Book Review: Trail Training for the Horse and Rider

I know I've been doing a lot of book reviews lately, but Trail Training for the Horse and Rider by Judi Daly is really worth some attention. After reading it, I was dreaming of going on a trail ride up the carpeted stairs of my parents' two-story house, into their bedroom closet, and through a tiny hole in the back of their closet, which led to the most beautiful, quiet, peaceful scenery on earth. You know that a book leaves an impression on you when it seeps into your subconscious like that.

The first printing of this book was in 2004, and Daly admits that her motive for writing it was the fact that she looked for information on trail training, and found nothing at the time when she first began riding the trails. Daly routinely rides more than 1,000 miles on her horse each year, so I think it is safe to say that she has become an expert on the subject through experience.

What I loved most about this book was the way that Daly explained why we should follow her advice, giving specific examples of when the training could come in handy. She blows a lot of old wives tales out of the water and takes a more logical approach to training your horse for trail riding. I do tire of people saying "always do this" and "never do that" without even knowing why it has to be that way. So much of what we know about horse training has been regurgitated on down the line without any real understanding of what is behind the belief.

For instance, many people say to always mount of the horse's left. Or the negative flip-side of that statement is to never mount on the horse's right. I've heard these statements made over the years, and the people who deliver them say it with such fear, as if the horse will go nuts or self-destruct if you do something slightly different from its routine. I have felt that it is wise to practice mounting from both sides, because if you injure your left foot, ankle, or leg, you will need to put the brunt of your weight on your right, thus mounting from the right side of the horse. You may as well make your horse get used to being mounted from both sides.

Daly also brings up the example of the way in which we mount. We are taught to not jab the horse in the side with our toes, and not kick the horse in the butt while swinging our leg over, because that is what is polite to the horse. Yet if we get injured out on the trails, we won't be able to pull off a smooth, perfect, polite mount. We probably will be unbalanced and sloppy due to the pain and lack of coordination, so we may as well teach our horses to tolerate a sloppy mount in the round pen every once in a while so that it won't be such a shock to them out on the trail.

Everything we teach ourselves and our horses needs to have a functional purpose, and Daly has had so many bizarre experiences in all her years of riding that she knows what can happen out there and what skills would have been useful for her and her horse at the time. She's got that 20/20 vision that comes with hindsight.

One story she told in her book made me feel better about my own lousy luck. I used to think that flukes only seemed to happen to me, but one time when she and her sister were out on a ride, they had the ultimate happen to them. Her sister had dismounted to lead her horse across an obstacle, and just when she was about to mount her horse, she paused because she felt a sneeze coming on. In that instant, a tree fell in the forest just 50-feet from them, causing their horses to spook and bolt. Had her sister been in the process of mounting just then, she could have been seriously injured. What are the chances that a tree would fall right where you are riding your horse, for Pete's sake? I think trail riders and trail horses have to be some of the most tested individuals on earth. Of course, Daly felt that her sister was saved by a sneeze, and therefore lucky. All I can think of is how unfortunate they had to be to have a freakin' TREE fall near them.

Daly says, "Don't make the mistake of letting anyone talk you into doing something you don't feel you or your horse are ready for." Some of you may remember that I had a riding partner for a short while last summer. Her goal was to get Bombay out on the trails by the end of the week. However, by the end of the week, he was still jigging and spooking violently in the arena. I knew he wasn't ready for the unpredictability of the trails. He was still trying to get used to being out of his comfort zone away from his home and his herd. I resisted the pressure that this riding partner put on us, and she hit the road. I think her rush had more to do with her own desire to be on the trail instead of in the arena.

What I didn't realize at the time, which Daly explains in her book, is that jigging or prancing is a precursor to rearing. The horse has all this nervous energy and is directing it UP rather than forward. It's a dangerous habit to let your horse form. She devotes an entire chapter of her book addressing this issue, and other chapters explaining the mechanics and psychology behind spooking, bolting, balking and bucking. It's information that we all need, since any horse can spook, bolt, buck, balk or rear if triggered.

Another point she brought up, which I wish I knew when I owned my first horse, is that a horse's second and third years are a critical time for introducing them to new situations. Young horses are curious and willing to explore their environment. However, if you keep them in the same space for ten years, and then suddenly ask them to take you out on the trails, they will be resistant and probably develop vices. I wish I was more willing to trailer my horses places when they were young, but half the time I always thought, "What's the point? I can't ride them. It's just one more body I've got to get in and out of the trailer."

I did take Gabbrielle on a few escapades, but that was only when I had help. I never felt confident to handle two horses off the property by myself, so I always took the horse I could ride. Had I realized just how beneficial it is in shaping your horse's personality and confidence, I would have taken both Bombay and Gabbrielle on more field trips when they were 2 and 3 years old. Trail riding is good for your horse's mental health. That alone should be motivation to hook up that trailer and hit the road with your horses.

Another point the Daly raises regarding horse psychology is that we should not try to deter spooking by ignoring whatever our horse is pointing out to us. Better yet, when our horse alerts on something, we too should alert to let the horse know we see it too, and then relax to let the horse know that the threat has been assessed and determined to be harmless. If we ignore what our horses are telling us, they will just get more nervous, because they will think we aren't paying attention, and they will take the decision-making into their own hands.

Daly supports teaching your horse to respond to voice commands in addition to physical aids. Why? Because some day you might be out in the middle of nowhere, get hurt, and need your horse to carry you back to civilization. However, if your injuries prevent you from using the traditional physical aids to direct the horse, where would you be without those voice commands? Voice commands are also helpful when you drop a rein, lose a stirrup, or lose your balance.

Trail Training for the Horse and Rider contains a lot of delicious tidbits. Above all else, I don't feel intimidated to go trail riding after reading this book. I actually feel confident, better educated, motivated, and enthusiastic about seeing how far my horses and I can go on whatever paths we may take.

Ranch Horse in the Making

Bombay has an active mind, so I have to give him a job to do every once in while... something besides going in circles at different paces, taking walks along the road, and desensitization exercises. When I was riding him on Saturday in the round pen, I noticed that the horses had managed to bust the fence, probably while itching themselves on it. I was exhausted from riding my bicycle and mucking manure, so I didn't want to have to dismount and walk over to the fence to fix it.

Instead, I rode Bombay over the to gate of the round pen and maneuvered him this way and that to help me open the gate. As soon as we walked out, the girls trotted in, so Bombay helped me shut the gate from the saddle and lock them in the round pen where they would stay out of our hair. I then rode Bombay over to the first fence post that needed fixing, stopped him, and worked on pounding the cap back into place with my hand. Once that was done, I urged him forward a few steps to the next fence post, and he waited while I pounded down that cap. We continued in this fashion until the top rail was secured.

I was surprised, yet not surprised, that Bombay knew just what to do. I had never asked him to help me repair a fence before, but he understood just what he needed to do to get the job done. Of course, he received lots of pets and pats and praise for his bright mind. What a guy!

Cleaning and Conditioning the Tack

I noticed that when I'm sitting in my Tucker High Plains trail saddle, the back of the square skirt does dig into Lostine's back enough to leave a line in her fur even with a thick blanket beneath it. Since this is not an Arabian saddle, I had to pick one with a short skirt. However, being a new saddle, the skirt is quite stiff, so I decided to condition the heck out of it to try to soften the leather to allow some bend.

The saddle below is my Circle Y Arabian Mojave saddle. It's very comfortable, but the Flex Tree has stretched out so wide after several years of use that I can barely fit two fingers under the pommel now. It also rides up over Lostine's withers, so I don't use it with her anymore.

This black saddle was my very first western saddle. It has a Cordura synthetic skirt and fenders, and was made by American Saddlery. I like the way I stick to the rougher seat, but it has a 15.5" seat, which is too small for me now. It fit me well when I first owned horses. It's very lightweight, so I've used it for Gabbrielle's ground training, and still occasionally put it on Lostine and cram my rear into it.

After cleaning and conditioning the saddles, I brought out all the bridles and martingales. I wanted to try Neatsfoot Oil on my light reins to darken them up since all my tack is dark oil or black.

These reins came from the same set. It's just that the darker one has Neatsfoot Oil applied while the lighter one has the original color.

Getting Ready for the Mountain Bikers

Before taking your horses out on the trails, it helps to introduce them to a bicycle within the comfort zone of their home. The first step is to set a bicycle out so that your horses can approach and inspect it while it is not moving. Sniff those handlebars, Gabbrielle.

Sniff those tires.

Oh no! My horse is a bicycle seat sniffer!

Oh oh! Don't you do it, Gabbrielle!

Sigh. She did it. I don't think she liked the taste of it.

The next step is to ride the bicycle away from your horses. Gabbrielle actually chased me around the paddock at first. I was worried that she would canter past me and kick out to the side, so I started pedaling faster. Then I realized that I can't outrun a horse and I stopped. Gabbrielle rear-ended me.

I then worked on riding up from behind the horses since that is what will most likely spook them out on the trails. I was careful to stay out of kicking distance until I knew they were totally comfortable with it.

I rode up to them and talked to them and petted them.

I let them sniff some more and wiggled the front tire back and forth.

Gabbrielle was the most curious, obviously, since her mug is in the majority of the pictures. Bombay played with the bike a little bit, but eventually got bored and played with his Jolly Ball instead. Lostine kept her distance and remained wary. She stomped the ground once when I changed gears while riding past, but mostly stood in the corner. By the end of my ride, I was weaving in and out of the horses, and they were poking me with their noses as I passed. They got so comfortable with it that they rolled on the ground while I bicycled around them. That was the fastest desensitization exercise I've ever done. Now if only I can get them to let me rub a white plastic grocery bag all over their bodies.

Pretty in Pink, Sort of...

Hey! Who told my mom to put this rope halter on me? I'm going to kick you!

Not really. I'm actually a sweetheart.

I look like a girl in hot pink! I'm gonna bite whoever advised that mom use this rope halter!

Nah. I'm really a nice guy.

Then there's me who couldn't care less, because I know how to walk on a loose lead. Hee hee.

Today's walk was interesting. We added my neighbor and her dog into the mix. Gabbrielle and I were walking along the road and I noticed Bombay and Lostine looking at something behind us. My neighbor had come out with her dog on a leash and was standing behind my barn watching us. As soon as I looked at her, she quickly looked away and pretended like she was fascinated with whatever her dog was sniffing in the bushes. I continued walking Gabbrielle away from them.

When it was time to turn around, my neighbor was still standing in the same spot with her dog. I figured she either came out to see what I was doing or needed to go to the mailbox and didn't want to risk trouble by passing us up. I decided to go tell her that I am training my horses to "not pull on their leashes", something a dog owner would understand, and that it would be good practice for her to walk her dog past my horse.

All four of us were standing there without any problems. I was hoping my neighbor would respond to my conversation, so that my horse and her dog would feel comfortable and know everything was okay, but my neighbor got this funny look on her face and I suddenly remembered that her dog is notorious for chasing horses. Right then, her dog, who had been sitting quietly one moment before, suddenly lunged at Gabbrielle and barked ferociously.

Gabbrielle's tail went straight up over her back and she started dancing. My neighbor said, "I'll try to get past you real fast here," and she dragged her dog down the road. I turned Gabbrielle and had her walk a ways behind the dog, so she would be moving toward it instead of it coming at her.

I started leading her back toward the paddock and she protested. She wanted to go graze on the lawn instead, and began pulling. It was then that she felt the full force of the rope halter and her response to that was to rear up. There was no way I was going to let her be rewarded with grazing after that stunt, so I wrangled her back through the gate for some grooming and a photo shoot. Anyway, that was today's excitement. Woohoo.

Horses Make Good Coat Racks

I thought I'd hang my coat over the saddle and see how Lostine reacts. Nothing. I guess I can graduate onto taking my coat off and on while sitting in the saddle now. This is another activity my trail riding books recommend that you practice in the round pen at home before attempting to dress or undress while mounted and out on the trail. I knew I had to get a picture of this, so I tied her in the round pen, and went into the house to get the camera. When I came out, this is what I found:

Look at them... thick as thieves trying to free Lostine from her humiliating photo shoot.

Lostine was bored with it all...

...but in the end she took a bow anyway.

Thanks for the Leading Advice

Picture taken April of 2008.

An interesting thing happened on today's walks that gave me a little insight into Bombay. He was walking along just fine, no nervousness, no jigging, and then Lostine whinnied out to him. He backed up and reared a bit to try to break free from the lead rope, and I had to settle him down. Lostine whinnies because she's jealous that he's getting to go off property and possibly out to pasture, however Bombay interprets her whinnies as a warning that something bad is happening. It bothered me that he was more willing to listen to her than he was to me, even though I was walking beside him relaxed and confident, assuring him that everything was okay.

Then when I released Bombay back into the paddock, Lostine pinned her ears back and pushed him out of her way. He ran right into me and I had to yell at him and swing the halter at his chest to keep him from trampling me. That was a telling sign that he respects Lostine more than me. Everyone says that you, the handler, have to be the alpha mare. Lostine, the horse alpha mare, understands that I am the human alpha mare of her, and Bombay views both Lostine and I to be higher in the pecking order than him, but he views Lostine to be higher than me. That's a problem.

On another note, I took some advice from readers (Andrea and Shirley) and used my rope halter instead of my nylon halter when going for walks. I had bought a rope halter specifically for the purpose of halter training years ago, but my neighbor friend who breeds horses told me that she hates those halters and doesn't want to see me using it again. When she was boarding my horses while we were having our new leach system laid in the ground, she refused to use that halter and only used her own halters with my horses. So, I put the halter away and didn't use it after that out of fear that she might look out her window and see me using it.

Anyway, I did bring it out again today to reinforce a slack lead line, and I also brought a whip to tap Gabbrielle's front legs with to get her to back up, which was Shirley's suggestion. I had been stopping her and backing her up when she pulled on the lead line, but I had been backing her with my verbal "back" command only. The whip helped keep Gabbrielle's attention on me instead of everything that is going on around her. Backing is one of Gabbrielle's strong points, but she's so good at it that I can say, "Back!" and she'll back up like a pro, but without thinking about it or really having her head in the lesson. As a result of these changes, there was a little bit of slack in the lead line today and my arm muscles got a rest.

I know there were other suggestions from readers, which I will try next time I'm out. There's a lot going on during these walks and I'm lucky if I can hold two thoughts in my head. Some jerk pulling a horse trailer roared past us going at least 50 MPH while his trailer was banging loudly at every bump in the road and the poor horse he was hauling was kicking like crazy while I'm trying to walk my horse down the road. I wanted to put that driver in the back of my horse trailer and take him on a wild ride like that -- see how he likes it.

On another note, all three horses came to the gate without me calling them, and even though I had that rope halter in my hand. I'm guessing that they are enjoying our daily walks. Hurray!

Report Cards for Horses

RANCHette has been keeping progress reports on her pony's advancements in training. I thought that was a good idea for me, since I tend to lose focus easily. I start training for one thing, and then someone gets me going on something else, or the weather gets bad and by the time I return to training, I can't remember where I left off. I used to just want to ride for the sake of riding, whether it was a good ride or not. However, I've been fortunate enough to get in so much riding this past year that I'm no longer interested in just riding. I want to shape my horses into being the best horses they can be.

RANCHette makes a list of goals for Mr. Banderas and writes PASS, FAIL, or IN PROGRESS under each date where the pony is worked. I'm making a list of goals for each of my horses and using A, B, C, D and F grades with a few pluses and minuses.

I've been sloughing through books on trail riding for the past six months or so, and these books bring up a lot of good points I've never considered, so I am now working even harder on preparing my horses for trail riding. For instance, if you and your horse get separated, how are you going to get it back? It helps if the horse has bells tied to it and reflector tape around its tail, but what is really awesome is if your horse comes when it is called. So far Gabbrielle gets an A+ for coming when I whistle and call her name. Bombay and Lostine are a different story.

Bombay gets a grumpy look on his face when I approach him with a halter, and then he walks away from me and just keeps turning to avoid letting me get to his head. However, he'll usually hold still if I get firm with my voice and body language. Lostine runs from me when I approach with a halter, and I have to physically corner her to catch her. The only exception is if she knows she's going to pasture. In that case she'll kick the other horses out of the way, run toward me, and stick her nose in the halter. So, I will probably have to use food as an incentive while starting this "come when I call" training. Gabbrielle just comes because she loves attention, but the two older horses are tired of being ridden and will need something more.

Taking Lessons from Mr. Ed

Geez, Gabbrielle, you're getting a big butt...

I am not! Why don't you go look in a mirror...

Ha haaaaaa! Gabbrielle's got a bit butt, big butt, big butt...

Will you two cut it out? I've had it up to here with your bickering...

Oh, uh, I think I strained my larynx...

You're rude! I'm not talking to anyone anymore...

Hmph!

These Hooves Were Made for Walkin'

I spent my lunch hour cleaning stalls since I was not feeling well enough to clean stalls yesterday, and then took each horse for a walk. I forgot to take a watch outside with me, and ended up taking an hour and a half break without realizing it. Oops. Oh well, it's not like I haven't put in plenty of overtime without pay before.

Gabbrielle walked further away from home than she has in the past, but was getting too excited the more we walked, and I had to spend a lot of time stopping her and backing her up, which was no fun for my aching muscles. It's almost as if she doesn't quite understand yet that leaving the lead rope slack is more comfortable on her face than pulling all the time. I don't want to have to resort to using a stud chain on her beautiful chin or nose, but she's killing my biceps. Those guys who bench press barbells in the gym have it easier than me taking my filly for a walk.

There was a piece of paper lying in the road that I thought would provide a good spook test since it is white against brown dirt, however all three horses walked right over it without giving it a second glance. I guess it pays to have neighbors who don't secure their trash.

Lostine did great, as usual. I walked at a brisk pace to get my own exercise in without having to worry about whether my horse was going to rip my arm out of its socket. She just kept up with me and hung her head low and let out a number of large sighs to show that she found this activity to be relaxing despite all the traffic and sights and sounds.

Bombay jigged his way up and down the road, pumped up and bouncing on his tiptoes. He still led on a fairly loose lead despite his amped up performance. I walked him longer than the others to see if he would settle down, and he did. He appears to be a horse who just needs some miles on him. When Gabbrielle gets excited, she's like a little kid who wants to run ahead to play. When Bombay get excited, it's because he's waiting for a lion to jump out of the bushes to eat him.

I walked Bombay past my pickup truck and he tried to sneak behind me. I wouldn't let him do that, and forced him to walk close to the truck. In the end they all got rewarded with some grazing time.

One really cute thing that happened -- that I wish I got a picture of -- was that Bombay found a tumbleweed and picked it up in his teeth. He started swinging it in circles, and then walked over to Gabbrielle and started hitting her with it. Gabbrielle tried to kick him multiple times, but finally gave up and let Bombay rub that tumbleweed all over her body. Some of those weeds have sharp points, so it couldn't have felt good, but she didn't seem to care. It's almost as if my horses watch me training each other, and then they try to mimic me by helping desensitize each other to strange objects. Each time I looked over at Bombay, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. He's one seriously silly horse.

Unpredictable Weather

One of the challenges that comes with horse management is anticipating what the weather will be like the majority of the day, so that you can choose the best location to put your horse. My horses get bored and antsy if I make them stand in their stalls all day, so any time that I can let them out to exercise, I do. They are also funny about drinking water in their stalls. They will go all night without touching the clean water in their stalls, and as soon as I put them outside, they slurp up gallons of water from the outdoor trough. That's another reason why I prefer to have them outside. In the summer months I leave them out 24/7 to save on the cost of shavings in stalls.

However, in the colder months I have to decide whether to put them in their stalls with or without their blankets, or put them outside with or without their blankets. It was supposed to snow today, but it looks like we got most of our snow last night. The sun is shining, and when the wind settles down, it's quite warm. However, when the wind blows, it's chilly and miserable. I felt that my choices were to either leave them in their stalls with their blankets off, or put them outside in separate pens with their blankets on. Putting them in separate pens meant cleaning out and filling up two water troughs that had been neglected for quite some time. I did the extra work to make sure that they could get their exercise and drink clean water.

My family and I were going to an 11:30 AM movie. Normally, the horses get their breakfast between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM, and their lunch around 1:00 PM, however I overslept and didn't feed them until 8:45 AM. We didn't expect to get back from the movie until 2:30 PM or 3:00 PM, so I had to choose between feeding them at 10:45 AM before we left for the movie, or at 3:00 PM after we returned. I always worry about feeding two meals too close together, because they could colic from wolfing down too much too fast. I took a chance and fed them the early lunch after the late breakfast and hoped everything would work out alright.

Upon returning home from the movie, we drove into the driveway and saw Gabbrielle lying on the ground. I ran to her and she perked up, but continued to lie there. I straddled her back in hopes that she would give me a clue as to whether she was sick or just keeping warm. She turned her head around and sniffed each of my knees. I laid across her, hugging her neck and letting my feet hang off her rear. She was very warm and fuzzy. She just continued to lie there while I crawled all over her like a monkey. When she was little, she used to lie down a lot, but since she became an adult, she's been sleeping standing up.

I got off her and tried rocking her to encourage her to stand up, but she just looked at me like she thought it was fun. I sighed, resigning myself to having to get her halter. Just then she decided to stand up. She didn't shake, but then again she hadn't been rolling to take a dirt bath. She had just been relaxing on the ground with her legs folded beneath her. I placed my ear against her tummy to listen for gut sounds, and I did hear some. She just looked at me as if to say, "What's the fuss all about?"

I think she probably just got a full tummy and wanted to stay low to keep out of the wind, but wasn't sick. I removed her blanket because she felt on the warm side, though not sweating. Of course, as soon as I did that, a big Arctic wind came up that felt like it was stabbing icicles in my ears, so I put her blanket back on. It's been a battle between the sun and the wind all day. Too bad horses can't put on and take off their own jackets like we do.

With that thought, I'd like to remind people who do blanket their horses to watch the weather forecasts and remove those blankets in the morning before you leave to work if it looks like it's going to be over 50-degrees most of the day. I see a lot of horse owners leave blankets on horses because it is cold in the morning, and then while they are away at work it warms up to be 70-degrees outside, and these poor horses are out there suffering in these heavy-weight turnouts without any shade all day. You can see that they are sweating and feeling ill, because they drop their heads low and won't move from the same spot. It's easier for a horse to find a warm spot of sun in those colder hours without the blanket, then it is for him to keep cool in rising temperatures with a blanket on.

Wild Weather

True to Murphy's Law, we've been having beautiful sunny weekdays followed up by stormy weekends. Saturdays have been windy and Sundays very wet. I'm unsure why these storm tracks are on 7-day cycles, but I am one of many Nevadans who are getting sick of it and feeling picked on by the universe. Even those people I know who are not gripers are griping about the timing of this bad weather.

I got my rear in gear and got out there into a saddle on Friday evening, knowing that Mother Nature wouldn't let me ride come Saturday and Sunday. I worked with Bombay on stepping over poles. At first he just stepped where he felt like it and made a lot of banging noises as his hooves hit the wood. I ignored that, and as soon as he cleared a pole with all four feet I praised him. Eventually, he started making the effort to pick his way over them.

Once he cleared all four poles at a walk, I asked him to do it at the trot. Then I mounted and we worked our way over the poles together at the walk and trot. I found that if I posted upward as he went over a pole, it was much easier on both of us. I didn't canter him, because the round pen is so tight and he's such a big horse. I'll have to lay the poles out on a straight-away before we attempt cantering and jumping over them.

I also taught him how to park himself between two poles, and back out without hitting anything. He was a natural. Side-passing over the pole, however, proved to be too complicated for both of us.

Come Saturday the wind was blowing. I went outside just to hang with the horses, but considered riding Lostine, since she doesn't get rattled by the wind. However, Lostine gave me a look that said she was in no mood for a ride. Weird things were happening all around us. Drivers were speeding, their tires squealing around curves. Sirens were going off every hour or so. The wind was erratic. I just got a general feeling that it wouldn't be wise to ride today.

In the afternoon my husband told me to look at the sky. I said, "This is tornado weather." I then went outside to clean stalls, and sure enough, a little whirlwind ripped through the paddock and shook the barn violently. We don't get many tornadoes in Northern Nevada, but once many years ago I was sitting in the bleachers at a softball field watching my daughter play, and there were four tornadoes off in the distance doing a little dance through the desert. It was surreal. It still have nightmares about it.

By evening it was pouring rain. I had left the stall doors open so that the horses could get out of the wind, but they chose to just huddle under the awning of the barn. I put Lostine into her stall and shut the door, but Gabbrielle couldn't get into hers, because Bombay's butt was blocking it. I was yelling his name, trying to get his attention to tell him to move, but the rain was pounding on the aluminum roof so loud that he couldn't hear me.

Gabbrielle bared her teeth and opened wide to bite Bombay on the butt, and then thought better of it and gave me a guilty look. (I've been teaching her non-violence.) Bombay suddenly turned toward me, and he was completely drenched. He walked into this stall, and Gabbrielle was then able to get into hers. As I entered each stall to put the blankets on each horse, I had to yell the horse's name to make sure that he/she knew I was there. The rain sounded like hail. What was odd was that last night was the first night of the year that it was warm enough that the horses didn't need to wear their blankets, and here we were 24 hours later having to put the blankets back on because a snowstorm is moving in.

Using My Time More Wisely

I had been waiting for the time to change so that I don't have to spend my lunch hour cleaning stalls. Once the time did change, I started cleaning stalls in the evening after work while it is still light out, but I still wasn't getting the most out of my lunch hour. I found that I was spending it picking up and reading the mail, fixing and eating lunch, and watching a little TV. Before I knew it, my hour was up and I had to return to my desk.

Last night I was dreaming of horses and this morning I awoke feeling frustrated that even with horses in my own backyard, I still have very little time to spend with them. I was determined to reschedule my lunch hour in such a way that would allow me to devote it to the horses.

I decided to eat my lunch at my desk while I was working, so that I wouldn't waste my free time sitting in front of a TV eating and getting engrossed in whatever show happened to be on. If I was doing laundry and the dryer buzzed during my lunch hour, it would just have to wait. If the phone rang, I was going to let the answering machine pick up. If a neighbor stopped me to talk, I was going to tell her I was sick and start coughing all over her.

Come noon today, I did pick up the mail, but didn't waste my time reading it. I went straight outside and started doing horse duties. First on my list was to lay out some poles to remind me to work on pole training. As I was doing that, I noticed one of my neighbor's construction workers was watching me... and watching me... and watching me.

Everyone who reads my blog knows how I feel about people who stare. Rude. Low class. Perverts. Weirdos. It's one thing if you are in public doing something to attract attention; it's another thing if you are on your own private property doing something boring and minding your own business. I decided to yell out a greeting to let him know that I was well aware of his unwanted attention. My hello had a tone to it that said, "What the hell do you want?"

The guy said hi back and just continued to stare as I carried poles around in my yard. Mind you, he was not doing anything other than loitering and staring. I had plans to take Gabbrielle for a walk off the property, but didn't want to risk it if this guy was going to be driving any time soon. He has a pickup truck with one of the loudest souped-up engines I've ever heard. So, I haltered Gabbrielle and walked her behind the trailer where the guy couldn't see us, and I groomed her. Sure enough, he got bored and drove off.

I then took Gabbrielle for her walk. There was a little tugging, but no spooks. Each time she got ahead of me and pulled on the lead rope, I said whoa and backed her up a few steps. Once she waited for a few seconds in that spot, I told her to walk, and we walked until she started tugging again. She was really happy to get out and about. She did not want to go back to the paddock. After I put her away, she kept running to the fence and pointing at the street, because she wanted to go back out.

I then groomed and walked Lostine. Lostine was a dream! It was as if I was taking a walk by myself. Horse? What horse? She walked so quietly beside me and did not put any pressure on the lead rope. I was in heaven. She led better than my dogs do on a leash. This is why it always surprises me when Lostine does something naughty like bucking when I ride her. She has such impeccable ground manners that it's hard believe she can be such a turd under saddle.

I then groomed and walked Bombay. I had no reason to expect any trouble from him, because he's been walked off the property more regularly than any other horse. However, as we were walking, he puffed himself up to the size of Standardbred. I couldn't figure out what he was so nervous about, so I just kept walking. Suddenly, I heard the whisper of a car engine behind us. We both spun around to find one of my neighbors trying to drive up the street in her quiet Jaguar, and we were blocking the road. Bombay knew she was back there, but I was oblivious. Sometimes you've got to trust that your horses know what they are talking about.

My neighbor waved at me as we stepped aside to let her pass. By the time I put Bombay away and fed the horses their lunch, my hour was over, but what a wonderful hour it was.

Dogs & Horses

I worry about having my dogs too close to my horses. I trust the dogs not to hurt the horses, but don't trust the horses. Many years ago my Labrador Simba would run around inside the horse paddock, and Bombay would trot after him with his nose on the dog's rear, pushing him along like a snowplow pushing a pile of snow.

I don't trust my Shelty to make intelligent choices around the horses. One time he got caught up in the excitement of a stampede and ended up underneath Bombay. Bombay was at a full gallop and his hind hoof launched my Shelty into a series of somersaults. Bombay didn't mean to kick him, but it's kind of hard to avoid it when galloping with a dog between all four of his legs. The dog was sore, but uninjured.

My Corgi Midge is wary of horses. When we hold her up close to a horse, she squirms in our arms, struggling to get away. Yet when I allow her to wander near the paddock, sometimes she forgets that the horses are nearby and wanders into the paddock in search of hoof trimmings.

My filly Gabbrielle gets excited when she sees odd looking critters smaller than herself. She wants to investigate. One day I noticed her sneaking up on something with her neck arched. It turned out to be a cat on the other side of the fence. Last night while I was trying to get her into the stall, she pranced away from me to go watch my Corgi sniffing around on the other side of the fence. Eventually, she got bored and came back to her stall.

My worry is that the dogs don't have the sense to stay out from under the horse's feet, and the horses don't have the sense to hold still when a dog is near their feet. The other day I was talking to my neighbor while holding Bombay on a lead rope, and my neighbor's dog kept wandering around my horse's legs. I tried calling to the dog to get her away from Bombay's hooves, and my neighbor said, "Oh, does he kick?"

I doubt he'd kick on purpose, but I didn't want to find out.

In other news, I took my Shelty in to get his teeth cleaned a few weeks ago. His breath was so bad that I couldn't be in the same room as him. It turned out that he had four abscessed teeth way in the back of his mouth that had to be pulled. These were teeth that were so far back that the vet didn't see the problem during the physical. I never thought that a simple veterinary appointment could solve the problem of such horrendous halitosis, but it did. Now I can cuddle with Monty and not feel nauseated.

You can see the place on his leg where they shaved him to insert the I.V. They do have to put the dog under anesthesia to clean his teeth, so it is an expensive procedure, but well worth it. I admit that the first time a vet suggested cleaning my dogs teeth, I laughed. I've owned dogs my whole life and never had to get their teeth cleaned. However, if you get into a situation where you can't even stand to be in the same room as your dog thanks to his breath, chances are that he's got dental problems and a vet can fix that.

Feeding from a Pan

One of the tips that author Martha Leynes-Selbert gave in her book, Basic Training for a Safe Trail Horse, was to always feed a horse off some other surface besides your hand. When I was training the horses to come to a whistle by feeding them treats as an initial reward, I did manage to get bit during the orgy of greedy teeth. I remembered the tip of feeding off some other surface, and pulled the lid off the plastic bin that held the apple bites.

Since I had never fed the horses this way before, they responded by running away from that strange white thing. However, Gabbrielle's curiosity got the best of her and she had to come back to sniff it...

She could smell the apple treat, but bit into the plastic lid, and that confused her...

She then looked at the lid and the treat, noticing that there are two items there...

On her second try, she bit into the correct object.

Yum yum.

Sometimes You've Just Got to Get Your Feet Wet

I pulled off my usual Bozo No-No today and flooded the horse paddock. I put the hose in the water trough and walked away, instantly forgetting about the running water. I think it was an hour later when I heard the pipes moaning and raced outside to shut it off. With my neighbors being as nosy as they are, you'd think that just once they might help me out by coming to my door to let me know that I left the water running, but no -- they just stand around and stare.

I decided to use the water puddle as a training device. I've been working on teaching my horses to come when I whistle. Of course, the first step is to have treats in your hand when you whistle, so that they want to come. That's an easy enough trick, but this time they had to cross a deep puddle of water to get to their treats.

At 21 years of age, Lostine is way past being worried about getting her feet wet. She came right over. Then Gabbrielle braved the little pond...

...and wouldn't go away. Bombay just skirted the edge of the water for a while watching the mares eat...

...and eat. They are pigs for peppermints.

They forgot all about where their feet were.

Splish splosh.

Eventually, Bombay came with a lot of encouragement and got his share of treats. Then the fights over the food broke out and I had to call it a day.