Here is the horse I want from the Monroe, Washington adoption next weekend. I cannot have him, so if you like him, maybe you can.

For more pictures of the horses available, see HERE.

For more information, see HERE.

I hope they all find wonderful homes!

Tonka is doing well with the trainer! We went out there this morning and got to watch. This is the second time he's gotten on, and all went well. Tonka was a bit squirrely with the saddle at first, but after some desensitizing the trainer got on and rode around a bit, mostly small circles to make sure he had his directional cues.

Other than the riding and such, he spent his time while we were there tied to a post, fiddling with his bit and pawing. Bad boy. But long hours of that will cure him of it. It was kinda rough seeing little sores at the corners of his mouth from his fiddling. He chose to do it that excessively, so what can you do? I suppose try a different bit, but it was a perfectly reasonable bit, and he's just going to have to get used to it at some point.

I'd have gotten a picture, but my camera batteries were dead! Shocking and wrong! I was devastated. Sorry I have no pretty images to share. And I must say, he was looking good under that saddle.

They got there in one piece! Yay! They actually did pretty well. Tonka did exceptionally well. I guess this is a piece of cake compared to an 8 hour trip from Burns to Spokane with 39 other horses last year. Lyric was a little wide-eyed but not too bad. We left them looking around in their new accomodations, a bit freaked... I can't wait to go see them next week and see how they're coming along.

I am getting very nervous. In an hour it'll be time to load up the horses and head to the trainer. They did really well with their loading lessons, and got to the point where they were shut in together just fine. But not with the trailer moving. I'm afraid one of them will freak out and end up under or on top of the divider. I wish Lyric would tie, I'd just take the divider out and tie them both. Ugh. It doesn't help that the bumpiest part of the trip is immediately upon getting started - our driveway. Maybe that'll make them feel like the rest of the trip is okay. It'll be an hour and a half, and the road is very curvy. Ugh. Panic attack. Well, not quite. But I'm getting a bit worked up about it.

They will be fine. They will be fine. They will be fine.

I'll tell you all about the trainer's place later. Maybe get some pictures.

More good news! I'm going to get Tonka's title! I just got his paperwork and called the BLM guy and everything worked out to where I should be getting it soon!!! So exciting!

I am so proud of my boy! He's so great. Today he stood TIED in the trailer.

We started with just loading, and then I asked him to yield his fore and hindquarters so he would stay against the wall. That was something he did not want anything to do with. We had to get out of the trailer and have words about it. First I asked him to do it in the open, which he knows how to do so that was no problem. Then I asked him to do it up against the open door of the trailer, like a wall. No way. But eventually we had the breakthrough, and he did it no problem. Then we went into the trailer, and it seems he made a leap of reasoning as to WHY I had asked him to take those steps, because I didn't even have to ask him to stay over there, he just did it.

The first time I tied him I just ran the rope through the Blocker Tie Ring once, so if he panicked he'd just be able to back out of the trailer. He was fine for a minute but when I left his sight he did just that. Backed right on out and stood waiting for me to rescue him. (The rope I'm using is the right size to use with the ring, but not as dense and too squishy, so it slides through more easily than it should, doesn't hardly have any resistance at all.) The second time I looped the rope through twice so it would hold much better, then I stayed at the back of the trailer and talked to him, and pointed and clucked at his butt when he thought about backing up. Worked like a charm. Unloaded, then did it again. This time I was able to move around to the side of the trailer and give him treats from the outside.

I took some pictures of him, of course.


Above you can see that he's not really comfortable. Tense and fidgety.


Here it might be hard to see, but he's standing more calmly, accepting it better and is licking and chewing. Still a bit tense though, understandably. Then he stood like a good boy while I wandered around out of his sight, but still talking to him.

Then we unloaded again and were done!

This trailer loading thing is going so well with both boys. Actually yesterday afternoon I was worried about Lyric, since he had SUCH a rough time with it, but we did it again in the evening and he had gotten the lesson. There was one refusal and then he loaded, many times. They're good boys, and they're showing me that trailer stuff doesn't have to be scary. I'm learning and growing, and very happy for it!

Tonka did really well with his lessons yesterday. Loaded in the trailer many times, and backed out. The backing out was sure a scary thing for him. But eventually it was no big deal, just something to be cautious about, which is good. When I practiced loading him from the wrong side he backed out a little crooked and bumped his hiney and scared himself twice, but we practiced some more and he did that several times with no problems.



He had to practice standing tied, and this time I took away the tie ring that gives if they panic. He was taking advantage of it and slowly working it down to where he could eat grass. I love the tie ring, it really helped me be more confident that my horse wouldn't get hurt. But I think for long-term tying where they're expected to stand without fidgeting and goofing around, it may not be the best. I can't wait to try it on Lyric, our chronic panicked pull-backer. But back to Tonka. I parked the trailer in front of the house so I could do dishes while watching him. After a half hour he FINALLY stopped fidgeting long enough for me to go out and catch him at his good moment and untie him. Here's how he greeted me, all relaxed and soft-eyed:



I wish I could show you how BIG he's getting, but pictures don't really show it. He's not growing upward as fast, but he's just massive. His shoulder is huge. Bum too. And when he's standing up in the trailer and I'm down on the ground, he's impressive. Here's another picture of his handsomeness.

Back to work! No more standing around visiting and treat-fests. Well, a little bit of that.

The boys are going to the trainer on MONDAY! EEK! I didn't do any of the trailer practice I intended to do. Or the standing tied. Or anything at all really.

So this afternoon after I talked to the trainer we worked on standing tied. I figure he needs to know that before I can tie him in the trailer. He's a pro at it so far. He didn't mind at all, seemed to understand already that he wasn't going to be going anywhere, and accepted the fact. Well, with a bit of pawing. I'm assuming he'll get over that with time if it doesn't do him any good.

In between tying sessions we did some ground work and went over poles and onto the dreaded horse-eating stall mats. Just to break up the monotony, and maybe make standing tied seem better than the alternative.

After he stood tied for a while with only distant supervision (I was having a treat-fest with the other horses) I figured he needed to do something so he wouldn't think getting untied meant immediately going back to his buddies and lounging in the grass. I took him into the shade and we played with the surcingle. I eventually kind of hand tightened it without committing to anything, and would wait until he stopped backing up (he was backing very slowly) or if his feet weren't moving but his eyes were hard I'd wait until he relaxed a bit, then I'd loosen it up, take it off, and start over. He's still really iffy about anything around his armpits, even a brush. But he's not throwing a fit.

He's looking so good now! All shed out and shiny. Well, not ALL shed out, he still has some winter hair on his belly and long whiskers under his jaw. But he's looking good. The grass and running around is covering up some of his raw-boned look. I would have taken a picture but my camera wasn't here.

I am back to being in love with my boy, and thinking we can do anything. I'm just really glad he's going to a professional to get it done right, and consistently.

I'm so nervous about that trailer ride though! If it was just him I'd throw him in loose and go, but it's the two of them, and I don't want them stepping all over each other. I'm hoping to have him cool with the divider by then. We'll see. Going to do some trailer loading and hanging out in there in the morning. All hitched up and ready! Actually I was going to do it tonight but a really crazy wind/thunder storm came up. It was great, but not a good time to train a horse!

I'll try to have some pics of my gorgeous beast for you tomorrow.

Thank you to Kim and Della for your supportive words!

The day I finally wrote about our bad episode, I went outside and loved on my horses and I realized that Tonka still loves me and we'll get over this. He's such a sweetie. Kind of like a pesky little brother a lot of the time though...

I started fiddling with clicker training after the saddle accident, and it's kinda neat. But kinda not. I need to get a book. I've got to be doing several things wrong, because I'm being mugged for treats! Tonka does right most of the time, but has his nose on my pocket the rest of the time. And sometimes tries to refuse to let me back by his hiney because the treats are leaving the vicinity of his mouth. Lyric is responding really well to it! I wish I could show you the look on his face as he watched me work with Tonka. He stood without moving his feet the entire time, ears perked, eyes bright, intently watching us. He was RIVETED. Then he got to join the fun and now he will cautiously approach me rather than making me catch him. But he's still the last horse to come running.

Anyway, I am having fun with the horses. No real goal in mind, just bonding.

Okay. I didn't want to talk about this. I don't even want to think about it. I have to though, because now I have to figure out how to move on. We had a bit of a wreck. Completely my fault, and totally terrifying, and I felt SO bad. Luckily Tonka is okay (physically), and my saddle seems to be mostly okay, and he didn't run me down, although he did come close.

I was working on saddling him, and he was a little jumpy about the cinch. I should have taken it off, released that pressure and then gone back to it. But I didn't, and he bolted before I had it firmly secured, but it was pretty well tightened down. So it very slowly loosened as he bucked and bucked and bucked all over the place. He came close to going through the fence, but noticed it at the last minute. His main concern was getting rid of that saddle. Which he eventually did, after it had flipped around his belly and stayed there for quite a while. There were flaps and straps flying everywhere. I thought he was going to break a leg. It really sucks to be standing there watching that and totally unable to do anything about it. I did very shakily take a few pictures after he was well into it and I'd resigned myself to having to just watch it play out. You can't really see the saddle much, but it's there, right under his most tender and vulnerable parts.



I did put the saddle back on several times when we were done, but without the cinch. Maybe a mistake, but he was seriously not in a good learning mood, he was still really spooked. He allowed me to put the saddle back on, but he didn't like it.

So. Where to go now... This has affected our relationship. It will definitely affect his future training. I am going to strap some other things to his back before I try the saddle again. And I'm going to do it in a smaller area. Hopefully he won't kill me! My 50' round pen is under construction but only has 2 posts set just yet. So we may end up working in the 28' square mustang pen. It'll do, but it'll be tight quarters. I need to work on gaining his trust again as well. I think we're well on the way. It all just takes time and patience and paying better attention to his emotional needs than I did that day.

I am still greatly enjoying my quiet time with the horses lately. I've been going out and loving on them, then asking Tonka to do something for a short amount of time. Yesterday I walked him around the house and through the trees, then through some thick brush. This morning I walked him all over the hay field, through some tall weeds, over shallow trickle in a ditch, and down by the creek (he wanted nothing to do with me when I went wading in my rubber boots). When we got done with that I worked on his mane. It still insists on hanging over to the left only at the point where it covers his freezebrand. I don't want that covered! So he got some little ponytails. And I took a LOT of pictures of him.

Tonight we started working on saddling again. First he wore the bright purple Soft Saddle, since that's really light and easy for me to carry. Put it on and took it off several times from either side. Cinched it up, he was a bit weirded out by the pressure on the other side as I tightened it. Kinda twitchy. But he stood. Good boy! Then we did some stuff to take his mind off the saddle (namely, stepped on the evil horse eating tarp) and he forgot all about it. Then took it off and left it there for him to "kill" while I ate dinner. He was having great fun swinging the cinch around in circles.

Here you see him wearing the lighter of my two saddles. I opted for this one since I had to carry it halfway across the property. Turned out to be the wrong choice though, it's way too wide. So I didn't cinch it down. As you can see the breastcollar is lying on his neck. The cinch is hanging on the other side. He really didn't like the saddle, fidgeted a lot, but dealt with it pretty well.

Once he was more comfortable with the saddle I took it off and let him investigate it again. Then lugged everything back to the tack shed. I can't wait to put the other saddle on him and see if it fits. I hope so! We already need to buy a saddle for Lyric, I hope we don't need yet another.

Oh, and back to the tarp. He is SO worried about changes on the ground where he has to step. He is getting a lot better though. Hoses are no problem anymore, nor is the change in terrain from grass to driveway, or muddy ditch crossings. But the tarp is still very scary. It makes noise, and sometimes it moves! He crossed it twice today. The first time he got his front feet on and stood very proudly, and when he finally decided to put his back feet on, the edge of the tarp stayed on the front of his foot and moved with him. He LAUNCHED himself UP and off! It totally reminded me of the "airs above the ground." I think his belly was level with my head, and he kicked out with his hind legs as he passed. Luckily he was not kicking out at me. John happened by at that very moment, and said it looked really pretty. Of course then Tonka had to cross the tarp again, in a more controlled manner. And eventually he did. Not totally calm, he kind of hurried over it, but at least he kept his feet on the ground.

Horse time has been pretty relaxing this week. They're all turned out together in green grass, being a herd, which I always love to see. Since I don't have to trudge around throwing hay, I get to spend my horse time petting everyone. They still get their supplements in the morning, but nothing in the evening. But don't tell them that, because they always come to me in a hurry. I'm pretty sure they think I'm going to feed them in the evening too. Actually they all seem to enjoy getting a good rub down even without food, except for Danni, who I think is mad at me for making her work so much lately. She's shunning me.

Today I had to make the decision between keeping Soxy locked up off grass for half the day, or putting the grazing muzzle on her. She is getting fatter at an alarming rate and I don't want to founder her. Locking her up seemed counter-productive, since she can't move around. So she got her grazing muzzle. Which bothers me more than it does her. She really doesn't mind. Anyway, tonight I went out to take it off, and I was standing there petting Lyric when Tonka came up and started nibbling on it. So I let him take it, and he shook it around. Dropped it, grabbed it up again and shook it. We were laughing, standing back because it has a snap on a longish strap, and we didn't want to get smacked. Well, eventually it got him, pretty hard on the bottom of the jaw. He didn't think to drop it, just bolted in a small circle, then dropped it. Stood for a moment and then started playing with it again. Silly boy. It really is pretty funny. I gave him a Jolly Ball, and he won't touch it. But he loves to play with just about anything else.

Today Tonka didn't seem to be in much of a mood to play. I brushed him, asked him to step into the trailer, took him for a walk, and put him back so we could play more with Lyric. (For details on that, see www.horsetales.blogspot.com)

If this works correctly, this should show a video of him loading:



Here's a picture with more light, but still not all that good.



And a random turkey shot. I love turkeys. This was their second time outside. Soon it will be warm enough for them to be outside 24/7.

Played with my boy today. You know, I need to stop listening to my sister. She keeps making comments about how bad/crazy he is, so I start thinking, "what am I thinking, with a young horse?" and I need to stop thinking that. He's a good boy, and I love him. We did some obstacles today. He's so good! I think he trusts me, or he's just level headed, because even when he's worried he's pretty mellow about it all. We also did a lot of just hanging out, grooming, and picture taking. You'd be amazed at how many pictures I have of this horse...



We worked on going through the "Cowboy Curtain." It's a tarp cut into strips blowing in the wind. We're using it to get ready for a trail competition in a couple weeks. He did it for me several times, when I walked through with him and made a kind of opening. WOW. He is AWESOME.



I get such a great feeling when I spend time with Tonka. He's very good for me. I hope he likes me too. I know I'm not as important to him as he is to me, since I'm so annoying and all, but maybe that will grow.

Tonka was a bronc today! And a race horse! Woo hoo! It was really fun to watch him ripping up and down the pasture, bucking and sliding. Then he'd float along at a trot. He thought my brother-in-law's horse was an alien. It was pretty funny. We had taken away his two friends, and rode away leaving him all alone, and he was a little upset. Unfortunately this is the only picture I got, I was too far away when he was being spunky. Still a good picture though, I think. But then I just like my horse :)

My muddy, muddy boy.

Before:


And after (better but look at that filthy mane!):


Today I checked his weight and height, with no halter or anything. He did really well with the weight tape. Took off the first time when I tightened it up, but the second and third times he stood for it. He's just about 950 lbs. Then I checked his height, as accurately as I could, which isn't very... I came up with 15 hands. My sister came by later, she hasn't seen him in a long time. She said he looked more like 14.3 to her. One inch difference, and how accurate is an eyeball guess... she could be right but does it really matter?

Tried his new splint boots on him, and apparently he has really short cannon bones... The mediums don't fit right! I can scoot them down a bit, and they will still work, I think. Will have to try it and see what happens. HOWEVER, I finally got a chance to ask my vet what type of splint boots he recommends for this specific situation (pigeon toed, previous splints) and he said Professional's Choice SMBs. Which is NOT what I bought... But then he also said only use them when he's working hard, doing maneuvering or circle work. So I think these ones will work at least until he goes away to training. If I test them out and they seem to work fine, maybe I won't get the SMBs.

Oh, by the way, Tonka tried on his splint boots without a halter too, even though at first he was skeptical. He wasn't very nice to my sister though, kept pinning his ears at her. Not in an "I'm going to eat you" sort of way, just more like, "Let's see if I can get away with this." They're all acting weird though, the girls are in heat and he's acting like a boy, and they're just flighty and odd. Danni followed my sister around, kept going up and resting her head against her. It was very sweet. I was a bit jealous because she never does that to me, but then she did. She must just be feeling weird. Soxy was more lovey than usual today too. I thought it was just because she was waiting for her turn to be brushed, but who knows.

Click here to read Lesley Neuman's awesome poem.

I think Lesley is a great gentler/trainer, and she sure seems like a good person too. If you ever get a chance to see her work, do so. Check out the rest of her website for more info.

Yesterday they sure tore it up. Lyric started it, and then they were all happy to do some running. Silly horses. Back and forth, back and forth. My poor pasture. But I sure had fun taking pictures.


Eventually they stopped. Danni was done first, but then she's an old girl. Doesn't Tonka look handsome here? (But look at the poor torn up pasture!)


I made him a new burgundy halter. Really all I wanted to do was try it on him and go for a short walk and groom him, but he apparently thought I was going to do mean things, judging by how happily he ran with the others instead of being caught. I did ask him to do a couple quick obstacles, but kept it very low-key, because I don't want him to think every time I catch him we're going to do something long and hard and scary. Then I turned him loose, made a couple adjustments to the halter, and caught him again, tried it on, and turned him loose. So hopefully it was a good experience for him.

Oh, and back to the burgundy. It's going to be his color. Not overwhelmingly, but with some taste... I got him some burgundy splint boots too. And eventually will get a nice woven pad with burgundy. I think it'll look nice with his darker burgundy-ish dun characteristics.

And here is my really actually final decal... I think. No, really, it's the last one, the one I'm having made... I really need to quit fiddling with it!

Our day in pictures:

Tonka following me on Danni, ponying himself. He looks so small from way up there!


Only pic of ponying. He did pretty well, but tried to refuse to go quite a bit.


After ponying, Danni napping, and Tonka a little sweated up but not worn out.


Just after the two of them went through an electric tape gate together. Good horses!


Doesn't he look so grown up, tied by his friend like that? All he needs is a saddle.

Lyric all bug-eyed and hollering, freaked out because BOTH of his friends are out playing.


My favorite grooming tool in spring.



Tonka, directly after:


Trying out my favorite grooming tool. I don't think it was his favorite!


Lyric, coming to greet his buddies as we head back for the gate.


Later in the day, the "horse playground." It's hard to see, but there are a bunch of branches on the ground, that's the "clearcut area," the tarp is our horse-eating bog, and the sheet of OSB just may be horse-eating too, and the bales with pole are just to get them stepping up and over. Can't think of a cool nickname for that. "Gigantic log" maybe.


Soxy, the good, steadfast ole trail horse.


Aren't they cute? They rode over all the obstacles too, but these were just the cutest pics. Katia saddled her own horse today!!! Yay!



These are the same pictures, with my possible future pickup decal in black and white. I'm not sure, I may want to wait until he sheds out and get a better picture. Heck, maybe I'll just have to put two decals on, one for winter and one for summer.

Tonka did the obstacles pretty well. The tarp was his biggest hang-up, but I did get him to put 2/3 of both front feet on, and one whole front foot.

It was a great day! Now I have a slight sunburn. It's definitely getting on toward spring.

(Just a quick reminder, because I NEVER rember this... I think you can click on the picture to see it full-size.)