our quest to find a small animal vet for our dogs has been a bit of a challenge recently. Years ago we left our long time vet because she told us the rash our cat had was probably fleas. Uhm, no I knew it wasn't, and in the end it was not. Then there was Devan's EPI battle. When I had to defend my feeding of raw when that vet wanted me to feed a diet primarily made up of potatoes we never went back.

Ranting (fair warning): Riley (My Pitbull) had his thyroid levels checked yesterday. He has lost more weight recently so my guess was he was a little over treated and his thyroid numbers were high. Well we arrive and weighed him...he has lost weight. Something I knew already, but then the tech was sure he had lost over 10lbs cause apparently they have his last weight at 58lbs. He weighed in at 48 yesterday. I told them their weight last June had to be off cause when he was in his prime he was about 60lbs, so last June he probably weighed closer to 54 lbs like the weight last May said. Not to mention he didn't gain 4lbs last May to June so their scale was clearly off. The Vet tech and I proceed to "talk" about it in the lobby. She didn't believe me and I was irritated, so I politely ended the conversation.

Flash forward to my conversation with the Vet on the phone: Riley's blood work comes back perfect, except his thyroid levels are a little high (oh really- shocking) She decides to lower his med dose by 1mg.

Then the vet proceeds to ask me what kind of food I feed him cause he has lost a lot of weight. I didn't even bring up the fact that their scale was wrong...whatever, lol. I told her how much and what he eats. He eats just about 2 1/2+ cups dry and a cup give or take of the homemade food a day. Her response: Well add in another 1/2 cup a day.

Fine I will do, but here are my thoughts on this...

1. My dog hasn't lived to almost 13 with a perfect blood panel because I starve him.

2. If his thyroid is overactive he could still lose weight even if I up his food. As has been the case recently. (For a dog his size and activity level this amount of good quality food should be more than enough) In his prime he weighed around 60-65lbs and only ate 2 to 2 1/2 cups dry food.

3. She should have asked me more questions about the protein and fat levels of his food. I told her the protein level, but she didn't remark to it.

I am going to add in some digestive plant enzymes with pre and probiotics (not because the vet suggested it, which she should have in my opinion). I am hoping with the lower does of thyroid pills and the added enzymes he should put the weight back on. Maybe not though as he is old and trying to get old dogs to gain weight can be a challenge.

Why is it so hard to find a Vet that doesn't treat us like we don't know what we are doing. (Disclaimer: I am already using a different vet for my other dogs, but it was easiest to keep Ri here for his thyroid pills. I stopped using this vet when they turned Peanut away when her spay incision split open.) I understand not every dog owner is super knowledgeable, but a vet should get to know their clients.

Well add this vet to the list of vets I won't use because they assume I am an idiot. I am sorry, but I want the best care for my animals and that means you don't assume we are idiots.

I am too the point now that I am thinking most of my dogs routine care will be taken care of by my horse vets. Stillwater clinic in Absarokee also does small animals and doesn't charge the large town fees like the clinics in Billings. And I love Dr. Olson. She has been great to us and all of our horses! If driving 45 minutes to the vet for routine care is what it takes then so be it. I trust her! Dr. Stacy (my other horse vet) already does my dogs vaccinations and has been great to us in answering questions when we have them. In Emergencies I will use Best Friends here in town, they did a good job for Peanut and pulled her through Parvo.

Ok, rant over :)

Welcome Duchess TWH

 Sometimes things happen when we least expect them too. Not long after we said goodbye to Jess we were approached by a friend in the horse world, who asked us if we would want to consider her horse Duchess as our next horse. We hadn't decided if we were going to get another horse at this point, but she made it very clear Duchess wasn't going anywhere anytime soon so we had all the time we needed to make our decision. We have known Duchess and her owner since 2010 when we first got Pixie. So we made the choice to work with her and get to know her more to see if she would fit in with our family. We started working with her and quickly started to fall in love. I have said for a long long time that I really wanted my next horse to be big and I would love to own another TWH, as Willow has shown me just how much I love the breed. Not only is Duchess a big Tennessee Walking horse, but she had a great mind also!

Last weekend, we had the vet pre-purchase exam done. She got the all clear that she would be good as a trail horse, however due to some conformation flaws she needed to be worked and conditioned to hit the trails. Truly that is with any horse, it doesn't matter if they have perfect conformation they need to be conditioned before hitting the trails for a long ride. So we made the decision, she was going to join the family as a trail horse for us. She will be perfect for me when riding with others that have horses that can move out. Her walk is huge and you can really cover some ground :) I am so excited to hit the trails with my other half and Willow this year (if Spring ever comes). Willow and Duchess will make the perfect trail riding match, they are both big walkers and we can really cover some ground.

When we were looking at buying Willow and I was "test" riding her, I said then "This mare and I are going to have some fun"... the last few weeks with Duchess, I had been thinking the exact same thing about her. Yesterday, Duchess and I rode inside all alone and she was amazing. We kept it short and worked on relaxation. And in the end when I jumped down (somehow forgetting just how far away the ground is, lol) I looked at her and said "We are going to make a great team and we will have fun".

Welcome to the family Duchess. You quickly won our hearts over and we look forward to many years with you!

She really wanted treats, lol.

After our ride. We are riding in just the halter :)

Pixie in background, Willow, Navi, and Duchess

 

Saying Goodbye- Jess

It has been just over 2 weeks since we had to say goodbye to Jess. I thought maybe as time went on I would be able to come up with a post that would justice in remembering him. However, the truth is I still can't. Maybe the day will come when I can, but for now I still can't quite find the words that do him justice. So I will just write this short blog in memory of him...

 He meant the world to us and taught my partner everything she knows about finding a partnership with a horse. I have always been a "mare" person, but at the same time I have always said some times you just can't beat a good gelding. For me that gelding was Jess. He wasn't just good, he was great. He tried his heart out every time we set out to do a job with him. Even though he was bought for my other half, I always enjoyed getting to work with him. My favorite memory of him is when we did the games at the ranch. We went into the arena had fun, and we won a lot of the games. He always took care of us when we rode. Well with the exception of if he was in a muddy bogging place, he hated that and he would buck then. Well and then there was the electric fence incident...he crow hopped good with that also. And then well that one time him and Willow left us to walk home. Oh and when he decided to rush down the mountain with my partner when we took our first trail ride. He wanted to go home. I replay those memories, because I love them just as much as the times he was perfect! Those memories make me smile and laugh because he wasn't always perfect, but he knew his job and did it well.
Simply put there will never be another "Jess" for us. He was a once in a lifetime horse. He is in a better place now. Young and happy. Most likely working cows and eating all the green grass he can get. Our hearts are broken, and time will heal some of the pain. But we will always cherish the sweet memories we have of our boy. A piece of our hearts went with him that day we said goodbye, but he forever lives on in our memories. I will forever cherish the time we had with him.

We sent off tail hair to have bracelets made and will be getting tattoo's also to remember him by.

Rest in peace Jess. We miss you!

My other half, Sarah, riding Jess. 

Lesson learned: Trying to save 50 dollars isn't worth risking barbwire!

This whole ordeal with Navi has taught me a few things and I am sure there will be many more lessons to learn. But the biggest one is don't put your horses safety at risk over a small amount of money. Did I intentionally put her in harms way, no of course not. And she had lived out there before. Are there many many horses that can live safely in barbwire forever and never get hurt? You bet there are! But it is a lesson I had to learn the hard way and I hope people can learn from my mistake. It just isn't worth the risk.

Here is a break down of the costs so far: (monetary and not)

• Navi's freedom and ability to be comfortable. She is now bored to death in the stall.
• She suffered a lot of pain, 3 weeks out it is finally getting better pain wise.
• She isn't able to have her feet trimmed on time
• The vet bill was $850 for the first 4 days. 
• so far only a $60 dollar vet follow up was needed,but we are only 3 weeks in.
• We are going to be seeing the vet every two weeks most likely for a while.
• Higher board to keep her in a stall... $450 a month. (200+ higher than my normal board)
• Bandage supplies: are give or take $270.67

So yes you take in to account Navi's mental state, and frankly mine too. (I have been super stressed with this injury, working, and the end of the semester.)The time commitment, while I enjoy seeing my horses everyday, I don't want it to be for this reason. 

Let's add up the running total for the money also:  1405.67 is what we have hit so far and we are just one day past 3 weeks.

If anything I hope people can learn from me that if you are going to try and save money be sure you are not risking your horses well being. 

I can't thank the team of people that have been there for me through this whole thing. The barn staff at the ranch, the barn owner where Navi is now, the vets, and of course all my friends who have been super supportive! 

Ok off to work...have to pay on the vet bill this week and that requires me to work 😉

Why you never want the barn manager to call you...

Last Saturday, Nov 18th, I made the decision to put Navi back out with the big herd (something like 100 acres) for the winter. Her knee had been giving her some trouble so we were going to take the winter off of riding. I figured movement would be good as she was still 100% pasture sound and she loves to run and play with the other horses. Oh and it was a win win cause she would get to have free food and roaming room and I got to save like 50 bucks a month. Now I know the risks of putting a horse with 20 other horses, but she did great last spring with them. I also know the risks of putting a horse in any pasture with barbwire fence. Not even 24 hrs after I turned her out I got the dreaded call from the ranch manager....Now keep in mind we had stayed and watched her for over an hour interact with the horses and then had gone back at 4 pm before we left on Saturday to make sure she was still getting along with everyone.

Sunday morning around 10:15ish the manager called me, and said the words no horse owner wants to hear. "I have bad news, Navi got into the barbwire fence". My heart dropped. I was trying not to panic. Everything was running through my head on how bad it was. She was still walking though and S was bringing her in from the pasture. I was relieved that she was walking and able to make it the mile or so track in from the pasture. But still I remembered what her back leg look like after getting into smooth wire I could only imagine what barbwire did. The ranch manager then called back while I was driving after he met up with S and saw Navi. He gave me the report I didn't want...bone was exposed on her leg. I hung up and called the vet to have them meet me at the ranch. I did all this while driving the 40 miles there. Talk about a long drive. I was in tears and called my best friend to tell her I was heading out there, but didn't know what to expect. I had already called my partner and said "meet me at the barn Navi got into the barbwire" (I was at my mother's house visiting).

The vet beat me to the barn and had just looked at her when I arrived. She said "Well it is a big cut, but she should be fine." Oh thank goodness I was happy to hear that! And so we started the process of sedating and cleaning. Navi overall was a champ. She usually hates needles,but did well and only danced a little. She then did great for the cleaning and wrapping. Next up was to get the trailer and get her to the vet. She was to spend a few days there since there was bone exposed. This is why I always make sure my horses will load in a trailer! So many people don't make it a priority for their horse to load. I don't care if you never plan to take your horse anywhere, practice trailer loading! My other half had to help lift her front leg up into the trailer, but then Navi hopped right in and we had her to the vet by noon, not even 2 hours after she was found. I couldn't imagine having to fight her to get her to load.

The next day we went out to visit with the vet and see the wound unwrapped again. The vet was pleased with how it looked just 24 hours later. We set up our treatment plan. She was to come home Wednesday and be on stall rest with every other day bandage changes. The decision was made to move her into town so she could be closer to us. With winter here, I just didn't know if we could make it the 40+ miles after work in the dark if a snow storm hit. And we were looking at a min of 2 months of stall rest with bandaging. So I got a hold of a barn 10 miles away from me and had it set up for her to go there after the vets. She will be in a heated barn for the winter and I know I will be able to attend to her. (Remember that 50 bucks a month I was going to save, lol, yeah not so much now).
So here we are...5 days out from the accident. She is at her new home in a stall and I begin the process of wound care on my own. Way easier when the vet cleans and wraps it, lol, and way prettier. Again though I was super proud of this little mare and her being super easy to trailer load and unload in a new place staying calm the whole time! Our current estimate is 4 months of stall rest, hopefully some turn out after 2 months. Maybe hand walking after 1 month. With any luck she will go back to riding sound by summer (if her other issue clears up also over the winter). Every step of the way people have been wonderful in offering help! The vet, the new stable and my current barn are all amazing people!

Peanut and Parvo

Back before Labor day weekend we made the decision (ok my other half really wanted the puppy) to adopt a little puppy. We had seen this puppy since before her eyes were open and my other half fell in love while trimming nails, giving puppy baths, etc.. for the rescue. She like the last 3 we have taken home is from the Indian Reservation that is probably an hour or so from us. We really like and try to support a local rescue group that rescues the dogs from the near by reservations. We can't do a lot since we already have our plate full, but we try when we can. Animal rescue is a very important part of who we are. My other half was an ACO for 10+ years and then worked in the shelter for another 5. I worked in the animal control field both in Anchorage, AK and here where I was an ACO for a short time. We are not the typical animal people, animal rescue and a life long commitment to our animals is who we are. For us making the difference in the lives of animals is our purpose for being on this earth. We try to speak for the little critters (well big critters too) that can't speak for themselves. Many people call us crazy and don't understand why or how we can own as many animals as we do. Yes, currently we have 6 dogs and 5 horses. Ok, 7 dogs now if you count the puppy. I prefer to think that the puppy is really only worth 1/2 dog status since she only ways 4 or 5 lbs. I don't think you reach dog status until at least 10lbs right, lol?? Anyways back to the story of Peanut the puppy. Peanut came home on the Friday before Labor day. We spent the whole 3 day weekend out playing and having fun. She was 6 weeks old (Mom had already weaned the puppies and had to go back to the res.) We knew she was going to go get fixed the next week. (Yes, they get fixed young, no it isn't a problem. Not debating it. ) Well come vet day her brother tested positive for Parvo virus. So the rescue gave us the option of taking her or leaving her until quarantine was over. We made the choice to take her. We knew our adult dogs would be safe from the virus and we had gotten quite attached to her. So she came home Wednesday evening after surgery. She was in perfect health, until Saturday night. Just as we thought we were out of the woods. As the days went by we were feeling hopeful. But then Saturday night at 8pm she had her first bout of diarrhea and then vomited 30 minutes later. She came down with a fever and we knew parvo had hit. My other half has seen more parvo cases being in animal control for 15 years, I have only seen a few and not really been involved in their care. Parvo used to be an automatic death sentence for puppies. And truly it still is without proper care. We watched her Saturday into Sunday. Saturday night we got some meds into her,but knowing that was just supportive care. Sunday she was doing okay, but we knew the worst was yet to come. So we made the decision to have her hospitalized. There are only 2 vets in town that do emergency care and that are open 24hrs a day. We don't really like the one closer to our house, so we drove across town to the other vet. We met with the vet, did the parvo test which was positive, and made the decision to have her stay. Now of course this vet doesn't know us as we are not regular clients so they politely pointed out numerous times that treating parvo is expensive. She talked about the care needed and gave us a general quote of 800-2000 dollars. Stating really they only reach the 2000 dollar mark when the puppies have to stay 5-7 days. Well regardless of price we knew she needed to stay. So we put down an 800 dollar deposit and left our new baby at the vet. She went on IV meds and fluids. The next day we had a great report from the vet. She was being super spunky and loud, lol. Monday night they transitioned her to oral medications and they had said she could probably go home Tuesday afternoon. (I was kinda of excited, our puppy was only going to be a 2-3 day puppy, lol, yes I was thinking money. ) I was excited to have her home for other reasons than money also! Tuesday morning came around and I called for an update. The news was grime. She took a turn for the worse in the night. Wasn't eating, was vomiting even water up. Ok time to go back on IV meds. By Tuesday afternoon we went to visit and we left thinking Peanut may not ever be coming home. She was so sick. But yesterday (Wed) she started to feel a little better. We went and visited her last night and she was sitting up and eating a little. We are still guarded in that we don't want to get our hopes up, but our fingers our crossed that little Peanut will come home. She will be a 5-7 day puppy at the vet at the min. Yes, you can venture a guess how much this little 7 1/2 week old puppy is currently worth. Truly it isn't about the money, we will find it somehow. ( The rescue she came from made a big donation to her vet bill, and I can't thank them enough!!! ) So now we wait...
UPDATE: Peanut came home last night (Thursday 9-14). She just kept doing better all day and she was more than ready to get out of that small kennel. She is doing well and only hit the 5 day mark at the vet ;)

PPID- Pixie

Yesterday we got test results back for Pixie. We tested for both IR (insulin resistance) and PPID (formally called Cushings). We truly thought if it was either of the two it would have been IR, but no she does not have IR. She does however have PPID ( pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction). 

Here is what I knew about cushings in horses prior to getting this diagnosis yesterday:
1. It somehow affected the glucose levels
2. I was pretty sure it had to do with hormones somehow
3. They don't shed their hair and usually are shaved down in warmer months.

Here is what I am beginning to understand about this disease:

1. Yes, it does give them hyperglycemia, but it is so much more than that. Pixie's test came back at  125 fasting and that is high for fasting.
2. It is all hormone based. The pituitary gland essentially is overactive due to hypertrophy or an adenoma (neoplasm).
3. By they time they have stop shedding properly they are in the advance stages of the disease.
4. It affects their whole system. Basically they are immunocompromised meaning they are at a higher risk of infection.
5. It is either treated with medicine or not, but there is no in between. Since this is caused by a dysfunction of the pituitary gland you can't not treat with diet alone. Currently there is only one medicine on the market for horses. Which as we all know that means the medicine is expensive. With treatment though horses can live a normal life span, without treatment this disease will usually shorten their life quite a bit.

So basically it boils down to this. This diagnoses is a life changing dx for Pixie and I. Of course we are starting the medicine. Expensive or not I don't really see an option here. I can't treat this disease any other way. My only hope is that maybe one day there will be more than one drug available to help lower the price. This is a progressive disease. We are starting out at a 1/2 tablet a day, but as the years go the vet told me we will probably make our way up in dosage. But it could be years before we need to up the dosage so that is good. With the meds  she can eat like a normal horse with the exception of grass. She will never be able to free graze on lush green grass. But we shouldn't have to soak hay at least! Her feet should stop being sore. It may be up to a year before she is completely sound, but she should be feeling better in the next 3 months or so. She may or may not have to be in some sort of shoes forever. Time will tell on how sensitive her feet are.

This is what I know so far. There is far more to this then I ever realized. Between Pixie and Devan at least I can go around saying cool abbreviations for their diseases. PPID and EPI, that is enough now, I am not sure I can remember any more cool disease names though 😉

Then You Go Splat

This last week I worked really hard to maim myself. Last Sunday just a mile or so into the trail ride I dismounted without looking down first ( a big no no) and proceed to land on a rock and roll my ankle, resulting in spraining both sides. It didn't hurt as bad as one would expect (yes, it did hurt though) so I went on and finished my 6 mile ride. Now to see me get back on Navi the few times during the ride I am sure was quite the sight as I struggled to pull myself up. I am not graceful anyways, but without being able to push off of my right foot made it worse. Navi was a champ and stood there and let me climb my way up in a not so nice way.

After the ride it was time to float the creek. Fun times! I must do that again!!

By Thursday I was able to squeeze my foot back into my boot. So I was off to the barn. Promising my other half I would be super careful because I wasn't wearing my brace the dr said I had to wear for 2 weeks! 2 weeks of wearing a brace that won't fit into my boot meant no riding for two weeks...uhm no. And 4 months of wearing the brace on uneven ground!  (I did ask if there were limitations on what activities I could do while my ankle was sprained and the dr said "no, not really", they just wanted me to be careful. Oh and to probably avoid stairs. They didn't say I couldn't ride)
I decided I probably wouldn't really ride on Thursday and just took Navi down and did some liberty ground work. She was doing amazing! We had some really nice liberty work so I decided to try some bareback riding in the round pen to work on getting her softer. I didn't want to tack up so figured it would be a good time to start working towards bridle-less riding with her. We did some more warm up in the round pen and I jump on and off at liberty before putting her halter back on her. ( Ok, here is where I stop using my common sense.) She was kinda a pill for putting her halter back on, but I ignored that sign. Then we lined up and I hopped on. She quickly gave me the head shake, did I listen no, no why would I do that. I told her to stop it and walk on. (Keep in mind this mare hates being brushed, hates being touched. And I wonder why she doesn't like bareback riding?!) Ok she quits and we walk on. Work on flexing and relaxing at the walk. We get back around and I felt it coming. She braced humped up. Oh crap...up she went into a small rear I leaned forward and then she threw her head down bucked and when she came back up my head collided with her neck and I knew I was going to hit the ground. I fell off, landed on my side rolled over to the other side out and stayed put for a second. I tend to curl up in the fetal position just in case they decide to run me over. She didn't, she stood perfectly still like a good girl, lol. As I flew off I thought " my other half is gonna kill me" and great I sure hope I didn't mess up my ankle more. Well I jumped up and of course looked at Navi and said "Really Navi, Really". I was mad, but really I knew it was my fault. I had pushed passed all the signs she had given me. Bareback hurts her or just plain irritates her and she will always let me know if she doesn't like something. I sent her away then I relaxed and knew I had to go tack up to finish the ride. I wasn't leaving it on that note. We walked back up the hill and tacked up. I climbed up and she was great. We went for a little ride and then met up with some friends and hung out and talked while we rode around the arena. She did really well. A bit bracey and moody with the gelding riding with us, but compared to bucking me off it was really good, lol.  We called it a night and I left the barn with a fat lip, a few more bruises, and a bit of a headache. But hey my foot didn't hurt any worse!

So that my friends is how you end up going splat on the ground. Word of advice...don't ride your green, very opinionated, mare bareback when you know she hates bareback. I don't think liberty riding is out for us, but I do think we will do it with a saddle, lol.

 Well I am off to hit the trails with Navi today as Pixie is still slightly lame. We are still working on it, but really she doesn't need to be ridden so she gets time off to heal and hopefully come back sound! Besides Pixie could handle just getting loved on and groomed, she is partial to not working really.

20+ miles

Yesterday my partner, my friend K, and I all hit the trails bright and early in the morning. I had wanted to get Navi across the street and ride some new trails. We had a little issue at the road and her not wanting to cross so I just got off and walked her across. No biggie. Once we were through the 1st gate it was time for me to mount back up, that took a minute as she was insisting on coming up on the hill with me. We got that figured out and we were off. We met up with some cows who found us non-scary and just hung out while we accomplished our 1st water crossing. Now Navi lives in her irrigation ditch in the pasture so I was really hoping crossing water would be an easy thing for her. K said she shouldn't have an issue,lol, as she is a water baby.  And she didn't, didn't even bat an eye. Good Navi! We decided to turn around as it was getting hotter and Navi was getting tired. As we turned around we made a rattle snake mad and it rattled at us, it was off the trail so we just quickly and quietly left the area. No spook in her at all with the snake. She was a little rushy going home trying to keep up with the two faster horses, but otherwise I can't complain one bit! For a horse that is just now approaching her 1st 30 rides she is doing awesome out on the trails. We of course have fine tuning to do, but she has been wonderful to ride.

My goal was to hit the 20 mile mark yesterday, we did that plus 2 miles :)  Off to hit the trails again bright and early today!

Navi and I continue/Self Doubt

Navi and I have been getting more rides in. Some good, some just ok. Saturday we lost all "gas" and her steering left a lot to be desired! But then Sunday we tackled 4.3 miles of hills, cows, turkeys, and "off roading" and she did amazing!
 See here is the thing, like I said before, Navi was a blank slate when she came home. She was to be my first start to finish horse. So when we have bad rides/days I have no one to blame but myself, however it works the other way too, when we have good rides/days I am responsible for that too. I suppose that is really no different than any other horse/rider partnership. Navi and I are finding our riding partnership now in this stage of our relationship and it overall is going great! So many days in this journey I was pretty sure we were never going to get there. The self doubt was huge. I knew I could do this, but there were moments when I really really really questioned myself. Had I gotten in over my head? Did I really know what I was doing? Could I really use clicker training to "break" a horse? All the things you have been told about horses growing up comes back real quick when you get scared and feelings of needing to "win"come out in due to the fear of getting hurt. Have I used pressure and release on Navi? Yes I have. We have done quite a bit of pressure and release work. Do I still mix it up with clicker training? Yes. Is it suppose to be that way in a perfect world? Nope. In a perfect world of clicker training there would be no pressure and release involved. While I am moving away from mixing the two training methods one step at a time it takes a while. It is a journey, one that is never ending. I follow people who use clicker training exclusively and some day I want to grow up to be them :)
 I have learned many new things on this journey of clicker training my horses:

1. It takes time, and lots of it. Training is never fast and it really does take a ton of time.
2. It is possible if you keep at it.
3. You can control a 1000 lb animal riding without a bit if you give them a reason to listen to you other than fear. 
4. Sometimes you will doubt yourself and at times others will doubt you, but don't give up.  

Well I am off to hit the trails with Navi. We shall see how today goes 😆

Our ride on July 2. Taking a break in the shade.

2nd Ride out on Navi

Yesterday my other half and I hit the roads around the ranch again. I walked Navi down the road to the huge new outdoor arena. We warmed up a little and then I hopped on. She hasn't ever been to this area so it was all new! She walked out like a champ. With the support of my partner we decided to try some trot work. She was a little hesitant at first, but then moved right into a nice even trot that was super smooth :) We did that for a few minutes off and on. She was awesome. It was nice to finally have the first trot under saddle out of the way. I was beaming with pride when we accomplished it. My partner is a great support and is super good about reminding me to watch my hands. I tend to nag and I needed to just relax and let her have her head. After that it was time for lunch. The ranch was hosting lunch for the poker run and clinic that was going on also. So we left the arena and rode back to the main area of the ranch. Navi was perfect for the ride back. She lead the way some and followed some. We accomplished our second bridge crossing! We rode right up to all the action where the cavaletti clinic was coming to a close, horses and people everywhere and she didn't care one bit. We tied the girls up for a break while we ate lunch. After lunch we got back on and did a little work over the cavalettis that were still set up from the clinic. It was super fun and Navi was one tired girl. We called it a day and rode back up the the tack room.

It may have taken us a lot longer than planned to really start riding, but in the end I feel like everything happens for a reason and this is no different. Every bump in the road, every set back, every moment that I questioned if I knew what I was doing had its reason for happening. Navi and I have had amazing moments while training and not so amazing moments. But I can say this there has never been a time when I pushed her to where she was truly stressed or scared and now it seems to have paid off. Last summer when we started to ride again and she started rearing up a little I always got off and started over. Why? Simply because I have no desire to get hurt or hurt her. Was she told no when she really threw a fit? Yes she was because again I like my safety.

I sat out on this journey to make Navi a trail horse through clicker training mixed with some traditional training. When we very first started I was still riding in bits, since then we have given up riding in bits completely. We are on this journey to keep learning and learning is certainly what we are doing. Navi has only worn a bit one time in her life and then I quickly changed my mind and never had her wear it again. We are riding in a side pull currently and it works great!

Our journey together hasn't been perfect, far from, but I can say I am proud that I have made a horse that is safe enough to ride out bitless in new areas on her 2nd ride out. Today we hope to hit the actual trails for the first time :)

Navi and I finally did it!

5 or so years ago I set out with the plans on buying a baby horse and taking them from start to finish myself. In late Nov 2012, Navi came home as a 1 1/2 yr old blank slate. Flash forward to now. She turned 6 this year and yesterday we took our 1st "trail"ride with a couple other horses. I can't believe come November of this year I will have owned her for 5 years! Wow, time really does fly!!

To say this road has been smooth sailing would be a bit of a lie. Her and I have had anything but a smooth ride up to this point. Navi and I have not seen eye to eye a lot of the time. But I just had to learn to listen to her and go with the flow. All plans have been thrown out the window about a hundred times. I was planning on starting her lightly on trails at the age of 4, but then as we know she tried to cut her leg off. That was a year of healing and not knowing if she was going to even come back sound to ride. So we dabbled in the world of driving. (Which I do plan on still doing) It was decided she was sound for at least light riding so at the age of 5 we started under saddle training again. Except this time around, unlike when she was 3, she was not easy to ride. She started kind of throwing fits when I would get on her. I feel like I changed the way we did things 500 times in hopes of finding a non-stressful way of getting her going under saddle. She pushed my confidence to the brink and made me think hard of ways to find a partnership with her. More than once I said I didn't think she was ever going to be a riding horse. In fact just this year in early spring, my partner and I finally just said nope her being a trail horse isn't going to happen. I made the decision to just focus on riding Pixie and enjoying the summer. Navi of course would never leave us. She would always have a home with me, but I decided to take a break from regular training. We were doing well for the most part, but I had to find my confidence and desire to continue to try and push through this road block when it came to riding. I have always struggled to find my way with Navi cause she pushes my buttons. And lets face it I have always had an easy out as long as I have had Pixie around to ride. I didn't need to push myself. Well then Pixie came up lame again in the beginning of June. I had 3 choices: 1. Not trail ride 2. Buy another trail horse 3. Step up to the plate and just ride Navi. Here is how this decision was made. It was quickly decided I am already poor so another horse was out, lol. I could go the summer without trail riding, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I could also see if Navi and I could work this out and hopefully hit the trails. So it was decided it was time for me to just saddle up and ride her. I have great medical insurance, so heck why worry about it. I got my helmet and and last weekend I climbed aboard after months of not riding. I waited for the blow up, the rearing and or bucking. It never came...so ride two I waited again and it never happened. Then ride 3 this week. I pushed a bit more she got mad, pinned her ears, tossed her head,but never blew up. What happened here? Had I finally figured out how to connect with this mare and ride? Had I just gained my confidence and said the heck with it? I am not really sure I know the answer, but I do know I wasn't nervous one bit on her last night. I know I can ride and for the most part I can ride through a blow up. And well I have a helmet.

Why are all my horses slow??

So there we were on our 1st trail ride. We actually were out a bit farther from the barn, but I decided it was best to not take pictures and focus on my riding. Well up until the end when I couldn't resist. :) We rode over a bridge, she was perfect! We rode past horses in pastures that wanted to come see us, she did great! We tackled a tiny hill or two (really tiny) and she did great! I don't think someone could have ruined my excitement if they had tried really really hard. I could have cried when I dismounted at the tack room I was so happy! This moment was one I had waited for for a long long time. Our journey is far from over, we have so much more to do. And we will hit many more curves and bumps along the way while trail riding, but until then I am enjoying the moment.

Crazy Horse Owner

Everyone knows the world is full of "crazy" horse owners. No one wants to be one, but the truth is we will all become one at some point. 😊

I feel as though I have officially become one, lol. Don't feel bad for me, I enjoy my little stressed out world. However, you should feel bad for the barn employees where my horses are kept. Because not only am I a crazy horse owner of 1 horse, but we of course have 5. You know that means we are crazy times 5! Which means the poor people that take care of my horses are subjected to 50 thousand texts a week. All of which probably include " okay we are going to move so and so or can you check on so and so..." Oh yes, I am that person who freaks out and will text at 6:30am to please check on my horse when I am told the night before that he is sore on his feet. I am also that owner that decides to move their horse and then two weeks later needs to move her back to her original paddock. Or I need to dry lot my horse this month, but next month she needs to be moved to a different pen with more shade. The last text I sent Friday to the manager said "Don't worry I think I am done moving horses for a while" Ha! 24 hrs later my other half and I are talking about that we need to move Pixie to a different pen. I assume they know to no longer believe me when I say things like that, lol. I want my horses to graze 24 hrs a day, but I don't want them to get fat ( Hey that is kinda like me, I want to eat all the time and stay skinny??), lol. Oh and here let me have special hay boxes to feed my ponies out of so they can slow feed.

I keep my horses 47 miles away from my house, why? Well because I am that crazy owner and no where closer to me even comes close to my standards of care! Why don't I buy land you say and keep them at home? Because I can't afford to have such nice pastures for them. They need space to run, graze, have a year round live creek, and have shelter. I am sure if I do ever buy land and take my horses home every employee at the barn will be throwing us a good bye party 😝 Ok, I don't think they will be that excited to see us go, lol.

The first step in any problem is admitting you have a problem. No worries, I know I have a problem.

In all seriousness though, everyday I am so beyond grateful for the ranch that my horses live at. I couldn't ask for a better place or better people to care for my babies. Every time we go out there I feel blessed that we are able to call that place home for our horses!

Now I am off to get errands done so I can get the ranch early to figure out a game plan for where Pixie will be moved to. Pixie is lame again, so I need to find a perfect combination of somewhere she can graze, but not get fat again, but can move around more than her current situation. Willow has a cut on her neck that I want to check on. I need to get Navi dressed in her fly sheet now that she isn't in the big pasture with tons of shade to protect her from the sun. Jess and Char... well I think they should be good to go for the day. They will get their one candy cane they get each time we visit. It is super tough being a retired horse of mine. You have to walk to the fence when we arrive to receive your candy cane. What, you say, you can buy candy canes year round?? Oh yes, no worries you can always find them on Amazon or cracker barrel 😉.

Admitting Defeat

*Warning this is not a nice post* And it may ramble on a bit...

As a Positive Reinforcement trainer, I get my methods criticized all the time. And that is okay, because in the end it makes me a better trainer and friend to my horses. However, what I don't handle well is the never ending comments from people about how it is okay to be mean to horses because they are big and they can kill you. Some days I just want to say fine! I give, you are right. It is perfectly okay for us to be harsh and cruel to another living creature out of our own fear.

Below are just a few responses on Facebook after I posted about a horse being pushed past his threshold as the reason he went to bucking. Actually I will put my response and then follow it up with the comments. I am leaving the names out of the comments in response to mine.

Sarah Shipman "All I see is that poor horse getting spurred and yanked in the mouth because he was pushed past his threshold... Sigh. I know I am probably a lone in this thought, because it is always the horses fault never us humans that push them to that point. As usual I see fear and pain in the eyes of a animal and others see it as funny. Maybe some day humans will stop being so cruel, but I am not holding out hope. Don't want to argue with anyone... I have said my peace."

1) "Not really, kinda got to get after a big animal like that otherwise they're likely to kill ya. I'm all for compassion. But I know I'll sink a spur in ones side if they go to buckin on me."

2)" If ever in doubt about correcting a rank horse watch a herd establish its hierarchy___ was reaching back to try and bite ___leg and I didn't believe ___. So when I took ___out, sure enough, she reached back for my leg and after meeting the sole of my boot she never did it again. Horses are powerful amazing animals. For us, the joy of the ride with the powerful animals is being prepared for when things don't go quite as expected. I've never met a bombproof horse immune to a freak day in the ring or on the trail. It's part of learning to protect yourself and the horse when things get out of control." 

To me what happened in the video was the guy was trying to stick out a wild ride,but the real problem to me is the fact that the horse was pushed to that point. Only one other person watched the video and gave feedback as to why the horse was bucking in the 1st place. Everyone else was just impressed with the riders ability to stick it out. Which he did do a good job of staying on. As the person in the 1st comments states they are all for compassion, but... this is what is wrong with our society. There is always a "but" attached to the words compassion when it comes to animals. I will be very honest in this post and say it is days like today that I feel defeated. I see just how many cruel people are in this world and I feel like I will never make a difference. I want to plant a seed with as many people as I can and use positive reward training on humans too, but frankly humans make it hard!  I struggle to have empathy for humans because for the most part they don't have empathy for anybody else. I have given up hope that humans will ever have compassion for any other animal. 

I started writing this blog in 2012 when I got Navi 4 years ago almost to the day. I had hoped that in the last 4 years I would have seen a difference in how humans thought. But now I have my doubts that we will ever change. Although truthfully how can I ever expect change when you have big time horse trainers such as Clinton Anderson that openly say, sometimes you have to kick a horses ass to show him who is boss, and that he hopes the bit-less tree hugging people get themselves killed so he doesn't have to deal with them... AND people still give him money! So I finally admit defeat! I throw up the white flag. I finally understand how people that think like me become so bitter. So often others tell them they should be kinder to humans if they want to get their point across, but there in lies the problem. Humans don't listen to kindness. For a long time I was willing to be accepting of things that I wasn't really accepting of to seem not extreme and to not be thought of as the "crazy" person, lol. But I am over it! Call me crazy, call me dumb, call me a tree hugging crazy bit-less horse person. But all that is okay because at least I can't be called heartless and cruel. (when it comes to animals at least, I am the 1st to admit I can be heartless when it comes to humans) 

Meanwhile if you need me I will be out riding the trails with Pixie in just a halter( or maybe without) and I will be working on riding my 5 year old horse at liberty. Don't worry I will try to keep in mind that since they are big they might decide to try and kill me because I am not being harsh enough. Remember though I do have boundaries with my horses and require manners, odd I know since I use treats *gasp*. 

I leave you with this question...Why is it okay for us (humans) to cause pain to an animal, but it is not okay for them to cause us pain in return? 

Trail riding without the Halter!

Our 1st time on the trails with just a neck rope.

Yesterday my partner and I hit the trails with Willow and Pixie. It was the perfect fall day and the ride was awesome. In fact everything was going so well that I decided to take off the halter for the last part of the ride. After we made it down the very big hill I took off Pixie's halter. Well okay I first checked with my other half to see if we had a clicker with us. I wasn't going to trail ride at liberty and not have a clicker. Safety! After getting my clicker the halter came off and off we went. Okay maybe she had to eat a little grass before we could start walking, lol. I will admit when we came to our 1st downhill section I was a bit nervous. I had no reason to be as she was perfect as she slowly went down the hill. This was a dream come true for me and now I know the possibilities are endless. However as with every big milestone I discovered lots about myself and my riding.

Here is some of the things I learned:
1) I have control issues (okay, okay I knew this before, but it really comes to light on the open trail with nothing on the horses head.)
2) Control issues = micromanaging
3) I didn't realize just how much the idea of reins made me feel safe.

So yes, it was very obvious to me just how much I seek control when riding the trails and how much mental reassurance the reins give me. In the beginning every time I wanted to change direction I immediately picked up the neck rope instead of asking with my seat and legs first. Funny I would do this since I have ridden at liberty in the arena more times than I can count. But habits are ingrained in us!  I found myself once again trying to steer with the neck rope when we reached a spot where we had to cross the gravel road to get back to the grass (she likes walking in the grass) however we had to avoid ditch too. But I caught myself and put it down, and said ok Pixie I trust you to not put us in the ditch. And guess what we made it around the ditch, lol. As I knew we would,but as stated before I have control issues.  The first time she broke into a trot to catch up with Willow I once again went straight to the neck rope to try and slow her down. Oh wait that isn't her cue to stop when we ride at liberty. Ha...she did slow down but did not stop. Okay, let me try the actual cue...I took a deep breath and relaxed and she stopped immediately. Good girl for listening when I actually used the right cue! Good girl for making me use the right cue!

I found that when we got closer to having to cross the road to get back home I was nervous. Why? I don't know. As I told my partner I knew she wasn't going to run away with me, but for some reason having reins gave me a certain level of comfort. And I never realized just how much my mind relied on those reins. Maybe because I knew there was no room for error or not listening when it came to crossing a road where the speed limit is 65. It was crucial she listen. We approached, she stopped and waited for traffic, and then we crossed on cue. She was perfect. It was important that I made sure I used the right cues! By the time we made it back to the driveway to the ranch I was super relaxed and had figured out how to use the correct cues, lol.

 It was nice having my partner there to remind me to put down the neck rope. That the whole point of me riding at liberty was to not have reins of any shape or form, lol. Oh yeah... I guess that is the point huh. Funny how the minute you step out of your comfort zone you forget how to do things like ride with your seat and legs. Or as my partner reminded me giving up the last ounce of control is something I struggle with.

Here is the thing. It isn't or shouldn't be about control, it should be about a partnership. Seeking this partnership with Pixie is my ultimate goal, but to get there I have to learn how to give up the control and let the partnership happen. I am still learning about myself and how to become a better partner to Pixie. The feeling of riding at liberty on the trails was the ultimate high for me. It was something I never thought I would be able to do.  (On that note, please don't go out and try to ride at liberty on the trails without the proper training in place.)

The moment we started walking on the trail without the halter, I remembered back to when I was standing in the round pen in tears with Pixie thinking I am never going to find a way to connect with this mare. Yet I did, and here we were riding at liberty on the open trail :)

It Takes Time

Navi and I had an "ok" day yesterday while working. I wanted to introduce targeting the cone from a distance so I can send her to target while we ride at liberty. We of course are starting on the ground,but even then I found that I frustrated her and she would head toss and even reared up once. I of course made her move her feet, no rearing up around me allowed. However, I needed to look at what I did to cause it. And truthfully I wasn't sure. My other half helped me figure it out and we then went on to end on a good note. Overall the session went well, but I still couldn't help but some what feel defeated at the end. But then I talked it over with my other half who reminded me it takes time. And we will get there, and when we do we will be one heck of a team. I have to remember we have only been working on the liberty riding for about three/four weeks now. It seems like so long, but when you only work a couple days a week on it, that really isn't that long. I have to remind myself it took A LOT of hours with Pixie.

 I can't expect Navi to be perfect, but yet for some reason when we have a bad session I feel like a failure. I don't know why, maybe because I feel like after 4 years together we should be farther than we are. I should stop comparing our progress with others because their journey isn't ours. And she is a baby and I have to take that into account. Maybe because I struggle so hard to find a way to connect with her. I feel like I should be able to breakdown her behaviors and understand her perfectly,but I can't and as someone who has trained lots of animals that makes me feel like I failed. I don't know why because I know that as a trainer you always learn something from every animal, and you never stop learning. It could be that  I am putting too much pressure on myself and then in return I put too much pressure on Navi to be perfect.

I think the hardest part about my style of training is that sometimes allowing the horse to have a voice is hard. It goes against everything you are ever taught when it comes to horses. When I decided to try liberty riding with Navi it made me very very nervous. I was taking away all control I had of her. Of course I am still nervous to a point, but not nearly as much. I think some fear is healthy it keeps me from getting hurt, lol. But taking away control from me is exactly what I needed to do. Because I lived in too much fear of getting hurt while riding her. I wanted to micro manage her with the reins, and that was just going to frustrate her. We were going to end up butting heads at some point, and I didn't want that.

It is funny that I often tell people your journey is your own. What you and your horse do together is what is important, not what other people think you should be doing. Maybe I should take my own advice and stop comparing my journey with Navi to others. That is just it, our journey is ours...frustrations and all :) My journey with each of my horses is different, and I need to accept that.

One of the good things about blogging  my adventures with my horses is that it allows me to stop and reflect. I can really analyze what has happened and what I need to do going forward.  Well off to the barn to see what is in store for Navi and I today :)