Fun and Games

This evening I took the horses to the outdoor arena to let them run and play. They did!

I actually ended up saddling Flyboy and rode for half an hour or so. I had been wanting to try a rope halter/bitless bridle on him to see if he likes it. It is a cross-under type bitless bridle, sort of a Dr. Cook's type idea, but it can also be used as a side pull. I used to ride Gypsy in it occasionally. This was Fly's first ride in it, but I don't think I liked it on him. I don't feel like he is really getting a release when he softens. The cross-under chin "straps" are the same rope the halter is made of, and I don't thinks the rope slips back through the rings easily or quickly enough to give a good release. Fly was OK in it, I had good brakes, I think, but he didn't follow my feel at all and was somewhat resistant. I put the regular bridle with the full cheek snaffle I usually ride him in on, and we repeated the exercises. MUCH better--softer and bendy. I hope to move him to a bitless bridle eventually, because it's just easier for endurance. I'll play with this one again, but I wasn't too impressed.

I will probably head to the arena again tomorrow to ride both horses. Fly needs an easy day, because on Thursday we are planning a ride to the Red Rock Pasture! My very favorite trail--and it should be beautiful! The deer hunt starts this Saturday, and it would be risky to ride down there next week. This will be a big ride for Flyboy. It a fairly tough mountain trail with a few really technical parts, lots of creek crossings, and a long climb back out. I promised him I would get off and walk some of the time to give him a break! He's gonna join the big boys if he does well on this one!

Fall Bliss Continues!

This afternoon Fly and I headed out on a tough new-to-him trail with Sharon and her wonderful horse, Mikey. We trailered out to the west mountains and headed up through a narrow rocky canyon, climbing up into the hills. Flyboy was 4xEasyboot Gloves, thank goodness, since there were rocks everywhere. Looking at the hills from a distance, they appear to be soft golden green, covered with long pale grass. Well, let me tell you, what you can't see from a distance is that the grass is hiding millions of bowling ball sized rocks that lie in wait to trip the next passing horse. We carefully maneuvered over the rocks and between silver bleached dead cedars.

We climbed quite high and Fly was suitably impressed with the view it seemed. And it was impressive on this sunny fall day! After a little convincing he took the lead and moved out in front! Happily, for the most part! I was proud of him for that! Today was his best lead-horse day so far. Mikey took over again once we headed back down, but Fly has shown he can do it!

Our descent was a cross-country, pick-your-way-carefully, steep meander across the saddle, down the hill and back to the trail. The trail then turned into the "LONG STEEP HILL FROM YOU-KNOW-WHERE." Covered with rocks and quite steep. And long. Needless to say, we took our sweet, slow time, giving the horses a chance to rest and regroup several times on the way down. Fly was not appreciative of that trail, and I don't blame him! But he was such a good boy and quite careful and obedient.

He did feel ouchy, though, which really should not be the case where he was booted on all fours. I am thinking about the thrush thing again. The other day, Fly was standing out in back of the barn with Keno, and I noticed he was leaning forward. (Meaning his chest and neck pushed forward, standing with his legs not vertically under him, but rather behind the vertical if that makes sense.) Basically he was carrying his weight on his toes and was reluctant to bear weight on his heels. This can be caused by several things, but in his case, where he has always been barefoot, doesn't have contracted or under-run heels, or too-high heels/bars, I think thrush is a reasonable thing to look at, even if he is in a clean sand/pea gravel environment. His frogs have been flaky and shedding, but are not black, mushy, or stinky, so I certainly don't think it's any kind of severe infection, but sore nonetheless. I will get aggressive and get it healed up. We need those toe first landings and confident strides!

Once again, Fly has shown his level-headedness, willingness, and heart as he took on the challenges of this tough trail. He has never seen terrain like he's seen the last four weeks, and he is totally handling everything that comes his way. He is a good boy.

Mountain Trails Again! (Who would have thought?)

Amazingly the Ponderosa Trail has dried out enough to get around the six mile loop without sliding off the mountain! Yay! I was hoping against hope to get back up there but I honestly figured the snow and rain would have messed it up in for the year. Glad I was wrong!

Flyboy crossed the river like a pro-boy and attacked the mountain like a real trooper. The sticky-but-not-too-slidey mud-covered trail did not slow him down. He just dug in and climbed. There were three of us today and Fly was happy in the back or middle, but wasn't keen on leading out again. At least we know what we need to work on. His confidence is growing, though. I can tell a big difference in his relaxation and forwardness. I am sure he will continue to progress and will take the lead eventually. He doesn't mind getting left behind, and he doesn't crowd the horse in front of him. He is no groupie, and that makes me happy!

On the way down through the wet shady side of a meadow we encountered a good-sized black-mud bog. We tried to cross in several places, but there was no good place. It was very wet and deep.We finally had to backtrack and take a little detour to get around it. We still had a few boggy spots to cross, but Fly was cool with the mud and his Easyboot Gloves stayed put. My friend Gail's horse was wearing Old Mac G2's and they also stayed on in the seriously sucky mud. Gotta love the boots!

The rest of the way down was quite rocky and steep. Fly handled himself pretty well. He is learning. He is earning my trust as well and I am starting to feel like he will soon be ready for the Red Rock Pasture Trail. If we don't get up there in the next week or two we will lose the chance for this year. It's a gorgeous trail, one of my favorites, quite technical in places, lots of creek crossings (21 to be exact!), and an eight mile trip. I'm voting we try it next week.

Fly Solo Again!

Check out our view!

What a glorious fall afternoon! Sunny and warm with just a hint of cool breeze--it was great. I had been planning to take Flyboy to the arena for some dressage type work, but decided the trail was calling us instead. The arena will be available all winter--the trails won't. Tough decision, huh? I think not.

All week Fly has been really good with trailer loading. I really think he has finally figured it out. He gets in, steps to the side wall, I close the panel. Done. No big deal. I love it.

Booted boy

Fly and I covered approximately eight miles today. We were on the trail for an hour and forty-five minutes of pure fun.  Flyboy was much more forward today compared to our last solo ride where he was quite "sticky" at times. He never got really stuck today at all. He hesitated a few times, and actually stopped once or twice, but he readily went forward again when asked. That is HUGE progress! We walked, climbed hills, worked on traveling downhill correctly and straight quite a bit, and we trotted some really long stretches. I could not be more pleased with his progress.


This was the first time I have ridden him with all four feet booted in Easyboot Gloves. He went well in them and the only problem we had was when he stumbled and almost lost a boot. I happened to look down to check and he was half-way out so I had to hop off and put it back on. I think he probably stepped on his own foot. Everything I have read about Mustangs talks about how sure footed they are, but I think Fly is still learning how to negotiate his way over rocks, trenches, hills, ruts, etc. with a rider on his back. He's not real klutzy, but he does stumble occasionally. I think he has a little thrush going on, too, which could make him tender or ouchy. His front hoof frogs are flaking/shedding, quite a bit. I will be using Thrush Ninja regularly to get that under control.

Back at the trailer Fly got a good brushing, ate a couple of well-deserved horse cookies, and hung out in the shade for a few minutes with me. He was relaxed and knew he had done well!

The world lost a great soul today. A true Montana cowboy, and as kind a person as you could ever hope to meet passed from this world today. My prayers are with his family. We will miss you, Don.

Reese's Flat (Should Be Called Reese's Steep!)

Fly sporting Easyboot Gloves

Lovely fall weather again--woohoo! My friend Tammy came and picked Fly and me up this afternoon, and we headed to Reese's Flat. Don't ask me why it's called that; it is most definitely not flat! This is a long dirt road that winds up through a narrow canyon to the flats on top (still not flat, though!) I once took my GPS and there is a 1000 foot elevation change in about two miles. Flyboy marched up that long, never-ending hill like a trooper. He was a little jumpy today. (Yes, Flyboy, I know that cougars could leap off the ledge on top of us, but still, we must go forward!) He was looking for the bogey man to start with but soon settled down. It was a beautiful fall day, cool and sunny.

I worked a little on passing Tammy's horse and taking the lead occasionally, Fly is definitely getting better about that, although we have room for progress. No aggression toward Joker at all today, thank goodness. Mostly we just climbed up and up and up, which of course meant that eventually we came down, down, down. Fly seems to handle going uphill easier than downhill. I got off and hiked down to give him a break.

Tomorrow Fly has an appointment with the chiropractor/vet. She will check him out and adjust him as needed.

This afternoon I siliconed the top of my trailer tack room which leaked a lot in last week's rain. Then I worked on enclosing the front gate area of the barn, which really piqued Flyboy's curiosity. He checked out my power tools and got downright nosey at times! I know winter is coming, so I'm trying to get prepared. Maybe I'll be a better sport about nasty weather if I feel ahead of the game. (I seriously doubt it, but it's worth a try.)

Indoor Arena Once More

The rain poured down again all morning. This has been one incredibly soggy week! I am trying to not let the wet weather get to me, and decided I would take the horses down to the fairgrounds to ride regardless. Amazingly enough, I had the entire indoor arena to myself again.

I let the boys run and play for a while, and then I saddled Flyboy. Once again he had a pulling back problem! I need a tie ring to use on him for a while--pulling back is so not good!

I worked with Fly for an hour. We did lots of circles, working on softening, bending, yielding to my leg, and transitions. He is better (more balanced and softer) to the left. To the right, he tends to fall in on his shoulder, and rush the trot. His trot is very easy to sit, so I just focused on staying relaxed and trying to be very clear with my leg and hands. He'll go along soft in the mouth for a half circle or so and then he braces and pulls on the reins. I'm not asking for much, just softness, forwardness, and relaxation. He had some great moments, although he's not consistent yet. That doesn't bother me at all; we're just getting started and it will take time. But the good moments are super encouraging! And he kept trying!

Flyboy moves off my leg so much better now after just a few rides. I can tell he is really starting to understand more and more. We worked on halts, too, because I think he could be hard to stop if he wanted to be. He halts very well for the most part, but I want him to not brace at all, and to halt straight.

I asked Fly to canter for the first time today. Wow! Very, very soft and comfy! We cantered several circles in both directions and he was great! I loved it, and I think he did, too. When I jumped off, I rubbed his face and really loved on him: I think he knew he had done well! I untacked him to let him go roll, but he just stood with his head in my arms for the longest time!

Tired, relaxed boy!

Trailer loading today was a piece of cake! Going and coming home Fly just stepped into the trailer like a pro! He got in first; Keno took the back slot (where he barely fits!) I don't tie Flyboy, since I don't trust him not to pull back, but he rides quietly. Ahhhh. Progress feels good! Hopefully on Monday we can get out on trail again.

Snow, Rain, and the Arrival of Winter

Insane weather for early October!

Wow. We seriously had three inches of snow come down yesterday. And rain the day before. Sheesh--it was too hot to ride last Friday and our high temperature today was 42 degrees. Rather rude of Mother Nature in my opinion, but it does make me grateful to have the county indoor arena just a few blocks away!

On Wednesday afternoon I took both boys down to play at the arena, and we were lucky enough to have it to ourselves so I could turn them loose to run. Flyboy has only seen it once before, so he had a lot of fun charging around in the sand and exploring the corners with Keno. They ran from one end to the other, over and over again. Fly actually was brave enough to kick up his heels at Keno as they raced around like maniacs.

When they had had their fill of freedom, I haltered Flyboy and played ground games with him. He is making lots of progress in the driving game, yielding his forequarters much easier than he did a couple of weeks ago. He is very good at most of the games and I will start adding new variations soon. I did ask him to jump the barrel; he was reluctant, but eventually gave it a try. I should probably bring some trot poles down there again.

I worked with Keno for a few minutes while Fly was tied to the rail. When I headed to the far end to turn off the lights I took Keno with me. Flyboy got anxious and pulled back on the rope. He really pulled but didn't get too panicked and settled back down quickly. That's the first time he's done that although the trainer told me it was a problem. I will order a tie ring and use that in the future. That should help him feel less trapped. He will have to spend time at the rail this winter, so Keno can get his share of work. ;)

Yesterday I wasn't planning on riding, but about after it stopped snowing around two-thirty, I went out to work with Flyboy in the corral. We played for a few minutes, and I took him out to the trailer to work on his loading skills. He got right in, backed halfway out once, got in again and stood with his hip cocked looking at me like, "So where are we headed?" I closed the slant panel and decided I'd better take him somewhere: that was the best he's done with loading! I took him down to play at the arena, and again we were the only ones there.

I turned him loose to play and for the first five minutes he wouldn't leave my side! Once the lights warmed up and came on, he relaxed. (Oh, yeah, I've been here before!) He trotted and cantered around for a while and checked the place out. My neighbor showed up with a couple of horses; that interested Flyboy! We watched them ride till Fly relaxed. I took him out to the trailer, he stepped in, moved over so I could close the slant panel, and away we went. Great trailer progress! Woohoo---hope it holds!

Today it was Keno's turn, though. Fly stayed home alone while I took Keno down to the arena again for a good workout. Hopefully the weather changes back to our balmy fall afternoons, so we can get back out on trail. Otherwise, Fly will be headed for some arena work tomorrow, too! I just can't resign myself to being in the arena everyday this early in the winter!