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!

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.