Despite heavy rainfall overnight, the day dawned bright and clear - so clear that I had to double-check to make sure it actually rained last night...no obvious evidence was to be found anywhere! It hit I believe 24C today, but with a crisp fall breeze to make sure we couldn't fool ourselves into thinking it was still summer! The trees making a sudden dash for colour change only completed the scene. I think the elements/nature's chess pieces are in league with one another.
Started off the day (well, the horse-related part of it anyways) with one of the best rides I have ever had on Sunny! We spent 20 minutes or so playing about in our redneck arena, including groundwork (that included great - calm - changes in direction), before hitting the fields for a quick jaunt amongst the canola. He trotted out fairly relaxed and walked back just as nicely. His entire attitude was one of much more willingness than usual, even.
Gypsy was pretty flighty but did manage to walk up to me and allow me to rub her all over, which is what we spent all our time doing!
Next up were (mom's) Sonny and Missy - a friend came out and rode Missy (western, in a french link full cheek snaffle) while I rode Sunny (english, in the Parelli cradle bit). Both horses worked excellent as we toured the fields! Missy was a bit reluctant to leave at first and Sonny started the ride out jigging sideways, but by the time we hit the actual trail, both were stepping out nicely. I was pretty proud of both horses - Missy has had a good week and a half (?) off from under-saddle work, and Sonny probably hasn't been ridden in at least a good month, plus I neglected to do any groundwork beforehand, yet both did very well. It was fantastic just to relax and hit the trails! It was pretty neat though - I could feel Sonny lifting his back and working in a nice frame (without leaning on my hands) throughout and at a couple of points, he took the impulsion he wanted to use to go forward (up hills) and - since I wasn't letting him into a trot, went up with it, which resulted in a very springy walk with a lot of suspension. It was so neat!
All in all, a good day! One more day of work with Sunny and Gypsy tomorrow (after which Sunny will be finished his days), a stop in at Spruce Meadows to check out a bitless bridle down there, and a stop in to trim Missy's feet (and work her), and I'll be back off to Tomahawk to be back with my boys!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Calgary days
It's been one heck of a long day, so this is going to be quick! I woke up early this morning, kissed my boys goodbye, and took the trip back home from the ranch to Calgary. First things first (prior to even stopping at home), I stopped in at a stables in Calgary to do a training assessment on a Quarter Horse whose owner has become increasingly frustrated. Ever since she showed him her new saddle, he refuses to be caught. When I worked with him, I found him to be quite smart (possibly a LBI), very suspicious of people he thought might catch him, and quite reactive when he thought he was to be caught. He permitted me to rub him all over and to "hug" his right side (breaking down the steps to catching him), but when it came time to wrapping my arms over his left side, *boom* he was gone. Eventually he did allow me to rub him again, but not without eyeing me up first! Working with him will be some desensitization to ropes/halters/equipment/etc and catching, but mostly about changing his overall demeanor towards humans and being caught, so that he wants to be caught and enjoys his work. We'll see, what transpires.
I didn't get out to Sunny and Gypsy until quite late in the day, and by the time I was finished with Sunny, it was too dark to work with Gypsy. The time was well spent though - I went through the 7 games with one of Sunny's owners and showed him some of what I ask of him under-saddle - all the basics. That way she has some foundation she can work on to improve him! Sunny did quite well. Asking him for a couple direction changes in a row resulted in an explosion of red and white fur, but he quickly calmed down and I showed his owner what she could work on to further develop his mind to be more relaxed. Oh, and he returned from yet another successful weekend with his owners last weekend! He did great except for one mishap involving the canter, where he threw in a few bucks. Luckily his owner was fine and continued the ride. Sunny's doing great, but is going to take a lot of work - all at the walk and trot for now. He's just not ready for the canter yet in my opinion, not with the trot as tense and reactive as it is yet, which is why I never attempted it with him. For this particular horse, the canter is a project to delve into further along in his training. If we were working in an indoor arena where he could focus better, we could probably get a bit more done, but not guaranteed. For now, I think his needs would be best met with a lot of wet saddle pads and experience to develop his confidence and attitude. His owners seem to fully understand and seem very willing to work with him.
I had a quick peek in at Missy, but that's about it. Tomorrow will be a full day - Sunny, Gypsy, Sonny, and Gypsy. I have a friend joining me on a ride tomorrow, so I will likely have her ride Missy while I ride Sonny. All this after working with Sunny and Gypsy first...and I still have to paint some of the (exterior) house! Where does the time go? Definitely (seemingly) not towards sleep *sigh*.
I didn't get out to Sunny and Gypsy until quite late in the day, and by the time I was finished with Sunny, it was too dark to work with Gypsy. The time was well spent though - I went through the 7 games with one of Sunny's owners and showed him some of what I ask of him under-saddle - all the basics. That way she has some foundation she can work on to improve him! Sunny did quite well. Asking him for a couple direction changes in a row resulted in an explosion of red and white fur, but he quickly calmed down and I showed his owner what she could work on to further develop his mind to be more relaxed. Oh, and he returned from yet another successful weekend with his owners last weekend! He did great except for one mishap involving the canter, where he threw in a few bucks. Luckily his owner was fine and continued the ride. Sunny's doing great, but is going to take a lot of work - all at the walk and trot for now. He's just not ready for the canter yet in my opinion, not with the trot as tense and reactive as it is yet, which is why I never attempted it with him. For this particular horse, the canter is a project to delve into further along in his training. If we were working in an indoor arena where he could focus better, we could probably get a bit more done, but not guaranteed. For now, I think his needs would be best met with a lot of wet saddle pads and experience to develop his confidence and attitude. His owners seem to fully understand and seem very willing to work with him.
I had a quick peek in at Missy, but that's about it. Tomorrow will be a full day - Sunny, Gypsy, Sonny, and Gypsy. I have a friend joining me on a ride tomorrow, so I will likely have her ride Missy while I ride Sonny. All this after working with Sunny and Gypsy first...and I still have to paint some of the (exterior) house! Where does the time go? Definitely (seemingly) not towards sleep *sigh*.
Fixing fences and Cody's second day out
My first day back in town (home) ended up a complete loss, as Missy was still “off” enough that I did not want to work her, and high winds were in full effect to prevent any work with anyone outdoors (ie. Sunny or Gypsy). When I say high winds, I mean hurricane-like (no exaggeration). It was enough of a challenge just to stay upright, never mind stay upright on a horse! My second day back, Missy and I did some groundwork (at which she did well) and Sunny and I did some under-saddle work in our “arena”. He was pretty good, with even some bend and relaxation at first, before the reactivity and tension took over. Overall though he still did well, and in a rope halter! His owners reported back to me that they rode him quite a bit over the weekend and that he did extremely well with them. I was hoping to work with Gypsy, but the minute I walked into her pasture, she began running aimless circles (whilst I stood relaxed, casually watching her) after making an initial cautious approach towards me. If we're going to make any headway in our last few sessions, she is definitely going to have to be kept by herself in a smaller pen!
Seems like I have been spending more time trucking about and fixing fences than riding up north on the ranch!! Our first day back up north at the ranch, we were dismayed to find that a recent storm had knocked out a gate. Our horses being the opportunistic beasts they are, took off to join the cows…on two quarter sections. And so our adventure began (after a long drive, I might add) – searching for our horses, in the dark, on the ATV. Luckily for us, the horses were close-ish by. Unluckily for us, the next day another major storm hit. We returned from Thunder In the Valley (drag racing!!) to discover our horses had been locked out of their shelter the past few hours (and access to the house/water/trees) by a renegade gate in league with the powerful winds sweeping about. So my second adventure began to bring the horses in and try to convince them the barn was the best place to be (rather than following me to the house). Poor Cody was convinced I had something better up my sleeve and so would follow me about in the rain, continuously putting his bum into the hard downpour to the point of walking sideways behind me at times ;) The rest of our stay up north was spent fixing some fences on the property so that we could turn the horses out into new pasture.
Link seems to be putting on weight with the mash feeds he gets each morning I am up north in combination with the plentiful grass he’s been shoveling in! My next project involves another small pasture around the house with a ton of grass – if I work on it a few days it should be ready to turn the horses out into soon. Should I need one more pasture for the rest of the month, I’ve got one eyed up, though it will take a ton of work. Both Link and Silver have been maxing and relaxing but will be back to regular work next time I am up (this time for about a week). Cody and I, however, had a fantastic ride Wednesday evening!!
Originally, I took Cody out to check the fence line of the next pasture I want to put the horses into. I logged away what little work we’d have to do there and we next headed out to another corner of the property. I wanted to check out the fence lines of one more little piece I could put the horses into should the need arise. That trip took us around the one pasture (including through brush and past who-knows-what that was crashing through the bush close by – not cows) and let us out at one end of the property, where we stumbled upon 17 cows (2 of which hit the bush almost immediately) and one bull. I was curious as to where the rest of the cows and bulls were and I also wished to further familiarize myself with the property, so we followed the perimeters of the entire property. What Cody and I found was awe-inspiring (photos to come soon!). We followed one calf to discover “the lost herd” a.k.a. the wildies (lol). He (the calf, that is) shot off into the bush and down a bank to the creek that snakes over the property. I was unsure of the trail (it wasn’t all that visible from above, so I couldn’t plan our route) and so dismounted and led Cody down. Brilliant idea numero uno: lead green horse you do not yet fully know behind you on a narrow, steep trail. Luckily for me and my heels, said green horse was great and kept a nice cushion of space between him and I (I have eyes on the back of my head…see, I’m all set for motherdom one day, hehehe). Once at the bottom, we were greeted by a beautiful creek, landscaped by beavers, meandering down a deep and narrow gulley. Oh, and the 5 wild cows and their calves we’d discovered crashing through the bush, splitting up to hit the slopes of either side of the gulley. Cody cautiously picked his way down a smaller slope into the creek, leapt the creek, and crawled up the other side and up the steep gulley bank to the top (on the opposite side). From there, we hunted down bull numero deux and Cody and I hit for home, where little man dived into his reward: a handful of sweet feed (whilst bull numero trois made a brief appearance in the nearby distance). I was quite proud of our little painted pony! He was quite tense and skittish when we first started out, but by the end of our two-hour ride of the 350+ acres, he was relaxed and solid. We walked, trotted, and even did quite a bit of canter when he offered; all three gaits were much more confident. He is picking up my body language as well – ie. to transition down/halt when I relax my body, and to move into the next gait when I pick up my energy. Once home, we also did a little work on lateral (sidestep), back-up, transitions (walk/trot/halt), and turns on the hind/fore…basics. My goal is to continue riding him but to also just spend as much undemanding time together as possible, earning his trust.
Back at home now for a couple of days, I am back to finish up my days on Sunny and Gypsy and also to work Missy (at least w/t under-saddle as well as groundwork)…then back up for a week (almost) to play with our three boys on the ranch! Have to admit, lovin’ the simple life up north!
Seems like I have been spending more time trucking about and fixing fences than riding up north on the ranch!! Our first day back up north at the ranch, we were dismayed to find that a recent storm had knocked out a gate. Our horses being the opportunistic beasts they are, took off to join the cows…on two quarter sections. And so our adventure began (after a long drive, I might add) – searching for our horses, in the dark, on the ATV. Luckily for us, the horses were close-ish by. Unluckily for us, the next day another major storm hit. We returned from Thunder In the Valley (drag racing!!) to discover our horses had been locked out of their shelter the past few hours (and access to the house/water/trees) by a renegade gate in league with the powerful winds sweeping about. So my second adventure began to bring the horses in and try to convince them the barn was the best place to be (rather than following me to the house). Poor Cody was convinced I had something better up my sleeve and so would follow me about in the rain, continuously putting his bum into the hard downpour to the point of walking sideways behind me at times ;) The rest of our stay up north was spent fixing some fences on the property so that we could turn the horses out into new pasture.
Link seems to be putting on weight with the mash feeds he gets each morning I am up north in combination with the plentiful grass he’s been shoveling in! My next project involves another small pasture around the house with a ton of grass – if I work on it a few days it should be ready to turn the horses out into soon. Should I need one more pasture for the rest of the month, I’ve got one eyed up, though it will take a ton of work. Both Link and Silver have been maxing and relaxing but will be back to regular work next time I am up (this time for about a week). Cody and I, however, had a fantastic ride Wednesday evening!!
Originally, I took Cody out to check the fence line of the next pasture I want to put the horses into. I logged away what little work we’d have to do there and we next headed out to another corner of the property. I wanted to check out the fence lines of one more little piece I could put the horses into should the need arise. That trip took us around the one pasture (including through brush and past who-knows-what that was crashing through the bush close by – not cows) and let us out at one end of the property, where we stumbled upon 17 cows (2 of which hit the bush almost immediately) and one bull. I was curious as to where the rest of the cows and bulls were and I also wished to further familiarize myself with the property, so we followed the perimeters of the entire property. What Cody and I found was awe-inspiring (photos to come soon!). We followed one calf to discover “the lost herd” a.k.a. the wildies (lol). He (the calf, that is) shot off into the bush and down a bank to the creek that snakes over the property. I was unsure of the trail (it wasn’t all that visible from above, so I couldn’t plan our route) and so dismounted and led Cody down. Brilliant idea numero uno: lead green horse you do not yet fully know behind you on a narrow, steep trail. Luckily for me and my heels, said green horse was great and kept a nice cushion of space between him and I (I have eyes on the back of my head…see, I’m all set for motherdom one day, hehehe). Once at the bottom, we were greeted by a beautiful creek, landscaped by beavers, meandering down a deep and narrow gulley. Oh, and the 5 wild cows and their calves we’d discovered crashing through the bush, splitting up to hit the slopes of either side of the gulley. Cody cautiously picked his way down a smaller slope into the creek, leapt the creek, and crawled up the other side and up the steep gulley bank to the top (on the opposite side). From there, we hunted down bull numero deux and Cody and I hit for home, where little man dived into his reward: a handful of sweet feed (whilst bull numero trois made a brief appearance in the nearby distance). I was quite proud of our little painted pony! He was quite tense and skittish when we first started out, but by the end of our two-hour ride of the 350+ acres, he was relaxed and solid. We walked, trotted, and even did quite a bit of canter when he offered; all three gaits were much more confident. He is picking up my body language as well – ie. to transition down/halt when I relax my body, and to move into the next gait when I pick up my energy. Once home, we also did a little work on lateral (sidestep), back-up, transitions (walk/trot/halt), and turns on the hind/fore…basics. My goal is to continue riding him but to also just spend as much undemanding time together as possible, earning his trust.
Back at home now for a couple of days, I am back to finish up my days on Sunny and Gypsy and also to work Missy (at least w/t under-saddle as well as groundwork)…then back up for a week (almost) to play with our three boys on the ranch! Have to admit, lovin’ the simple life up north!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
First Tomahawk week
I would be posting photos of my first week up in Tomahawk...but I seem to have, uh, misplaced the camera. Last I remember seeing it in my saddlebags, but I am hoping it turns up somewhere soon!
First night "home" Link and I headed into the two quarter sections "home" sits on to check on the cow-calf pairs and bulls sitting about there. At first he was pretty frazzled and I even had to get off, but after a bit I remounted and, although uber high-energy, Link did well. Heck, I even got a calm walk out of him! He's still in the process of figuring out what these fire-breathing cow beasts are all about, but he's getting there! Meanwhile, he's learning how to navigate the lay of the land and is learning that the big bad wilderness is not all bad after all.
First morning out I took my trusty Silver horse out...who promptly deafened me our entire journey/work with his shrill whinnies. No hesitation to leave the other horses, just very very shrill, ear-piercing whinnies. I guess that's what I get for not working with him consistently yet this year! We took off at a trot/canter for a four-km hike to journey out into the unknown to find and gather some missing heifers (the four km was just to get to the starting/meeting point from where we all fanned out to find said heifers). Silver and I worked through some pretty tough bush and swamp before calling it a day...only to have the guys on ATV's skid up with the good news that they had found the heifers! We were only looking for the five we'd seen take off into the bush a few days ago, but lo and behold, we found nine! By some act of God, all nine heifers actually walked down the path back to the front quarter sections (with some help - Silver and I did have to enter the bush a few times, lol), where we locked them in with the other 26 we'd previously counted.
The next day I pulled Silver out again, but he was clearly not feeling up to par. He was a little off here and there, was rough to ride, switched into cross-firing on a straightaway, and just did not feel like he was all together. With the help of Aly pup (who pointed us to the hidden cows), we found the 20 cow-calf pairs and 3 bulls we'd been looking for on the two quarters "home" sat on, and I returned Silver home. We'd wanted to know where they were so as to allow an individual to count them, so when said individual appeared, I saddled up Link to lead the others to the cows. He was pretty excited but did well! Man that horse loves to run though, and I have to admit to letting him out (albeit not fully) once or twice ;) I was actually very proud though that Link handled things as well as he did, particularly the horse-eating-cattle crashing loudly through the bush. Yes, I did have to dismount once, but he worked on the ground well and was very light and responsive.
Next day I figured giving Silver a day off was one of my better ideas, so I took Cody out instead...what I thought might not be one of my better ideas. I actually had resigned myself to a tense (on my part) and frustrating ride on a green horse (but the only horse I felt appropriate to take), but a ride on Cody actually turned out to be the most pleasurable ride I have had in a long while! Worse case scenario, I could always turn around and saddle up Silver instead, but taking out Cody turned out to be one of the best things I could have done! We made the 4km trek to where the heifers were stationed (somewhere...), along road and highway - Cody was great with passing trucks, semi's, etc. Once in the front quarter, by some stroke of luck, we found 15 of the heifers right off. I tied Cody to the fence via a rein (didn't think to leave a halter on underneath) and nervously left him to sneak around the heifers from the other side of the fence and push them through the gate, so that they could be locked in a cross-fenced section of the front section (on the side Cody was tied to). Fortunately, Cody stood calm and relaxed, hind leg cocked, as 15 heifers jogged past him. I shut that gate before commencing our search for the rest of the herd...split into three, as it turns out. 11 were hidden in trees on the other side of the fence but appeared when the 15 ran down their fenceline (on the opposite side). So, Cody and I hit some of the mid-quarter area and searched it out. His fear of things brushing him kicked in when we walked through small saplings, but Cody was ignoring the trees within a few minutes. After that, walking through the brush was amazing with this horse! It was like point and shoot: I point, he goes. No hesitation. Through mud, uneven ground, bog, brush, trees - whatever. We returned from our little trek to find the remaining 10 heifers standing close to the other two groups but separated by the gate I had closed to keep the original 15 in. I expected so little of this horse and got so much!! There were countless times I suggested to him what I wouldn't even suggest to some of our other horses in various situations (or where our other horses would question me), and he always did what was suggested, without so much as an alternate thought. At one point, Cody and I climbed a dirt pile (courtesy of an oil company working in the area - the dirt piles lined the road they put in on either side and are pretty high) to cut off a group of heifers we were bringing down. We came down the other side to find a sheer 'cliff' of about 4' or so...and nowhere else to go down. I didn't figure he'd even take the suggestion, but I just sort of sat there and gave him his head. If he turned away I wouldn't have blamed him - I didn't really expect him to go down a mini cliff! He didn't even seem to consider turning away but instead set about negotiating the footing. Within seconds he was sitting on his haunches and picking his way down the little cliff. At another point, we had to descend a steep bank, to another little drop-off where the footing consisted of deep muck, and up a short drop-off. Again, no expectations. Yet he set about plotting his mission and within moments we were across (courtesy of a quick jump). Second time across the same area (in the reverse direction though), he forged ahead with the same confidence (this time I was ready for the jump!). And in the bush? This horse is brilliant! Not a single trip and he picked his way uber carefully! If ever large branch threatened me or the bush got too thick or narrow, he simply halted, awaiting command. This allowed me time to push away any branches, lift my legs out of the way, etc - as necessary before clucking or squeezing him gently forward. I think that's all I can say to brag about this little 6yo boy, haha. I was just so incredibly impressed, he absolutely blew me away. That he would go out on his own so confident (even out-walking a couple fresh Arabs at the end of our long day), navigate foreign ground and bush, etc etc - man, was I impressed, and proud! He does respond to light leg aids (now!), but no leg yield or such, and no refinement to the bit - he feels like someone's just hauled around on his mouth (for the most part) to get him to go where they want. I am very light on his mouth and he's lightening up already, but he's just not 100 percent responsive yet. We did some trot and even a little canter - he's pretty unconfident (I can feel the uncertainty in his gait and if he doesn't understand what I am asking, he'll simply freeze up) but is coming along, esp at the trot. Anyways. Haha. I just did not expect it - I thought he'd make a good turnover horse, but I'm thinking he's far to good to let go to someone else!! lol ;)
Last day at the ranch (this morning), I woke Silver up early to head on out. He still feels a little rough but worked well - I was so proud of, and grateful to, him. I contemplated taking Cody instead, but I needed a horse who could work cattle. Cody's good with the cattle, but he isn't as quick on his feet yet and hasn't got the hang of working cattle yet. I was def glad to have Silver in a few pinches where only he could have done the job I needed done. From now on though he should be able to rest up a little and not work so hard for me. We got 33 of the 35 heifers we'd moved into the smaller piece of property into our newly-built corrals (Silver was fantastic for me - a little high energy and fidgety with the cattle, his first love - but fantastic) in the little time we had. The missing - psychotic - 2 heifers jumped a fence like deer and hit the marsh where we couldn't follow. I ended up having to jog Silver back home after the long and sticky day by leading him through my truck window (long story) and even there I was grateful of how willingly he responded. He was quiet today and even stood tied with little fuss or pawing (a rarity for such a high-energy boy!) - looks like I am getting my partner back ;)
Off to bed, but tomorrow's a day with Sunny, Gypsy, and Missy. Friday will be the same before I head on back up to Tomahawk. Can't wait to spend more time with my boys out in beautiful country! Remind me to write tomorrow in my sister blog The Perfect Horse about how our horses are our mirrors. I had more learning from my (almost) week in Tomahawk, but cannot recall it all yet (lol).
First night "home" Link and I headed into the two quarter sections "home" sits on to check on the cow-calf pairs and bulls sitting about there. At first he was pretty frazzled and I even had to get off, but after a bit I remounted and, although uber high-energy, Link did well. Heck, I even got a calm walk out of him! He's still in the process of figuring out what these fire-breathing cow beasts are all about, but he's getting there! Meanwhile, he's learning how to navigate the lay of the land and is learning that the big bad wilderness is not all bad after all.
First morning out I took my trusty Silver horse out...who promptly deafened me our entire journey/work with his shrill whinnies. No hesitation to leave the other horses, just very very shrill, ear-piercing whinnies. I guess that's what I get for not working with him consistently yet this year! We took off at a trot/canter for a four-km hike to journey out into the unknown to find and gather some missing heifers (the four km was just to get to the starting/meeting point from where we all fanned out to find said heifers). Silver and I worked through some pretty tough bush and swamp before calling it a day...only to have the guys on ATV's skid up with the good news that they had found the heifers! We were only looking for the five we'd seen take off into the bush a few days ago, but lo and behold, we found nine! By some act of God, all nine heifers actually walked down the path back to the front quarter sections (with some help - Silver and I did have to enter the bush a few times, lol), where we locked them in with the other 26 we'd previously counted.
The next day I pulled Silver out again, but he was clearly not feeling up to par. He was a little off here and there, was rough to ride, switched into cross-firing on a straightaway, and just did not feel like he was all together. With the help of Aly pup (who pointed us to the hidden cows), we found the 20 cow-calf pairs and 3 bulls we'd been looking for on the two quarters "home" sat on, and I returned Silver home. We'd wanted to know where they were so as to allow an individual to count them, so when said individual appeared, I saddled up Link to lead the others to the cows. He was pretty excited but did well! Man that horse loves to run though, and I have to admit to letting him out (albeit not fully) once or twice ;) I was actually very proud though that Link handled things as well as he did, particularly the horse-eating-cattle crashing loudly through the bush. Yes, I did have to dismount once, but he worked on the ground well and was very light and responsive.
Next day I figured giving Silver a day off was one of my better ideas, so I took Cody out instead...what I thought might not be one of my better ideas. I actually had resigned myself to a tense (on my part) and frustrating ride on a green horse (but the only horse I felt appropriate to take), but a ride on Cody actually turned out to be the most pleasurable ride I have had in a long while! Worse case scenario, I could always turn around and saddle up Silver instead, but taking out Cody turned out to be one of the best things I could have done! We made the 4km trek to where the heifers were stationed (somewhere...), along road and highway - Cody was great with passing trucks, semi's, etc. Once in the front quarter, by some stroke of luck, we found 15 of the heifers right off. I tied Cody to the fence via a rein (didn't think to leave a halter on underneath) and nervously left him to sneak around the heifers from the other side of the fence and push them through the gate, so that they could be locked in a cross-fenced section of the front section (on the side Cody was tied to). Fortunately, Cody stood calm and relaxed, hind leg cocked, as 15 heifers jogged past him. I shut that gate before commencing our search for the rest of the herd...split into three, as it turns out. 11 were hidden in trees on the other side of the fence but appeared when the 15 ran down their fenceline (on the opposite side). So, Cody and I hit some of the mid-quarter area and searched it out. His fear of things brushing him kicked in when we walked through small saplings, but Cody was ignoring the trees within a few minutes. After that, walking through the brush was amazing with this horse! It was like point and shoot: I point, he goes. No hesitation. Through mud, uneven ground, bog, brush, trees - whatever. We returned from our little trek to find the remaining 10 heifers standing close to the other two groups but separated by the gate I had closed to keep the original 15 in. I expected so little of this horse and got so much!! There were countless times I suggested to him what I wouldn't even suggest to some of our other horses in various situations (or where our other horses would question me), and he always did what was suggested, without so much as an alternate thought. At one point, Cody and I climbed a dirt pile (courtesy of an oil company working in the area - the dirt piles lined the road they put in on either side and are pretty high) to cut off a group of heifers we were bringing down. We came down the other side to find a sheer 'cliff' of about 4' or so...and nowhere else to go down. I didn't figure he'd even take the suggestion, but I just sort of sat there and gave him his head. If he turned away I wouldn't have blamed him - I didn't really expect him to go down a mini cliff! He didn't even seem to consider turning away but instead set about negotiating the footing. Within seconds he was sitting on his haunches and picking his way down the little cliff. At another point, we had to descend a steep bank, to another little drop-off where the footing consisted of deep muck, and up a short drop-off. Again, no expectations. Yet he set about plotting his mission and within moments we were across (courtesy of a quick jump). Second time across the same area (in the reverse direction though), he forged ahead with the same confidence (this time I was ready for the jump!). And in the bush? This horse is brilliant! Not a single trip and he picked his way uber carefully! If ever large branch threatened me or the bush got too thick or narrow, he simply halted, awaiting command. This allowed me time to push away any branches, lift my legs out of the way, etc - as necessary before clucking or squeezing him gently forward. I think that's all I can say to brag about this little 6yo boy, haha. I was just so incredibly impressed, he absolutely blew me away. That he would go out on his own so confident (even out-walking a couple fresh Arabs at the end of our long day), navigate foreign ground and bush, etc etc - man, was I impressed, and proud! He does respond to light leg aids (now!), but no leg yield or such, and no refinement to the bit - he feels like someone's just hauled around on his mouth (for the most part) to get him to go where they want. I am very light on his mouth and he's lightening up already, but he's just not 100 percent responsive yet. We did some trot and even a little canter - he's pretty unconfident (I can feel the uncertainty in his gait and if he doesn't understand what I am asking, he'll simply freeze up) but is coming along, esp at the trot. Anyways. Haha. I just did not expect it - I thought he'd make a good turnover horse, but I'm thinking he's far to good to let go to someone else!! lol ;)
Last day at the ranch (this morning), I woke Silver up early to head on out. He still feels a little rough but worked well - I was so proud of, and grateful to, him. I contemplated taking Cody instead, but I needed a horse who could work cattle. Cody's good with the cattle, but he isn't as quick on his feet yet and hasn't got the hang of working cattle yet. I was def glad to have Silver in a few pinches where only he could have done the job I needed done. From now on though he should be able to rest up a little and not work so hard for me. We got 33 of the 35 heifers we'd moved into the smaller piece of property into our newly-built corrals (Silver was fantastic for me - a little high energy and fidgety with the cattle, his first love - but fantastic) in the little time we had. The missing - psychotic - 2 heifers jumped a fence like deer and hit the marsh where we couldn't follow. I ended up having to jog Silver back home after the long and sticky day by leading him through my truck window (long story) and even there I was grateful of how willingly he responded. He was quiet today and even stood tied with little fuss or pawing (a rarity for such a high-energy boy!) - looks like I am getting my partner back ;)
Off to bed, but tomorrow's a day with Sunny, Gypsy, and Missy. Friday will be the same before I head on back up to Tomahawk. Can't wait to spend more time with my boys out in beautiful country! Remind me to write tomorrow in my sister blog The Perfect Horse about how our horses are our mirrors. I had more learning from my (almost) week in Tomahawk, but cannot recall it all yet (lol).
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