smellshorsey

Why We Were Having a Problem Loading Our Horse

I don't know why any horses get on trailers. I wouldn't. They must really trust us.

Lily's new horse, Markus, has never, ever gotten on our trailer on the first try. At first we cut him some slack. We have a step-in, slant-load trailer (very open, so it's well lit), and his former owner had a ramp-load trailer. We figured he wasn't used to a step-in and  it would just take some time. Soon he'd be hopping in, like Buddy.

But no. Time didn't help. Markus was never awful about it, but he never would step in on the first try. Sometimes not on the second. Sometimes not on the third. Things never escalated -- he never dragged Lily around or reared up or did anything terrible. He just failed to get in. 

We tried treats. He would not be bribed. I held a broom behind him, sweeping it in his direction. He went backwards, away from the door. If he wasn't so gentlemanly in his refusal to just go ahead and get in, we would have escalated. But since it was just a matter of walking around to the trailer door a lot, we dealt with it. I have to confess that he got popped with the leadrope a couple of times but it never seemed to make a difference. He would get in when he decided to get in. Usually by the third try. 

Then I learned something about Markus. At a lesson a couple of weeks ago Lily's teacher told her to quit jumping one jump they couldn't get quite right because Markus was beginning to get worried. I thought that was very perceptive. Yes, now that you mention it, the horse was worrying. He was jumping it fine -- he loves to jump and has a grand heart for working -- but repeating the effort, even though Lily hadn't quite worked out whatever they were working on on her position, was making Markus worry that he wasn't doing something right. So they quit and moved on to something else and Markus quit worrying.

I never thought about a horse worrying about not doing something right. But Lily's teacher was right. Markus tries so hard that if something isn't right, he worries.

You have to love Thoroughbreds. 

Yesterday it was time for another lesson, and we needed to load him in our trailer to haul him to the lesson farm. I started to stand in my usual position, sort of behind him and to the side. I saw him roll his eyes to look at me, and realized that he's not getting in the trailer because he's worried about me standing there!

So I told Lily to wait a minute, to give me time to move to the front of the truck where Markus wouldn't worry about me. And with me out of the way and out of sight, Markus walked right on.

After her lesson we did the same thing. Again, he walked right on. First time, both times.

We are loving this horse. He's all set to do his job -- we just need to get out of his way.

Be Careful How You Tie Your Horse

  You don't have to fall off a horse to get hurt. A girl on the University of South Carolina Equestrian Team (pictured jumping grey horse) is in critical condition after the horse she was grooming spooked, pulling loose the rail he was tied to. The rail hit Victoria Middleton in the face and knocked her to the ground, where she hit her head on concrete. You can read the story here. She is now able to track visitors with her eyes and they may take her breathing tube out tomorrow. So sad and scary!

This could have been my daughter, Lily. I can't remember to tell her everything and I certainly don't know everything to tell her. A couple of years ago she tied her horse to a fence board, not a fence post. He spooked, the board came flying and hit Lily in the face. It hurt, her lips bled and she received some cuts. But she was okay. And did learn not to do that again.

There are so many ways to look at how to tie your horse. Generally, make sure if they spook that they can get loose -- we use breakaway halters in general and little loops of hay twine that will break when we tie them to the trailer. I wish we had cross ties at home but we don't -- so we tie the horse to a fence post, not a rail, so that if they decide to "leave" unexpectedly, they will not take the fence with them. I keep a supply of halter headstalls. If somebody makes this a habit, well, they get the unbreakable halter and the unbendable tree. But I haven't had to do that with any recent horses.

And then there's the magnificent Tree of Shame. It's not ours. It's a giant oak where a friend ties her horses when they need some thinking time. And no horse is pulling it down. I don't know what they're thinking about but I've seen them there, standing quietly, I assume repenting their current transgressions. But I think the Tree of Shame is a training tool, not a tying issue. Just couldn't resist mentioning it.

Then there are the knots you use to tie your horse. Use a quick release knot, though no knot is quick enough for an event like what happened to Victoria Middleton. Lily uses a quick release she learned in 4-H and Pony Club. I use the one my father taught me -- a bowline that's modified on the last step so that you loop the rope back into the hole, leaving the end loose for a quick pull. I like it because I can remember "the rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and back into the hole again." Instructions are here, though you need to modify the last step to make it a quick release.

Keep Victoria Middleton in your prayers. She could be any of us -- or our kids. There's a CaringBridge site you can access from the newspaper story.

Stay safe!

What Should Really be Tattooed on a Horse's Lip

It's hot, we have horseflies as big as horses and the barn fans got struck by lightning and I haven't fixed them, or the dog's invisible fence, which was on the same circuit. Poor Markus, our lovely new horse, thinks he has been sold down river. (Photo from Pony Club camp.)

Seems like everything we do to take care of him backfires. I got him way expensive gel galloping boots to protect his beautiful, precious legs. At Pony Club camp we used them for the first time. He tried to outrun the rear ones, galloping forever in a circle while the Pony Club instructors stopped all the classes nearby and Lily pulled and pulled and pulled. She looked stable and safe, in that way you tell yourself when you see your daughter on a runaway racehorse pulling to stop him to absolutely no effect. She didn't have that "I'm about to fall off look," and she looked scared but didn't panic. She couldn't hear the instructor yelling, "pulley rein!pulley rein!" and honestly I don't know how she stopped but she became famous for not dying and is greatly admired, or something, by the little girls who kept coming up to her afterwards and saying, "You're the one with the really fast horse."

The only thing worse than watching this was seeing her old horse, Buddy, come out of the woods without her. The mother sitting next to me kept saying, "Breathe! Breathe!" And I don't think I would have if she hadn't continued to remind me.

Lily thought of turning Markus into the fence to stop him, but that would have been a mistake because it was not a big fence (for him) and he would have jumped it -- and I hate to think what would have happened next. So they went round and round and round. As fast as he could go on what must have been about a 60-meter circle. I think they must have done about 30 laps but surely not. But they went round and round and Lily looked like she was getting worn out and I prayed for her safety and for her to have the sense not to bail out. He couldn't go on forever, she was stable, they were on a track of sorts, and I kept saying they can't go on forever. She's been taught the pulley rein and to pull him in a circle, but I think she lost IQ points with every lap. Neither one of us remember how she got him stopped. I am here to tell you that it wasn't because he was tired or gave up. He's not that kind of horse.

The instructor got them to stand in the center, that is, after Lily got him stopped, and that's when she noticed that he was kicking at his rear boots. So she took the fancy, save-his-legs, million-dollar, brand-new gel boots off. And he was fine from then on. Anybody need some million dollar gel boots? Will make your horse go faster!

His former rider, who was instructing from a nearby ring, watched the whole thing. And that's when she remembered the time they put rear boots on him for a show and he quit jumping. They took the rear boots off and he started jumping again.

So, while I've been trying to decipher the tattoo on his lip, just for fun, to find out who he was in the race world, I've had an epiphany: forget his Jockey Club number. What should really be tattoed on his lip is: DO NOT PUT REAR BOOTS ON THIS HORSE.

You Can Catch Poison Ivy from Your Horse

Who can resist this face, which says, "Pat me! Pat me!" Yes, It's hard to keep hands off of such a cute pony. But if you could read the sign, which you probably can't since I can't either, it said something along the lines of "Do NOT touch this horse. Poison Ivy!"

I thought maybe that was the pony's name. There's probably a pony somewhere appropriately named "Poison Ivy." Maybe the pony bites. Lures you in with a cute face, then CHOMP.

Or maybe the pony had rolled in poison ivy and you'd catch it if you rubbed him. My cousin caught poison ivy from his dog who spent the day romping in poison ivy and the night in my cousin's bed.

But no. I learned something new at Pony Club camp, where this photo was taken. This pony was out grazing and came upon some very yummy poison ivy, so he ate it. Apparently poison ivy doesn't bother horses, but it comes out through the horse's skin and secretions -- and if you touch the horse for the next 48 hours or so, you may as well go roll in the poison ivy yourself.

Back from Carolina's Region Pony Club Camp

We're back from five days in Tryon, N.C. at the Pony Club Carolina's Region summer camp. I love this photo, which I took on the cross-country course at FENCE. I don't know this girl but her horse was green and he jumped off of the bank jump like a happy five-year-old child who'd just discovered jumping off the side of the swimming pool. I love how he seems to be flying through the air with the mountains in the background.

Lily was also in this group of five girls and horses. It was mercilessly hot. Two of the five had to drop out due to the heat. I probably would have dropped out but moms aren't allowed to drop out. Here's a photo of Lily and Markus over the same jump. This was Lily's first time ever doing a drop bank.

Now here's one of the many, many cool things that happened at camp. See the woman whose back is to the camera? That's Sarah Hansel, who was one of the excellent instructors at camp and who has a personal connection to Markus, Lily's new horse. Sarah used to show him for the woman who had rehabbed him after his slab knee fracture at the track when he was four. She would have been an incredible instructor for Lily even if she didn't know the horse, but since she had a history with him, she was able to give extra insight -- and confidence -- to Lily.

Lily's lesson on the cross-country course with Sarah had Lily completely aglow. She said, "That's the best time I ever had in my life doing anything!"

I've never been so hot and tired as I've been over the last five days. But it was worth every drop of sweat and every pound of Tryon red clay that won't even wash out of our whites with bleach.

More to come.

Getting Ready for Pony Club Camp

School ended Friday. We're getting ready for Pony Club camp, which is in less than two weeks. I don't know what I'm getting myself into but since the materials state "this is not the kind of camp where you drop off your child and leave," I'm staying. And since I'm staying I'm bringing my horse as well as Lily's new horse.

I'm actually excited, especially since we decided to stay in a hotel instead of a stall. Or a tent. I really couldn't be civil if I slept in a stall on a cot for four nights. I'd likely start to crib, weave and take on other vices, especially biting the other campers and chaperones. I'm grumpy enough with sleep.

Lily signed up for tetrathlon shooting practice. She's never shot a gun before and has been wanting to learn. This all sounded fine until....they don't have enough pistols for the campers to use and are calling for campers to try to bring one.

Well, I have a S&W .357 magnum and two other handguns. But I don't think this is what Pony Club permits. Especially when they have middle-aged adult women (read: hormonal) sleeping in stalls. No, we do not need to be armed.

Turns out what they want is an air pistol. This sounded good. I had visions of a $20 BB gun from Wal-Mart. But no! These target air pistols are more in the $400 and up range. Ouch!

I knew that horses were expensive. But that's a lot of money for a gun you can't even use on a crack-crazy intruder or a rabid raccoon unless you really want to piss them off. It's a gun that's not a gun.

And here I was trying to plan ahead on the stuff we needed such as hay, feed, supplements, buckets (Pony Club is big on buckets), more buckets, replacement parts for everything that might break, which is everything, etc. Had to get a new Coggins on the new horse and all the shots up to date. And now I need to find and borrow a gun that doesn't really shoot and costs $400.

I called my good friend whose husband is heavily armed. Of course all of his guns shoot real ammunition. And I've got some other heavily armed friends, but I doubt any of them have arms that aren't lethal. We do have a potato gun that is great fun and was under $5. That might have to do.

I hear the tetrathlon is great fun and it's wonderful that volunteers are willing to come to camp and work with our kids. But I'm constantly amazed at the "one more thing" I need to have. (Nobody is saying that I have to have one -- don't get me wrong. Our Pony Club has nice reasonable people in it -- they're just hoping for some members who can lend us air pistols or moms who haven't already spent all their money on fly sheets.)

Anyway. I'm bringing my camera, and I plan to shoot that.

One Trendy Style Horse People Can't Wear

It's hard to be a horse person and to dress stylishly. For one thing, all the money for style goes to buy horse blankets to replace the ones that the horse thoughtlessly and gleefully shredded. And then there's the horse food. And the riding lessons.

There's also little reason to spend good money on any clothes that don't look good covered in green slobber. Or clothes that can't stand up to a good bleaching.

But then there's another obstacle for horse people who want to dress fashionably: the fashions themselves. I do believe that I would start to crib if forced to wear these cute (I guess) capris from Ann Taylor.
Is it just me? I see these pants -- I feel the ties brushing on my legs. FLIES!

I cannot and will not wear clothes that feel like I have flies crawling on my legs. Because most of the time, I do have flies crawling on my legs, and I'm constantly stomping and slapping at them.

I have a bathing suit cover-up with fringe on the bottom. One of those island print thingies. Very cute. Had to give it away. Fringe on bottom = FLIES on legs.

My TB mare, Lucy, has the same problem. I put a fly sheet on her last summer. Although she wears a blanket all winter with no problem, she was convinced that the lightweight mesh fluttering around her was FLIES. It made her crazier than before. So, since Buddy's fly sheet had arrived missing pieces (I eventually ended up getting a credit for it but haven't shopped at that particular Internet horse store again), I just let him have hers. Which he tore up.

The flies are bad already. I know I'm a little late, but I'm starting the horses on feed-through fly control, I'm hanging fly traps (pew!) under the eaves of the barn away from the horse end, and I have (probably foolishly) ordered new fly sheets that cover from ears to tail. And then I found these cool fly leg wraps and have ordered them, too. Last year's fly masks are in usable condition, so at least I didn't have to get that.

Of course, we're running through fly spray like crazy. And we need to figure out why the fans in the barn aren't working.

But wear fashionable clothes that have ties that feel like flies brushing my legs? Forget waterboarding -- that would be torture!

Am I the Only One Who's Never Heard of a "Numnah"?

We don't normally watch the National Spelling Bee, but we caught a few minutes of it last night and I'm glad to say we caught this very, very funny moment when one boy was asked to spell "numnah," which is a pad used between the saddle and the horse. I have never heard of a numnah, but after watching this, I won't forget it. (We use a variety of pads, but no numnahs.)

Watch this video -- precious!

Beware of Scams When Selling Your Horse

If you haven't already invested in that Nigerian scheme guaranteed to make you lots of money, you might want to be aware of the various scams afoot where somehow, instead of selling your horse, you end up getting scammed out of your money.

I got a breathless offer by e-mail from a potential buyer who really wanted Buddy and needed to buy him right away. Unlike the other breathless offers, which were mostly from teenaged girls without a shift key on their computers, this one was from a guy named John who supposedly lived in New York and had it all worked out.

There were so many red flags in this message that I don't know how he would ever fool anyone, but apparently there are people out there being fooled.

My vet said that she had a client who had fallen for just such a scheme. Her client wanted to sell her horse, here was a buyer with money, and, all starry eyed, they went through with all the arrangements. When the vet showed up to give all the horses their spring shots, the client said not to do one horse -- he had been sold. Later the vet had to go back and give this horse shots because the truck did not come to pick him up, as promised. I don't know more than that.

But I do know that John from New York was all set to scam me. In his first e-mail, he said that he wanted to buy Buddy to use for his polo, rodeo and breeding operations and would send me the money through PayPal and then his shipper would come get Buddy.

Since I'd gotten a number of sort of stupid inquiries, I thought that this one might just be the stupidest and wasn't aware right away that it was a scam. I wrote back that Buddy would not be suitable for polo or rodeo, and that as a gelding, didn't have much to contribute to a breeding operation.

I thought that was the end of it. But John wrote back right away. Buddy would have a wonderful life with lots of room in what I think was meant to mean pastures but was some odd word my husband said was a term for soccer fields. The "animal doctor" comes to the farm daily (must not be a safe or healthy place if it requires daily visits from the "animal doctor"). There was some hooey about trainers and competition and breeding. John was effusive, but John didn't know squat about horses. 

Still, he was ready to send me the money and if only I would provide some personal information his shipper would be contacting me. I reported him as a scammer to the online sales site.

Let all sellers beware. 

Redneck Fence Repair in Tajikistan

I sent the photo of my neighbor's Redneck Fence Repair to a friend who lives in Tajikistan. She one-upped me with this photo of how the Tajiks take recycling to a new level (does this make them rednecks?) I guess if you take your truck apart, it goes further for fencing. Wonder what kind of creature gets to live in this not very inviting pasture?