I picked Lyssa up from school and we went trail riding again today. The temps were in the 40s and the sky was mostly cloudy. The snow on the trails was more rotten this week than last and Voosh had trouble walking in it. She would put her hoof on the snow and as she stepped forward, the snow would give way and she would fall about six inches or so. It wasn't enough to be dangerous, just enough to be really annoying. She got frustrated several times but never got ugly about it.
Lyssa rode the Mare for the first part of the loop. It takes about and hour to an hour and a half to complete the loop.
Just like last week, our plan was to ride the loop with the Mare and Vooshka then go back and get Dusty for the second part of the ride. This time though I was going to ride the Mare and pony Dusty while Lyssa rode her. I love the Mare! She is so solid and nothing bothers her. Dusty was rubbing her head on Mare's hindquarters and all Mare did was pin her ears and glare at Dusty.
Dusty never did relax on this ride. She didn't do anything wrong exactly but you could tell that she just wasn't comfortable with something. I did notice that she's in squat, pee and wink heat. She's been on Breeder Pak since she's been living with me.
With this ride today, I'm hoping that she will settle down and relax on the trail. Only time will tell.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
First Trail Ride of the Year and A Dusty Update
On Fridays I usually get Lyssa from school and we haul to the arena to ride. Last Friday was so beautiful that I convinced her we needed to go for a trail ride.
Lyssa rode the Mare since we are not confident enough to let her ride Dusty. We had a plan though. First we would ride Voosh and the Mare around to break trail and see how our horses would be on the first trail ride of the year. The snow was belly deep on Voosh on the trails in the woods. You can see that on the snowmachine/snowshow trails it's only about fetlock deep on the Mare. We took a mile long loop that took us about an hour to complete. We had to stop several times to rest from trailbreaking. I forgot where the ditches were and got Voosh into an area of snow that was midchest high. She panicked for just a minute but worked her way through it.
When we got back to the house, Lyssa worked Dusty on the ground for a while just to get her attention. Then Lyssa got back on the Mare and ponied Dusty in the pen for several minutes while I explored our options for leaving the house. I led Voosh down the driveway. It had been plowed and sanded all winter so there was gravel in the center but glaze ice on the edges. Voosh wouldn't stay in the middle and almost fell several times as she scrambled to maintain her footing on ice. She never did go down.
So the option of going down the driveway was out. We opted to retrace our trail from earlier.
As you can see, the two horses got along well and Dusty ponied like she had done this before. We rode for another half hour. An added benefit of riding in the snow was that the horses' feet and legs got really clean. It was nice to see Dusty's white socks gleam.
The days are getting longer and with DST it's light until at least 8 pm. I can't wait until we can ride in the evenings.
Lyssa rode the Mare since we are not confident enough to let her ride Dusty. We had a plan though. First we would ride Voosh and the Mare around to break trail and see how our horses would be on the first trail ride of the year. The snow was belly deep on Voosh on the trails in the woods. You can see that on the snowmachine/snowshow trails it's only about fetlock deep on the Mare. We took a mile long loop that took us about an hour to complete. We had to stop several times to rest from trailbreaking. I forgot where the ditches were and got Voosh into an area of snow that was midchest high. She panicked for just a minute but worked her way through it.When we got back to the house, Lyssa worked Dusty on the ground for a while just to get her attention. Then Lyssa got back on the Mare and ponied Dusty in the pen for several minutes while I explored our options for leaving the house. I led Voosh down the driveway. It had been plowed and sanded all winter so there was gravel in the center but glaze ice on the edges. Voosh wouldn't stay in the middle and almost fell several times as she scrambled to maintain her footing on ice. She never did go down.
So the option of going down the driveway was out. We opted to retrace our trail from earlier.
As you can see, the two horses got along well and Dusty ponied like she had done this before. We rode for another half hour. An added benefit of riding in the snow was that the horses' feet and legs got really clean. It was nice to see Dusty's white socks gleam.
The days are getting longer and with DST it's light until at least 8 pm. I can't wait until we can ride in the evenings.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Oregon Sunshine - This One's For You!
My Saanan/Alpine crossbred goat named Toonie (actually Petunia since her mom is Clover) was bred to my registered Alpine buck Mr. Ritter. She was due to have her babies about the same time as the sheep since goats are easier to milk than sheep if I had a bummer lamb. The sheep all lambed with no problems. (I pulled Loretta's twins but only because I can't stand to watch little feet go in and out more than five times.)
Anyway, last Wednesday went I went out to feed I found two solid white bucklings in the pen with Toonie. They were dry and their mouths were warm which meant that they had nursed. They were up on their feet and bouncing around.
Moral of the story - they CAN do it on their own. Don't worry so much. And if you need help, you have my numbers. Call me.
Unfortunately, these are bucklings and of no use to me. When they were 24 hours old I put them on craigslist. Buy one get one free $50. They went to a good goat home where one will remain a buck and the other will be wethered.
Anyway, last Wednesday went I went out to feed I found two solid white bucklings in the pen with Toonie. They were dry and their mouths were warm which meant that they had nursed. They were up on their feet and bouncing around.
Moral of the story - they CAN do it on their own. Don't worry so much. And if you need help, you have my numbers. Call me.
Unfortunately, these are bucklings and of no use to me. When they were 24 hours old I put them on craigslist. Buy one get one free $50. They went to a good goat home where one will remain a buck and the other will be wethered.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Not So Wordless Wednesday
Things have been rather hectic here for the past week. It snowed twice - 6" last weekend then a foot yesterday (I think). When it snows and I plow. my days and nights get so turned around it's not funny. On top of that my daughter is in Youth Court training every afternoon and my sweety and I had to go to a pesticide certification class Tuesday and Wednesday. And the goat kidded last week so I am now milking twice a day.We did ride last Friday. Dusty did well under saddle but we have found that she is terrified of trucks, cars and skid steers. Just something new to work on. She's smart though. Lyssa wanted to work her over some ground poles in the arena. So she pulled out some white poles and proceeded to walk Dusty over the poles. Counterclockwise was perfect - stepped over the poles with no hesitation and no ticks. Clockwise - spook and back up. I don't like horses that back up because I'm concerned that if they don't get the release they are seeking from backing they will go up. Lyssa worked and I watched. Over and over with the same result. Voosh walked both directions and Dusty finally followed her over the pole. Turns out it was her SHADOW!
It's almost midnight and I'm running on about 4 hours sleep since Sunday morning. But I wanted to post my Not So Wordless Wednesday while it still was Wednesday!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
