Harley working on his bow

Harley and I entered the square pen while awaiting the departure of some crazy-fast lunger in the lower arena.  I untacked him so he could have a leisurely roll, which he did.  While Harley was rolling, I ambled into the middle of the pen and shook out my limbs on the right side (shake-shake-shake), then shook out my limbs on the left side (shake-shake-shake).  Harley had been watching me and it seemed like he said to himself (”cool.  since you’re bucking I will, too” buck-buck-buck).

We did a few more shake/buck-outs, then he trotted into a corner of the pen.  I trotted into a different corner and took a breath.  I looked over to him and quickly squatted and jumped off of my feet.  He ran out of the corner, around a side or two into a different corner.  I ran quickly to the corner that he had just vacated and got as tall as I could – up the ramped dirt with my hands above my head.  I took a breath, then squatted and thumped the dirt with my feet again.  Harley ran off, bucked some, and found another corner.  I ran quickly to his former corner and got tall.  We did this for awhile and he seemed to be having a good time.  Me, too.  I had rules and he had different rules, but we were both smiling.  He added the “run straight at Julia half-way, then wheel off to a new corner” option.  I think he enjoyed my belly laughs, too.

Harley came most of the way across the pen to me when I decided to tack him back up for our ride.  He (barely) allowed me to get the saddle on, then ran off.  That’s easy, “okay, boy, if you want to run – keep running!”  Last time this happened he ran three times around before deciding it was easier to accept the bridle.  This time it was only 1-1/2 times around.

We had a really nice practice ride in the arena, and a lazy amble around the lower part of the ranch afterwards, bowing to people that we met.  Harley “got” the bow pretty much a week or so ago and even offers it under saddle, now.  He is still a bit confused about whether or not the front foot paws, though, so we’re refining.  I started “fetch” training yesterday!

I would rather be writing about a wonderful success, however, I think it is important also to share a “not so good” story.  The good news is, I learned another important lesson, I just wish it had not been at the expense of my girl Jade.

Donna/Sunny and Jade and I headed back to the beach the week after our first ocean experience.  The first time for Jade was quite frightening, so according to my logic, it would be good to get her back soon for another exposure and continue with successful beach visits until she recognized it really wasn’t scary.   However, my plan went out the window after unloading and saddling up the horses for a ride.  As Jade stood tied to the trailer, she held her head high and continued to turn around trying to see what was behind her.  There was nothing there, but the dreaded sand that leads to the beach, and this apparently was cause for concern.  I used the presssure point to lower her head so that I could bridle her, and what I got in response was completely unexpected.  She threw her head high, then pulled back like I have never seen.  She pulled so hard that she unrighted herself and fell to the ground, which was made up of base rock and gravel.  I tried to undo the quick release after the first pull back, but it was too late.  It had already locked in too tightly.  She got back on her feet, then pulled back again even more violently, again falling onto the rock ground.  She struggled on the ground to get back on her feet, and once done the pressure released again, but not for long.  One more violent pull-back knocked her off her feet again and she rolled and thrased on the ground in the most horrifying way.  Then she lay still and quiet…my fear was that she may have broken her neck.  All the while, Donna and I were trying to figure out where the keys were (in my pocket), but I thought Donna had them.  We needed them to get into the locked tack room to get a knife and cut the halter.  Of course this happened so fast and in my confusion I was never able to produce the keys.  Jade got on her feet one more time and pull back hard enough to pull the hardware off of the side of my trailer.  She walked away towards the beach and stopped at the small rail to the parking lot.  I came up behind her with my hand out and she came right over to me.  It was then that Donna and I realized that she had numerous “road rash” cuts from her struggle on the ground.  We took some deep breaths, then led the horses around the parking lot to try and shake off the jitters and upset we were all feeling.  Jade refused at my first attempt to load her in the trailer, but when I used my “liberty” cue that tells her to follow me where ever I go, she followed me right into the trailer.  Unbelievable that she actually trusted me after that!  In the end, the vet met us at the barn and cleaned up her wounds which all, except one, were superficial.  The deepest one is wrapped and she got banamine and bute for several days until the soreness wears off.  All in all, it could have been so much worse, and I am ever so grateful that she came through it relatively unscathed.  The lesson I learned is that…even though I believed that Jade had no “pull-back” problem, when she is anxious or fearful, this is not true.  I will never tie her again!  Donna has ordered “tie-blockers” that allow for tension release when a horse pulls back.  We will use them in and outside out trailer, as well as at any hitching post or other place were we would typically tie a horse.  While Donna and I have talked in the past about the benefits of using the tie-blockers, we did not religiously use them until this incident occurred.  Once again, we can thank our horses for giving us such a valuable lesson.  I would love to get Jade back to the beach, and would like to hear any suggestions as to timing and approach for our next attempt.  With any luck, the next time I post, it will be a great trail or beach ride story.

MaryBeths Take On It:

Yikes, y’all are suffering from pullback disease down there!  I’m glad to hear Jade is ok, and what a surprise!  Our horses are full of lessons for us, and I love the honesty of those who share so all can learn the lessons.   Lesson #1- Have a good pocket knife handy at all times.  I once had to cut a halter off a horse that had managed to hook the throatlatch part on a latch pen of the arena.  Lesson #2- Don’t thread your rope thru the tie ring, rather folder it over and slide the loop thru, then follow with quick release knots…this is less likely to grab so tightly that you cant undo it.  So, Cory, my thoughts lead a couple places….if the ocean/waves were in her vision from behind, the way her monocular vision would interpret that would look to her like hundreds of moving objects coming at her from behind, so when she couldn’t bring it into binocular focus, and feeling trapped, she panicked.   As your Monday Morning Quarterback, I’d suggest untying and let a horse get a good look behind them if they are trying desparately to turn their head.  You mention that when she freed herself, she went TOWARDS the beach, likely getting an accurate view and therefore relaxing.  Another thought, if, when she lay on the ground still-(how positively scary that must have been for  you) if the rope had given enuf so her head was able to be on the ground flat, often you can calm and restrain a horse by literally stting on their head from the back of the neck.   This could by you time to unclip, cut the rope, or just figure something out.  I have used this when a horse gets cast, or caught up in a fence, etc.  I even had my youngest daughter sit a head once while I used wire clippers on the fence.   My instinct is that this was a visual faux pas. And the next visit should consider parking and tying in such a way as she is able to fully see and focus on the beach.   Happy Trails.

Cory & Jade framed by Sunny's Ears

Saturday afternoon, Cory and her mare Jade and Sunny and I took off for our first ride together on the Larkin Valley trails.  Cory had moved Jade down to Dream Valley shortly after I did, then had ACL surgery, then Jade had some health issues,  then  .  .  .  Anyhow, we’ve been waiting for about 7 months for this day and it finally came.  Sunny and I have been out on the trails a couple of times, but we’ve been either alone or with a horse I didn’t know too well, so we were looking forward to having some “reliable” company.

Cory and I got to the barn around the same time and hit the arena together.  We did a little ground work, then we mounted and did some flexions and shutdowns, then some passing and separating drills. The girls did superbly, so we headed for the trail.

Cory let Sunny and I lead out of the barn and Sunny was doing *great* – until we ran into three young girls riding two horses. First, Sunny has never met a horse on the trail before, and, second, the idea of riding double is just plain WRONG, according to Smarty Sunny.  Anyhow, she hopped around a little, but her reaction was funny enough so that I was laughing, which seemed to calm her down and she marched on pretty quickly.  (I’ve been reading Temple Grandin’s new book, but embarrassment is not one of the emotions she postulates for animals.  Hmm.)

We did pretty well at leading, although our pace wasn’t as quick as Jade’s, and Sunny kept slowing down to grab a bite – I take her out for grazing walks on the trail and I haven’t figured out how to discriminate for her between hanging-out and on-a-mission.

Jade led through the Hippy Houses (I’ll submit pictures of the yurts and wall art sometime) and across Calabasas to Morning Sun Ranch, where we actually catch the trail system.  We took a steep singletrack down the hill to the valley floor, and the girls were stupendous. Jade led at a quick but controlled pace, and Sunny did her level best to keep up. The trail degenerated in places so that they were walking downhill in  a knee-high ditch with sketchy footing, but they both kept their composure.  (Sunny had a really hard time keeping her butt underneath her, but I think that’s just Young Horse – although I have to admit that it was disconcerting.)  I even got off and on once, to pick up a piece of gear someone lost.

When we got to the valley floor, we just picked a trail and took off. We decided to always turn left, so we could remember where we were. The trail was shaded and pretty and we did some trotting, where we could see that there were no other riders. The trails we took were very narrow and lined with tall, tall grass, or thick trees.  As you can see from the photo, Jade was relaxed, and Sunny and I were both confident enough so that I took the picture over her head.

We finally intersected with Senda Ladera, a road that dead ends in Larkin Valley. There was a pasture with three young horses in it and, while we were riding along the road, one of them was running up and down the fence line with us. It was the first time Sunny had ever carried me on pavement, so I was a little concerned, particularly since she doesn’t always know where her feet are, but she handled it superbly.  We got to the end of the road and started up a double track back to Morning Sun.  Sunny led and we trotted again – we were so smooth!

Near the top, we doubled back on another trail to do the climb again.  The trail was the widest we’d been on;  I think it is a construction access road.  Anyhow, Sunny was leading and she saw a BALE OF HAY next to the road! The only time I’ve ever seen her so scared is when she’s pulled back when tied to a trailer, or at the car wash as MaryBeth’s.  In any case, I tried to do an approach and retreat thing, but she was backing up at 900 mph, so I hopped off to see if I could control her better from there.   As I got off, she swivelled, so she was across the road, with her nose pointing straight into a bushy tree, up the embankment, and her butt in the middle of the road. As I hopped off, Cory pulled Jade around Sunny’s rear in order to lead by the bale – and Sunny kicked Jade.

LESSON 1:  When Sunny’s scared, her bubble is way, way bigger than it normally is.

Jade then hauled off and gave Sunny three quick, firm jolts. Sunny bolted up the hill, through and around the tree.  I let go of the reins – there was no way I was going to hold on, anyway – and Sunny stopped, standing beside me, but with the reins wrapped around the tree.

LESSON 2 (for Sunny):  Metaphorically speaking, never bring a knife to a gun fight.  For the literal equine reader, if you’re going to kick, only kick unshod horses of nearly your size – and avoid kicking fully shod horses about twice your size, because you’ll be bleeding when it’s over.

By the time Sunny and were back together, Cory and Jade were standing in the road looking at us with really, really wide eyes.  I think we looked the same.  Sunny had Jade’s hoof print on her butt, and an ugly, 6 inch scrape on the inside of her left rear leg.  There was a little blood, but mostly it was lost hair.   Jade had a cut on her left foreleg, right above the knee, which did bleed.  And Cory and I had both lost about 10 years off our life expectancies.

Anyhow, Sunny started off a little tender, but walked it off. I hand walked her until I was sure she was staying sound, even as the adrenalin wore off, then mounted up for the ride home, which from that point on, was uneventful.  We checked the mares this morning, and they both show signs of the encounter, but don’t seem to have suffered any serious damage.

In retrospect, it was a really cheap learning experience: not only could our horses have been hurt far, far more seriously, but both Cory and I were at risk.  Mounted, Cory could have easily been kicked in the leg, and, when I was on the ground, Jade’s kicks were landing about eye level;  if she’d been serious about moving Sunny back, she would have had to come through me,  a really scary thought.  As a result, we’ve come up with a couple of new rules for our rides:

1.  Always give either mare twice the room you think she needs.  She may not need it, and we may not always be able to follow the rule, but we’d hate to have an accident that we could have prevented.

2.  When we find obstacles that one or both the mares are reluctant to deal with, we’re going to decide which team is going to try it and let them go at it. The other team will wait as far back as possible.  After the first team is either successful, or gives up, the other team can give it a try, if it’s still an issue.

If any of you have any thoughts or insights on this topic, please post – I’d love to hear other stories or other ways of dealing with things.

wanna ride?

donna

Addition, 16 June.

Cory and Jade and Sunny and I went out again yesterday.  We did just about exactly the same things, including the arena warm up.  Oh yeah, we did one extra exercise in the arena, at Cory’s suggestion:  first, Jade stood still and Sunny circled her until Jade could tolerate it without pinning her ears. Then, Sunny stood still until Jade could circle her without causing ugly faces.  Of course, we kept them at a safe distance from each other.

Anyhow, we hit the trail and, until the hay bale, did close to exactly the same ride we did the previous day. We got to the hay bale with Sunny leading, so I asked if we could go first, Cory agreed and “parked” Jade about 15 yards back, next to a nice patch of grazing.  Sunny and I approached the bale and she stopped, on full alert. I let her look for . . . 10 seconds? then turned her around and walked back about a horse length, turned her around and she marched, gingerly, by the hay bale. We stopped, looked and did it from the other directions, then repeated.  In retrospect, I think she might have gone the first time if I’d just had her bend to one side or another, I’m not sure it was necessary to even move her.

When we were done, Cory had me move Sunny back to where we started, so Jade wouldn’t have Sunny to draw her past the bale, so I parked Sunny where Jade had waited for us.  Cory and Jade worked the bale, with equal success.

After that, we went up toward the Morning Sun facilities:  they have maybe four arena, several round pens, and bunches of barns, all with trails connecting them.  Instead of heading back home, we did two short loops on little trails that headed out, then circled back up to the trail head.  Both the mares were dubious but compliant.  Also, we met several horses on the trail, which turned out to be no big deal – something I was really concerned about.

So.  Our contretemps appears to have had no lasting ill effects, and our new “obstacle process” seems to be working.