Enough!

The herd (or the hooligans, as Tim calls them) was a bit restive this morning. I think part of it is the weather and humidity, and part is that the recent rains have left the ground squishy and stirred up lots of biting insects.

The horses were out of sorts and milling around when I arrived, and poor Persuasion, the lowest in herd hierarchy, was being chased away from any place she went.

Finally, she'd had enough and when Trouble tried to nip her on the backside, let him have it with both hind legs!

Twins? Sort of!

Ever seen a set of twins who are identical, and choose to dress alike, do everything together, and are so close, no one gets into their inner circle? (We have a pair like that at Hershey right now.)

Abby and Diablo sure act that way. They're different colors, but I catch so many pictures of them doing the same thing and in the same pose.

Here's the most recent:

Cleaning Tack

I find cleaning tack relaxing (well, cleaning saddles, that is. Bridles and halters, not so much. Too many pieces to put back together like a puzzle!) I'd been wanting to clean my saddles for a while but just had not had the time to do so. Today was the day.

My English saddle is a very high quality one - a German Sommer. It puts your seat right where it belongs and is so easy to ride in.

 Sadly, it had patches of silver mold growing on it from the humidity.

 A closeup of the mold. Fortunately, the mold washed right off when I applied the saddle soap.

I smiled when I saw these random holes in my stirrup leathers as I cleaned them.

See how they're not evenly spaced or sized? That's because someone punched them in there, not the saddlemaker.

Saddlemaker holes are evenly spaced, beautifully punched, and numbered so you can remember which stirrup length you need even if someone has borrowed your saddle and changed the stirrup length. Those holes are from when my horse, Indy, was used by the Champaign Park District for their therapeutic riding program and he had a variety of adults and children riding him and the stirrups had to be adjusted to accommodate all those riders.

(At this point I wondered if I would have to shorten my right leather a bit now that my right leg is shorter than the other due to my hip replacement. Hmmmm.)

 Here's my saddle, all cleaned, conditioned, and polished. I love the soft gleam of newly cleaned, well worn leather!

Then I tackled my western saddle. It's a good saddle, too. I began saving for a horse when I was in elementary school - I had a mason jar on my dresser and I would put my allowance and babysitting money in it. I even had a note inside to any potential thieves who might break in and take it, telling them that I was saving for a horse and to please not take my money!! When I got Amy, my parents bought her and I bought this saddle with the money in that mason jar.

My western saddle did not have any mold, but it was dusty and the leather a bit dry. See that tooling? That is SO hard to clean. I needed a toothbrush to get into the nooks and crannies, but had not brought one with me. So, I did my best.

The cleaned saddle. Not bad for one that is 45+ years old! While it doesn't gleam quite like the English saddle does, clearly you can see it looks much better now that I've given it some attention.

I am home now and all the rags I used to clean, condition, and polish are in the washer. I hope to head back out later this evening or tomorrow and do a couple of Tim's saddles.

Color: No Spot, Few Spot, Loud, and Varnish

"She's got a lot of color" is a phrase horsemen and women use to describe a horse who is what is termed a "color" breed (Appaloosa, Paint, etc.) The amount of color can vary, hence the term.

For example, here's an Appaloosa with little color:

 See how his spots are mostly on his rump and maybe one or two on his face and shoulders?

Then compare him to this Appaloosa, which would be described as "loud" as in "loud color."

(He's also called a "leopard Appaloosa" which is a distinct coat pattern within the breed.)

There are even Appaloosas with very few spots, and they have their own descriptive terms, too.

 These two are "few spot" Appaloosas.

Still full bred Appaloosas, just without many spots.

And this is a "no spot" Appaloosa. He still has the characteristic mottled skin around his face and is a full bred Appaloosa, but there are no spots on his coat.

Personally, I like mine spotted, or "with lots of color."

Like this girl. My "varnish roan" Abby. 

Varnish roans have a base coat of intermingled dark and white hairs, with darker patches on the shoulders, bony points, and other areas. The roaning can change over time and with the season, or it may simply remain stable.

 The mare above is an "extreme" varnish roan - lots and lots of white.

 So is this filly.

My girl isn't an extreme but she is a varnish. Her color changes, mostly in that the white patches come and go. She's darker in the winter and lighter in the summer when she sheds out.

I think she's perfect.

A Healthy and Happy Home for Horses

I was taking pictures of Abby and realized that this photo is a good one for gauging the well being of the horses.

Hokey, Trouble, Diablo, Abby

It is a beautiful picture of Trouble, and look at the healthy gleam on Hokey's coat! The horses are in good flesh and you can see they have good pasture to roam.

Abby sure landed on her feet after she was rescued - Tim's place is an excellent home for horses.

Coming When Called

Abby enjoys my company - I know that because she follows me around regardless of whether or not there are treats in my pocket. She knows my voice and my whistle, and comes whenever she hears me.

Yesterday she was in the old barn with Diablo, so I called her name and whistled. I grabbed my camera and started filming as she hurried down to see me.

Tender Feet and a Bute-Laced Treat

Last Monday when I went with Tim and Brandon to pick up a load of hay from Leslie, I noticed that Coco's feet seemed to be tender again. He was standing with his forelegs well in front of his body.

When a horse stands "parked out" like that, it's usually sign that their feet hurt. And Coco had been foundered sometime before we got him, and has flare ups occasionally. His coffin bone has also rotated. Poor guy!

Here's a diagram of coffin bone rotation.

He needs to be off lush grass for a while, so Leslie has him in a box stall in the barn. It's oversized, airy, and Skippy stands in the aisle and hangs out with his buddy for company.

Skippy can't be stalled as he gets cast - probably a function of being blind and unable to judge the distance from the walls when he lies down.

Coco was in good spirits and was moving better than I expected.

 He reminds me so much of a stuffed animal. Look at those fuzzy ears!

I needed to give him a dose of bute while I was there.

 It's a medication for horses that alleviates pain, especially in the joints.

I crushed up some of Coco's favorite peppermint nugget treats, then added hot water to them to soften them. He's in his late twenties and his teeth are worn down, so he needs soft food and treats.

Like any good horsey mama, Leslie uses a kitchen mixing bowl for her horses' medical needs. Coco ate right out of it and snarfed that bute-sprinkled treat mash down.

When he was done, I cleaned out and refilled his two water buckets.

And gave him a flake of hay for dinner.

I get to come back tomorrow - I love caring for Coco and Skippy when Leslie is gone.

Christmas in June!

Abby's favorite treat? Candy canes. I bought a LOT of them after Christmas when they were on sale. 

Abby munches one while I hand another to Lavanya.

Feels like Christmas in June!

Lavanya Meets Abby

When she was very little, our neighbor Lavanya loved our dog, Zeus. She would pet him and love on him, and once wanted to bring him to pet day at her preschool!

 Zeus was very patient with her, and even as big as he was, she was never frightened of him.

These two pictures were taken six months before we lost him. Lavanya was four or five.

She's nine now and has moved on to another one of our family pets.

 Abby!

Persuasion, too!

Lavanya brought treats with her this afternoon, even peeling and washing carrots for the herd.

Bindu, her mother, also bought some sugar crystals from an Indian grocery. I'd never seen anything like it, but Abby sure enjoyed it.

Lavanya is interested in taking riding lessons, so this was an opportunity to let her get close to some horses and see how she did when around them. She's shy and a little hesitant, but the desire is there, so I think her mama will see that she gets the opportunity.

My Horsey Shadow

"I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me..." writes Robert Louis Stevenson in his poem, My Shadow. I seem to have a shadow, too. A horsey one.

I did a little experiment with Abby today. She is so easy to be around, comes when called, and isn't spooky, so I decided to see if I could bring her into the small paddock to graze without using a halter or lead rope to control her.

So, I called for her, and when she came up from the old barn in response, I opened the gate and invited her through. She walked by me with nary an ear twitch. Or halter or lead rope.

Once inside, she turned to me and I gave her a carrot bite. Then I went over to my camp chair and settled in, content to just watch her graze. She followed right along like a puppy.

Yesterday's behavior was repeated - graze a bit, put her head in my face and get a scratch or another piece of carrot, and so on. I have to admit, I get a little uncomfortable when she looms over me while I sit. I feel vulnerable so low next to her. (Same reason I did not buy a recumbent bike after trying one - at car bumper level, I just did not feel safe.)

So, I stood up, stretched and walked a few steps away. Guess who followed and then started to graze right at my feet? I walked a different direction and the same thing happened. Everywhere I would go, Abby would follow.

At one point, Abby went over to the far fence to visit with the Rocky Mountain Spotted Horses in the next pasture over. I decided to walk back to my chair while she was visiting with them and sit down for a bit. A few moments later, she turned away from the other horses, put her head down to graze, then suddenly popped her head up, looking around.  She spied me and pricked her ears forward. Breaking into a trot, she hustled over to where I was standing, then put her head down and began to graze again.

My heart melted.

All too soon, it was time to go home. My shadow was still by my side, and when I headed over to the gate, plodded along quietly behind me, still with no halter or lead rope. Once again, I opened the gate and Abbs stepped obediently through it. She turned, I gave her a last bit of carrot and a hug, and she ambled off toward the other horses who were relaxing in the old barn.

The next line in Stevenson's poem states, "...and what can be the use of him is more than I can see." My shadow's purpose may be hard to see, but it is there. Most definitely. It is there.

The Ghost of Amy

Abby is acting more and more like Amy as time goes on. Perhaps it is that I treat her the way I treated Amy, but whatever the reason, today her actions really were like her namesake.

She loves to come out of the pasture with me and graze, and since I keep her out for a half hour or so, I bring a chair  and sit while she chomps. It is a lovely way to pass a summer afternoon. 

And like Amy, Abby "checks in" with me periodically. She steps over, nuzzles me or sniffs my hands, and then goes back to the grass. This is repeated over and over.

Abby's name at Indiana Horse Rescue was Sassy, but it has been a long time since I saw any behavior like that. (In fact, it was only in the first month or two that she was with me.) She's calm, quiet, enjoys people (especially children) and follows me around, even when she's not on a lead rope.

Just like Amy.

I sure love this sweet girl.

Turn the Teaching Off

Summer vacation is here, but I am still in gogogogogo mode. It can be REALLY hard to step back from teaching and relax. (By the same token, the adjustment to going back to school in August is tough as well, only this time you are trying to ramp yourself up instead of winding down!)

So, I am still in the stage of perceiving things through an education lense. Including this familiar summer scene:

I didn't see two mares and a filly grazing. No, my mind's voice said, "Oh, look, they're doing cooperative play!"

(Cooperative play is a stage younger children go through when they do the very same task or game side by side but without interacting with each other.)

I think MOST DEFINITELY I need more time out at the barn with Abby so I can continue to decompress and move into summer relaxation mode!

The Solace SPOT

When I was a young girl and feeling down, sad, pensive, or worried, I headed to my solace spot. Umpteen years later, I still head there.

My solace SPOT actually has spots!

Lots of teeny, tiny white ones all over her body.

Yep, my solace spot is with my horse. And I headed out there this afternoon and spent a good half hour just soaking up that horsey sight, sound, touch, and smell.

Abby enjoyed being out in grassy spot with pockets of clover.

Why did I head to the solace spot? Lisa had a job interview this afternoon. I have been praying all day that it will go well. TSC has had 1,000+ applications submitted - an incredibly high number. But she was one of five people called in for an interview this afternoon at Burnett Creek.

I started the morning praying for her - on my knees. That's really hard for me to do since I had my knees replaced, but I felt I needed to kneel and so I did.

All day I prayed - vocally in the car, inside my head, wherever I was, I was praying and pointing out to the Lord that Lisa needed a job, that she was an excellent teacher, had paid her dues, and could she please, please, please get a job??

Her interview was at 2:30, and I was so restless, I decided I needed to go out to my solace spot.

Abby is always happy to see me, especially so when I get her out to graze.

Burnett Creek is on the way to the barn. As I drove by it, I felt prompted to pull into their parking lot and pray. And so I did, offering up yet another fervent prayer that Lisa might be hired. (Maybe that proximity to the hiring team helped!)

And then I sat out at the barn for a good half hour, enjoying my horse and the warm weather, still praying in my heart but feeling more relaxed. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a (wo)man."

Abby the Photo Bomber

My girl loves to have my undivided attention. Even after consuming several treats (and more of them than any other horse) she still pokes her nose into my face when my attention is diverted toward another of the horses.

For example,  isn't Dolly's filly, Tanna, cute?

 Hmmmm. Kind of hard to tell with that big ol' white nose in the way.

Offering Diablo a few pats?

 Nope, not while Abby is hanging around.

Photographing Lisa giving Persuasion a good scritch?

  Hah!! Just try it!

First Day of Summer Break

"Summertime!! And the livin's easy!! Summertime! And the livin's fine!"

 It sure is - especially if you're a horse.

Today is my first day of summer vacation, although I spent it at Harrison High School at a technology conference, driving out to see the herd after that was finished.

 Tanna watches the big guys and gals from the safety of a separate paddock.

 She seems to be shedding her foal coat - see the mealy marks around her eyes and muzzle?

I'll be back tomorrow! I love how they watch me leave every time.