A Big Annoyance in a Small Body

Owning a rescue horse means you never got the chance to talk to the previous owner of your animal and find out her history. And it can be a little dicey at times, wondering how your horse might react in certain situations. After all, she's a rescue, so she has been neglected or abused and sometimes both. Who knows what might trigger a reaction? It's very possible that you might unwittingly do something she relates to pain or fear and then have her react to what you have done.

Tonight Abby had an experience that was very revealing to me, and she did it without saying a word. (Hm, I guess I should say "a whinny.")

Tim's daughter, Melanie, and her family are moving into the house on the property. Melanie has a little chihuahua named Oscar. Oscar is young and very inexperienced and impetuous. Oscar has a grandiose sense of self-importance and thinks the world is his and that he is allowing you to exist.

I was filling the water trough tonight and chatting with the herd when I heard a high-pitched yapping. I turned, and Oscar was making a beeline for me, furious that I was on "his" land. Tim called him off, but I truly do think he might have nipped my ankles had he not done so.

No longer able to harass me, Oscar turned his attention to the horses. He went tearing into the pasture, barking madly and rushing at the horses, Abby included. I held my breath, wondering how she would react.

She didn't even cock an ear. He darted up to her face and then backed off a couple of times and she calmly continued grazing. She paid him no more notice than she might a butterfly fluttering across the pasture; impressive considering the commotion he was raising and how he was rushing at her again and again.

I was very surprised at her lack of reaction. It tells me that she has had experiences either with small, annoying dogs or in places where there is a lot going on and has learned to ignore the distractions.

Unable to get a rise out of Abby, Oscar turned his attention to Trouble and Hokey. Big mistake. While they weren't afraid of the dog, they did not have any patience with him, either, and both of them expressed their displeasure by stamping at him. Hokey even chased after him. (At this point, I can't say I blame him!)

Oscar may have to learn the hard way that horses are not to be trifled with, and that he is on THEIR territory, not vice versa. I just hope he doesn't get hurt if it happens.

(Reminds me a bit of the time I was riding on Division Road on Cee back in the fall of 1975. A car passed us, then turned around and came towards us again. I thought, "Uh, oh, this isn't good." When the driver came abreast of us, he floored the accelerator, squealing the tires and spraying gravel. Cee twitched an ear, and that was it!)

Double Trouble

That "trouble" would be Trouble the horse. But, it would also be real trouble, too. This afternoon as I was caring for the horses, I noticed this sticking out of the ground:

 I put a lead rope by it for perspective - that's rebar poking up through the soil.  (Look at the bottom middle of the picture.) And it's right in front of the water trough where the herd congregates several times a day.

That's trouble.

If a horse stepped on that rebar, it would be painful and it might damage the hoof. Or, if they fell or rolled on it, it could do some real harm.

Tim's out of town and I am in charge of the barn - I had to fix the problem. I tried wiggling the rebar, and did move it some, but I could not pull it out. The job was bigger than me.

So, I asked Craig for help. Sweet guy that he is, and despite how busy his schedule is at the moment, he grabbed some tools and drove to the barn with me. Craig couldn't pull it out, either, but he'd brought a pick axe and other tools to dig the rebar out of the ground.

 It proved to be a bigger job than than we'd anticipated. 

 That rebar was in deeply. 

And, Craig spotted a second piece of rebar sticking out of the ground that I had missed! More trouble!

He dug at them both, and they seemed to go down deeply and be attached to something, possibly each other. Unsure of what else he might find, Craig decided to use the axe and bend the rebars over and then bury them so the horses could not get hurt on them.

Of course, while all this is going on, someone REALLY wanted to help dig out and then bury the rebar. Who else, but Trouble himself?

I kept shooing him off, but back he would come. With the way that pick axe was swinging, I did NOT want him sticking his nose in to see what we were doing.

Do not let this sweet, innocent face fool you.

Trouble can be a VERY mischievous boy. Why, earlier this afternoon, he got it in his head that the lead rope on the gate had been put there for his personal entertainment. Take a closer look at Trouble's mouth.

See what I mean? 

 And when we finished burying the rebar, Trouble just HAD to get close to us and poke his nose in our business.

 Craig, gentle guy that he is, didn't mind, and gave Trouble some loving.

So, naturally, Trouble lived up to his name and tried to remove Craig's work glove!

In the meantime, we have a temporary fix on the problem. Unless the horses dig that rebar out tonight (who knows? With Trouble in the pasture, it could happen!) the horses are safe. And I'll let Tim know about it when he gets home.

Watering and the Blue Barn Tour

Tim is up in Alaska for ten days, and I am in charge of the barn. I don't mind a bit - I am out there at least once a day and love being with the horses!

 Hokey and Trouble, impatiently awaiting carrots.

(Trouble is pawing at the gate.)

Not only is Tim gone on vacation, but the people who rent the blue barn and its pasture are also gone. So, I'm checking their horses and watering them, too. I had not been in their barn before.

The view as you open the barn door.

 There are two small stalls, a tack room, and an open run-in for the horses.

 This is the run-in.

 The tack room seems to double as a feed room, too.

 Not sure what the camoflauge outfit is for!

 More storage. The tan pipe on the wall is the wrapped/insulated water line.

(It took me a while to find the spigot so I could water the horses. I had to trace the line!)

To my surprise, the little kitty who came out when we were riding during Groompa Camp is their cat and lives in the blue barn.

 And... she appears to be pregnant.

I don't know any of the horses' names at the blue barn, but they seem friendly and well cared for. Their owners have put fly masks on all five.

This Doctor Makes House Calls!

Well, actually, that's BARN calls. (Horse calls?)

At my last appointment with Dr. Morris, he asked about my bike riding. I explained I was a horse owner again and spending more time in the barn than on a bike, and ended up inviting him to bring his family out for a ride. Tonight was the night.

It was also a benchmark evening for me. I have gone VERY slowly back into playing with ponies, and despite adopting Hokey for a bag of carrots, I had not yet done anything with him (besides the daily carrot run.) Tim's in Alaska on a fishing trip, and so it was just me at the barn tonight, pulling Hokey out of the herd and bringing him up to the barn, grooming him, and saddling him. It's been a long time since I did that; good to know I still can!

The resemblance to Cee in this photo is incredible:

 That's my old saddle on Hokey. It has not been used in probably 30 years, but I had it checked and was told it was safe to use. (Doesn't Hokey look good in Abby's orange halter and lead rope?)

Tacking up Hokey took less time than I'd imagined, so I let him graze while I sat on the mounting block, waiting for the Morrises to arrive.

 Naturally, the best grass was at the very end of the lead rope.

Dr. Brian and Dr. Amanda rode as did their daughters, Nichole and Ashley.

I pooped out and let Amanda lead - she'd had lessons before and the heat was getting to me (triple digits again today!) Hokey was a peach and was very gentle with everyone. Although he did become aware that I had carrots in my back pockets and he cracked everyone up when he kept trying for a nibble while I led him.

After our rides, we untacked Hokey and put him in with the other horses. Craig had arrived and he got water bottles for us all out of the barn fridge. Nichole and Ashley helped fill the water trough, and laughed as the horses played in the water. That is, until Trouble made a huge SNORT with his nose submerged, spraying the girls and startling Ashley, making her cry. Trouble snorted underwater several more times and threw water around each time. He was just playing, and Ashley soon relaxed and saw the fun in it.

We'd gone through five carrots and the horses had dispersed when it was time for the Morris family to leave. I got some sugar cubes and whistled for Abby to say goodbye. To my delight, she came right up, and was very gentle with the girls, delicately taking the sugar cube off their palms and then chewing it with her front teeth (which always makes me smile.)

I invited the Morrises to come back again, and I think they will. And Ashley and Nichole wrote me a secret note on a pad of paper in the barn. "Thank you. Ashley and Nichole" with a little heart drawn on the paper.

Splish, Splash!

It's still hot here - hot enough that, when the temperature dropped to 89 today, it felt cool to me. That's when you know you have been enduring some high temperatures! (And 104 is expected on Tuesday.)

All this heat means the water trough empties quickly. The horses drink a lot of water, but some of it evaporates, too, so filling it is a nightly job. Tonight, everyone wanted a drink after their carrot treats.

Notice how both Hokey and Trouble are dribbling water from their mouths.

 But Hokey, being Hokey, decided to play in the cool, refreshing water, not just drink it.

First he stuck in nose in and messed with the running water at the end of the hose. 

 Tim has had to put a C-clamp on the hose to hold it in place because the horses like to play with the hose so much!

And then Hokey blew bubbles and stirred the water with his nose! (He reminds me of Cee who LOVED water.) Hokey is such a water baby.

Honeys, I'm Ho-ome!!

After having been at BreyerFest in Kentucky since Thursday, it was good to head out to the barn this evening. The horses were all behind the old barn and out of sight, so I whistled a couple of times and called, "Aaaabbyyyy!"

Instant reaction.

Around the side of the barn came Abby with her ears pricked up followed by Mason. Hokey poked his head out of one barn door while Trouble did the same out of the other door. Diablo followed Abby and Mason. (Mason REALLY likes carrots. He surged ahead and beat everyone else to the gate!)

I got a lovely series of low nickers from Abbs as she paced the fence, waiting for her treat.

 Carrots and sugar cubes make one thirsty!

Some green grass to balance out the treats.

Every time I look at Abby's pictures, I am struck by how pretty she is. Truly a beautiful mare.

Nightly Ritual

This is the last thing I see at the barn just about every evening now. Abby follows me up to the gate and says goodbye.

And she stands there watching me as I walk to my car, get in, and pull away.

It may be my imagination, but she seems a bit wistful as she watches. It pulls my heartstrings - clearly she enjoys my visits as much as I do.

And again I wonder, how could anyone have neglected and abused such a sweet little mare?

The Ol' Garden Hose

Remember hot summer days and getting cool, refreshing drinks out of the garden hose? And then maybe messing around with it, just a little bit? A big part of summer fun when I was a kid.

Seems as though horses enjoy their own version of playing with the garden hose. I was adding water to the trough tonight, when a pretty brown muzzle thrust itself into view. Yep, Hokey had arrived!

 He seemed quite interested in the running water, and reached over and nibbled the spigot.

 And then he began lapping the water like a dog!

 Next, Hokey put his muzzle in the running water and took a few big gulps.

 But he didn't swallow.

 Nope, he just stood there and held the water inside his mouth for a while. (Horses often do that, and that's why, when I hand out the carrots, I sometimes get doused - the horse has been walking around with a mouthful of water only to lose it all over me when grabbing for the carrot!)

 Looks like he even did a little swishing of the water around in his mouth!

 And.... SWALLOW.

And then Hokey proceeded to put his head into the water and splash around.

He may be twelve, but he's still just a big kid!

Texting Diva from the Pasture

"Okay, now, tell her I would like more than the usual daily ration of carrots when she visits me. After all, I do come whenever she calls, so surely that is worth something, don't you think? Oh, and please tell her that Trouble keeps ignoring me even though I am being nice to him. I really think that, with Dolly in Williamsport for a few weeks, he could be a little nicer to me. Don't you agree?"

"You got all that, Pam? Good. Now, next I'd like you to tell Lynn to..."

A Princess Bride Moment

This picture of Abby and Hokey touching noses brings to mind the line from the wedding scene in the movie The Princess Bride:

"Love. Twoo love."

Favorite Places - a Tour of the Barn

There are several places on earth that are my favorite in which to be:

~ My home or my children's homes. (Or anywhere my family is.)

~ The temple.

~ My classroom.

~ Kentucky Horse Park.

And...

~ the barn.

I am at home in most barns (er, ones with horses, that is!) and have been since I was 9 and began riding lessons at Horse Schuh Farm in Lafayette. I love the weathered wood many of them have, the aroma of horses and hay, the sounds of munching as the horses work on their hay, and the nickers and whinnies. Doing barn chores. Leaning over a stall door and visiting with its resident. And yes, I even love cleaning up what that resident leaves behind!

Since I adopted Abby at the end of April, I have been at the barn just about daily. It has become a very familiar place, and one in which I am very comfortable and at home. I thought it might be fun to write an entry about Abby's home so I took some photos last night and tonight.

The northeast entrance (where we bring the horses in for grooming, trimming, and saddling.)

 It leads to this welcoming aisle.

 You can see the southeast entrance to the barn at the end of the line of stalls. The indoor arena is to the right in this picture.

Next up - the lounge!

 Not that much lounging happens at the barn! Those windows allow you to view lessons and the door leads into an aisle that runs along three sides of the arena. I have used this room to clean tack, too.

 There are chairs to sit in if you choose. I use them as saddle holders when cleaning. (I just noticed that you can see my reflection in the window!)

The lounge has two more doors leading off of it. The white door is the office and the brown door leads to the tack room.

 There's a third door on the right (not pictured) that opens to a bathroom.

The lounge also has a working cast iron stove!

 I think it would be fun to set up tables and invite friends for dinner in the lounge and then have a barn dance afterward. Maybe this October?

 As you can see, the barn has a western theme. Even the office door sports a sign from the west.

 Tim stores my two saddles in his office along with an antique English saddle (on the rack above mine) and an antique child's pony saddle (left front) which I think is adorable! I don't think that the TV or VCR ever get used.

 There's also a mini fridge for water bottles, carrots, and medicines in the office.

Next up? The tack room! And it is pretty amazing in all it holds. (See that lariat on the far wall?)

 Saddles, bridles, halters, lead ropes, brushes, buckets, combs, longe lines, longe whips, saddle bags, chaps, a lariat, replacement hardware for broken tack... You can find it all in here.

 There are probably 14-16 saddles in the tack room and countless bridles, halters, and lead ropes.

 Speaking of such, can you guess which is my stuff?? The color kind of gives it away.

 Also in the tack room are cupboards full of helmets, dewormers, first aid kits, and just about anything you can think of that you might need when working with horses. And yes, the orange bucket is mine. So is the yellow one - I had to buy a four-pack of buckets to get the orange one.

 Some day I would like to take out each saddle, look at it, and give it a good cleaning. Some, I think, are vintage or even true antiques.

Saddles are stored on racks mounted on two walls of the room.

There are two walls of bridles, halters, lead ropes, etc., too. I think that is a harness on the top left but I have never looked at it closely.

Just as moms pack enormous diaper bags to take their babies places, and have rooms full of furniture, clothes, toys, and other necessities for their children, a horse also needs quite a bit of equipment in order to properly care for them.

And Abby is most definitely worth it!