Fly's First Ride

Last night I rode Fly Away for the first time since she's been here. She is looking much better as far as soundness goes, still has a slight gimp, but I felt comfortable enough to feel we could just walk around and get used to each other.

She does well with tacking up. Just swung her head the second time I tightened her girth. I reassured her we'd go slow and she was fine when I made the final adjustment. She was a breeze to bridle. She does chew the bit and roots on it some. My next mission will be to find a bit she likes since we have enough bridles for everyone, but not enough bits!

I didn't know how she'd stand for mounting, she was a rock. Its a long way up there, so that is a big plus! I've nicknamed her Moose, although I don't call her that to her face. She's much prettier than a moose. We practised lateral flexing to each side, which she didn't seem to be sure of, but we've done it on the ground, so she did catch on. I asked her to walk off and she did. I know she knows to give to the bit, she was offering that. When giving to the bit, she goes really slow though, when I let her have the long loose rein, she moved out better. She is still so narrow, with little muscle, it feels really weird up there to me. I used the dressage saddle and it fit her well with the regular gullet. She was not scary to ride at all, right now she's kind of lazy, although at the end when I gave her her head, she marched right out and wanted to keep moving instead of standing. We did a little backing too. I think she'll be a great ride once her feet are fixed and she gets some muscling. So far she's just been an easy-peasy girl!

One scary thing that I did, stupid, stupid me, was lead her up back to eat over a downed fence line. Of course she got her hind foot wrapped in it, got nervous and circled me so the tape was wrapped around the back of my legs too. She was dancing and getting worked up and I thought this could turn out really badly for me! I stayed calm and asked her to whoa, which she did. I stepped out of the tape and started breathing again. It took another minute to extricate her, I just moved her around so the tape fell off by itself and she stayed with me even though she was upset. This was on my birthday, and I probably gave myself a few more gray hairs! I know see something we need to work on, accepting things around her legs.

Pony Club Lesson

Yippee, after 6 years, countless hours and we don't really want to know how much money, we've finally reached the point where we have two horses and two girls able to take lessons together and participate in parades and shows. This was the first formal lesson the girls had with the Tamarack Pony Club, last week it was a game day and they did great then too. We finally got Angel and Macy to canter today, she has only cantered on the trail. It was only a few steps, but its a start. The instructor was a guest instructor and really great with the girls. We were very proud of all our girls today, they did a great job getting ready, studying all the things they need to know to advance to the next level and riding. Yesterday they rode at Malachite Farm here in Vassalboro and had so much fun. The new little filly is adorable and loved to be scratched everywhere.

Molly By Golly

Or fat bottomed girl, those are my two nicknames for Molly, aka Impressionable Milly, registered QH mare, former Hemphill's camp horse and one I brought home for the girls and got stuck with as my main ride! This girl has given me 90% of my horsey education, from bringing a starved, pregnant mare back to health, to wrapping bowed tendons, treating mastitis, hoof trimming, boot fitting, metabolic issues, allergic reactions, choke, vaccine reactions, chiropractic work and DNA testing for HYPP. There's probably a few adventures in there I've forgotten about too. She's the horse I had scanned when Dan Sumerel came and she had enough issues for me to see a difference in her that led me to really get serious about the red light therapy. She continues to improve health-wise as we scan and treat her. I've never had a full season of riding with her, something always comes up, but so far this year she's been fine. I've been riding her in the round pen at the walk and trot, and we've made some good progress. She enjoyed trail rides when she was feeling good, so I'm hoping to get back to that with her too. I've decided that she's a horse that cannot have grass, she got really cresty very quickly this year and even eating with the muzzle allows for too much grass. She's been okay with having a flake of hay within sight of the other horses grazing. With her funny personality and bold attitude, she keeps life interesting around here. She's the first horse I've had that lifts her hind leg so you can better reach to scratch her udders, and will show you exactly where she'd like to be scratched. She is a bit of a bully to the other horses, but sometimes that comes in handy! It allows River to be a benign leader when Molly keeps the rest in line. For such a chunky monkey, she can be quite athletic when the mood strikes her, and I see her instigating play more often than any of the others. She was an awesome mom too, and let anyone in with her to admire the baby. She's been easy going for most anything we've had to do, vet, teeth and stall rest with hand walking. I so hope we get to experience a riding relationship too!

Gee, I wonder why she limps!

These are Fly Away's front feet. The first is the left front, the leg that was injured. There is just a small scar on the front of her pastern. When watching her walk, it looks like a person walking in a high heel and a sneaker. I'm hoping that getting her feet straightened out will get her most of the way to sound. Using the red lights therapy should help her muscles to relax and get used to the new way of moving. She was just days away from being put down.

Smallest & Tallest

Smallest & tallest, oldest and youngest, best friends.

Our newest herd member, Fly Away, immediately bonded with the lowest member of our herd, Maya. They are connected at the hip, each gets worried if they lose sight of the other. Maya acts like Fly Away is her long-lost foal, Fly is just glad to have a friend. Maya has been protecting Fly from the other horses, squealing at them and putting herself between the others and Fly, defending her friend when she never stood up for herself. The two of them share hay piles and even their grain, if allowed. They scratch each other's necks and tails, though Maya can barely reach! I'm so glad this sweet, older mare finally has an ally and best bud.

River

Today we trimmed River's feet. We haven't had good luck getting the farrier out here and they were getting quite long, especially the backs. She did a really good job of standing for us, so that made it easier.

It was so hot today, I hosed her off in the afternoon and she actually enjoyed it.

Amber rode her on Saturday and they did a good job together. Amber remembered to circle her when she got a little fast, and River remembered what that meant. She did some nice reaching down into the bit, they looked really nice together.

River has been good with the new girl, I knew she would be. She's a great herd leader.

Everybody Loves . . . Angel

I don't know what it is about Noon Angel, (that's not even her real identity!) but everyone falls in love with that horse. Even people that don't LIKE horses!

At Pony Club this week, she behaved like a perfect Angel, many people asked where we got her, etc. Macy had a sore tush from falling off a trampoline the day before, so Amber ended up riding Angel for most of the games. There was no sign of the hissy fits, squeals, kicking out, biting at toes and nasty faces we've seen at home before. She looked like she was actually enjoying herself and had no problem trotting. I think I was on the right track in thinking this is a horse that needs to be ridden, not just sat on and rode in circles. She needs a reason to do something, that may be why she has never been a problem on a trail ride.

After the lesson, I asked the instructor if she thought the horses would be okay to bring for lessons and events. She pointed at Angel and said, "I LOVE that one, she is so laid back, and wasn't bothered by the other horses at all. Her attitude is "whatever, no problem". Her assessment of Maya was a little less enthusiastic, but I think she'll do fine with some practise at home. I was actually quite surprised because I thought Maya did great, even though she was a little wary of the flags they used for a game and liked to go. It was a race afterall!

So Angel has collected yet another fan!

Miss My The Arab Princess

The girls joined the Pony Club and our first lesson was Sunday. It just happened to be a games day and we decided to take our horses to see how they'd do and if they're going to be suitable for the girls to ride in Pony Club lessons and events. It was a very hot day and although we left at the time I wanted to, I hadn't allowed quite enough extra time for hauling the trailer. We got there at the time the games were to start, and got told we need to be there and ready when the lessons start. It only took us 5 minutes to get ready, and the games didn't start for another 15-20 minutes as the girls were warming up the horses they were riding. So we were fine. Next I was asked if we have nose bands for our bridles. I had taken them off during the winter as the buckles are harder to do in the cold and I had forgotten to put them back on. Off to a great start already! Maya was a little looky, but behaved for Amber. She likes to canter, so during the games, she would canter back to the start/finish line, but Amber could stop her. They did a bean bag game and one other, then was time for the flag game. Amber got a little nervous about that, so let another girl, Jesse, ride Maya. Maya was a little wary of the flags in the bucket they had to pick up, but Jesse did a good job and was able to do the game. Pole bending was great! Maya acted like she knew just what she was doing! I thought she did a wonderful job and Jesse had fun riding her. Amber got confidence seeing Maya able to handle all the games, now we just need to practise at home. Dana, the instructor, thought Maya would be okay for lessons and events, though she was a more "typical" Arab. Yippee, we can actually use our own horses for something, LOL!