AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[Farmfresh]

Old (with emphasis on the old part ) horse person here too.

I personally don't own any right now. My D1 has our last old retired POA mare and my sis owns 8. I used to train and give lessons for many years.

What do you do with yours? What style do you usually ride?

 

[AL]

I actually haven't been on a horse in years.... my old mare has heaves and I am a little too much "body mass" to ride her in that health. My mare that died in November had some kind of wasting disease, vet thought it was a brain tumor or disease because she would sprout a winter coat fit for a much colder climate --- in JULY. She lost tons of muscle, so she wasn't rideable either. My vet said I am the official home for the old and infirmed.

However, when I did ride, it was just "street / trail" riding. Western gear, neck reining and walking alongside one of the busiest highways in our area. Skye, my old mare, is an Arab / TW grade mare - used to be a smokey blue roan in her younger days, now a bleached out flea-bitten grey.

My little foster gelding, Buddy, appears to be a QH / Paint or Appy cross. I posted for help on one of the sister sites because he was kicking, and I have never had to break a horse from kicking. I basically was told in no uncertain terms I didn't belong to have horses if I couldn't do anything with them.

So I googled it and he hasn't attempted to kick in 2 weeks. Now I have googled teaching him to lunge. LOL




I work until 1am, so my day starts kind of late, runs kind of long. Last night I counted heads in teh chickenhouse, made sure there was fresh water and closed up the run for the night. I gave Skye her meds (need to call the vet for more) and fed both horses a snack.
This morning I have 5 eggs already, and one of my RIR made a beeline for the bushes when I let them out of the run. Fortunately I have some folks at work who want to try some eggs and may buy from me. Also, my cousin is coming in town on Saturday and said to save him a couple dozen.

A couple of my squash plants seem to be breaking the surface... kind of concerns me that they may be planted to shallow.

This weekend before S & J get here, my mom said she will help me put up some pears that I found on CL.

 

[valmom]

One of the keys is to never give them a chance to do it wrong! For kicking, (is it horses, the stall, or people?) never ever let them turn away from you. Ground manners and moving the horse's front end and back end at your whim is a great thing to do. And lungeing is sort of just an extention of moving the horse.

I love eventing, even though I havent been in...oh dear...well, a long time. My immature 5 year old (my picture) is/was going to be my next event horse- she's out of my 24yo TB off the track mare. I had her at a professional to be trained and she basically said she seems immature mentally and physically and could do with another year to grow up. I took her to her mare inspection (we register our horses with Oldenburg NA) and the German inspector said actually the same thing, based on a 5 minute inspection in hand. So, she has the winter off. Again. Some day I will ride her

I thought my place was the horse retirement farm!

 

[AL]

Well, I'll just limit my aged and infirmed home to the general NW Florida area? LOL

Oh he is mischievous, not stupid... he has a healthy respect for my old mare...but not me! He kicked me twice... walking off lead to his feed pan (out in his small pen, not in the stall). It wasn't an ears pinned back , wild eyed kick... more of a frisky or hurry up ? The first time I blocked a kick to the face with my hand. It had rained so when I turned away from him I fell in the mud and couldn't react. The 2nd time was a glancing kick to my thigh and I yelled and screamed and threw his feed pan / jumped up and down waving my arms and having a hissy fit. He walked off a little ways and watched me like I had obviously lost my mind.

I started carrying a lunge whip in with me, holding it short though.. if he even offered to turn his butt to me I yelled "AAA - AAH!" and popped him. When he gave me both eyes, I would call him to me and pet / feed him. Now I dont' carry the whip, I just raise my arm and verbally correct him. So far so good.

He was doing some biting as well. Again, not vicious, just being a brat baby. I started holding his head and squealing baby talk while I rubbed his lips and nose like I was trying to rub the fuzz off. That worked too, and without making him even a tiny bit headshy.

He is really a very sweet horse, I was just messing up because I've never had such a young horse to work with. I was "afraid of ruining him" if I corrected too harshly, and ended up just about ruining him anyway! Nobody wants a 500lb brat!



ETA photos

Buddy

Skye

 

[miss_thenorth]

Have you read Monty Roberts book, "The One Who Listens to Horses."? I haven't read the whole thing, b/c my dd took it to school with her, but he tells the story of his life and how he came to know horse language so well.

My dd's spotted drafthorse is 4, and we have him since he was a yearling. A great horse--he has come a long way. Although he bit once, he is a lipper--if you come near him he has to touch you, and try to taste you. My hubby thought it was cute and encouraged him to do it. Until one day he bit. so now, everyone in the house and who comes to the house, is not allowed to encourage that type of behaviour. When he goes to lip you, we give a firm NO!, and pull away. He's much better now. Never had to deal with bucking either, but we/ve had to deal with a few issues that a young horse can give you. My QH boy is around 12. We are trailriders also, but my dd wants to get into rodeo type events--pole bending and barrels. she has also started jumping, but no formal lessons--just a friend of mine helping her set up jumps in our paddock. Although she enjoys english, she much prefers western.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

great work, Manatee! i mean... AL!

i love that you are getting your garden going while the rest of us have one eye open for frost (should be within 3 weeks)

lets see them clucks when you get a chance

 

[Farmfresh]

Your old hair growing horse that died sounds a lot like two of ours that died. Both had cancer - melanoma. One was gray and the other was roan.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing as far as the kicking is concerned. If you need any help learning how to lunge let us know. Lots of good horse folk around here.

 

[AL]

Miss the north- yep, I read it a long time ago... or one by him anyway, I think that was it? It has just been so long since I have been in " horse circles" because my old mares went downhill.
LOL One of my fave memories on Skye was we rode over to a 3 day show near my house - they had some of everything - western pleasure, barrels, jumps, the racking horses - the jump part of the show had ended and everyone was gone. My friend and I took our horses in and we put them over some of the smaller jumps (in Western saddles mind you lol). As we were leaving I found a 3rd place ribbon hanging on the fence, so Skye placed in jumps.
Buddy just does the exploratory lipping... or he did... I have no desire to be bitten! The rubbing his nose and squealing was annoying enough for him to stop nibbling, but not violent so he didn't really have a "bad" experience.


OFG...
I am hoping everything comes up in time. This is my first late garden and I keep worrying I planted too late, but my dad (77yrs old) keeps assuring me it will be fine. At this rate the drought and heat will kill everything before a frost does!

These pics are about a month old, so they have grown a little more
Waiting at the gate, sure I have something for them ( Barred Rocks, Brahmas, Golden Comets, EEs, RIR, jersey giants and buff orpingtons)

I did NOT want a rooster, but he is a gentleman with me and with the hens so he can stay - for now. This is Big Poppy formerly known as Marge

My favorite hen - Stink. She has a natural stinkeye, but is very sweet. Hasn't given me any eggs yet, unless she is rebelling and laying brown eggs.

Thanks, FF... I appreciate it. It amazes me the difference in replies here and.... other places.
My old horse was a gray - bleached out to white with red speckles (flea bitten white? ). She was a sweet old horse. I would put new riders on her, called her my "tourist horse" because she would just amble along one. slow. step. at a time, looking side to side, checking out the sights.

Today I gathered 7 eggs, 1 small so I think someone else has started laying. A lady at work gave me 5 egg flats that hold 36 eggs each! I also have a couple of cartons, but I will cut one into sections so I can give 4 eggs each to folks interested in maybe buying.

Wormed the horses with Zimecterin Gold. Moved Skye's feed barrel to the empty stall with Buddy's and unloaded feed. I need to call the foster coordinator and get set up to go get more feed for Buddy, I don't think I will need hay for a while though, the pasture still looks good and he is in slick shape. We put up hay for Skye back in August (when it was a balmy 110*)

A couple of pea plants popping up in the dust bowl. Tons of grass growing. I think I would have better luck with a sod farm.
The "accidental pea patch" has fallen victim to Rio and Rags - I am sure they were chasing a rabbit, or a rat.... or a butterfly. Plants are flattened so I will have to make time to go pick those peas today or tomorrow.

Blueberry bushes are looking better, peach and pear trees about the same. Jersey Giants created a dustbath at my thornless blackberries and exposed the roots. I covered them with dirt and compost, watered them good and set stones around the base to ward off chicken attacks.

Not sure what is going on with my raspberry plant... it was so pretty and green and now it looks dried and dead.
I imagine it is the heat, etc, unless they "die" for the winter? (memo: tell the raspberry we don't have winter until February)

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

This is Big Poppy formerly known as Marge

i just snorted applesauce out my nose!

yep we have a couple of those. i wonder if its the breed? i was SURE as in POSITIVE that our lt brahma was a hen... until she crowed. as "they" say (you know who you are)... "when they start to crow, they got to go"..

and i'll tell ya. the brahma dressed out beautifully! wow!

and Stink looks like a charmer! whoot! yay chickens!

 

[AL]

This is Big Poppy formerly known as Marge

i just snorted applesauce out my nose!

yep we have a couple of those. i wonder if its the breed? i was SURE as in POSITIVE that our lt brahma was a hen... until she crowed. as "they" say (you know who you are)... "when they start to crow, they got to go"..

and i'll tell ya. the brahma dressed out beautifully! wow!

and Stink looks like a charmer! whoot! yay chickens!

Poppy is supposed to be an Easter Egger ( of course, he was also supposed to be Marge ). A friend of mine almost talked me into sending him to her house for a very short visit and she would return him to me ready for dumplings. I told her if he starts getting too much attitude she can have him.

I want to process my own birds... and I would dearly love to get a cow to breed for milk and maybe a butchering steer. I just can't do it. Yet.
(Growing up we raised for meat, my folks had us name them "Hamburger" "Tbone" LOL. One time we were eating homegrown burgers and everytime someone would take a bite, one of the cows out back would bellow. )