I'm pretty sure Pedro figures I belong to him.  I'm his own personal ear-scritcher and jowl-hugger.  He doesn't like it when I pet Bob.  I have to tell him not to bite Bob and chase him off, and stand between them while I pet them both.  I love my Pedro more and more every day.  I love Bob too, he gives better hugs.  But for the aforementioned reason I don't get to love on Bob quite as much.  Pedro always just happens to be in a more accessible place for loving than Bob is.

I was going to write a more long-winded post, but I didn't.  :)

 Scout may be able to take on the big scary tractor

But Bob will not be moved.

 

More fun to come later, but now I've got leaves to rake.

Update: The donkeys in the ad "have been picked up."  I hope that means they found a loving new home!

There's an ad for two free donkeys in Lewiston, Idaho. They're being used for roping.  Even if only a little bit, in my opinion it's cruelty.

If anyone could find it in their heart to go pick them up I would be eternally grateful.  I would go get them myself but my husband says no, and he's right.  I hate having to be practical.

I keep wondering if one of them might be the little jack I befriended at the BLM adoption down there a couple years ago.  Probably not, but no matter the individual identity of the donkeys, they certainly DO NOT DESERVE that kind of treatment. 

As we were driving back from buying my two donkeys, my sister told me that the donkey is the only animal that ever speaks in the Bible. I'm not real familiar with the Bible, but I looked up the story.  (To clarify: Balaam is riding the donkey, the Angel of the Lord is blocking the path.)


Numbers 22

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

²² Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. ²⁴ Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵ And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷ And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
²⁸ Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
²⁹ And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
³⁰ So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”
³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. ³² And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. ³³ The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

Today was a better day.  I saddled and bridled Pedro and we worked in the round pen.  His bit is a simple Myler comfort snaffle.  It works much better than a halter.  At first he did the same thing he does with the halter, which is root into it and pull against me, but after the first few successful turnings of his head, with my immediate release and praise, he knew what the right answer was.  He doesn't always want to give the right answer, however.  But we're making great progress.  This was the third time we've practiced this from the ground. 

Once we'd practiced a couple successful stops, I climbed in the saddle.  We rode for maybe 15 minutes, doing fairly well, and then I hopped down, took his bridle off, petted him a lot, and we went for a walk.

I took him into some trees near the house, on the neighbor's property.  They're not much like a forest but it was nice to see that he wasn't really nervous.  At one point he was breathing heavily, I think smelling all the strange scents, but he didn't seem overly nervous.

Then, sadly, it was time for them to be wormed.  I'm doing it again to be extra sure they're all clean.  Then they'll go on the regular schedule.  They were very good about it.  Bob was a bit offended but didn't take much convincing. They were both very cute afterward, begging for treats.  Which of course they got.

The view from on high:

Vote for Pedro!

 All your wildest dreams will come true.

If you haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite, you really should.

Today sucked.  Nothing bad happened.  But it sucked anyway.  I want my horse back!  I want to stomp my foot like a spoiled toddler and demand him back.  But that doesn't really do any good.


I went on a short trail ride with Scout.  It was hijacked by a bunch of ladybugs.  If you look real close at the next three pictures you can see them swarming.

Turns out Scout doesn't like bugs.  I tried to get a pic of him tossing his head but the only evidence is the rein jiggling.

This was just a tiny fraction of a percent of the ladybugs we saw today.  They were in patches, we'd go a long way without seeing any, then there would be another swarm.  

At first I tried to correct Scout for tossing his head, but then it became evident that the only safe answer was just to keep on moving through them.  He REALLY didn't like them.  I wouldn't have been surprised if he had started jumping around in frustration if I'd tried to make him behave.  Other than that it was a real good ride.  No complaints.  Except that he's not the horse I want to be riding.  I have got to get to the bottom of my problem with Scout.  Note that I said MY problem.  It's not him.  He's a good horse.  I just don't love riding him.  He knows it.  So we're just like co-workers who try real hard to pretend we like each other and can work together.  Although I have to give him more credit than I give myself.  He's trying harder than I am.  I just can't find the want to.

Amy may have had a breakthrough realization with her horse today. He's been a bit dangerous at times lately.  At one point when he was having a herdbound moment and she thought he might be about to start bucking, I looked at him and he appeared to be half asleep.  Aha!  Looks like perhaps he's "checking out"/ internalizing / shutting down.  Which would explain why he suddenly blows up so explosively.  Lots of food for thought there.


I also got Pedro out and saddled and bridled him today.  We were in the round pen working on giving to the bit (unmounted) when my sister called and said she could go trail riding after all, so I quickly stripped him of his saddle and went to get Scout.

And speaking of donkeys - they are excellent therapists.  They give the best hugs.  You wouldn't think so, considering they don't have arms, but they really do.  You ought to come try it sometime.  However, they don't seem to quite understand what's going on when you sit in their dinner.  Bob was so unnerved he had to go stand somewhere else.  Pedro kept eating.  But he wouldn't give me any kisses.

Today I just did whatever the heck I wanted.  And I didn't feel guilty about it.  Well, at least I tried not to.

Actually I did get a little bit of practical work done.  The horses weren't fenced in, thanks to some clumsy deer.  I think the horses knew the fence was down but they just had no reason to go wandering.  I got it fixed, after two trips back to the barn for more materials.  One of these days I'll learn to take enough stuff with me in the first place.  Or the second place.

On my first trip out, Blue helped me.

On the second trip out, I made Huckleberry come along too.

(That's Blue on the left and Huck on the right.)

I couldn't decide which of these 3 pictures I liked best.  I think if it was centered better this next one would be my favorite.

I was about ten feet short on fencing.  Hence the third trip.

This time I took Scout.

 

He was a little squirrely and a lot distracted.  We rode a lot of big squares, working on going in straight lines, not drifting, and not turning until I asked.  Eventually he was happy to ride off over the hill with me and find the hole in the fence.

He needed to stop a few times and get his head together - we were leaving his herd and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.  Here he was very sweetly checking with me to see how I felt.  Of course I wasn't feeling apprehensive about leaving the herd. 

Fixin' fence.  :)

After I untacked him I got a wild hair and decided to try him out with the donkeys.

 Don't they look thrilled?

Cute belly:

This crackhead is the same horse who's hard to get any life out of under saddle...

 Look at him being so fancy.  :)

It went really well.  Scout moved the boys around a tiny bit, but if he got too pushy they just stood still and told him to piss off.  Mostly Scout ran around being all kinds of excited for no reason.  He got way more exercise after our ride than during.

Then I got another wild hair.

Pedro is so handsome in reddish brown tack.  It brings out his eyes.

 

See me sitting on my ass out in the pasture?

Actually that was kinda a stupid idea...  See, Scout and Bella were in the round pen, and I didn't want to get them out, and I figured Pedro would move forward more if we were out in the big wide open.  And he did.  But he didn't have any steering.  Actually he had anti-steering.  I'd forgotten how he just pulls against me if I try to give any input.  Eventually I had to bail off before he took me into the mustang pen, which is a bit short in places for a rider not to hit their head.  So then we went and got his bridle and practiced giving to the bit, without a rider on.  Next time we'll ride in the round pen.  Silly me, I thought my sweet lovable boy could do no wrong. 

As you may have noticed, I also spent a considerable amount of time today playing with my photo editing software.  Sometimes I enjoy that, sometimes I really just can't be bothered.  I had fun with it today.

So now I'd better quit being a slacker and actually get some work done.  I have a kitchen full of dishes calling my name.

My sister and I took advantage of the good weather yesterday to go for a ride.

The horses always seem to be jazzed up and nervous at this trailhead.  This day was no different.  We spent some leisurely time just checking things out at first.  Scout didn't like going over the creek, with the culvert and the sound of fast water below him.  But he loved this big puddle - plowed right in and started playing.

 

There were 3 carcasses there too.  Yuck.  But Scout didn't seem to care in the least.  They weren't stinky yet.  Probably the wildlife will take care of them before they become too foul.

 All tacked up and ready to go.  

I love the fall color of the tamaracks mixed in with the evergreens.

Amy took this next one of me and Scout.  

All decked out for hunting season.  :)

 

Amy ahead on her horse, who has just been renamed Rohan.

 Having a nice trot through a field.

Rohan, quietly patient in his hobbles.  We learned he can run pretty well in them though.  Darn it. Luckily he was running to us, not away.

 

Every time I ride Scout out on the trail I really enjoy myself and I want to start riding him more, to get him even better (and of course just for fun).  With the weather being nasty and my sister being sick a lot, it's hard to get out there.  I really should ride him more at home, but that's so boring!  I need to come up with things to do around here.  Arena type exercises, and obstacles.  I have plenty of poles and stuff, and could move a little dirt with the tractor.  With all my free time...

 This is my donkey on a stormy, windy day.  I wanted to get a picture of my horsey hooligans to compare, but I missed my chance.  They were running around like crazy, having a grand time.  Pedro was just a little bit more watchful than usual.  Oh, and he "spooked" at pieces of metal flying off my neighbor's nasty old trailer.  And by "spooked," I mean he stopped to look at it for a minute.

 Sweet Pedro

Sweet Bob

Chihuahua wars!

I would need a much fancier camera to catch that kind of high speed action with any decent quality.  They are so fast sometimes you don't even see them move!

My son really wants a chihuahua now that my sister and my mom have one.  No thank you!  I sure like them, but they're a little too high maintenance for me.  I like to visit with them though.

Bob and I had an awesome training session today.  I decided that I did not want to halter and hang on to him in order to pick out his feet.  So, when I fed him his supplements (hay pellets, Equerry's vitamins, magnesium, and Probios) I asked him to pick up a foot.  Once I had it in my hand he set it down and walked away, which is what he has done (or attempted to do) every time I've picked up one of his feet.  I shooed him off, he went about ten feet, stopped, and I invited him back to his food.  This went on for a few minutes, then I just followed him and asked for his foot again.  It was done with!  He stood stock still while I picked out that hoof (quickly, so I could give him a release soon, in case he changed his mind).  Then we went back to his food and he let me pick out and treat the other three feet.

Calm persistence wins the day.  I love it when it's that simple.

His icky frog looks much better already today.  I treated it with apple cider vinegar yesterday.  I'm really becoming a HUGE fan of vinegar.  It's good in their water, they like the taste of it, it helps keep biting insects away, it cures skin problems better than the expensive treatments they sell at the feed store, and it seems to kill thrush really well too.  For spraying on the skin I dilute it 10:1, but for bad thrush I've been putting it on straight.  I tried it on my skin first, and it was only slightly irritating, so I figured it'd be okay on them.  But the experts do advise a 10:1 dilution.  For even better results, you could soak the hoof.  I'm just squirting it in with an old agave nectar container (has a pointy squirty end).

Pedro had a deep painful pocket in one of his hind hooves yesterday, and that looked better today also.  Of course I treated it again.

They both got to spend all day out in the pasture, and Liam reported that they were being "crazy" out there this evening, running around.  I like to hear that!  It's good for them.  I will probably work them up to being out 24 hours a day now that the weather has turned.  I'll keep a close eye on their body condition and hoof health though.  What I'd like to do is build a track, 10 feet wide, around the whole property.  Well, this side of the creek anyway.  That would keep them moving around, and that's so good for them.  But that's twice the expense of just fencing the perimeter, which I haven't even managed to do yet.

I'm considering introducing them to Scout.  If they got along, he'd help encourage them to move around.  But he might just be a jerk.  Bella doesn't seem to like them, but maybe one day they'll all be a harmonious herd.  I hope so.

I'll leave you with a photo from last week, of Katia and Bob going up the driveway.  So cute!

 Tonight I put away all my excuses (I'm tired, it's too much work, it's boring riding at home, he's not Tonka, what's the point anyway) and I got Scout out to play.  First thing I noticed was that although I trimmed him recently, he needed a trim again.  I hadn't pared out enough dead sole last time to get the hoof where it really needed to be.  The sole was volunteering to come out very easily this time, so off it went, and now his hooves look very nice.

I opted to do some groundwork before I hopped in the saddle.  I figured it's cold, he's young, he's fresh, he hasn't been worked in how long? and so it was necessary.  I'm glad I did.  He had some defiant bucks and goofiness at first, and then when we moved to another area he was worried about a couple things and bucked again.  Then we checked those things out rather than making him continue to circle near them, and all was well.  Especially because one of the scary things was hanging from an apple tree, which has very sweet apples still on it.  :)

I rode for a bit, nothing special.  Just walking around, following the dog, letting the dog follow us, following the dog, turning big round corners and small tight corners, keeping his ribs where I want them and his body as straight as it needs to be.  He's still afraid of dogs.  Which is probably not the right way to put it.  He's not afraid of dogs, really.  He'd like to stomp on them, yes.  But when he jumps because of a dog, it's the motion that spooks him, not the fact that it's a dog.  He didn't spook today, but then Blue was staying in the field with us, not coming running up out of nowhere.

I took a couple pictures when we were done, because what's a blog without pictures?

I like this one because his nose is cute, but I don't like it because it's his bad eye, which is pulled in a bit, and it looks like a little pig eye.

I like this one because he's being very curious and interested.  Very engaged.  But it's a little blurrier.

 

 Neither one is excellent photography, but it's a fun way to document the day.  :)

 While Scout and I were working, Pedro was wearing the bit again.  He doesn't like it.  He throws a little baby fit.  He chases Bob around some, stomps on his feed pan, and generally acts like a toddler.  But by the time I got back to him he was just standing quietly, hoping I was there to feed them.  

Bob gave me the CUTEST bray!  It was kinda warbley like a whinny.  I can't describe it, and I'm sure I couldn't imitate it.  I tried to get a video but of course he was already done.

I checked out the donkey hooves more closely today, especially Pedro's bad front foot and Bob's bad hind.  I still can't do any more fixing on Pedro's yet, he needs to grow them some more.  I don't think his coffin bone is far off the ground on that one.  But he was so good for me!  I didn't even have to halter him, he just stood and let me pick out all of his hooves very carefully.  Bob has a nasty infected frog on the foot that's been popping strangely.  It's not your average thrush, it's white and puffy and way too flexible. It's obviously painful so I'm guessing the popping is coming from him stepping wrong to protect the frog.  Plus that poor frog isn't doing much to support the inner structure of the hoof.  I'll get more active about getting that healed up.

On Sunday we were going to take Pedro and Bob for a hike.  But Bob's foot was popping (don't know what that's about and I don't like it) and Pedro didn't want to go without Bob.  He still loaded really well, but he was agitated, and I don't want his first trip out from home to be a bad one, so I put him back.  I learned that yes, they are very attached to each other, and yes, they will plow right into me when they're worried.  So it was a good learning experience.

We went hiking without them, careful to wear our orange since it's still hunting season.

It was a cloudy, cold day, but no rain.  Beautiful views.

Liam collected so many rocks (and a couple sticks) that he could barely walk on the way back.

Break time.  I forgot how wonderful it is to just lay down in the woods and be silent.

When I was a teenager in New Mexico I spent a lot of time hiking around the mountains with my dog Harpo, and if I got tired or found an inspiring spot I'd sit, or lay down, and just enjoy the silence.  I remember once I fell asleep in a little grove of scrub oak and woke up with a cute little fuzzy caterpillar clinging to my shoelace.  Another time, I watched ravens flying in the wind, sometimes flipping upside-down, and I realized for the first time what a great sense of fun they have.  It's funny (but not really) how we lose that ability to just be when we hit adulthood and have to focus so much on goals and getting stuff done. 

Even my son was quiet for a little while out there in the woods the other day.  Amazing.

It was a nice day.

And I didn't even regret not being able to bring an equine along.  It was actually much more relaxing without any four-legged friends to worry about.