My Little HelpersClara wanted to help me with the fence. She started by licking my fingers and wiping her slimy nose on them so I couldn't twist the wire without risking putting it up her nostril. Then she decided maybe she'd just hold the fence in place with her forehead. (I am very careful not to encourage butting by rubbing her forehead, but every now and then she gets ideas and just has to press her forehead on something.)
***

Tonka wanted to help too, but didn't quite know what to do with this stuff. Little did he know I was stringing a strand of electric to keep him from pawing at the fence at feeding time.

***

Here you see Tonka helping by providing a distraction while Lyric is learning to ground tie. He rifled through the grooming things, hoping for a tasty treat, since I wasn't giving him any. Lyric was smart, he didn't fall for it. He did look, but his feet stayed put.

***

I'm not sure whether Tonka is offering Lyric moral support or hoping he'll get rewarded as well if he stands there nicely. He did briefly think about picking up the lead rope and taking Lyric for a walk, but I let him know that I did NOT consider that helpful.

***

Poor kid. He SO wanted to be part of things. I did give him some love and groomed him a bit, but it wasn't his turn for training.

Once again I apologize for the lack of anything interesting going on in the mustang department. Today I plan on working on fence. Probably all day long. With little rest periods like right now. I'm rearranging my fence lines just a tad. I need to make my "sacrifice area" larger so I don't feel so bad locking them in off the pasture, then end up letting them out anyway to tear it up and over graze. I can't decide exactly what I want to do for permanent fencing, so I think i'm just going to put in some temporary posts and cheap tape and see if I like how it works over the winter. If I like it, maybe I'll put in better fencing in the spring. Or just leave it the way it is, if it weathers well without getting too tacky looking. After all, we don't need really stout fencing inside, so long as the perimeter is safe.

We may be taking in a couple horses to board, so I'll be cleaning up in general and doing some other fence fixes in that area. Fun stuff. I really do enjoy it, other than the fact that my elbow hurts and it's hot work. It's so quiet and peaceful, and fun to watch the horses notice the major change and how they react to it.

It's raining! Yay! It smells so wonderful out there. I don't even mind (too much) that the rain is keeping me from working on my round pen. We were going to try to finish it today. But instead it's been a beautifully lazy day. And some inside work... I still think I might ride later. Too bad we don't have a babysitter or a good pony, we could all go ride.

You may have wondered after yesterday's post whether the horses would actually eat all that hay that was strewn about, or if they'd miss a lot because it was so spread out. I wondered the same thing actually. But tonight when I went to spread the hay out again, I did not see even one missed bit of hay. Efficient critters. I've done this before, but I don't remember ever checking to see if they actually ate it all.

Question: How much hay does a horse eat over a winter? I'm thinking 10 months. How can winter be that long? Hmm... Start feeding late July. Out on pasture May 1 (hopefully). Well, that still makes just under 10 months. Jeez. I thought I was saving all this money having them out on pasture... I know it's variable, but what do you figure per month per horse, for grass hay?

First, a couple of pictures from an interesting perspective:


I had decided to sit down and watch the horses, and of course Tonka had to mosey over and see what I was up to. I turned out to be rather uninteresting, so he moseyed on...

Then it was time to feed. I have been lazy lately and just thrown flakes of hay to them. Tonight I was having such fun hanging out with them that I decided to do better by them, and prolong my "horse time." One of the important parts of natural hoof care is encouraging movement. It's really not that hard to do, if you have a herd that functions normally.

First, spread the hay out over a large area. My goal was to have many large fistfulls in a long circle, all within sight of the last bite, so they wouldn't miss and waste any hay. You can kind of see an arc of small piles of hay if you look closely at this picture.


Then watch it work. Here they're following the trail of crumbs:


Here Tonka's trying the back of the line again.


Then trying hanging out with Soxy again.


Lyric has other ideas, and tells Tonka to "step away from the mare."


Tonka obliges.


And moseys on to look for a friend to eat with.


Mack thought about telling him to go away, but I think he decided it wasn't worth his time. Tonka's kind of like the pesky little brother, not really liked because of his young horse behavior, but tolerated.


They're probably still milling around out there right now. Moving, biting, chewing, moving, digesting, chewing, moving, socializing, moving...

I know I've been lax in posting. The truth is, I haven't spent much time with Tonka in several days. Running running.

Tonight I had planned on riding, but was just too exhausted. Tonka didn't seem to mind. :) He was very cute tonight, all bright eyed and happy, waiting for his hay. He's the only horse here who isn't fat. Must be because he's growing. I like how he looks, all slab-sided, without the sprung ribs and big belly. I really want to keep him that way. But I have a hard time not over-feeding, apparently.

If you want to see what I've been up to the last couple days, visit my Horse Tales blog. It's been temporarily taken over by a dog.

I'm going to bed! I have an early morning, going to the vet.

A short break during our ride today. He's taking a snooze while I discourse about some subject on which I am an expert. Not really, I don't know what I was talking about...

Gotta go back to Spokane! Check my Horse Tales blog later for fun stuff from today.
And some not so fun...

Today we played with branches. I rubbed them all over him and laid them over his back out in the pasture, without a halter. His head was up and he was tense in the beginning, but he didn't leave, and after half a minute he really wasn't worried about it.

Tonight I set them up so he could walk over them and he did fine. Set one on a table and he brushed by it on both sides. Worked on going over poles. He did not want to back or step sideways over them. That took a little while. Then we rode, did some trotting, came back to the obstacles. He went over the poles, then WANTED to get on the black patch of bare ground, and stood there and rested. Then we went over the branch on the hay bales, as you see above but with me aboard. First time he stalled, so we did it again and he walked right over. Then we rode back to the barn and called it a night. I unknowingly rode right under my most vocal chicken, roosting in a tree. Luckily she was asleep.

Oh, and when we were working on branches my little guy woke up from a nap (passed out on the couch just before dinner) and came to spend some time with us.

Isn't that just sweet!

Here's what I think is a NICE picture of Tonka yesterday. That's my sister aboard. She shows and owns QHs and is not real partial to mustangs. She wanted to check out just what he could do, and she was TICKLED with him. She said she'd buy him if I was selling, which I am NOT.

Her opinion: He's smooth as a cadillac, much smoother than her Quarter Horse, who has nigh perfect conformation. He was very willing, very quick to pick up on her different way of riding, and had "her" cues figured out the second time she asked him to respond to them. She was pleasantly surprised. I can't believe she liked him well enough to buy him. That's really saying a lot! Makes me happy!

Watching what she could do with him really made me realize I need to schedule some more lessons. He's a talented boy, and he knows his stuff, and he ENJOYS it! You should have seen his sweet, happy eye as he was trotting circles around me. I need to get some more finesse.

After we rode, I tried my easyboots on him, and the fronts fit, just barely. I think the hinds will fit too. His feet are polished smooth by the footing at the training arena, and he slides a lot on the dead grass. I'm hoping the boots will help with that. I also agreed to buy her professional's choice leg boots. He's such a clumsy young colt at times, she is worried that if he knocks his naked legs he'll start to be resistant to certain maneuvers. I don't have hind splint boots wide enough for his big ol' mustang bone, so I'll have to find those. Darn it all, I liked my hind boots! But I hadn't tried them on him since he was smaller, and he definitely got bigger.

Tonight while I trimmed Mack, Tonka got to stand tied and play around with the lead rope and tie post until he decided it was better just to nap and watch the cows. Then I quickly checked over his hooves and touched them up, and we went on to more fly spray training.

Normally I'd start with a bottle of water since I don't want to waste fly spray or put too much on them. He's such a quick study though, so I used the real thing. Same as before, I rubbed him with the bottle and then worked on spraying. He did really well on his left side, I didn't even have to untie him. We worked on the right for quite a while with him really tense and wanting to get away, so I untied him and let him move. He took about 3 steps sideways, stopped, so I stopped spraying. Next spray he took two steps, next spray he just twitched, then started eating grass and not minding much at all.


I'll leave you with a picture of Tonka checking out what was clearly a "horse grinder" at the show yesterday. He was quite afraid of it at first, but I explained that horse grinders don't function unless the horse actually steps into it, so he maintained a more relaxed vigilance.

We had quite a landmark day! It was awesome. I entered Tonka in the trail competition, which was by no means extreme. We had to go for score only, no prize, because they didn't allow in-hand for any horse over 2 years old. Which I think is hooey. We did the in-hand simply because I wasn't sure how he'd handle a lot of the stuff.

Scoring - you start with 10 points for each obstacle and they can either deduct or add to that, so you can score anywhere from 0-20.

Let me give you a blow-by-blow :)

Saddling up


Stand in the "wait box" which is a rectangle of poles - 8 pts.


Gate - 12 points!


Drag Snake/log around 2 trees (corrugated plastic pipe that sounds weird against trees) - 7 points
He didn't care about the pipe, strangely enough, but was worried about the change in terrain after the second tree. It had been wet in the past and was all rough with tire tracks and looked like it might still be wet.



Wait box again - 6 points. Had trouble getting all feet in and keeping them there. I think he actually did better at this one than the first though...


Go by tent - 10 points (he had already gone by a tent when dragging the "log" - not an obstacle, just a camper on the edge of the course.)


Clean a fore and rear hoof - 5 points. He didn't stand still, I had to wait for him to stop swinging his hind end away. And apparently my hoof cleaning "style" is unsafe.


"Low branch" (strips of tarp) - 10. He didn't bat an eyelash!!! I thought he should have gotten extra points.


Turn on forehand around one stump, turn on haunches around another, making a figure 8. We did not do well on this one. He wanted to lick the first stump but turned well, and didn't understand very well at all on the second. We'd probably have done better under saddle where I could use my legs. 5 points. (I think we're backing up to the second stump in the picture)


Wait box - 10 (becoming a pro at this!)


Down hill over logs, back up hill over logs (he did GREAT with this one, I thought he might have a hard time backing up, but he did it well and straight.) 10 points


Dead end. Go to end of trail, put front feet across chalk line, do rollback without falling off the "cliff" (small drop off with railroad ties) 10 points! (no pic of this, and he did so well!)

Bridge - 7 points. He jumped off the side toward the end, so we turned right back around and did it again, much better and with no jumping off :)




Go through pack camp - llama with attitude! 10 points. He was cautiously watching the outhouse, not the llama, strangely enough. Good boy!




What I found offensive were some of the things they docked points for! I'm not sure this applied to in-hand, since it's considered a training exercise, but it did for under saddle. You lost points if you talked to or petted your horse. If you stood wrong or mounted wrong or rested your hands wrong. That's equitation crap, not trail. I guess in future I might want to be more serious with my horse, but for now I'm going to tell him "good boy" every chance I get. He knows what it means, and it makes him feel good. Maybe when we're more seasoned I can be more poised and serious.

This was nothing like the trail challenge Danni and I did in the spring. That one took HOURS, and was very challenging. This one was only about 10 minutes, if that. A bit longer for mounted riders, since they had to negotiate a slide down into a water pit.

We went on our first trail ride too! It was wonderful! Tonka was interested and happy, but very watchful. It was also John's first trail ride on Mack and he had a LOT of fun. So did Mack.

As usual I gotta tell you, I love my horse! He never did get that bath. I had to go over to my sister's and spend some time with my parents, so I took Tonka along, since she and I both wanted to ride before we go to the Trail Challenge tomorrow. I dropped Danni off at her prospective new home on the way there. They'll be trying her out for a couple weeks before they decide. Tonka waited patiently in the trailer while I chatted and watched her get settled in. Once we got to my sister's he was very interested in all the goings-on. He's so cute, the way he looks so intently at things with his big ears. He hung out in their arena for a while, then I took him for a walk down the road to see how he'd handle all the tall grass in the wind. We went over a wooden bridge that he was rather suspicious of. It's a big one that cars cross, so we had plenty of room, and he couldn't really rush over it. He looked like a cat with tape on his paws. Silly boy. But he didn't do anything stupid at all. We crossed it four times and went back. He was really interested in the horses running around on either side of the road, but not too worried or excited. I took him back to the arena along a path strewn with extension cords, hoses, PVC pipe, a ladder off to the side, a tarp flapping in the wind, a garbage can, etc. He was cautious and very attentive, but didn't do anything other than look and walk carefully. Later we saddled up and rode. He was a little dull, but that's really my only complaint. Todd had said I'll have to put him in a twisted wire bit every now and then for a day or so to remind him to listen. I needed it today. I'll be using one tomorrow. Well, not twisted wire, but slow twist. I was worried those square edges would hurt, but this bit I got is nice and rounded. If I were brave enough to wear spurs, I'd use those too. He was really blowing off my legs at times today. But I am not a good enough rider for spurs. I couldn't guarantee I'd keep them off him at all times other than when they're necessary.

We walked over poles, trotted around a bit, then moved out across the hay field to the water crossing. It was really just a mud crossing, but the mud was thick and deepish - nothing dangerous - and the banks were good experience. The near bank is gradual but kind of a valley-like avenue through tall grass. The far bank was steep and tall. I walked him across first, then rode him across several times. He did so well! Hauled us up the steep bank like a pro, and slid back down on his haunches without any trouble. My sister was watching him and said he's sure-footed as a goat. I watched her QH go up and down it, and he's clumsy! She laughs at him, but is glad that he never actually falls down. I got to show him off to her sister-in-law too, who is a former rodeo princess and I think maybe a breed snob. She thought Tonka was a Walker. I said nope, he's a mustang, but he does look like a Walker. She said, "No way, he's all mustang?" YEP. That's my boy.

It was pretty cool, my sister finally admitting that Tonka is a good horse. She said it with such disbelief too. "He really IS a good horse. I was worried for a while there..." She said he was all about trying to please the whole time we were working on the crossing. AND she thinks we should go ahead and enter the competition tomorrow. I don't think so! But if it's super simple we might... No, really, I don't think so.

I had some pretty pictures of him from today, but I forgot my camera there. I hope she remembers to bring it for me tomorrow! I want pictures of our fun day!

We went on another trip, and I was so happy to get back to my horses. I had a great time on the trip, don't get me wrong! It was wonderful, but I kept wishing I had my Tonka with me. I will take him there eventually, but he's not ready for that kind of rugged wilderness yet!

Today was really hot and I didn't really feel well at all. I was thinking I wasn't going to have any horse time, but I finally decided I had to do SOMETHING, and spending time with the horses isn't that hard. I didn't even consider riding because I was having some dizzy spells. I got Tonka and Soxy out together and let them both stand tied. Soxy doesn't need practice, but she did need her bridle path trimmed, so I did that, then let Liam brush her and love on her.

Tonka got his mane done up all pretty, since it was threatening to switch sides in a couple places. Then I introduced him to the fly spray bottle. Not spraying it with him tied, but letting him sniff it and rubbing it on him. He didn't want anything to do with it at first, but then he got more comfortable and tried his teeth on it. So we set it down and moved on to saddling. He's still really uncomfortable with being saddled. Once it's on he's fine, and he doesn't care about the cinch, but it's the approach and setting down of the saddle or saddle blanket that bother him. And during his week off he seems to have forgotten he knows what this is about. So he did a little dancing but accepted the blanket. When he dropped his head I'd remove it. Took him about two times to realize that he'd trained me to take it off when he dropped his head. Smart horse. Then I put the saddle on the tie post next to him, left the blanket on, and went to get some detangler/conditioner because his tail was looking a bit icky. Mind you, I am not a stickler for brushed and pretty tails. As a matter of fact this is the first time I've ever brushed his tail out completely. I like tails in their natural state, with their pretty curls. And I think that too much brushing ruins them. But his ends were looking a bit dry, and I'm going to bathe him tomorrow anyway, so I decided to get it all greasy and brush it. Also note, I'm not big on bathing horses. I don't think I've ever used soap on any of the horses here. I did bathe my percheron mare a couple times... But I want him to be pretty for the trail competition on Saturday. Not that he isn't pretty. It's kind of for fun, kind of because I imagine it will feel good to get the dust and sweat off, and kind of because I want him to be a good example for his breed. Don't want people thinking, "Eww, look at that nasty mustang."

Then I saddled, unsaddled, and on and on, without cinching because that isn't where the issue lies. Once again he trained me to take the saddle off when he lowered his head and relaxed.

Then John had to go to the store. I have been wondering how he might do with creeping traffic, since I know he's had a lot of exposure right next to highway traffic, but didn't know how he'd react to slow moving, "sneaky" mobiles. I told John to creep by on his way out. Not a problem at all.

Untied him, worked on fly spraying. Left side was not that big a deal, but did involve a bit of moving around. I'd rub with the bottle, then spray while I rubbed, so I wasn't coming out of the blue and startling him. Eventually I sprayed all over, even under his belly and on his sheath. Really not that big a deal. The right side was another story. Start from scratch, rubbing with the bottle. Spray, freak out, continue to spray, stop and stand, stop spraying. Not really that big a deal, but a bit more active on that side. He's not an old hand at it yet, but he did get to where he'd stand still for it, and we called it good.

Oh, and in the middle of that John got back. Tonka was standing with his hind end in the driveway, perpendicular to traffic. I left him there. John rather nervously creeped by about 2 feet behind Tonka. He was happy there was no dented car. Tonka looked at him, but that was about it. Good boy!

Sorry for the boring play-by-play, I know it's probably not all that exciting. But it was for me! I love my smart horse, and just had to write all about his good training session, even though it's not all that interesting to an outsider... You all know how that goes, the little triumphs and elations, that you know seem small to others but are really wonderful. Kind of a "you had to be there" sort of thing.

I think it's probably a go! I am so bad at making concrete plans. You never know what might happen. But John thought it was a good idea, and might just come along! Yay!


I know it's a teeny picture, but look at those big ol' ears! I adore Tonka's ears. If he's looking at you with eyes and ears, you know it! Makes me think of an aardvark.

There is an extreme trail challenge in Santa, Idaho the weekend after next, and I hadn't even considered going, since we're not at all near ready for that sort of thing. Today I was talking to my sister, telling her I was thinking about taking Tonka to the fair, just for the experience of being there, not to show. She brought up the trail event, and I realized that yeah, that's an awesome idea! They're already taking a trailer, have a free spot, and are going to trail ride on some logging roads too. Perfect! Treed trail experience on a wide, brush free road. And he'll get to be in the middle of all the goings on of such an event, and I'm hoping I can walk him through the course after the competition is over. They often put out cougar and bear scent, and have even been known to have a caged badger. Of course they'll also have all the more conventional stuff like the cowboy curtain and other obstacles. So, let me tell you, I am pumped! I'm not totally sure I can go, since I haven't even mentioned it to John yet, but hopefully it'll all work out.

I hadn't ridden Tonka for a couple days. The first day I didn't ride he had a bad bug bite on his back, so I just trimmed his hooves. Yesterday I spent 8 hours sorting sheep in the very hot heat. It got up to at least 96. I wasn't good for much after that, although I was proud to be able to do some laundry and work on my drip irrigation system for my young aspens.

(Oh, and about those sheep! There are two "pet" sheep that may go to auction if the buyers who are coming over the next few days don't want them. I want to bring them home! But I really must face that we're not set up for sheep, and sheep poo in the yard isn't fun...

This morning we had a good-sized ride. Went out into the hay field, came back and did a lot of serpentines and figure 8's and crossed some scary obstacles, then rode through the barn area, which is usually kind of scary for them, and out into the pasture. He was not nearly as good today. No silliness, but a spirit of "I don't want to." He was concerned about his buddies who were calling to him from both ends of the property. Wasn't following his head, was drifting, trying to ignore my legs, etc. No big deal. We did go through a couple spots he'd rather not have had to, and he went on through like a good boy.

Vacation again in 2 days... Vacation is way too much work. But we're kind of obligated to go to this one, it's the family reunion. I'm really looking forward to seeing my grandparents. Not so much the rest of the family, but oh well. It'll be fun.

I'm off to prepare!

What a great evening! The kids are having a sleepover so John got to ride with me, and a friend came over and rode Soxy too. We had a lot of fun! Tonka was such a good boy. We went all over the hay field, up a long steep hill, back down, and back to the front field and a few scary obstacles. He thought our shadows were a little weird, and a couple spots on the ground were strange, I think where long dead grass was lying down and shining in the sun. A bucket by the (still uncompleted) round pen was kind of scary. All those things he just looked at though. He did balk a bit at a piece of sheet metal. Oh, and he was kind of a pill in the tall grass, eating the seed heads that were right there in his face. Which I really don't mind as long as he'll keep his speed up (he didn't) and not do it when we're going down steep hills (he did, once). We'll work it out. Those are definitely small things. What a boy. My friend was really impressed with him, and gave him lots of compliments, which made me proud.

John and Mack had some challenges that they worked through, so that was great too. I keep worrying that John really doesn't enjoy riding at all. After finally getting Mack to cross a log he said, "Well this has been a great ride." I thought he was being sarcastic because Mack took so long to do it, but he really did mean it. He was happy to have had a problem and worked through it. Maybe he'll be a happy horseman yet! (Although I'm sure he'd MUCH rather have a dirt bike.) I'm so glad he's trying it out for me though. And even more glad that he and Mack are working out. Someone once said something about their perfect horse... Darn it I can't remember what it was. Something about the perfect horse being enough of a challenge to keep you learning. Maybe John wouldn't have liked a dud, plod along and do what you say type of horse. Mack has a personality, for sure.

Well, the dogs are letting me know in no uncertain terms that it's time to eat. Good night!

We were going to unload hay but John had a conference call to take care of first, so I got my Tonka boy out of the pasture. He crossed several hoses and only one bothered him. The "snake" in the grass. We looked at all the potentially scary stuff and then I mounted up, yielded misc body parts, etc. John came out when his call was over and took pictures.


Here you can see a great picture for diet motivation. ugh. But Tonka looks good! That's the piece of OSB that we lit some fireworks on (and he pooped on yesterday). He's looking at it, but not too worried.


Isn't he just a darling boy?

We rode OVER the scary grass hose with just a slight change in speed, then went further on down the driveway to where we had some new stuff to look at, and the truck and trailer were parked. I had to make myself get off, because John was getting ready to unload hay and I needed to help. (By the way, we are now DONE picking up and stacking hay for the year. YAY!) I sure didn't want to be done riding. I'm going to try to go again tonight, and go out and about all over the property. Hopefully the kids will be having a sleepover and John can go with me.

I'm on cloud nine. I just love this horse. I couldn't say exactly why either. I love his curiosity, and that open, interested look on his face, and his silly ears, and his big feet, and his nose, and his Fabio mane, and on and on... He's a special boy.

Isn't he just a cutie? (Don't mind the pallets, they're stacked and waiting for some hay to set on them.)

I did ride him tonight, if you can call it that. Hopped on, flexed laterally, yielded hindquarters, then forequarters, took a couple steps forward and back, and hopped off. This was after a long walk around the place, and several freak outs about various things. Goofball. He's really got me rattled though. He scooches out of the way of "trouble" in a big sudden way. Trouble being hoses, a piece of OSB that probably smelled of fireworks, and other ground obstacles. I really had to make myself get on. He was calm by that point or I probably wouldn't have.

I think I'll put him in a smaller pen with hoses all over the place. Got to get rid of the horrible weeds in the pen first though.

I am really glad to have him home. He's settling in well. Just not totally relaxed yet. But I wanted to keep moving with things, mainly to keep myself from being stalled out by my fear. Hoping to ride again in the morning, but then, maybe I'll wait until evening again. It's just too hot during the day.

I better get to bed if I expect to get up early again. Good night!

Look who's home! :D


I picked him up this morning, and he trailered like a pro (or better). Tied in WITH the divider shut on him, and he was as calm as could be. I stopped to pick up the kids on the way home and checked on him and he was just looking at me with his curious eyes. What a good boy. You can see he was happy to get his lips around some grass again.

We just got home from vacation yesterday, and of course I'm exhausted. I wonder if there is such a thing as a relaxing vacation. Not with a stubborn 5 year old! We had lots of fun though. You'll probably be seeing some vacation pictures on my non-horsey blog pretty soon here.

Meanwhile, I'm just tickled to have my favorite horse home again. Time to start getting up early so I can keep up on his riding.

We had another good ride yesterday. Practiced more ground obstacles and trotted circles and serpentines. He's got me a bit shaken. I think the ground obstacles would be a lot easier for him to do if I wasn't so worried about them. I wasn't worried about them before, but you know, falling off isn't fun. Todd keeps teasing me and saying he got the arena footing all fluffed up for me. I told him I wasn't going to fall off anymore. And I didn't. We both progressively got more relaxed. At one point when going over a short railroad tie he got all bunched up like he wanted to jump, and unfortunately I got scared, but I pushed him over it and he didn't jump and we did it over and over and over again until it was pretty boring and not much to worry about. I really think we made a lot of progress, and Todd said I looked a lot more relaxed. So that's good.

My tailbone was hurting after the ride, and is hurting a lot worse today. That first fall was a while ago now... I guess I'm just going to have a painful tailbone for a while and I'll have to deal with it. I've thought maybe I need to go to a chiropractor, but I just don't know.

Oh, and I watched Todd drag a log on him. He did great. Kind of cautious, watching it with his ears, but didn't overreact at all. Until he stepped over the rope and got it wrapped around his back leg. Then he just backed up quickly for a few feet.

Yesterday was so busy! But we have most of our hay taken care of for the year now. Just have to wait for the neighbor to cut and bale our fields, and then pick that stuff up. (Unless we decide to sell it out of the field and let someone else deal with it.)

Well, I'm off to try to put a dent in the to-do list.

I didn't fall off today! We had a pretty decent ride, mainly concentrating on walking over things. My daughter went with me, which was a lot of fun. Much better to have someone to chat with on the drive. She said she wasn't even bored when I rode. I didn't ride terribly long though, maybe an hour. Then she got to assist me when I trimmed his hooves.

And, thanks to my lovely assistant, I have pictures!


Getting ready


Getting adjusted


Carrot Top on horseback. (This really is a bad picture, but I wanted to show that Tonka really can move out. It's just the better pictures are all standing still because my camera can't handle the dim light.)


Good Boy.

Well, Tonka unseated me again today. Ugh. This time my foot got caught in the stirrup. Tore up my hand even worse, because I wasn't letting go until my foot came loose, which it did pretty quickly. My boot had come half off too, so I suppose I'd have gotten free even if he dragged me a few feet. (Good argument for slip-on cowboy boots, not lace-ups) Gosh I bet that looked funny... I keep going from laughing to being totally upset about it. My pants are all full of sand... I don't think I landed on my tailbone this time though, because it's not any more sore than it was. I think I did hit the back of my head. Again, thank goodness for that soft sand. I was also wearing my helmet, but as I found last winter when I landed on frozen ground, it still hurts to hit your head with a helmet on. I feel more rattled today. Yes, I got back on. AFTER Todd did. I wish I could ride like him. He lunged him with the whip threaded through his stirrups, (the whip was the scary object again) and then he rode him and flicked the whip around Tonka's legs, sometimes getting it caught. Then somehow it got knotted on one back leg, dragged all around, then wrapped around the other, and he kicked out and didn't like it, but got over it. I didn't ride him with it tied to his leg, I'm not quite that brave. But we went over and over and backed over and over, and he still wasn't 100% comfortable. The thing that's gotten me both times though, is that he seemed pretty much okay with it, and I thought he was fine, then he freaked and jumped up, forward, and around all at once, and there I went. Yesterday Todd made it sound like he didn't do much, but I watched it today and while it's not a buck, it's a BIG movement. My sister reassured me that I usually have a good seat, so I don't feel quite as much like a failure, but jeez... My poor horse. He gets scared and his rider isn't there for him... Literally... Hee hee.

He was pretty hot when I got done, and I went and hosed him off. He did great with that. Todd's been working on that with him, I guess the first time he thought he was going to die. But today he just stood there, and lipped at the water a bit.

So now Todd's going to work on roping his legs from the saddle, and stuff like that. His problem is a combination of fear of the thing tangling him up and fear of the movement of the thing even when it doesn't catch him...

On the way there I was about ready to give in to John and go pick Tonka up tonight, and then do lessons with someone here 3 days a week or something. But now I'm really glad I have Todd to work on this stuff for me. I still need to do it too, of course, but this way it'll be done daily by someone who is NOT going to come off...

I think my leg got twisted. The one that was stuck in the stirrup. Not too bad right now but I better keep moving and take some ibuprophen.

Hope you're all having more success than me!

Had another really great ride with Tonka today. He was really twitchy when I first got on, but he got over that after a bit. (Oh, I fell in love with the horse he was tied next to when I got there. He was sweet and very handsome. And he's for sale, but for once I wasn't really even all that tempted. Really.) I was shaky and out of it a bit myself, from taking Benadryl late last night, staying up too late, and just generally not feeling good. I think I have a cold. This is just a bit too much to be allergies. Not so much itching, but a sore throat and all the sinus junk and I haven't been feeling right.

Sorry for the train of thought type writing today. Can you tell I'm a little bit off my game?

So anyway, we screwed around in the arena for a long time. Todd had unknowingly left me an opportune obstacle, a lunge whip on the ground. We walked around it, and it was SO going to jump up and eat Tonka. So we walked around it a lot more, on both sides. Mostly it was going to eat his right side. I saw it lick its lips in anticipation of a tasty meal. Well, Tonka saw it do that, and he wouldn't lie to me, right? So eventually we walked over it, and Tonka lunged forward and turned at the same time, and I fell off. Hahaha. Actually it was kinda funny, and I'm sure it looked really funny. I was laughing about it. No concussion this time, just a slightly sore tailbone. Not even as sore as when I went to the Pete Ramey clinic and spent so much time sitting and driving and sitting and listening and sitting and driving some more. I got back on and we did walked over some more, then went out to ride.

When we went into the pasture a big herd of bucking stock was nearby, and they went galloping off into the distance. Tonka wanted to go with them really bad but he listened to me really well. We crossed the creek, fiddled around on the bank, and watched the new filly race through the creek a few times. Tonka has a tendency to rush up and down banks, so we're going to have to work on that some more. We crossed the creek again, this time travelling up the creek a ways. He's such a good boy! On the way back I worked on keeping him going in a straight line, which is rough for both of us. He drifts and I react slowly with my legs, but we're getting it. When we got back we crossed the lunge whip a couple more times, and the second time he did well, even though he stepped on it and it moved, he didn't flinch. So we called it a day. A good day. I love my horse.

I was going to bring him home tomorrow, but I'm going to leave him there for at least another week, and try to get out there as much as possible to take more lessons. It's not Tonka who needs more time, it's me. I do alright on Danni, because she's not a young punk, but I need to work on my reflexes and seat and stuff on Tonka, where it matters more. Childcare may be a bit of an issue. John is grumpy about the length of time I'm gone for each lesson so I'm going to have to try to find a way to do it without his or his mom's help. I'm going to call in all my very few supporters and see if I can impose on them a bit more than usual over the next week or two, so I can get this done. I was hoping to be able to bring him home and ride with my sister and get pointers from her, but she broke her collarbone so she won't be riding for a while. Which also means I probably shouldn't ask her to watch my kids... Oh, the joys... (I've been having a really kind of minor baby urge lately, but this will help to squash it. Cuddly babies are great, but free time is a beautiful thing, and I have no business having another anyway...) Actually if I put Liam in the roping box with some digging implements, maybe I can take them with me... Hey, that's an awesome thought...

Tomorrow it's working on going over poles and other things, since he's so hung up on that.

Boy howdy, I am so in love with my horse. We had another great ride today. Not perfect, mind you, but darn near. He's doing so well for a young punk. No major over-reactions, no major problems. He's just a good boy. And so sweet. I had a hard time leaving him.

I rode him in my own gear today, and Danni's saddle fit him just fine. He had no issues with switching from an O-ring to a D-ring snaffle. I had to borrow a pad (I think I want an air ride pad) and a running martingale. I did order myself a running martingale yesterday, got a great deal on eBay. Hopefully it'll be here by the end of the week.

I've been having some issues with reins, since I'm not used to using leather split reins. But with the running martingale I can't use anything with a bit snap, so I can't use my favorite reins. I will get the hang of it. Or better yet, find a safe way to use my favorite reins anyway.

I'll be going back out on Thursday, and riding him out on the range. Then again on Friday, and I think I'll just bring him home. I don't see any real reason not to. If I run into something I don't feel I can handle I'll leave him there. But I don't think that'll happen.

Tonka is doing soooo incredibly well! He rode out calm as could be, opened and closed a gate, crossed a rather wide creek a little over knee deep, up and down a hill, a strange horse came running up and he didn't mind. Wow, I was so impressed. He was very aware of everything going on around him, but not at all spooky or goofy. He quickly sidestepped once, but that was because there was a monster gopher hole right in front of him.

Then I got to ride him! Wow was that really awesome but kinda weird. I have been looking forward to this for so long! And it was really great. I have a feeling we've got a lot of good times ahead of us. He's really narrow! Even more so than my TB mare. He has a different feel in the face than my other horses, much lighter, and I'm really going to have to work at riding him right. He expects me to be constantly in the driver's seat too, which is weird. Todd, the trainer, is constantly riding with his legs, and using the reins not so much, and I'm not that advanced a rider yet. Using my legs is not second nature yet. Plus I kind of let my horses go on autopilot a lot of the time. Not to mention I can't stand long leather split reins and that's what he's using, and they're sticky from being on so many sweaty horses and don't slide much at all. Will practice...

Todd had changed his tune from what he said on Wednesday, he said Tonka has come a long way even just since then. He'd be happy to keep him for another 30 days or whatever I am most comfortable with. I said I'd leave him there this week to make up for Lyric leaving a week early, and I'll decide later. Todd wants me to come out as much as possible and take lessons. I hate that drive! It's an hour and a half on really winding roads. But I really think I could learn a lot from him.

As you can probably tell I feel a lot better about this guy now. He's very quiet with Tonka, and at the same time matter of fact. No pussyfooting around, which is good, but no more force than is necessary to get the right reaction. Not that I've seen him fight with Tonka, just a little discussion about not running through his leg last time I was out there.

I'm really excited, and really excited to do it again! And again and again for many years to come. I think Tonka's going to be a wonderful mountain horse, and eventually he'll be able to do some competitions too.

I wish I had pictures, but I don't. Sorry!

Just a quick note, since I don't feel overly wordy... Tonka may be coming home tomorrow! I was a bit worried about it since he's only been there for 30 days but now I'm getting excited. If he's not ready for me to ride, I guess I'll just have to play with him on the ground. Will give him more time to mature anyway.

I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow to post an update.

Tonka's doing fine. A bit silly at first, yucky weather and they had cattle in the arena today for the first time.



Mind you, the trainer is probably at least 6'4". Tonka isn't all that small.

Lyric is not doing so well. As a matter of fact I'm going back out there to get him right now.

I have Tonka's title! He's officially mine! Woo Hoo! You know, when I got my first mustang's title I was much more excited. I don't know why. Maybe because it isn't the first time now. Maybe because he's not here. Maybe because all year I've really thought of Tonka as mine, and I didn't have to jump through so many hoops this time. With Willow it took forever, and her paperwork was lost several times.

Now, however, I think I'm going to have to ask for a revised title. It says he's a mare. Everything else is right, but that's kind of a biggie.

Even if it isn't quite the thrill I thought it was going to be, it's pretty darned exciting! My boy is now legally MY boy. Very, very cool.

I got an update from the trainer. He say's Tonka's no rocket scientist, and that he's sticky. I think he is pretty darn smart, and just isn't convinced that what he's being asked to do is a good idea.

Going to see him either tomorrow or Tuesday, just waiting for a call back to confirm. Will get pictures this time!