TOABH: Introspection

Another great blog hop from Beka at The Owls Approve:

 

Introspection

What would your horse change about you?

 

The simple answer is that he would prefer that I rarely ride and leave him out on pasture 24/7 with free access to grain and treats. 

I is good boy, now give me treats :)

 

Otherwise, I think he'd prefer I pay more attention to his moods and not pick fights when he clearly wants dinner, or is in spooky mode.  I think he would like to try some jumping, I just haven't had the chance or the guts to try him over a cross rail yet. Though, right now the ground is probably ideal...not too hard, not too soft.

He'd also want me to do more clicker training, because he would get more treats.

Riding this Week

It was beautiful again on Saturday My husband was out of town, so I had plenty of time to get stuff done.  I mostly finished putting up the new electric rope and started taking down the temporary fence. Max got some grazing time and a tail wash.  I also managed to upgrade a couple of my ground poles.

Now I can actually see them on the ground.

Since Max was pretty calm, I decided to ride in the pasture. Two different neighbors around us were having target practice, so I didn't want to go into the woods.  It was like riding in the wild west. Max handled it well and wasn't spooky at all, even when a closer neighbor started up with an obnoxious wood working tool (maybe a lathe, it was annoying).

Proof we rode. I was trying to get Max, the cones, and the poles in one shot, but couldn't see my screen. This is as good as it got.

We worked on  bending on a circle with my updated ground poles, leg yielding around cones, and consistency at the trot. That boy has a nice little western trot if he would be consistent. He tends to speed up significantly if we start heading towards the barn.  It's really nice to be riding in a pasture now where I don't need to worry about him flipping out and jumping the line. he can certainly still bolt and go nuts, but it will be contained.

Recycled from Monday. Because he's too cute.

This week has been a weather roller coaster. 60s on Saturday to upper 30s Monday with rain/sleet/snow, back up to 60s by Wednesday then down to the low 40s Thursday with rain scattered through out. 

I'm developing some sort of a game plan to work with Max after last weeks fiasco.  My first step is going to lunge him in a rope halter with a 14' lead in the smaller paddock when its not too muddy.  I want to reinforce vocal commands and remind him that he doesn't have to act like a complete idiot when I ask for a little more energy at the trot on the line.  With the 14' lead I'll be keeping it at a walk and reinforcing the whoa command.  He responds reasonably well to vocal commands under saddle, but not so much otherwise.

I tried this on Tuesday. For the most part he did really well, but he is so easily distracted by potentially spooky things.  In this case, it was my husband out on the road coming back from a bike ride.  It was difficult to keep Max's focus on me. That's something else we need to work on, I'm just not sure how to tackle it just yet. Also need to work on going to the right. 

Heart to Horse Box - March 2015

I've been wanting to try a subscription box for a while now. They have always looked like a lot of fun.  I considered a fiber club for my spinning, but didn't think I could keep up and didn't want to keep adding to my already large fiber stash. The Pony Box or Horse Box looked interesting, then I kept reading bad reviews.  I was tempted to try the Heart to Horse box from horse.com when it first came out, but wanted to wait to see what they included and what others thought.  Then I went to purchase the February box, but they were sold out!  Boo.  So finally, I got the March box.

This month's box was very well thought out.  It focused on grooming and was perfect for this time of year.  I will use everything, and very soon.

The opened box.

For my price list, I listed the retail price with the 15% discount price in parentheses. I did this because I've never been to the horse.com website and not gotten at least that much off, if not more. 

Cost: $34.99 with free shipping. And 25% of the proceeds go to a horse rescue.

Everything that was in the box minus the coupons

Items:
 -Majesty's Omega Wafers: $24.99 ($20.82) - They sent a full package which is a one - two month supply (60 wafers).  Bonus: Made in America according to the package. These are not meant for treats and you are only supposed to give one to two wafers per day. They are full of various omega fatty acids.  Max is already getting a supplement with some added omegas, so he might only get 1 wafer a day. If he's good. I can't wait to try these.

- Wahl Pocket Pro Trimmer: $18.95 (12.99) - Mine came in blue. Used for any light duty precision trimming such as around the eyes, whiskers, or muzzles.  Bonus (maybe): Battery operated so no cords to get in the way and it came with a battery. I don't groom my horse to the degree where I would really need this item. But I will definitely keep it around in case I need it for checking an odd lump, shaving around cuts if needed, or maybe trimming a bridle path. Though, I'm not sure it could handle the thickness of Max's mane.

-Roma Gel Mane and Tail Brush: $11.99 ($7.64) - This came in purple. I really did need a new mane brush. This one looks pretty sturdy, but has the stiff yet flexible brushy bits (prongs?) that I like.

-Roma Heart Shaped Curry: $2.19 ($1.69) - Came in light blue with glitter.  I have several curry combs and I can't get enough. I might be becoming a curry comb-aholic, curry comb hoarder....perfect for my little collection of combs. :)  But it's more triangle shaped than heart shaped in my opinion. 

-Farnam Slick 'N Easy Grooming Block: $3.99 ($3.39) - I've never used one of these, but will definitely try it on Max.  He's shedding like crazy, but still has so much coat left. Maybe it will help.

Bonus Items: Items that aren't really worth money in the same sense the other items were

-Isle of Dogs treat samples (3 heart shaped cookies) - says it's 100% natural, made in America, Gluten free.
-Some discount codes for saddle pads, clippers, Kool Coat and WeatherBeeta, and the standard 15% off at horse.com
-There's also a card with a blurb about a horse at the rescue the proceeds are supporting this month. 

Total Value: $62.11 ($46.35 with 15% discount). Plus you'd have to pay shipping.

Om nom nom "I love those treats!"

 Overall, I am very pleased with the value and the items that were included. I'm not disappointed about anything.  It's a very well thought out box and perfect for spring. I might just sign up for a 3 month subscription. 

TOABH: Metamorphosis

This week blog hop from The Owls Approve

We've talked about what your horse doesn't like to do, and I don't want to confuse this with that.  I'm not talking about personality quirks or training foibles.  Tell me:  if you could change something (or things) about your horse, what would you?

This is an easy one. I would change how Max spooks.  Even the most bombproof horse will spook at something, be it a horse fly biting sensitive areas, a tree falling (been there, done that...twice), to anything else unexpected.  How the horse spooks matters.  Unfortunately, Max tends to bolt and this scares me. I would much rather he spook in place, or just do one of those jumps to the side and stand still rather than taking off.

"Gunfire didn't bother me Saturday. I was a good boy!"

I'd also change his size.  I love me some draft horse and his 13.1h height is a bit on the short size.  I'd like some more drafty bone on him.  Those drafty looking Haflingers are beautiful.

But in the end, I do love what I have. He definitely keeps me on my toes and is teaching me a lot.

DIY Horse Ownership Contest

Do It Yourself Horse Ownership is having a contest. You can win a custom stall sign with a graphic and your horses name. Her examples are lovely!

Check out the contest here.

Crazy Week

Most of the week has been spent either at work or at the therapeutic riding center.  We've been short of volunteers so I've been filling in as much as possible.  Needless to say, I haven't really worked with Max much, except for Thursday morning.

The farrier came out late morning. Before she comes, I try to clean the mud off his hooves and legs as much as possible.  So I stuck him out in the pasture and cleaned him off.  Then went back to the barn to clean out Cinderella's stall.  Go back out to the pasture, realize I forgot something, and start heading up to my car.  Right now, I just have a single strand of hot wire in those plastic step in posts.  Well, Max thought I had grain somewhere and tried to follow me out. I stupidly thought he'd stop at the pseudo-gate. Nope. I hear this crack then thundering hooves behind me. Turn around and there is the pony trotting into the barn. 

"Food please?"  Cute picture to break up the wall of text. Not taken yesterday.

 So then I decide to lunge him.  Take him out in a rope halter and lunge. We start out okay, but then things get interesting. He starts bucking a bit and I'm able to control him. Then he starts squealing and bucking and doesn't stop.  Needless to say, he gets away from me and goes galloping around the pasture with the 25' lunge line dragging behind.  Normally he doesn't care if it's dragging behind and he heads for the barn. Not this time.  He heads out of the pasture through the broken gate. Runs around the front yard, between our cars, heads to the back yard, then back towards the barn and paddock. He realizes that he can't get anywhere on the far side, runs around to the opposite side.

He does stop, but it's a very narrow spot where he's at and I can't see him around the corner. So I start talking to him, but staying as close to the barn as I can just in case he takes off again....and he does. He thought about jumping the tape but instead goes back through the broken gate into the pasture.  He finally slows down enough for me to get a hold of the line and we head back into the barn.  I throw him in his stall and clean his feet again.  He must have worn himself out because he was surprisingly good for the farrier.

Needless to say I was not pleased with his behavior. More groundwork is in his future.  

Funny thing was, I was lunging a Haflinger at the center in a round pen, and he insisted on squealing and bucking quite a bit too.  There must have been something in the air yesterday.

Peaceful Weekend

This past weekend was so peaceful and relaxing, particularly Saturday. It rained all day Friday, and I stopped by Rural King to pick up some chicks.   Cute chicks always improves my mood.  My husband also went out of town for the night, so I was alone.

Cuteness!

Saturday was absolutely beautiful!  I put Max out in the pasture and started putting insulators on all the posts for the new electric fence. During one of my breaks, I groomed the pony a bit to help get out that winter coat.

Shaggy pony doubles as a table.

 During another break, I set up some cones on the driveway and rode the pony bareback to work on leg yielding. And he started doing it!  I only rode for about 20 minutes, but by the end, I had a relatively lose rein and he was moving over.  Not well yet, but it's a start. As a side note, the cones I acquired are too tall.  I almost knocked them over with my foot several times as we passed by.  The ground is so wet that I didn't want to tear up the pasture or yard by riding on it, so we stuck to the compact driveway. Also, farrier still hasn't been out and Max was a bit trippy.  Trippy pony + very soft ground = potential for accident. I'm also pleased because Max seemed very relaxed for the most part.  There was very little lip flapping and he stood still for a fair amount of time when I asked.

See! I did ride! Notice Cinderella to the left not grazing down the grass in the garden

After our short ride, I put him up and went in for some lunch. When I came back out, he and Cinderella were napping and I finished the insulator installation.  I'm hoping to finish up the electric fence this week and start in on the barbed wire removal.

Sorry! Didn't mean to wake you.