Kids & Horses; Dangerous or Precious

A video made its rounds recently of a little kid leading a horse. It was met with the usual "aww precious" comments and an equal number of "that is so dangerous, that poor horse, a kid isn't capable..." I find myself changed now that I have my own kids. Something as simple as watching the Black Stallion, I didn't stare with the wide-eyed wonder I used to, dreaming of riding my own horse just like that. Instead I was thinking, "Good grief, what kind of a man would put a kid on a horse that hot and set them loose on a track?!" 

When the first horses came to work along with people it also began the first interactions between kids and horses. It's something we take for granted sometimes, the way horses are often different with kids. Not all horses are this way, there's an exception to everything, but most I've seen in their quiet moments with sweet kids, are. Czech is an intimidating and powerful horse. He's well mannered but he can spook and get worked up like any good Thoroughbred-shaped kite on a lead rope will. Hand him to my tiniest daughter and he's instant putty.

Tolerating no kisses from me without acting like he's been somehow wronged by my affectionate nature, he strains to reach them from my oldest daughter.

Spotlight who runs sometimes from me in the pasture, kicking up his heels if he feels like more grass is better than coming in his stall at night, is happy to stand still loose in the field while she gets on her tiptoes to drape a rope around his neck to come in.

Pegasus puts up with constant kid mugging with controlled delight. If a kid is with me coming up to the barn, he'll nicker at them with tiny pricked ears, knowing he'll get in the barn first if the kid has any say. 

While I get chores done I'll hear a child in Pegasus's stall softly apologizing to the Welsh pony for every cocklebur they dislodge from his fuzzy legs, telling him how their day was at school. Pegasus stands still even once he's done eating. 

Silly Bandon also sees them as friends. He respects their space and ruffles their hair with his nose. He keeps a mischief in his eyes though, like they are fellow colts, that makes me a little more aware. Still if you toss a kid up on his back you won't find a more careful horse being led.  

I use to worry when I'd walk with a kid up the hill through the pasture to the barn. Often the Thoroughbreds would come right up on us and walk trying to keep a muzzle touch on the kid's shoulder. I'd shoo them away and demand space, then one day I realized that was just the horse's way of knowing where the kid was so they didn't get stepped on. That and the kids giggled when poked.

What is it about a horse that makes them this way towards kids? Children's size, their sweet smell, or just their equal ranking among horses in the world of adults, who knows. Maybe its the grand idea that horses see our souls better than we do ourselves and a dirt covered kid usually has a pretty good one. 

Of course be smart about it. Don't send kids around horses that aren't used to them or don't know how to be safe around them. Don't expect your horse to be careful of your child when it's feeding time or a hay pile needs defending from other horses, for that matter don't expect all horses to like kids in all situations. Czech is great with them on the ground and stresses if you put a child on his back. It's up to you to protect your kid first and foremost (not project your human parenting values onto your horse), but if you get the chance, let the kids find a relationship with your horse without hovering too much... let go a little and let them see what's there, it might be something special that you can't explain either. 

Sage Advice

Recently my score in the game of "Farm Girl Life" has been elevated to ninja level. Not only did I manage to get a gray pony clean, standing in the mud pre-dawn on horse show day for my kids, I also found a lost grazing muzzle, in the dark, among the tall grass this morning.

The ponies are thrilled with the grass height, carefully getting long stalks into the grazing muzzle holes to slurp down like spaghetti noodles while the big boys are too busy playing in the cooler air to even notice.

While my farm skills might have scored well, my horsemanship was strained. Bandon and I had a week-long falling out that hit my heart the hardest. It's hard to say exactly what went wrong, the symptoms though were clear. He began to bolt.

It was mixed in with acceleration at all gaits in general. Leaning. Bracing. All the things you don't want. Once he bolted the first time, it became alarmingly regular about 20 minutes in on our rides.

We're on the right track to work through it now and I'm thankful for two good trainer horse friends that I can contact anytime and say, "I give up, I'm never riding again" who talk me back into sense. I made the mistake once of contacting my husband with this first and his enthusiasm to sell the farm and have a normal life was slightly unsettling. Trainer friends rock.

Horses are great at taking you to amazing levels then sometimes bringing you right back down. This can be a bitter pill to swallow when you find yourself sitting at the start. Again.

Through the turmoil of Bandon's fighting nature, the kids were getting excited about their show coming up.

Mikayla had already snuck off to a show with me for leadline once and ever since her brother and sister have been asking when their turn would come. Meanwhile, Sage has also become more experienced in her trot work, at times getting frustrated and wanting to give up, and I felt she was ready to show the level below trot to see the fruits of her labor.

Pegasus has not been off site with us before, his history on showing is not really known. Spotlight has been off site and is decent but can be a little bit of a handful. I decided to put her on Pegasus.

The show was a lot of fun and Tristan earned a ribbon in leadline on Spotlight...

while Brianna had her turn on Pegasus. It was a different leadline than we had done before, the kids being asked to post at the walk and the judge asking them a few questions. I was proud of the kids and proud of my hubby who was attached to the notoriously bitey, Spotlight.

Sage was in next and I couldn't believe the emotions coming up in me. I wanted so much for her! I also wanted her to earn it and make her own path. I try not to talk too much about the kids and their riding because really those are their stories and not mine, but Sage ended up teaching me something that's worth sharing.

Sage went in behind another horse and Pegasus was okay but not great. He was not interested in stopping though his rider kept at it.

In the next class, Sage and Pegasus were the only entry. He was not having any of that. He would not move off onto the rail from the gate. She fought him as he turned left, right, backed, sideways, Sage kept at it. She spoke to him so quietly I couldn't hear what she was saying and I was pretty close by.

I thought any minute she's going to start to cry or give up. He yanked the reins out of her hands. She picked them back up and kept working.

The judge flagged me and said it was okay if I went in and didn't help her, but just was another body in the ring so Pegasus wasn't alone. I walked a good distance away from the team as Sage worked out her pony and rode as the judge called commands.

At the end the judge congratulated her on a nice ride, a cute pony, and a great leg. Sage didn't say a word, sweat pouring down her little face, her hands shaking from her show nerves.

Out we went and I thought of all the things I should say. I wanted to congratulate her on her tenacity. I wanted to apologize that at her first solo ridden show she had such a challenging pony. I wanted to build her confidence up but not take away anything from her own sense of accomplishment. I wanted to tell her that I hope she never ever gives up and I'm sorry it didn't go quite as planned.

Before I had a chance to decide which words to form, she asked me if she could hang her ribbons over her bed and she was beaming.

That. That is what I learned from my little girl and what I'll take back to my next ride.

Back To School

As the kids went back to school, appointments were made and horses had grass stains curried out in preparation for their return to regular schoolings too.

Czech needed to most priming. I removed his facial stitches and he had shoes put on all the way around after our summer-long trial bare was clearly not going to work for him. A week later the vet came out to evaluate his movement.

Under saddle he was back to the way he was when I first got him last year, cross cantering and generally off with his hips. The vet determined that Czech had momentary upper fixation of the patella. Basically, his knee caps were not sliding the way they should but instead staying locked similar to what they do to sleep standing.

After he was warmed up and stretched, it was improved though all the sudden snapping when it engaged created inflammation throughout his stifle. Long term prognosis is great, if he's kept in muscle his own structure would support it nicely and he could even jump. Not being worked over a few months coupled with his bare feet limiting his free exercise in the pasture, meant he needed some help coming back.

He received injections to reduce the inflammation to allow healing to take place and is on bute for a week. He'll be brought back very slowly and I think he'll do just fine. The nicest thing about us and Czech is that he never HAS to do anything. He enjoys work, I enjoy working him, but he isn't required to do anything at all if that time comes. Happily, that time isn't now.

Our first ride a few days after the injections, Czech and I rode at walk through the pasture, with my daughter! This is huge to me. My kids have been riding well but I've never felt secure enough to be in a position off the ground where I couldn't help if their pony was naughty or yanked reins out of their hands. I also wasn't sure how their ponies would do riding along with my bigger strided horse. What if Czech started to get excited and jig? Would the pony then freak out? What if the pony ran up on Czech and he wanted to kick?

I decided it was time to try and saddled up Pegasus with a more secure western saddle, and Czech with strict orders to take it easy.

Czech and Pegasus were awesome. My daughter, Sage, was also wonderful, handling Pegasus's minor tantrums when he wanted to return to the barn. I was in heaven riding my horse with my daughter on her's.

Then Czech had another surprise, his breeder Iva came up for a visit and he adores her. Horses have an excellent memory and it was a  very sweet reunion.

Bandon tackled his first few back to school sessions with fierce intensity. A little too much intensity actually. Today we went back to taking one jump then halting after 15 strides just to slow his roll a bit. He's riding with a very forward fire he hasn't shown me often, partly a product of his rides being jumper's courses. Once he's "on", he's getting harder to communicate with, though I wouldn't trade forward for any other problem, I can direct forward! Over the weekend an easy bareback ride through the pasture turned into an adventure on him when he spooked (at a chicken, of course) and took off running, gotta love my baby horse.

Iva left behind some goodies (and scrapbooks that include Czech's baby pictures *sqeal!*) that she doesn't need since she is out of horses, her Stubben saddle was one of them.

Riders, try other saddles. Seriously. Even if you like yours. Just try. WOW. This saddle fits the boys nicely AND rides with a more secure feel for me than my Beval has ever delivered. Full appreciation for those that stress taking the time to find a saddle that fits you both, it certainly matters.

Pegasus and Spotlight have taken to their groundwork sessions without too much pony attitude and both have been ridden already a few times. Unfortunately the western saddle I used on Pegasus for our awesome Mother Daughter ride, rubbed him raw at the girth. I felt terrible about it and may or may not have gone through an extra handful of teddy grahams just for him.

Extra fleece covers have been added to their grazing muzzles. While they do the job to keep the weight nice, those muzzles also rub. Hoping to get all the kinks worked out and everyone comfortable soon.

After vet assessments, farrier fixes, barn water leaking and repairs, training schedules, and tack cleaning, we're ready to see where training takes us this season!

Fourth of Misery, I Tried

The Fourth of July is a tough holiday for me. As an adult it was always the holiday I spent at my Mom's house and I miss her terribly every year. Also as an animal owner, it is usually nothing but stress.

This year I was determined to change my attitude for my family's sake. The weather was absolutely gorgeous in our area as the hurricane came through far to our east, no humidity hung in the air and blue skies were overhead. A breeze came through every few minutes asking if you might be more comfortable in a jacket.

I tacked up two healthy (grumpy and lazy) ponies for the kids to ride, neither having been sore a day since we started a new routine for them. The little kids begged to be led at the trot, bouncing around joyfully in the saddle. My youngest daughter listened as I explained how to hold the reins and rode solo for just a moment on Pegasus. My oldest two came down to the arena for a longer ride, complicated slightly by the arena grass grown tall enough for bad ponies to snatch a mouthful every few strides.

Even after all the pony riding was done the July air was full of breezes, I looked at Czech and he seemed sad. I'd noticed his low mood for the past week. He had been foot sore getting used to going barefoot, the treatments I was doing to toughen his soles worked as he ran with the other horses in the pasture, still each night going out he seemed not like himself. Czech pins ears and snakes his head when you walk by his stall, always has since he's been here, now when I walked by he just looked at me with loose ears and a blank stare. Another peculiar change, he was letting me freely hug him in his stall without any attempts to eat my clothing or whack me in the back with his nose. Something wasn't right.

I checked his feet again, pushing for signs of sore spots and found nothing. He hadn't been ridden in about 6 weeks, maybe he'd like a little ride. Bareback pad on, I took him down to the arena. Once up on his back, not at all gracefully I might add, I let my barn clogs fall off and hung my bare feet down.

Czech came alive.

He and I went all over the property and down the road. The sun was shining on us. The cool breeze went through my toes as my calf brushed against his sleek warm sides. We began to talk to each other.

Hunter, my oldest son, had asked me earlier in the arena if the horses understood all the words we said to them. My answer was, "Conventional science says, 'no', but what if they are wrong?" I thought about this as I talked to him.

Czech was missing work. Polar opposite of grumpy ponies that morning, Thoroughbreds generally love having a job and having purpose. Something I can relate to on a personal level. I think he was also worried that he was no longer wanted by me since he was not being used. We resolved all of those insecurities.

Back in his stall, he snaked his head as I went by, looking sheepish when I turned around to face him (as usual) and later that day he yanked my shirt a few good times while I picked his stall. He needed that as much as I did.

It was going to be a good day. The kids enjoyed the pool, the food I made turned out awesome, Chris mowed the arena and jump lines for me to ride the next morning, and the only dog I own now was not afraid of noises and could be left crated if needed. We were going out to our small town's celebration.

I left the horses fed, watered, and in clean stalls with fans on high making lots of white noise along with a radio. People in our area had been playing with firecrackers late that afternoon and the boys didn't seem to react to the noise. I was free to enjoy!

And I did. My kids chased fireflies and played with sparklers, then we all sat piled on each other to watch a really great firework display.

Back home we got the kids squared away and I went out to check-in on the boys. They were doing fine. I didn't look like they had even paced during the chaos going on outside. I had read two papers the week prior to the Fourth on "How To Handle Your Horses This Holiday". Each totally contradicting the other. One said to put horses out in a safe area so they could run without hitting things. The other said to keep your horses up to keep them from running into things outside in a panic. Typical horsemanship, it was really anybodies guess on the best thing to do.

It was now after eleven and it seemed like my neighborhood was settling down except for one party that kept aiming their high powered ones straight across the street (away from their property, towards mine). The risk of barn fire seemed higher than the risk of the boys going crazy, I put them out.

Then it really started.

People make it hard to not hate people. It was getting close to midnight as some were just starting. The fireworks used were very high powered ones, almost professional level. Houses that bordered the pasture, one directly across the street, were shooting them off so they went over my pasture.

The horses were okay with the noise at that point, however once they saw a few pop, within a very close distance of them, they lost it.

There was nothing I could do. Going in the pasture to get them and put them up was way too dangerous. All I could do was watch. Back and forth between the brink of tears that the horses were in a situation I couldn't protect them from and rage that we had full displays on all sides just starting in the very late night hours by people who did not care, it was awful. A little lost Chihuahua clung to my foot shivering as we watched.

In the celebration of Independence, I was wishing desperately for more laws and control.

If there were only high powered shows at set times in set areas, everyone could enjoy them and make plans to be safe. Instead children are in the street yards from my fence shooting these things. They were smart enough to aim them away from their own house, just no regard for anyone else's property.

Once it was over, as best I could see in the dark, the horses were okay. This morning it was a different story. Three are very tired but okay, everyone has dried sweat caked in their coat, but Bandon also has a huge gash running down his rib cage. It is borderline serious enough for sutures.

I cleaned the blood from his coat, tearful that I hadn't just left them all up for the night and angry that people who live by a horse farm don't care.

I won't get to ride my freshly mowed arena today on this beautiful morning. Plans I had made a week ago for precious time to ride on my Bandon boy are cancelled.

He will be okay of course and I know there are horses out there this morning, the day after, who will not be okay again. I'm not sure even the breeze between my bare toes riding on Czech and kids chasing fireflies is enough joy to salvage this holiday for me, praying there aren't more tonight.

Update : Of course there were more. Much more. A huge display went on just to the side of our house until nearly midnight on night two. In the photo you can see how large the fireworks are in relation to the full grown trees at the base of it, this is taken from my barn looking across the pasture. I left the boys up until everyone was done and over, exhausted and d.o.n.e. with this whole problem. If it goes to night three, I'm going to be pulling my hair out. Bandon has a lot of swelling I hope to see improved tomorrow.

Pegasus, An Introduction

It is fitting that our addition is named after a mythological creature, for six weeks we talked about him daily but couldn't manage to actually see him for ourselves.

We had lucked upon someone who knew someone who knew someone with a pony her grandchildren were no longer interested in, right at the time that the horse we had bought for the kids, failed vetting miserably. Since that initial contact though, we couldn't seem to align all the things that needed to happen.

Finally, it all worked out and I drove my trailer through Atlanta morning traffic (another equestrian merit badge earned) to a town about 40 minutes south of the city to meet a sweet little Welsh Mountain Pony.

Pegasus was everything I'd hoped he would be. He had already passed vet inspection and this first meeting I held my breath hoping nothing was missed. The cutest little face I had ever seen poked a tiny nose into my leg and that was that. I was wrapped around his little hoof.

Pegasus is a twelve year-old gelding who only has one fault, he has foundered once. When it happened it was caught early and on his previous 6 acres (to just himself and a mini) he was controlled with a grazing muzzle. His feet are not pretty and I'm interested to see what wonders my farrier can do to help improve him, otherwise, he's just perfect.

No, really.

He keeps his stall all nice and tidy not walking through his poop. His coat is one of those that naturally releases mud. His little "happy to see you!" whinny and "feed me!" nickers are priceless. He eats pretty much air to maintain his body weight. He stands tied without moving a hoof. He stood like a statue for kids to mob him. He doesn't kick. His ground manners are excellent even when kids are handling him.

But I didn't know all of this yet when we surprised the kids that evening. I hadn't originally planned to surprise them with him, just with all the going back and forth on "yes come get him" and "no, I've changed my mind" I wasn't so sure that something wouldn't fall through at the last minute and they'd be crushed. Again.

I led him around the corner to some very happy faces. When I said, "this is Pegasus, he's here forever" they all squealed and joyful noises ensued.

Turnout I was worried about how he would handle the big boys. Czech and Spotlight give clear communication and aren't terribly silly, Bandon is another story. Bandon loves to play. He often bites the boys, hard, and runs to get them to run after him. He does the trademark gelding face bite to the boys and rears at them to get them to play back. In general, he can be a pest, even if it is good natured.

12 hand Pegasus seemed vulnerable to his shenanigans.

I didn't have anything to worry about though, perfect pony again, he held his ground with good communication far enough away that no one was hurt and by the end of the day he was securely established ranking below Czech and above Bandon (Spotlight couldn't be bothered with rank, he was too busy trying to remove his grazing muzzle all day).

All that was left was to find out what Pegasus was like when ridden. As far as we understand, he hasn't been ridden in quite awhile. This would be the downside to our perfect pony, I was sure.

I got on him myself this morning, not wanting my kids to be test dummies, and soft reins and soft clucks made Pegasus move like a coin operated toy.

Perfection yet again.

I won't be riding him regularly, though I'm small statured, he is oh so small... and I'm excited to see how he does with a kid on board in a few weeks! We might have hit the jackpot with this one.

It is surreal to have a full barn again since Whisper's passing last year. Having it filled with promises of kids laughing riding on adventures together, is the best outcome I could have hoped for.

Leo, Simon, and Pegasus

A week ago we had our long awaited vet check on Leo and his mystery hip. Up until that day, I had refused to let the kids come to the barn with me for chores. I knew they loved him just gazing out the window at him in the pasture, and I knew that if they got to know his sweet personality it would be even worse if the vet check went badly.

Every day I picked them up from school they asked if the vet had been out yet.

Meantime I was trying my best to evaluate Leo myself. I rode him at the same mild intensity that his owner we purchased from was riding him, a few days in a row, with no change. We watched him out in the pasture running around with the boys, sometimes cocking his hip while grazing. Spending time caring for him and working with him, I'd already gotten pretty attached to him and Chris and I agreed that if the vet said that whatever was wrong wouldn't worsen or cause him pain, he was here to stay.

Horse professionals looked at video of him and even came out and saw the horse themselves. An SI joint issue was a strong possibility, one that could be managed for what we needed him for.

Finally the opinion that really mattered arrived to weigh-in. All of my boys were due for their coggins and to have their teeth checked so I asked the vet to start on them first, I didn't want to have my mind racing over Leo's prognosis handling the boys. Everybody ended up needing their teeth done, Spotlight by far needing the most work and Czech by far needing the most repeated sedations.

Then I brought Leo out after giving my vet his history.

Within just a few minutes the vet was crystal clear that it was not a hip issue. Not a chiropractic issue. His stifle (rear leg knee joint) was mangled. I tried to bargain with him on the true severity showing him how he moved in the pasture, but the facts were that Leo's accident two years ago tore multiple ligaments. For certain ACL and for certain multiple others. The knee cap wasn't floating (as I had suspected) he couldn't even palpate it under the masses of scar and joint fluid Leo's body had put in place trying to repair the knee on it's own.

I asked what sort of surgery could benefit him, the answer was none. It was too old. Too much scarring. Too severe. He could have had surgery when the injury occurred but my vet also said that euthanasia would have been a strong option at the time of injury.

I wanted a way to keep him. It seemed unbelievable that Leo was truly that damaged and was moving as well as he was. My vet is so good, he heard me out and in few words said there was no hope for improvement. I said, "Well at least he doesn't appear to be in pain."

The vet responded, "He has to be. Constantly. There is no way this isn't very painful. He's just adapted."

"What does he need?"

"Daily pain medications, strong ones, twice a day, a flat pasture, and fingers crossed that when the leg totally blows that he is put down quickly."

Well that was that. I can't do it. He can't stay. I bought a horse for the kids to love and ride that is in reality a hopeless case of management until it's his time. As much as I cared about him now, it would only be that much harder to let him go in the future and I felt like he should go back to the owner who had him through all of his best years. I couldn't be his brief stay before the end.

After I got the kids home from school and began to tell them, my oldest knew by my tone it was coming and put his arm around my youngest daughter who began to silently sob. I explained that we knew the day we met him that he was only here if the vet said okay and the vet said that he wasn't the right pony for us. A lot of kid negotiating happened before they realized that I wasn't going to change my mind. I promised them that there was a right pony out there for them and that we thought we had found him but were wrong, we had to keep looking to find him.

Mikayla asked if when we find our pony she could name him Pegasus because that was what she wanted her pony to be. Of course I agreed and we went back to calling him Leo while he was with us for four more days before he could go back to his previous owner.

I know life lessons for kids are hard but good and they help them grow and learn. I also know that watching your kids hurt is the worst feeling in the entire universe. The pony we needed was going to be nearly impossible to find and I immediately got started.

I made a total of 58 contacts. Scoured horse ads. Equine sites. Rescue sites. Friends. Horse professionals. I called them all. One by one I ruled out potential horses that we uncovered while quite a few came back with, "When I get a horse like that, I never sell them."

I told the kids that finding our pony might take a long time but it would be worth it.

Then a pony appeared via a friend who works for an equine vet a few hours south of me, who knew someone, that knew someone. Roundabout I was put in touch with a lady who had a pony her granddaughters no longer had interest in.

This lady was like me, super picky with a high standard of care. We interviewed each other. She drove two and a half hours one way to view my farm and meet us personally. That evening, she called with the news that her pony Simon was now our pony Pegasus.

Simon/Pegasus is a 14 year old Welsh Pony. He is a little guy, a full hand smaller than Spotlight at 12.1. No vices and totally sound, his only negative mark is that he has foundered once. It was caught and reversed early, as long as he wears a grazing muzzle in lush grass and has regular hoof care he hasn't had an issue from it. He is used to a stall at night and can go months with no work then be ridden by kids safely and has already passed vet exam.

The only catch to Simon/Pegasus is that he has a friend. To give him a companion, his owner had taken in a miniature horse. A condition on letting Simon/Pegasus go to a new home was that his mini friend had to come too so that the mini would not be left alone.

Stormy is a 4 year old 29 inch tall gelding. He is also used to a nightly stall and large turnout with board fence.

I have no extra stall or desire to have a mini. With my big boys I would be constantly worried that one poorly timed kick would kill a miniature horse. The owner agreed that it would be okay that we took Simon/Pegasus without Stormy, but only after she found a home for Stormy that had board fenced acreage, a stall for him, a horse companion for him, and the capability to handle a little spit-fire of a horse (sedation is routine for him for feet/trailering).

So, we must wait for Stormy to be adopted to be able to go and get our new guy, taking turns between the five kids to ride Spotlight and giving friend's pony rides too.

At the lowest low when I was looking at Leo knowing he had to go back and not wanting to let him go, to the highest high of finding a pearl in the ocean in discovering Simon/Pegasus, it's been quite a week around here.

After Autumn

In conversation with a great jumper rider I was introduced to the other day, I realized that I had no idea what exactly I wanted Czech to do. As I went into detail on his jumping issues and that we'd backed off to just popping over a fence once a session, twice a week (pasture hacks the other rides), she asked what I'd like him to do long term.

Ummm... no real plan there. I would like to see what makes him happy and pursue that. I think he's going to like Hunter Paces and I'm committed to one already in 2014. Yesterday riding him out on trails I put him over some fallen logs to test the waters. He wasn't sure on the first then took the rest in stride with no issues making Paces seem like a good avenue to pursue with him.

He did jig for long stretches multiple times this ride and my body is still complaining from that today. I couldn't get him to settle in as much as he did the first trail ride 6 weeks ago but he was also more comfortable this ride with shoes on all 4 over the rocky ground. He's fairly brave and pairs well with horses that are a notch less excitable than he is. One of our trail companions was keyed-up and the 2 of them fed off each other enough that we needed to split off.

We led the trail a few times at a walk without much spooking and made it a point to put him in front each time we went faster. I laughed to Ash, my riding companion, that his ears were stuck on factory setting. He was responsive through the woods at a quick canter as long as we were in front and he didn't feel like he was chasing another horse down.

Czech is also an awesome equitation mount, he does get a bit hot and full of himself but he makes you look at him, and I can pull off my part once the eyes are on us. All that being said, I'm still no closer to a hard-fast goal for what I want him to be. We'll just see as we go I suppose.

Sage has been riding a few different ponies at Cindy's barn and already has a favorite lesson pony, Prissy.

Meanwhile I'm going to add some d-rings so I can put daisy reins on and with a new bit (full cheek) in the tackroom so Spotlight will better hear his little riders next weekend.

Bandon continues to stay sound barefoot. Not having to give him time off every few weeks for pulled shoes has been a Godsend. My goals for him are low Jumper classes next year and show exposure a few weeks ago helped move us closer. Next, I started exposing him to novel things around and under my plain bar jumps. At first he cleared flowers on their own, no problem, crossrails over them too, then today he suddenly saw them...

We worked through that and I flew on my horse the rest of the morning, clearing more jumps than Bandon ever has. He feels like he is "getting it" finally as he strides and pulls himself up at the base of the jump. He enjoys it and I'm trying to be careful to bring him along slowly without boring him.

I still have work to do on my jumping EQ, knee pinching and elbows coming out continue to plague me as I find balance. Being kind to myself though, I've stayed on a green horse learning to jump who has thrown me some curve balls including way over-jumping one jump this morning out of the blue after stopping short 5 minutes earlier. He and I grow together. I can't help but start patting him with my outside hand as he finishes a short grid for me, still at the canter.

I'm trying new ways to get him to round and use his rear including longe work and trotting up hills. A few times this morning he planted both hindfeet squarely to jump, a sign we're getting there.

In ten days it will be exactly one year since we lost Lake. Little did I know that his loss was just the start of a black cloud over our farm as old Ben passed in the winter followed by Whisper in the summer. Not a moment goes by in the saddle that I'm not grateful for what has been and where we've come from to now. Bandon and Czech embody that forward hope to me. I see Whisper's still-bare resting place when I hack the boys to the woods and I brush her hairs off Czech when I pull her old blanket off of him on these below freezing fall mornings.

Ride All Four Feet

Show dates are fast approaching for my shiny boys.

Czech is going well in a figure 8, we won't be able to show in it, but I think we've done enough training that I'll be okay on a cavesson for the day of the show. I went back to my roots a bit with him, riding in total silence and focusing only on my other aids. Tom Dorrance has an often used phrase, "ride the horse from straight out of the inside of you, ride all 4 feet".

Lots of halt/walk transition (since any issue you have at other transitions can usually be seen there) and the days we jump, we are walking approaches. Once he took off with me as we landed a small jump and faced trot poles, his anxiety palpable it took awhile to do it with control where he wasn't bothered. The trip over that worked perfectly I had closed my eyes and just felt his footfalls to time cues.

There's a hooking on that's been missing with Czech and I. We've gotten along fine since he came off the trailer, still there's just that "thing" between us that wasn't quite there. It is now. He follows me everywhere loose, stands to be blanketed/booted/tacked loose, and gets grouchy when I don't work with him.

The reason horses are used so much in therapy and retreats for people that are recovering from everything from abuse to tragedy is that you have to be 100% right on the inside to see it come through the horse too or they will be bothered. Trust was already mutual but Czech and I needed to each agree that the other wasn't leaving.

Bandon took a few days off to get used to his barefoot status and came back with a working brain. He is so much fun to ride, tossing his head all crazy when he feels frisky on the 50 degree mornings. He reminds me of a best friend growing up, we're just two friends out looking for an adventure.

In August I had trouble leading Bandon on the ground into my front yard with multiple blow-ups. Today I rode him out there at a trot, down the street, through a neighbor property, and around a pond he's never seen before. Solo. He's going to mature into something special, I just hope his bowed tendons don't hold us back from anything. He's popping over schooling jumps with growing consistency that makes me daydream.

I'm still trying to find a good pony saddle for Spotlight and the kids, meanwhile he's served his small charges for birthday party glittering and pony rides. I hope finding a tree that fits him will let Sage start looking at schooling shows next year.

"Take the time it takes, feel what the horse is feeling and operate from where the horse is. The slower you do it, the quicker you'll find it." T Dorrance