Hittin' the Road

Just a quick post, so that no one worries... I'm hittin' the road tomorrow morning and won't be able to post again until next week. I'm taking my mother on a short vacation to Santa Barbara, California, where we will attend an Arabian horse show and whatever else suits our fancy. She's been bugging me for quite some time to take a two-week cruise with her to some foreign country, but the idea of being crammed onto a floating vessel with a bunch of other people, some of whom are probably contagious with something, has never appealed to me. Plus I can't be away from my home, family, and pets for more than a few days without all hell breaking loose. So, I'm trying to quench my mother's thirst to wander by taking her on a short jaunt.

When I return I should have plenty of material to share. I'm taking my camera and tape recorder just in case I meet some people who will be interesting to interview. My son helped me make up Nuzzling Muzzles business cards to hand out, so that I can direct people to the website where they can find their pictures and stories.

When I was in college, people in the journalism department kept trying to recruit me, but I told them I was more interested in creative writing than in reporting news. When I had my job as a parenting educator, I had my own newspaper column called, "The Parent's Corner." I recall the editor of the paper asking me if I'd be interested in a position as a journalist, and again I said I was more interested in creative writing than reporting the news. Now that I'm older and obsessed with the news, I'd love to have a job as a journalist. This blog helps me feed that desire.

Until next week... Take care.

The Vacation Situation

I only get a couple of weeks of vacation time each year, so when I have the time off, I want to use it wisely. This week is the first vacation of 2008 for me. I planned it around a horse show that I wanted to see, but did not realize that it was the week before Memorial Day. Usually I avoid planning my vacations around holidays, because I like to ride my horses while on vacation, but if a holiday is nearby I have to contend with tourists stopping to watch me ride and doing stupid things that scare my horses and endanger me.

My goals for each vacation include:
1. Rest and relax.
2. Do some things I always want to do, but never have the time.
3. Do some things I have to do, but never had the time.

It got to be just about 4:00 PM when I realized that I had spent some time on the R&R and on doing things I have to do, but I still hadn't done something I want to do. I had just received an upsetting email from Hotels.com telling me that the room I reserved for two double beds was changed to a room with one single king. My mother told me that she has to have her own bed, so it looks like I will be sleeping on the floor. I called several different phone numbers to try to correct the problem, but was put on hold indefinitely. I gave up and went outside to ride a horse, hoping that would lower my blood pressure.

While riding Lostine, a bunch of cars pulled up in front of my neighbor's house. Lostine could hear people behind the barn, but couldn't see them, so she was on alert. I could feel her nerves buzzing through my legs. The voices got louder as people approached my side of the street. A woman and a toddler popped out from behind the barn and Lostine screeched to a halt. The woman crouched down to be on the same level as the toddler, and Lostine pinned her ears forward, arched her neck, humped up her back, and started snorting. I tried to urge her forward, but she kept backing up.

I contemplated asking the woman to stand up, but decided it was my job to get my horse past this fear. I continued to push Lostine forward, but she didn't release her death grip on the ground where she was standing until I said, "It's okay."

I thought that moving her up to a trot would get her mind back on her work, but she just wanted to take off. I pulled back harder and harder on the reins, sat back, said "Whoa!" and squeezed with my upper thighs, but she just tucked her nose into her chest and kept going faster. "Damn! I have no brakes," I said to myself, knowing that my choices were either to let her go and hang on until she settles down, or turn her in circles. I wasn't particularly intimidated, so I decided to ride it out. It wasn't easy to keep a steady seat, because I had just cleaned my saddle and it was slippery.

By now the woman had the toddler sitting on her shoulders and was pointing at me. I just smiled and pretended like I had complete control over my horse. There are a lot of things I love about Lostine, but she is the first in a long line of very hot halter horses, and even at 20 years of age, she still has all that fire in her. Her flashy red coat matches her personality.

Once she settled down, I worked on single-reining in tight turns and backing up. Each time I asked her to do something, she humped up her back as if ready to throw me. Memories came flooding back of that Labor Day when I came off Bombay and broke my arm. It was the beginning of a one-week vacation just like I am now at the beginning of a one-week vacation. I didn't want to take my chances at having an accident that would cancel my vacation, so I dismounted. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Grazing with My Buddies

Today I rode Bombay and made sure to include a cavesson beneath the bridle. It turned out that a hinge on the cheek piece of the bit did match up to the location where his fur was missing, so it was probably pinching the hair right off of his cheek. The noseband lifts the bit off his cheeks and protects him from pinching and rubbing.

I then bathed and groomed all three horses. Talk about exhausting! However, since it was in the mid-90's today, all that water spray felt good. I opted not to go to the horsemanship clinic because I had too many other things to do this weekend.

Once the horses were bathed, I didn't want to turn them out in the dirt paddock, so I put them out to pasture.
I sat down in the grass, watched and waited to get some good shots with my camera.

Oh oh, I've been spotted.

Here comes Gabbrielle to investigate.

Right about now I'm thinking about getting up.

I decided to trust her instead. She just sniffed me to make sure I wasn't hurt, and then grazed nearby.

Everything was cool until Lostine let out a huge whinny and launched into a gallop, sending Gabbrielle and Bombay into fits. We don't want the horses to gallop in the pasture, because it tears up the grass that we've spent years of back-breaking labor growing and nurturing.

Lostine is the only horse that breaks that rule. When she gets like that, she ignores my commands to halt, so I have to catch her with the lead rope and walk her until she settles down enough to get interested in grazing again.

I LOVE THIS HORSE!

Whoever tells you that Arabian horses are crazy needs to meet my filly Gabbrielle. This horse is so level-headed, so affectionate, so intelligent, and so beautiful that she blows me away. Today I ran outside on my lunch break to try lunging her with a heavier saddle. Right when I put the halter on her, a huge, loud truck came up the street. I was ready for her to bolt, but she completely ignored it.

As soon as I got the saddle on her and was tightening the cinch, our mail carrier came racing up the street blaring his horn to announce his arrival. I jumped out of my skin and yelled, "SHUT UP! I'M WORKING WITH A HORSE HERE!"

His horn is so incredibly loud that after jumping out of my skin, I was shaking all over in shock. I looked at Gabbrielle and realized that she wasn't in the least bit affected by the mail carrier's actions nor my reactions. In fact, she had an amused expression on her face and then nuzzled me as if to calm me down.

The entire time that I worked with her in the round pen, a neighbor who has been landscaping his yard for two years now was out making a racket pushing boulders around with a backhoe. The sudden loud noises were messing with my nervous system, but Gabbrielle just kept her head in her work.

At the end of our lesson, I put my foot in the stirrup and jumped up and down. (This is a horse who has never been ridden before.) Gabbrielle just held still and faced forward with her ears forward. I think she was actually happy that I was finally going to ride her -- so she thought. When I ride my other horses, she pokes at my leg as if telling me to get off the horse I am on and ride her instead.

I then pushed all the way up and leaned across the saddle. Despite me tightening her cinch multiple times, it was still loose, so the saddle slipped quite a bit down her side. She just turned her head and looked at me with her ears pinned forward as if to investigate what was causing that strange sensation. I apologized, straightened the saddle, and led her back to the trailer to remove the tack and reward her with carrots. Something tells me that she will someday be the best riding partner a girl could wish for.

I Heart Your Blog

This award was given to me by OnTheBit at A Horse and A Half! It's time for me to pass it on to the blogs that I heart...

Jessie and Remington have taught me so much. I am in awe of those who have what it takes to train wild mustangs.

Along that same vein, Angi & Prosperity deserve a standing ovation. I'm looking forward to seeing them at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento.

Another blog I really enjoy is RANCHette. She posts on a variety of subjects and is generous with the photos. I enjoy following the activities of Mr. Banderas and the other animals around the ranch.

Roy Yates Horsemanship Clinic

Has anyone ever attended a horsemanship clinic presented by Roy Yates? He will be coming to a ranch just down the road from me this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It costs $150 per day to ride and $50 per day to watch. That's a bit steep for me, so I wanted to see if anyone has any comments on his clinics before I part with my wallet. Did you learn a lot? Are his clinics fast-paced or is there a lot of standing around? Is it worth it to sit in the sun for hours on end as a spectator? It's supposed to be 90-degrees this weekend. Help, please.