WordPlay

By Patty Wilber

Longshot was born in  September 2010, and he had a contracted tendon (see last week’s post, The Longshot Update for more info.)

Splint #1, 3 days old, September, 2010

He recovered and went home.

Longshot at home with his mom, Dec. 2010

Then I got a yearling (Lacey), so Longshot came to live at my house to keep her company.

Lacey, June 2011. She had a joint infection, but recovered fully. See JJM Spurs Zan Lace

Longshot and Lacey. Buddies!

Then they turned two and I got another one (LT), and the three of them went to summer camp (See The Three Amigos).

Grass! 2012! (irrigated)

Then Longshot went home for the winter (Lacey had LT for company–plus I got Toots, who is just one year older…do we sense an ominous (for the bank account) horse accumulation trend??–LT and Toots are prospects–for sale–really!  Just make me an offer (a really big offer!)

Toots! And her summer coat is so much darker.  I SWEAR I am going to take monthly pictures for a year–um unless I sell before the year is up–yeah right !

And now, enough of the back story; we will get back to the real story: Longshot is back, and I am getting on his back, and his back is not up against the wall.

I started and showed his full sister Squirt and his half brother Tabooli (same mom).  I did a tune up on his cousin Fancy and a tune up on his half sister Cinco (same dad), so I am familiar with the blood line.  Plus, I am familiar with Longshot himself since he has spent a lot of time living here.

Squirt (3) at an ACTHA ride fall 2012 (she won her division).

Tabooli in a hunter under saddle class summer  2012 (photo by Caitlin Dralle)

I figured Longshot’d be a drama-less start.

Correct.

Since mid May, we have one day of ground work and he has been under saddle 19 times.

Longshot is not the super sensitive type and he has a bigger “not doing THAT” (i.e. stubborn streak) than any of his relatives.  But he rarely bucks, even when he plays.

If he is stressed, he simply quits moving. This can make him somewhat frustrating to train, but it means he is unlikely to come apart.

He will spook at things that appear strange, but he has a very short flight distance–he won’t go far.

He likes the company of the other horses (unlike Toots who is more of a loner), which does mean there can be buddying up/ herd bound issues especially when he is in unfamiliar territory.

So, that first day, I tossed a saddle on him and he flinched a little, but not much.

He worked in the round pen with a drag rope, some tarps, a butt rope etc.  The usual array of objects I like a horse to try out before I try them out from on top.

I do not want them careening around the place in a panic with all that stuff flapping, so I keep them on a line until I an reasonably sure they can manage.

Longshot really did not care.

I messed with the stirrups, stood in them and since he didn’t raise his head, swish his tail, or move his feet and then he closed his eyes (I swear he’s narcoleptic!) by day two I got on.

Moving?  Who needs to move?  But then he did kind of amble around.

Here are my notes from day three–Ride two :

“Ride 2-well he is not in a hurry about anything although he will go.  We already know he doesn’t startle at much–but that also means he doesn’t respond too much!  He walked and trotted with me on him.  His ground work was markedly better than the 10th.  He seems to need a soak-in period to process what I want.  I used reins today and he was of course clueless, but I did get walk, trot, back, whoa, some turning, move the butt and decent sideways.  Most of it was pretty kindergarten, but hey that is a lot for ride 2–and absolutely no drama in his body–well except he argued with his face because he did not know what I wanted…”

By ride four we were in the arena and he showed a little life by spooking at the arena drag, and he was moving his parts enough to open (but not shut) a rope gate.  And he could trot.  And steer–sort of.  And stop.  All of it a bit begrudgingly. Just think of the sound they do on TV when a person is on downer drugs and people’s voices are distorted, slow and deep.  I have no idea how to put letters together for that sound.  But trying to convince Longshot to move any part freely was an effort.

 Truthfully, I was a little depressed about this and I kept comparing him to Squirt who was super laid back but eager to try new things.  That comparison thing is bad!  It only gets in the way of seeing what is right for the horse under you.

But take the bridge for example. On day five, I figured we’d try the bridge.  I mean SQUIRT loped on ride  three, opened and shut a gate on ride four and went over the bridge like it was not even there.

(Hello?  To self! We already know that Longshot is not Squirt…)

But being the optimist (or just as stubborn as Longshot), we went for the bridge.  And, yep we went over the bridge.  Never sweetly, but at least he showed SOME try.

On ride 10, we had a turning point.  I put a cavesson on him (you can see it in the picture) to entice him to keep his mouth shut when pressure is applied to the bit and was using a training fork just to keep him from putting his nose in the sky.  We went to the round pen to see if loping was in his future.

Cavesson–over the halter–a little unconvential–but works on the trail.

We did some warm up. It was ok until I asked him to move his shoulder to the left. Nope, not doing it.

We got in a fight.  

I fought dirty.

I used my spurs.

I won.

And, huh.  His attitude became a whole lot more compliant.

So, we loped.  Very nice.

Then my erstwhile (is that the right word? erstwhile?) cow partner, otherwise known as Fancy’s Dad or Seasoned Hunting Friend #2, asked if I wanted to go to the Brazos Box Ranch.

How many horses can I bring??? (ok, so I get demerits for rudeness!)

One.  

Well then, it had to be Longshot.

Why on Earth would I take a horse with 12 rides ever in his whole life to the ranch to ride?

Because it would work. And Squirt’s dad took HER to the back country on 20 rides by me and only one ride by him. Not that I’m preparing to  compare.

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Ride 13, at the ranch.  I went out alone towards dusk.

WHAT?

Well, no one else wanted to go and he’d been there over night and had done nothing all day while we set up fence.

He was a little squirrely leaving his pen mate, Squirt, but as soon as he got over the hill, he was fine.

Until we got to the stream.  He was alarmed by the whole idea of a stream.  Why would that water MOVE like that?

Ok, so first we walked along it (crabwise, as maybe it was going to rise up out of the bed and suck us in), but then the trail went across, so I got off, he snacked on some grass, he put his foot in and followed me over, just like that.

And then he rushed up the bank.  Whereupon my rein broke.

Seriously? Ugh.  I knew there was an issue with that rein and I had failed to fix it at home.  Oh well.  Tied it in a knot to the bit and got back on.

Rode down farther and traipsed across a few more streams. La de da.

Fixed my rein back at the cabin.  Baling twine is useful.

The next day, we headed out to check a fence job.

We crossed more water.

Ho hum.

He wore saddle bags for the first time.

Ho hum.

We saw an elk calf! So new that its instincts were to freeze in place.

We went cross country over a lot of dead fall (and he stepped over everything, Ho Hum), through a bog, and up a very steep rocky ridge.

Deadfall–I can do it!

Except for getting tired on the steep hill and complaining that his muscles hurt and he should not be required to move his legs any more, no obstacle was an issue.  He was extremely sure footed.

Nice view from the top!

Just another day at the horse training office! Squirt with her dad to the left, Fancy’s dad on Mister, ponying Fancy.

My only complaint is that Longshot is a VERY slow walker.  He has a slow jog, too–nice if he were destined for a western pleasure show future, but (hopefully, for us once and will be again cow punchers) his future may be ranch work.

We rode the next (and last) day at the walk, trot and lope on the trail, and since he did water the first ride at the ranch, saddle bags and varied and challenging terrain the second day, for his third day learning experience: Hobbles.

After the ride, I put them on, stepped back, and he began to eat.  Ho Hum.

Hobbled. I kept the lead rope on so I could help him if he panicked. Doesn’t he look worried?

When he went to move, he carefully placed one foot and then the other. Ho Hum.

He took to that better than Squirt.  (Not that I am comparing!)

Thinking old Longshot is gonna make a horse.

By Patty Wilber  First Published in January, 2011

6/2013. Just wanted to refresh everyone on who Longshot is, so that next week when I talk about his training progress, there will be some context!

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1/2011. A while back I said that red boys were my LEAST favorite horse color/gender combo.  So this year I fell for not one, but TWO red boys.

Winston, my midlife crisis, who, based on a two second decison making process, came to me from a kill pen in Abilene, TX, got healthy and and is now in a fine new home,

Winston on a Back Country Horsemen project in the Manzano Mountains fall 2010.

and little Longshot who was born in September with contracted tendons in one front foot.

Longshot just a few days after birth.

Research indicated that a splint might help him, so his Dad gave it a go.

The thing that put me over the edge was the absolute center of calm this foal possessed. “Either that or he’s missing a part of his brain,” says his Dad.

How many foals FALL ASLEEP when getting messed with? Narcolepsy?

This cotton makes a nice pillow!

It was not clear that the initial splints were going to work, so Longshot ended up at Albuquerque Equine with Dr. Dralle.  Dr. Dralle recommended a dose of tetracycline to loosen the tendons, along with more splints.

Tetracycline being delivered via IV–and look he doesn’t even have a halter on.

This was a big splint!

Dr Dralle warned that despite the gauze, cotton, vet wrap, vet bubble wrap, and custom shaping, the PVC  splint could put pressure on the tender skin of the foal, causing damage.  He suggested would be best if the splint stints were no more than 12 hours in length.

After his vet visit, Longshot came to my temporary  “rehab clinic”.  (His Dad was going out of town).

With the invaluable help of my husband,  the splints were changed.  This usually involved Longshot laying on top of Jim, asleep, while I apologized for my slow splint removal due to the increasing dullness of my scissors.  (It is really hard to cut off layers and layers of elasticon tape!)

Dr. Dralle came to see him after a few days and because the tendons around his hoof were still very tight, we decided to go for a second dose of tetracycline.  This pretty much maxed out the tetracycline option and the vet budget, so we kept our fingers crossed.

Longshot after his second tetracycline dose.

After a few days, the leg is looking MUCH better. He has a tendon issue up near his knee also, so his knee looks a little funny.

One of my splint jobs did cause a pressure spot on the back of his leg, but over all it didn’t seem that there was much damage to his skin due to the splints.

He went home. 

He started shedding skin off his leg (there WAS tissue damage).

He limped and laid around a lot.  Mellow?  Too mellow.

Banamine (a pain killer) really seemed to help him.

He got a respiratory infection.  He rattled.

Longshot while he had the respiratory infection.

The hoof on his bad leg wants to grow WAY too much toe, so while checking on his respiratory issues, I held him (he fell asleep) and he got his toe rasped a little.  (There is not much hoof to work with, so just a little rasping is all that can be done.)

Two courses of antibiotics got the rattling under control, and he has gotten stronger.

I went to see him last Sunday, to help with another trim job and to get pictures for this post!

He has grown! The near leg is the one that was contracted.

He is standing oddly on uneven ice. The two white marks are where there were pressure sores. I am guessing they may be white for life.

This white spot is “mine”. There is a still a slight lump from the splint there, too. This shot is after the trim and he is standing reasonably well.

The bad leg is  hairier than the other legs.  I have seen horses in poor body condition grow excessively long coats, and girls with anorexia may develop downy hair growth called lanugo (which is especially noticable on their arms), but I didn’t realize that extra hair growth might occur in specific locations like this, apparently in response to trauma.

The coronet band, where the hoof grows, also seems to have sustained some pressure damage.  It is growing out normally in all but one spot.

Maybe the vintage hoof dressing is helping (price tag of 2 bucks for a big jar so you know it has got to be OLD).

Applying hoof dressing.

Too cute

Think I will take a nap!

 In  2013, I have a spot reserved to begin his training.  Either he is going to be the easiest horse I have ever trained, or  he is going to sleep through the whole thing!

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Tune in next week to find out!!!

By Patty Wilber

Cometa’s eye has really improved since last week!

Last week

This week!

His eye actually opens more than that but since he has been in the pirate mask, his eye has been in the dark so the light makes him squint.

He is on eye steroids for a few more days and then we will see if he can see.  I have not opened the vet invoice from Wednesday yet…

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And now for our feature presentation!

The Pecos Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen worked in the Pecos Wilberness…no no I mean “Wilderness” this past weekend and  one of our tasks was to haul 600 pounds of trace element salt from Jack’s Creek to Beatty’s Cabin (about 16 miles round trip).

What does “worth your salt” mean anyway?

Apparently, “centuries ago salt was so valuable that many people used to have part of their pay in salt.
It’s mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible (Ezra) in the context of the pay of the Persian king’s servants.
According to the Roman writer, Pliny the Elder, Roman soldiers are also supposed to have been paid in salt.

It’s also where the word ‘salary’ is supposed to come from (the Latin word ‘salarium’).” (from http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080125125348AA6VLMV)

The salt is for the Big Horn Sheep.  Someone thinks the sheep  are worth their salt!

I knew the sheep were introduced to the Pecos area and I knew the sheep liked salt, but didn’t know more than that. Here is what I found out.

“Bighorn sheep were extirpated from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the early 1900′s (Bailey 1931, Barker 1976). Restoration efforts began with a translocation from Canada 13 in 1932, but no bighorn sheep survived past the mid-1930′s (Lange 1978). A second translocation of 24 bighorn sheep in 1965-66 from Banff National Park, Alberta and from the now extinct Sandia population was successful. In 2002 this herd was estimated to have 340 bighorn sheep based on results of a helicopter survey, hunter-guide reports, and mathematical modeling.

“Considerable human interaction, driven primarily by a craving for salt (Hass 1992), has been reduced in the Pecos Wilderness population by consistently providing trace element salt blocks to Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (NMDGF files).”  From the Long Range Plan for the Management of  Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in New Mexico 2005-2014

Livestock salt probably comes in a few forms, but the two types I am familiar with are trace element salt blocks (which I have always called “mineralized”) and, just plain salt.

The plain variety is white, and some publication I read somewhere sometime suggested that there was no reason to spend the extra money on mineralized salt for your equines, so I buy the plain.  Every pen has a block of salt and some of the horses (Cometa in particular) really like to lick the blocks, making artistic grooves…

The mineralized salt is reddish/brownish, and that is the sort we were to haul.

I have purchased salt in 10 pound blocks and 50 pound blocks, and I know of people who have purchased “designer” salt in loose form (for a gob of money, too).

Our sheep salt was in 50 pound blocks.

All that stuff will go on the animals! The salt isn’t included yet!

We saddled and pack-saddled and tied on our saddle bags and cantle bags and pommel bags and coats and water and radios and spot locators–yes we were (over?) prepared.  Then we loaded 100 pounds onto each of  the horses: Lacey, Squirt, and Cinco; we put 100 pounds on one mule and 200 pounds on Chance (the other mule).

Chance was wearing a metal frame pack and he thought the whole thing was a little odd, so he unloaded the first a-salt (via various airs above ground manuevers) in fairly short order.

Once reloaded though, he was regrounded.

Loaded for real this time.

Cinco had salt in pack boxes, while Lacey and Squirt carried theirs in panniers. You can see Cinco, Squirt and Lacey’s butt in this picture.

I box hitched Lacey and Squirt’s loads and the thick and unwieldy rope on Squirt’s lash cinch gave me fits.  There is a new rope for that rig sitting on my kitchen table at this very moment.

Then we headed out!  Richard and Peter both ponied two animals each (and I was kind of proud of Squirt, since I trained her to ride and pack–she figured out how to be the second horse in the string without a hitch–wait–she had a box hitch–oh well, you know what I mean!)

I ponied Lacey, and we had two out riders, Siri and Julie.

On the way out of Jack’s Creek. (Photo by Siri.)

Julie!

Siri!

It was balmy and sunny–just the perfect temperature for riding.  The trail is steep climbing out of Jack’s Creek and then opens out onto a lovely meadow.

Richard and his string after we have climbed out of Jack’s Creek. It is SO dry!  In a more normal year,this would be much greener and the ground would be wet.

Despite the dry (there was NO recorded runoff for the Pecos this year–0% of normal?) there were still several small creeks to be crossed.  After Canyon de Chelly, Toots and Squirt were pretty good over water.  Lacey has always been willing to follow Toots and only jumped the muddy stuff once or twice.

Toots and Lacey are both good drinkers, but with her head down like that, Lacey stepped over the lead rope more than once.  Then Siri would gamely get off and fix it for me!

Photo thanks to Siri!

After a couple of hours, we made the forest service cabin just south of Beatty’s Cabin.  We unloaded.

Unhitching the lash cinch. Toots is supervising. Picture by Siri.

Peter unloading Squirt. Picture by Siri.

Julie  helping with Chance. Picture by Siri.

Our 600 lb contribution to the welfare of the sheep!

We had a late lunch break on the porch at Beatty’s Cabin and then headed back.

Peter and his string. Photo by Siri.

We made good time back–I THOUGHT Toots was a fast walker, but it turns out she is only Medium Fast.  Richard’s lead mare can really step out, and Toots is going to have to step up to keep up!

Fun trip and I know my girls are definitely worth their salt!

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I will be out of town next week, so will post a rerun blog about Longshot as a foal with his contracted tendon.  He is now 2.5 and the next new post will feature “The Training of Longshot”.

By Patty Wilber with my assistant, Lupo

Lupo says: my work is not complete unless i knock at least one pencil on the floor!

Part II of the Canyon de Chelly Adventure!

There has been a dearth of moisture in the Land of Enchantment, making New Mexico the state with the USDA’s most dire drought rating.

So, on Day 2 of our trip, in Arizona, just barely across the border, we awoke to rain.  Ok, that is overstating it.  We awoke to a slight drizzle.  Haven’t seen that in months. But no matter, We, being Back Country Horsemen (four of us) or Experienced Distance Riders (one of us) were Prepared to Ride, even if the drizzle progressed to actual rain.  We did not drive all this way, get health certificates and Coggin’s tests for the horses (which no one actually checked) to get washed out!

But first, JD’s tossed shoe (from his attempts to out-compete Peter’s mare,  Squirt for possession of my mare, Toots) needed tacked back on.   Our guide, Justin Tso, got his cousin to come do it first thing.

JD holds his feet still, but likes to nibble on his handler while being shod. Marcia loves that.

 I waited it out in the “comfort” of the trailer.

Then we got going.  We loaded the horses in the trailers and drove to our trail head because the day’s trip was to be a one way ride down into the canyon back to our lodgings.  We would then shuttle up to get our vehicles.

Fortunately, there were many amenities at the parking spot (or not).

Dust drifts and doorless, but better than the “comfort” of the trailer!

If you look to the far lower right of the map, you can see a horse icon. That is where we parked. We rode down Bat Canyon (farther right on the map) into Canyon de Chelly and back to the Thunderbird Lodge (left of the map) along the Canyon floor .

Mary Ann in her slicker! It was chilly to start with. I lent my emergency ear warmer to Justin and a pair of rain pants to Marcia. We were all comfortable and it did not rain much at all.

The aroma of the sage in the damp was invigorating. It made me sneeze! We rode towards Bat Canyon.  We did not see any bats. We reached the edge.

The trail didn’t drop right off, but pretty close.

On Saturday before we left,  I took Marcia for a test ride on JD (he’d been here a couple months).  We went into a nearby “canyon”–very small compared to Canyon de Chelly–but with a rocky and technical descent.  She called me ” The Crazy Rock Lady” (or something similar).

Take our Saturday “practice” descent of 50 feet and expand into two miles.

The Bat Canyon trail dropped down along a spine with a lovely CLIFF on the left but a  comfortable trail bed–except for the that one rock slide spot where the horses could slip, lose their footing and plunge over the edge!  The scenery would be lovely on the way by…

Made that.  No horse issues. Human breathing issues.

Then the trail hair-pinned left, and veered very steeply, clinging to the canyon side. The track was ancient.  Justin said perhaps dating to the times of Anasazi (they were the makers of the cliff-side ruins.)

The good point about the rest of the Bat out of Hell Canyon trail was that it had a berm, so I never felt like I was going to pitch off the edge.  However, it was highly eroded, so the foot-bed was anything was smooth. There were huge rocks, small rocks, rocking rocks, tilted rocks, slippy rocks and mini gorges.  At no time were all four horse hooves at the same angle.  Every step required planning by both the rider and the horse.

Any equine with a poor sense of body awareness or one that was too tightly wound would have ended up sprawled on its knees or with a twisted ankle.  Many people might have had the same experience if they were to walk this trail.  And, as I mentioned, it was STEEP!

There was nowhere for six animals to comfortably stop, so there was nothing to do but try to maintain an even, measured pace that all the animals could accommodate, and forge ahead.   Near the end, several of our trusty steeds were showing signs of muscle fatigue–their legs were quivering.  Some us might of been hyperventilating.

Toots, the squat tank, is so muscular and low to the ground, she’s a like a little ATV! She handled it really well–and brag brag–then went to a show on May 11th and won Ranch Pleasure, took a second in Ranch Trail, and a third in Reining!)

JD was also magnificent.  So, may be I’m not so crazy?  In fact, four of our five horses have covered my “crazy rock lady trails”, three of them extensively.  I use those trails for training because it is interesting for the horses while helping them learn to use their bodies and watch where they are going.  It is good for the minds of the show horses and boy did it help on this trail!

There are no pictures of the descent.  We had to steer!

Toots says: there is no way i am going back up that, so don’t even ask. (the part shown is not even a hard part but at least it shows there are lots of rocks!.)

We shed some layers and took a sigh of relief that we had survived. This is not the best picture, but the bush behind Marcia is a Fendler Bush in bloom–we saw other flowers, too–unlike NM where it is so dry we barely even have weeds.

Along the floor of Bat Canyon towards Spider Rock.

The rest of the ride was easy and spectacular!

Spider Rock.

According to Justin, there was a woman that used to live near this spire and she wove rugs with the spider pattern.  I know very little about Navajo rugs, and did not find anything listed as the “Spider Pattern” in a quick search. Apparently, there is no one left who knows how to do this pattern.  The rock is named after her.

Peter took all the Day 2 pictures after the descent. Tons of gorgeous scenery!

We crossed a lot of water! Toots got to where she went right in and did not take the first opportunity to get out–she’d wade along until I made her to get out.  She also drank frequently. This is great because not all horses will drink strange water and thus may be prone to dehydration on long rides.

Window rock!

Trotting across water! Not enough splash to be pictorially dramatic, but fun anyway!

On the right is a fenced area–keeps out the feral horses. On the left, the horses have access. As part of the management of the Canyon, invasive trees (Russian Olive and Salt Cedar) are being removed. The horses are also non-native. They need to go. I think the picture makes the point.

The scenery was like this all day long. Amazing!

On Day 2 we covered nearly 21 miles!

On Day 3, we rode to Little White House Canyon–see map.  We rode along the paved rode with cars whizzing up behind us.  I found that a little unnerving and was happy that Tulip was bringing up the rear when the motorcycle cavalcade roared by.  All the horses handled the traffic well.  We cut South and got out on some flat rock and wide open spaces.

I really liked the sky in this picture.

Then we hit sand dunes.  Think those are marked on the map.

In some places there was no vegetation and just big sand drifts. We galloped over them!

Little White House Canyon was smaller and more intimate than Canyon de Chelly.  It also gets far less tourist use, so it was just us.  There were, of course, lovely rock formations.

And the Little White House Ruin.

Little White House Ruin.

This is a stand of Russian Olive that has invaded,choking out the native vegetation, but it did make a nice fore-ground for the photo!

Removal of the Russian Olive has brought the water table up quite a bit in Canyon de Chelly!

On the way back, Justin pointed out an ancient trail from Little White House Canyon to White House Ruin in Canyon de Chelly.  Not enough time to ride that, but it sounded intriguing!

Or exploring Canyon de Muerte (the northern branch), or riding to the end (37 miles) on a two day trip…or…for something completely different, maybe Nevada?

There are so many places to explore!  I sure enjoyed this trip with a great group of friends and a bunch of horses I also know personally (especially Toots! Thanks Wendy!).

By Patty Wilber

A few months ago, Mary Ann and I went riding.  I was riding Marcia’s horse, JD.  Mary Ann and I decided we should go to Canyon de Chelly.

Canyon de Chelly is a National Monument about 250 miles from Albuquerque, near Chinle AZ. Drive to Gallup, turn right.  It is federally administered, but it is in the Navajo Reservation.  Access to most of the canyon is restricted unless you hire a guide that is certified by the Navajo Nation.

So, for our partners, we recruited David, (who unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute), Peter (with Squirt), Marcia (with JD), and Chuck (with Dash).  Mary Ann brought Tulip (aka Petunia) and I brought Toots.

Chuck knew of a guide so I called him.  He wanted $800/day, and as I talked to him I felt as though my words were bouncing around at random.  Apparently, I do not speak the Navajo version of English.  It was sort of surreal.  Maybe that is how my students feel when I talk to them!

I looked on my favorite tool, the Internet, and found a couple of guiding services–ended up calling Justin Tso’s Horse Rentals.  He was willing to guide up for $15/ hour + $7/ horse.  With the five of us that went, it worked out to $50/hr + a good tip.  For 14 hours of riding over three days, we spend $850. A lot better than 800/day!

Had to figure out where to keep our horses.  Justin set us up with Pauline Martin, and her horse accommodations were right  across the street from the people accommodations: The Thunderbird Lodge–the only Inn In The Canyon.  It was kind of pricey, but it was fun and funky and within sight of the  horses.

Day 1: Arrived around noon, unloaded and let the horses out into a big arena to drink, relax and have a snack before our afternoon ride.  JD had trailered with Toots and had decided Toots was his.  Squirt rode with Tulip and Dash, but decided that no, Toots was HERS.

Toots ended up in the middle.   (She’d be happiest if they all just left her alone, but she’s too polite to say so!–or else she is a complete whuss in the world of horse-y hierarchies).  There was a lot of drama.

So much drama that JD threw a shoe.

JD also got put in a pen by himself, so Squirt won.

toots is mine. where ever she goez, i will be 6 inches away. at all times.

Justin said JD did not need a shoe for the evening’s ride, but we were unsure, so put an easy boot on and “secured” it (as it was a somewhat too large), with my handy dandy roll of Duct tape that I keep in the trailer.

It fell off anyway.

But Justin was right.  The ride was in the canyon bottom in sand.  JD did just fine without his shoe.

Justin had asked if our horses were good trail horses, and I gave them all the highest ratings.  So, the first thing we came to was a water crossing and NO ONE wanted to cross.

How embarrassing!  Meanwhile, JD and Squirt were making evil eyes at each other. (JD stands for Just the Devil!  Not really! It is Just Dun).  Still, all that posturing did make the whole group a little antsy–then add on the Not Going in That Water dance!  Geez.

Fortunately, our intrepid guide was chatting with the park ranger guarding the canyon entrance, so we had a few minutes to get our act into the water and on our way.

Mary Ann on Tulip, Chuck on Dash, Justin (our guide) on Freckles. Laredo tags along.

Peter on Squirt ( I think we last saw Squirt when she  and I completed the ACTHA ride last Dec.)

Marcia and JD–water became a piece of cake for everyone.

The entrance to the Canyon has beautiful rock, and the deeper you go the higher the walls!  We rode along the stream, in and out of the water, looking up at the sandstone.  Wow!

Our first guide stop was at some petroglyphs.

Nothing could have been more appropriate!

I gave my camera to Peter real quick so Toots and I could be in at least one picture for the day.

What is Squirt trying to do? Toots is not impressed!

Up the Canyon!

We continued on to a really cool ruin–Junction Ruin?

Nice map but I could not get it to display, so you’ll have to click this link to see the location of Junction ruin, where we turned around on the first day. 

We had a very fine ride and we were well prepared:

Toots: Like a Girl Scout–always prepared. (or is that the Boy Scout motto?!)

Freckles is not a Girl Scout. 1-He’s a boy…2-Not so prepared.

All of our horses were carrying extra: water, rain gear, jackets, food, first aid kit, gloves, etc. etc.  We were ready.  You never know.  It could have turned out like Gilligan’s Island.

They set out for a three hour tour and ended up stranded on that sitcom!

Chuck and Marcia show their teeth? I do not recall why!

Justin Tso!

And one last closing shot:  There were lots of feral horses (busy decimating the environment) but here was a cute Appy foal.

Next Week:  Tso Anyway: Our harrowing descent down Bat Canyon! (you can see it on the map link!)  It was so harrowing, I did not have a free moment to snap any pictures.  But there are lots of other nice shots. And Day 3 we did Little White House canyon, which was quiet and had a nice ruin!

Until Next Week!

By Patty Wilber

I traded some training for this horse last year.  

 “Why?”, you  may ask.  Well, because, sucker that I am, I wanted to keep her dad (A Paradox/Buckshot) in training with me. Buckshot was a whole lot of fun to ride and show and we were just starting to really get somewhere (got Reserve Jr National Champ in Working Cow at Appy Nationals! ) So, I took the filly.

Her registered name is Paranormal Activity.

(It fits.)

But I could not figure out a good barn name based on that.  PN?  Para?  Norma (huh–didn’t thing of that at the time…) But whatever, nothing seemed quite right.

Then I came up with Like Totally (Awesome), which is 1) true(!) and 2) based on a  joke with a friend who maintains that the word “awesome” is awesomely over used.

And LT is nicely alliterative with Lacey and Longshot, the other kids at the barn at the time.

LT wasn’t quite two and she was small (um I seem to specialize in small–see the picture–they are all the same small size) when I got her in early 2012, so she went out on pasture for the summer with her buddies Lacey and Longshot. (The Three Amigos!)

I started LT in late 2012,

Didn’t really ride her regularly until early 2013.  She is coming along really well– in some ways.

She did not take to being the lead horse when I tried to pony off her, even though I had Lacey, her best friend (after Longshot).  But since Longshot went to his real home after that summer fling in the valley, Lacey (Boss mare in training) moved up to Best Friend..Longshot is coming back next week to start his training.  We will see what transpires in the horsey hierarchy!

Thus, since LT didn’t handle ponying duties,Toots gets to  take Lacey on all the Back Country trips!

You can barely make out Toots or Lacey from our project last weekend,  but it does look backwoodsy!

LT is also super sensitive (no spurs needed), which leads to being a bit on the over-reactive side when there is too much physical pressure (in her opinion) with the bit or bosal.

She throws her head  and ducks her head and stomps her feet (just like a little kid throwing a fit!).  Working on that–my actual kids were never fit throwers– but you’d think I could out smart a horse! Getting there by making her move with purpose whenever she starts in. She “gets” to  keep her feet in motion until she softens up “in the face”–Light and flexible feel in the mouth and neck.  Both soft and flexible are easy for her.

She does not buck or rear, and although she looks at everything, she is not spooky.

When she moves (as opposed to hoof stomping), she is so athletic it hardly feels like she touches the ground.

She is a busy body, which is a good trait for a horse being  aimed at reiner/ cow horse–especially cow horse. (But can be a pain when FOCUS is needed!)

Two weeks ago  she hit both lead changes in a reining competition (and got a third in a decent sized class!). Today she hit none after I went and bragged on her.  Typical.

 Today, though, she did work a cow mostly off my legs and her own innate feel for it. She tracked the cow and stopped hard when it did.  She was brave when the cow tired to sneak by her on the fence. She  floated her roll backs when the cow would stop and turn.

It was one of those rides when you get off and think , THIS is Like Totally Awesome!

by Doranna

“Hold on there!” the astute among you will say.  “Rena Beagle is a girl name.  And you have two boy Beagles.”

Yes.  And now they have a girl Beagle.

(Or she has them.  As I suspect the case will be.)

Rena upon arrival.  (This isn’t a sneer. This is “My lips are stuck to my teeth, pretend not to notice.”)

About six weeks ago, the universe slammed me upside the head.  It said, in short, “You are about to lose your Princess Belle Dog.”

(Off I go to tear up quietly for a few moments, because of course it’s still like that…)

Okay, I’m back.  And the universe was talking.  It then said, “As it happens, I know of a girl dog who needs a home.  She is much loved, but things have changed in her home and she can no longer do the working Beagle things she craves.”

The universe then explained, “She is five years old, and she is a wee thing who once came from a shelter.  She loves obedience and agility.  She is a very good girl. And her dogmom will make arrangements to send her most of the way across the country to you.”

And oh.  Her full name is Bellerena, because she’s named in honor of another girl dog named Belle.

AKA, the universe slam.

Obviously, this is not about replacing Belle, because…that’s not possible.  Ever.  It’s about a gaping hole in the pack, the boys in need of a girl, Connery’s very uncertain future (we carry on, we just don’t know where it’s going), and a girl in need of the chance to work…and a dogmom who loves her girl so much she’ll do what’s necessary to give her that chance.

I haven’t said anything before now, because I have a jinx superstition.  Yes, I do–and it’s deep.  Comes from years of sitting on contract news until the ink is dry, and an additional stunning series of lessons in not assuming on events until they’re here, or ELSE.  But now Rena Beagle has arrived.  She came via shuttle, which did a wonderful job, and she arrived in the dusk of last night with just enough time for her first raw food snack and some outdoor time before bed.  And I would say that was her big adventure, but I think our big adventure is just starting!

Welcome home, Bellerena CDX OA OAJ!

Frog dog in the office. Already taking over!

PS: Also, the the universe further explained, “And don’t worry about when you’ll have time to get this blog written.  Because Dart Beagle is still Dart Beagle, and he will be so excited to have his new girl dog that the vibrational sound of it will come wailing out of his throat during the wee hours no matter how hard he tries to be good, and therefore you will have some unplanned extra midnight oil of which you can take advantage.”

So I am.

Rena inspects her first desert yucca… She does not entirely approve.

But Connery approves. Oh yes he does.

By Patty Wilber

So, basically this is an advertisement.

A friend, Susan, graciously invited me to an evening at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico Campus where the featured guest was the star of War Horse.

Yep! The Horse.

Of course I took pictures and then took a gander on YouTube, where I found a clip of the very presentation we saw!

The movements and sounds created by the three puppeteers made the puppet disappear and a (slightly unusual looking) horse come alive on the stage.

I spend a lot of time with horses.

That transformation was remarkable.

I am GOING to War Horse when it comes to NM next year!

I already know the story is good (having seen the movie) but I really just want to watch the horse!

Have a great week everyone!

By Patty Wilber

Last year about this time we went to California to try bungee jumping (see Bungee!!).

(Not my idea.)

It was wet!

It was windy!

The jumping was cancelled–for the first time ever.

(I was not very sad.)

So, we got a free upgrade–an extra jump–yippee.

(Or, Not yippee.)

We rescheduled for September.

Thick smoke rises Sunday (Sept. 2, 2012) from the hills above the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles

There was a fire.

They cancelled.  For the second time ever. Darn.

(Or not.)

I figured two cancellations was a sign that bungee jumping was something I should not endeavor to do.

I have never thought jumping off much of anything was all that great.  I have trouble leaving dry land for water only a few feet down.  But I seem to be related to a gob of adrenaline junkies.

In 2010 they all went solo sky diving, from 10,000 feet  “You have fun!,” I said.  “Not gonna watch you all plummet to your demise.”

Of course, they survived and “It was GREAT!”

So much fun! (for them)

Other parties  took those two cancellations as a challenge.  “Bungee Jumping Gods, game on!”

So, we re-rescheduled. Ok, I went along, but if there was any hint of a plague of locusts, frogs falling from the sky or earthquake, I reserved the right to be done with bungee jumping, Forever.

Or course! The weather was perfect.  So we, and the gazillion other people signed up for this insanity  hiked  the five miles to the Bridge to Nowhere prepared, nay, EXCITED to jump.

(Except me.  I was in denial.)

The party members looking forward to the day. Erika, Mark, Maegan, Jim

 The hike seemed markedly easier this time– my little (10 minutes a day of cardio or stretching) fitness program seems to be paying off!  Hiking under a clear sky, without the threat of landslide was also a plus!

 

In no time at all, we were there!

The bridge, from below.

Progeny #1 was born ready.  She volunteered to go first.  Out of everyone.

Almost ready!

No hesitation and off she went. I held on to the bridge.

Progeny #2 thought it was fine, too.

Where’s the floor? (Photo by Erika!)

He looks like he is having fun! (Photo by Erika)

Jim, between jumps. (They all did four!) He is having fun, too. Odd.

Erika CLAIMED she was unsure, then she stepped up there and rocked it. Four times. I am so out of my league.

I waited in line–toward the end of the line–but I didn’t feel particularly nervous–denial still.

When I put on the harness, my stomach got a little hollow.

The Bungee Guy said, “You have three jumps, which will you do?” He was awfully cheery.

Me:  “&%##.  Just gonna try to do one.” Kind of a conversation killer.

Hesitated before climbing over the wall to the itsy bitsy jump off platform. So, Bungee Guy had me practice–jumped backwards off the curb.  Awkwardly.  Did not make me feel better.

Went over the rail to the platform.  “This was a &%##ing stupid idea.” I told Bungee Guy.  To his credit, he said nothing.  Then he did the count down.

5,4,3,2,1 BUNGEE!

I didn’t even move.  NO intention of leaving the platform.  Really considering grabbing Bungee Guy around the neck and making him drag me back to safety.

Bungee Guy took a deep breath and said, “Do you want to do this?”

I nodded.  “Gonna to do it.”  I still didn’t WANT to, but I had fans.  What kind of idiot bungee jumps because they don’t want to bungee jump?  Apparently, that was intriguing.

Bungee Guy said, “look at me and bend your knees.”  He started counting…I closed my eyes and…

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (photo by Erika)

No one else in my group went hoarse on their jumps.

Screamed all the way down.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (photo by Maegan)

Then I shot back up (it is a giant bungee after all). More screaming.  I have no pride. And down. And up.

Stop already!

Caught the cable and got winched back up.

I might look happy here–and I am. But we are not talking Joy of the Jump. We are talking, “I am not dead!” My hands were shaking–adrenaline rush.

How was it?

Well, they asked….

IT SUCKED!

(But I got it done.)

Once.  That was enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Patty Wilber

I have always wanted to do an endurance ride, and now thanks to JD and Marcia, I have!

Endurance rides are races (on horse back!) over long distance (25, 50, 75,  and 100 milers are the common distances).  There are mandatory vet checks and “holds” (required rest periods) to help ensure safe conditions for the horse.

The most popular breed for this kind of event is the Arabian.  They are metabolically well suited for long distance, having the flat endurance type muscle fiber rather than the bulky sprint sort.

Endurance Arabian

Racing Quarter Horse

I think you can see the difference in the two bodies–the leaner Arabian and the blockier quarter horse–built for explosive short-distance races (Uh, say, a quarter mile!).

Marcia enjoys endurance rides and wanted me to bring her horse JD, so what the heck!  I said, “Sure!”

Marcia and "I am a Paint not an Arab" Top.

JD is big (over 16 hands–I swear I am going to measure him one day) and he is not lean muscled at all, so I was kind of worried about trying to do a long distance race  on him, but Marcia assured me that we were not going to race to win. (What? We are not going to try to win??!)  No. We were just going to meet the minimum required pace of five miles per hour, and see some new country while having a marked trail with water provided and all the trappings of an organized event–such as a place to camp.

And we would only have to “endure” 25 (well the course was a bit short, so more like 22) miles, (but other riders went 50 or 75 miles. Yow.)

J- I am also a Paint (yes really) not an Arab-D!

 Luxury!  Marcia hauled the horses there on Friday and I showed up on Saturday afternoon to prepare for our ride on Sunday. Marcia provided all the food and paid me, too. I think JD needs to be in training with me for about two more years.  Just sayin’.

When I arrived on Saturday afternoon, the wind was blowing in gusts of 60? miles per hour and the camper felt like a boat on rough seas.  I thought I might have to take a Dramamine to make it through the night!

Looking East, away from camp.

People still competed in this wind, but we hunkered down inside, hoping Sunday would be better. (It was-lots!)

Yes, that is blowing dirt, not just a really bad photo.

Ok, so I messed with the color some, but that tail is due to the wind. Some folks rode 75 miles in that gale. Impressive.

Here’s how it worked for me.

Vet check on Saturday.  He recorded JD’s pulse, respiration, gut sounds, and made us trot around some cones to check for signs of lameness.  He checked other things too, but I forgot to look at that sheet, so don’t actually know what all was measured! The vet wrote JD’s number on his hip.

The vet commented on JD’s size.  He was easily the biggest horse there.  JD, Top and Tabooli (yes! Tabooli, now known in some circles as Christopher Robin because…drat…I forget…but there is some literary reason…that now we may never know…) were the only stock-type horses (ok non-Arabs) I saw except for two mules.

T (um, CR) and his mom! He cut his foot during the first half of the ride which is why he has a blue back leg! (A minor cut).

So, we ate dinner Saturday night and went to bed.  Except we didn’t really sleep.  JD was busy bawling his lungs out because Top was on the OTHER SIDE of the trailer, out of sight.  JD had been perfectly happy all day in the wind when Top was 50 yards away but visible.  Some people have barking dogs and some have bawling horses.

Since JD was right next to our camp, we cursed him frequently.

Then he stopped. 

I thought,”ah, silence,” but Marcia found it suspicious, so she went out to check and…Top had escaped. Really.  But apparently JD could see him, so JD was fine with it.

The good news is that when a horse goes off for a mid-night excursion in a camp full of other equines, it is a solid bet that they will not go far.  Top probably had had enough of JD and just wanted  to find some place where he could get some rest! T’s– I mean CR’s– mom located Top with in a few minutes and Top was back at home.

JD stayed quiet (or maybe he just went hoarse) and we got to sleep for a few hours.

The departure time for the 25 mile ride (all 8 of us) was 8 am. So up at 6 to feed the horses and us.

I decided to wear my English gear because the breeches are stretchy and I thought that would be the most comfortable for a long ride. (Got a chapped crotch for my efforts but let’s not go into that…)

My endurance outfit! Layers on the top--Under Armor lime green turtle neck (even though you can't see it), sweatshirt, vest, windbreaker and the winner of the Winter of 2012/2013 Best Thing Ever Invented Contest, the silk balaclava. Breeches, boots and half chaps on the bottom.

The balaclava is a silk hood that I wear on my head oraround my neck instead of a scarf. It is remarkably great--light, comfortable, cuts the wind and keeps my head and ears really warm! A must have!

Half Chaps are like gaiters for horseback riders. They protect the legs from the rubbing on the stirrups and since I wore mine with low boots, I didn't have a boot top rub spot either.

So, we tacked up, got to the starting line on time, and took off.

At a walk.

Pretty soon, though, we started trotting, and because we needed to cover some ground, we did a posting trot, not a soft jog-trot.  We wanted to complete the race in the slowest allowable time, so, like I mentioned before, we needed to cover five miles per hour.  Turns out that is a pretty steady long trot–nothing out of JD’s fitness range, but not dogging it.

We rode down Forest Road 225 to the foothills seen in the distance. There were water tubs set up by the ride organizers along the way for the horses (the dot in the middle of the picture).

The scene of the ride was the Binn’s Ranch between Socorro and Truth or Consequences, and the first part consisted of a 14 mile lollipop shaped route to the west, into the foothills of the San Mateo Mountains. Unfortunately, we had to ride out and back on the same stem of forest road, but the loop portion was on trail and in a really interesting wash.

Down in the arroyo! JD thinks it is pretty cool! Unfortunately, it is hard to take a lot of pictures when you are trotting steadily!

JD handled the trail and the trotting really well.  His two main issues were 1) other horses and 2) Top.

1) Other competitors passed us from behind (the nerve) and came at us head on along the forest road (scary)!  JD then seemed to think maybe we should be with them and was tense until they got out of earshot (JD’s earshot, not mine).

2) JD, had, of course, bonded with Top, so even though JD wanted to lead and he wanted to trot faster than Top, he did not want to get more than about 100 yards ahead.   So, we’d trot off and then when we reached the Designated Distance, JD would just quit!

Truthfully, that was ok, because I was happy to ride with Marcia and Top, too.

We completed the first loop, passed our That is a Big Horse! Vet Check. (Yep–riding 14 miles doesn’t make ‘em shrink!) and hung out for our 45 minute hold.  We pulled the saddles, ate lunch and poof the time was gone! We actually left for the second part (8 miles) a few minutes late!  The starting line guy was aghast!

Only four of the original eight rode out for the second leg.  Christopher Robin had cut his leg so Kate and her riding partner pulled.  Another pair had a horse that fell in the arroyo, so they pulled out, too.

This 8 mile section was balloon-on-a-string shaped, down Forest Road 225 again, but the other way.  Then we looped off to the South and came back. This ride was on more open ground and the views were nice, but I liked the hilly nature of the other loop.

The second loop. JD is still thinking the whole thing is pretty cool! Me too!

 Eight miles seemed so much shorter than 14 and we were back in a flash (about two hours) and off to the vet check!

The vet! The stethoscope gives him away!

JD was not so sure about eating the vet's apple at first! And the vet said, "This is a BIG horse!" (uh huh! still!)

We passed!  JD was definitely tired (plus he had done 25 miles on his own during the night while crying about not being able to see Top!) So, my “fitness program” of riding him for an hour 5-6 days a week, worked.

We broke camp (Marcia has a really sweet set up), loaded up, and headed home, without staying for the awards.

But you know what?  I think we probably tied for 3rd, since 4 of the 8 dropped out!

I’m not at all competitive.