It's All about Telpe

~
Telpe.... yes, regular readers will remember Telpe.

So I captured a couple of shots of her nose a couple of weeks ago ... and have been debating as to what kind of jaws she had poked her nostril into.

The top ones did look like punctures to start with, so at first I guessed that she had battled a fanged snapping turtle of enormous proportion. (you can't tell as well in these photos, but the bottom wound was "V" shaped.)

I've revised this theory several times as it heals, because it really looks like -- of all things -- a human bite, on the top. I say that because it looks like it was made by blunt teeth in a half-round pattern. Of course -- I can't imagine any human being able to open their jaws wide enough to get the whole horse in their mouth like that. ...

The obvious answer would be a horse bite - but isn't that much too simple? (and of course, the pattern seems to narrow)

... and so while I've been pondering this mystery - the kids

run in last night to inform me that the grey filly had ripped her leg and a bone was sticking out.

- yes. Could there be any doubt that it was Telpe.

Thankfully, they were wrong about the bone, but she did skin her left gaskin.

This snap was taken the second day. Since it was sliced and torn down from the top, it couldn't be stitched because with the skin tag attached at the bottom there isn't any blood flow to the flap. So the vet simply snipped it off, gave her a couple of shots and we're starting with a simple spray on bandange. You can easly see the thickened edges of the skin. The bare muscle is an area larger than my hand and yes, the blood (and stuff) is seeping through. It's quite sore and swollen, but Telpe is happy as the proverbiable clam since she's tucked back into the indoor stall and is getting lots of extra special attention each day.

Telpe's Bling

...there's one in every barn.

This is Telpe being ... well, she's just being Telpe and I'm not sure there is much else to say about it except -- this is the horse your momma warned you about.

This is the kind of filly I warn buyers to look out for... now give me a minute to explain that. I've done a lot of match-making over the years and one thing I've tried to explain to new or first time horse owners is to look at a horse's scars. Most horses that have done anything at all are going to have something to show for it. That's not a big deal. But you have to understand that if three of four legs are criss-crossed, and there are marks on the chest, head and/or butt... you have to KNOW that this horse is an instigator.

Telpe has all that and more, from a ripped eye-lid to a fractured hind leg.

I'm certainly not saying not to buy a horse like that, they frequently have more drive and more personality and in many ways can make a better horse than one that's complacent. (They certainly are more fun for authors because of the conflict and chaos they create) But you have to understand what you're getting into. This is a horse that will actively seek out every hole in your fence; this is the horse that will stand at the gate and fiddle with the latch until they figure it out (yes, Telpe's gate has a clip on it that requires a thumb to open)((it's on the *outside* of the panel so she can't easily reach it)); this is the horse that will go through any gate or open door, just to see what's in there.

The reason Telpe is wearing a tire is a little complex. She normally stays with the herd in a 20 acre pasture, but she has been a little thin (she's 2yo and growing too fast too keep up with) so I brought her up to stay in the barn for awhile, treated her with an extra dose or wormer and have been 1) feeding her extra and 2) minimally restricting her exercise.

Over the course of a couple of months, her weight is coming up nicely, but we'd noticed that she was drinking a lot of water. Waaaaay a lot, like two to three times daily what a mature horse should be drinking. After consultation the vet, we decided it was likely a behavioral issue (boredom) and that in additional to several-times-weekly (light) work (which she was already getting) that she needed some extra toys.

What I usually do it wash out an empty milk jug and drop a handful of grain in it and toss it in the stall for them to throw around, but those don't last more than a day with her, so I hung up the tire for her to play with, and dropped a handful of grain (where she couldn't reach it -- I thought) in the inside of the tire. It took her less than 14 minutes to get to the grain, but she seemed very happy with her tire since her neighbors were, of course, quite jealous that she had a tire and they didn't.

Now, the problem didn't come until two days later when I put Miree's grain in Miree's nosebag and let Miree eat out of her nosebag. That's a problem because, up until getting the tire, Telpe had been eating out of Miree's nosebag.

SO I'm out at the barn, doing various chores, waiting for those that get morning feed to finish up when I notice it's suspiciously quiet in Telpe's corner. (Those of you who have toddlers or teenagers know what I'm talking about).

.... so I'm sitting here trying to describe the situtation and find I don't have any words that don't seem to overstate the obvious - so from this point, I'll just let the photo do the talking.

Cowgirl Boot Camp

The shooting has fallen by the wayside, to some degree, because of family stuff keeping me busy, and in hindsight, I'm doubly glad that I got to attend the Cowgirl Boot Camp managed by the CMSA Club Texas Smokin Guns and taught by the wonderful Tammy Sronce. Her sponsor, Maytex generously donated a stack of saddle pads that were given away as door prizes. (Beri loves hers!)

Beri and I are the first grey from the left!

We had a wonderful time and learned lots. Lots of stuff I knew (*argh*) but wasn't using, as Tammy politely yet firmly pointed out.

Horsemanship is key to this sport. You have to have a horse that has a good mind and is light and responsive to the aids, and I haven't required Beri to be as light as she needs to be. And yes, even though we've missed the last few competitions, we're working on our being light and responsive to the aids.

Tammy also gave me a needed 'wake-up' call to a couple of issues with my guns. One thing I was doing that is really quite dangerous was cocking before I crossed Beri's neck when I was going for a cross shot.

I wonder how many cowboys in the Old West ended up shooting their own horses in the back of the head?!?!

The other main thing she helped me with - it's been making me nuts to look at my photos and see how I was leaning so far forward - she helped me settle down and "let the balloon come to me".

I can't say enough nice things about working with Tammy, but we also have another incredible resource here in North Texas and that's Curt Moore at the Shootfire Ranch. He's offering a beginners clinic October 18-19, in conjunction with the Texas Smokin Guns. Check their website for details. I've cliniced with Curt before and highly recommend him.

Otherwise, the club will be at the Equine Expo in Fort Worth and also doing a demo at Teskey's on September 20th. Any of you writers who are writing westerns or even modern cowboys - this is your check to get out and hear the gunfire, smell the smoke and ask questions.

those old classics

I refuse to start every post with an apology for not being more consistent with my posts, so I won't...

...but I will say that something ate my chickens. These prints are my only clue.

But that's just par for the course, recently. My life has been like one of those old black and white movies. Not anything like the good old classics It's a Wonderful Life, or The Man who Shot Liberty Valance. But more like some of the first talkies -- you know the grainy ones that jump and flicker and don't entirely make sense?

But in spite of the troubles and inanities, life goes on. Writing goes on -- slow and painful -- but it continues.

I've been bogging down with my edits and I finally decided my big, loveable hero wasn't strong enough to carry the ending of my current work so I've tossed him out with the bathwater, dragged him backwards through the rosebriars, rolled him in tar and horseshit, slapped him around a little bit and have sent him to the corner with a stack of old Conan pulps, some Heinlein and the Silmarillion.

Yeah, it hurts to do that to him. And while what he was has been fun to play with, he needs to grow up. That's painful sometimes, but we both know it's needed.

The house is coming along. The outside is nearly done. At least, the major decisions have been finalized. We had some trouble with the windows and had to change some stuff, but I think it's looking really good.

I like the rock, a lot, and am glad we did it even if we had to grit our teeth through the expense. The rock masons are craftsman and artists. If you've never seen them work, it's a real delight.

One neat thing we got to do is that we've harvested some cedar out of our pastures and are peeling it to frame the front door (I can't wait to show off our custom door!!) the four front windows (two upper and two lower), and for support beams ...umm.. not beams, posts (are the called columns if they're wood?) on the inside. I can't remember that I've posted a photo of the inside, but the second story is normal on the ends but the main section is only floored about 2/3rds across... I don't think that makes sense. I'll have to take more photos.

Otherwise, riding -- not enough, but some. GLAMDRING has been getting the work. Somebody needs to buy this lovable galoot. He's a sweet boy (is there anyone, really, who doesn't love a guy who brings home a mouthful of flowers?!?) and a hard worker. It's a combination that's hard to beat. We're trying to get him to a couple more rides this year and get a few more 50s on his record. I'm still thinking I'm going to try shooting off him next year. He doesn't like the noise, but he's fast and handy. He's doing real well setting balloons and just being around the gunfire doesn't seem to bother him any more so that makes me think that firing off his back is just a matter of time.

Where's the ka-boom?

There is usually at least a small ka-boom when someone asks a question that should have a simple answer that actually requires discussion.

Like a couple of days ago, Js was out helping feed. He brought back a stack of empty buckets and waited in the doorway.

"Do the girls in the shark pen get a bump?" Now, I knew that 'the girls' meant 'the mares' in the 'shark pen' - is what we call the mare pasture because of the daily feeding frenzy.

'a bump' is a "bump bucket" ... that is, when I pasture feed (set feeders out in the pasture with loose horses) I fill five buckets for four horses. That way, when the dominate horse 'bumps' the others down the line, the last horse still gets to eat.

The only problem is that kind of question makes my brain implode.

Because it's not a simple "yes" or "no" kind of situation. Because: two of the mares share a bucket, so "yes" there *is* a bump, but .... he didn't ask the right question. What he meant to ask was: "How many buckets did he need to carry out there?"

If I had answered his original question: "do they get a bump?" "YES" (because there is a bump available) he would have filled and carried five buckets for four mares, which normally would be right - but in that particular case, with the two mares sharing, it would have set out two bumps instead of just one - which is not a disaster, but it is wasteful.

If I had twisted my mind around what I thought he needed to know and said "NO" - what if I had misunderstood what it was he meant to ask and there was another meaning .... and so I took a deep breath ... "What you mean is, 'how many buckets do you need to carry out there?'."

He stared at me for a moment and then nodded. problem solved.

Our little exchange stayed on my mind because it struck me I've seen that conversation gone over in writers groups - how important it is to say what you mean and how hard it can be to get exactly the right thing down on paper. Or how much fun it can be to ask one question and answer another... yes, I'm evil that way. ;)

- and so today, my son was with me, waiting in the truck while I fueled up and we had parked beside a piece of (very odd looking) heavy machine.

"What is that?" he asked.

I stared at it blankly ... and finally realized it was a "Traffix Device". It said so right on the big ugly butt of the thing. Traffix device and Traffixdevice.com

And I told him so, in a confident tone that implied I knew what I was talking about. ... "It's a Traffic Device."

But having had to put up with me for his entire life thus far, he wasn't fooled, but he smoothed it over. "What's it for?" he asked in an even tone.
I shrugged. "No idea."

He blinked at me and stared in the way that kids do when they know they can't say to their parents "that was stupid".

I just shrugged again. "I guess you asked the wrong question, then."

...but the funnest part of it all was just a couple of hours later, he turned it back on me when I was the one to ask the wrong, inane question. We had a laugh over it, but (and this is probably a whole 'nuther post) the best part for me was knowing feeling that - boy-childs do (sometimes) listen to their mom's, but more than that, that something had connected inside him and grown him a little bit and given him a little sharper focus on this tough world we live in.

Thar's Horses in them thar woods.... or not?

This is a question that comes up surprisingly often.

The answer is .... 'it depends'.

And it depends on a lot of things. Horses are grazers, different than browsers like deer, or even donkeys. In addition to the nutrition (calories and vitamins and stuff), they need the long stemmed grasses in order for their guts to function properly.

Can they live without grass or hay (such as in the woods)? Sure. For while. Some horses will be very picky about what they eat, but most would put a goat to shame before they starved to death. They would start to eat odd plants, anything leafy, bark, sticks, even the old layer of detritus on the forest floor (one of my mares ate a mosquito dunk today (and she is decidedly not starving)) - and if they didn't get impacted, colic and die from that -- they would eventually be dealing with the consequences of long term malnutrition.

But depending on the climate, your woods may have lovely meadows. Easily enough to support a horse or two for a short period of time. And another meadow down the way. But not a herd of horses.

Also consider, if you're writing a horse that's been in the woods for a long time, it's likely to have life-long issues stemming from that experience. Anything from degenerative joint disease, if it was a young foal, if the woods-horse was a mare carrying a foal, or with a very young foal at her side, the foal could lack of integrity in it's soft tissues, ligaments and tendons, poorly laid down cartilage and even some amount of malformation of the delicate bones in the knees and hocks. These things could cause the young horse a lot of pain as he matures, especially when he comes of riding age and is put to work.

An older horse could have internal issues, anything from something as simple as a stick lodged in their mouth that festers, to internal damage that contributes to recurrent colic.

He may have developed a taste for toxic weeds if he managed to eat enough in the woods to keep him alive, but not so much it killed him.

And it's more than just nutrition: A horse's most basic self-preservations instincts are compromised in the woods. They are herd animals who find safety and security in numbers (and remember a real herd can't live in most woodland areas, so they'll be searching for other horses.)

Their eye-sight is designed for the open ranges. They see short distances with their heads down and long distances when their heads are raised. Aside from their keen sense of hearing, their eyes are their early warning system. But you can't see very far in the woods.

Their first line of defense is to run. And they can't run as fast in the woods, not if they're looking for a way through and having to zig-zag, dodging trees. So most horses, simply wouldn't stay in the woods. If they were chased into the woods, or abandoned there, they would travel, snatching what they could along the way, maybe stopping for a few hours at a creek or a meadow, but then they would move along - looking for food, but more dramatically, looking for safety. Although there are always exceptions. We had a local case of a horse that had been abused, rescued and (mostly) rehabilitated, getting loose and running to hide in the woods, and no, he didn't survive.

If a fully tacked horse gets loose from a rider, there is additional danger of the reins, or even the saddle, getting tangled in vines and holding the horse in place until he dies of dehydration. Another main consideration is that the horse may eventually have tack galls that fester.

But one of the main things authors need to remember is that it's not really natural for horses to be in the woods, that there needs to be a good reason for the horse to be there -- the worldbuilding has to be solid enough that the reader sees what the horse is going through trying to find enough forage -- and there needs to be appropriate consequences for the length of time the horse was in there.

The Heart of a Horse ~

There is a quote about the outside of a horse being good for the inside of a man. Churchill. And Reagan said something similar - they're right.

But what about the inside of a horse?

We all talk a lot about bone size (strength), conformation (structural angles and proportions/balance), there are thousands of books, videos, websites and forums, clinics and workshops - all on this subject.

But what about the horse's mind and personality? What about his heart? The physical heart is important, the size and strength, the 'metabolic structure' of the horse is at least as important to a performance horse as the (outside/visual) physical structure, but this post is about 'having heart'.

When horseman say a horse 'has heart' what they're talking about is that otherwise indefinable essence of spirit that makes a horse go above and beyond anyone's expectations.

Marty Robbins sings about the Strawberry Roan, a pony that couldn't be rode. The mustang he sings about is about as poorly built as any horse can be, but he has indomitable spirit and that's something that horsemen admire.

It had be hard to deal with, as in the case of the Roan, because he had decided he didn't like people and wasn't going to cooperate with them. And what about Old Red? He killed himself to kill the cowboy he couldn't throw.

There are others like the real-world filly Ruffian and Zane Grey's fictional Wildfire, who ran to the death for glory, for good, for the saving of another life, rather than obstinance and willfulness.

Some horses you can dominate and push around, some are timid or fearful, most seem more comfortable and happy with a Boss, some seem simply to not care - and sometimes those horses are the easier choice.

But if your hero is going into a situation, or if you want to make sure his success doesn't come too easy *evil grin*, you may want to give him a kind of horse like Strawberry or Red. A horse that draws lines he won't cross, a horse that won't quit and won't go down without getting back up. Or one like Ruffian or Wildfire who give their all to win the day.

The Good 'Ole Summer Tyme

Summer is upon us.

Yesterday was 101 and humid, but that's pretty much the norm for this time of year.

The pond is drying up, grass is browning and the thistles are in bloom.

That spot where the dog is wading is about the same place in the pond the mare is in the photos a couple of posts ago. It goes fast once it starts going down.




The kid has been away to summer camp and is back. He attended the first ever Wolf Ridge Summer Resident camp hosted by Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and we can't say enough good things about the staff, the facility or the program. He had a fantastic time and is already signed up for the next session.


Our horses are soaking up the heat. We've already had one close call with a dehydration colic, a silly young horse who didn't take good 'nuff care of himself on the first really hot day. We've had such a cool, wet spring, the sudden hard heat didn't give the horses much of a chance to adjust and some fell behind on their drinking. I usually start supplementing a dash of salt in their daily grain when temps reach 100. The vet said to start it at about 95 and I'll do that from now on. At the other end of the scale, I add the salt when we drop below freezing, I may bump that up a few degrees as well.

If you're writing horses, the weather and temps are one thing that people can get wrong if they haven't done a little research. Horses are typically more comfortable in a lower range than people are. They can (and do) acclimate to the heat, but it takes a little bit of time for them to adjust. If they're going to be worked in the heat, they have to be built up gradually in order to work safely in extreme heat.

What does this mean for your hero? If he's riding a hot weather horse into the cold, he'll likely do fine, except the hero does need to be sure the horse is drinking enough since they can refuse water that's too cold if the general clime is cold. If he's riding a cold weather horse into the heat - he's likely have trouble along the lines of muchly reduced endurance. That initial burst of speed might be only slightly less, but I wouldn't expect him to be able to maintain it. Dehydration and heat stress is a very serious issue in horses because the beginning stages are subtle and erratic. Even the most experienced horseman can have trouble recognizing the danger signs and by the time the horse starts showing clinic signs, it's often too late.


In spite of the heat, I'm riding more since I have more time each day with the schoolwork done for the year. I'm not sure I'll get to make any summer rides, but I'll have some horses ready for some of the fall AERC Endurance schedule.


As much as we rode through the spring, we've missed several events in May and into June due to a combination of things, but mostly the fuel prices. ... I say that, and then I had to pull out my calendar. I've stay home and missed 7 events in the last 9 weeks. That's well over 1500 miles of driving with diesel in the $4.70/gal range. *ouch* The calendar is full for the rest of the year, but I'm already chewing the end of my pencil. I'm not sure how many of those we can do. It's disheartening to have been patient for so many years and now when I finally have a nice new truck and trailer and half-grown kids, it's still so hard to get down the road. ... Ack! Enough whining for me. - back to writing!

Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day with lots of snuggles and smooches from their kids. Ours was pretty relaxed, mainly, dinner with my mom and family. I snuck off a little early and came back to mess with the horses a little. I didn't have time to ride, but I got MIREE up and worked with her.

We had a wonderful short ride yesterday, and as young as she is, I won't ride her again for a few days. It probably sounds funny, like she's not on a training schedule, but she's not. Not really. But that's the beauty of starting my own colts under saddle, is that I can do it on the horse's schedule. I don't have to answer to the demands that someone wrote in a book, StepOne, StepTwo.... and I don't answer to anyone who's writing a check for me to push their horse along. (although, I have to say, when I was riding other horses, I'm not sure if it was luck, or if I was just hard-nosed enough about it, but I never had anyone try to lean on me to push their horses.)

But the wonderful thing I have found out about riding just a little bit and then giving them time off, is that they tend to think about it all and come back stronger. Miree has been doing well, but still a little unsure under saddle - but yesterday, she was all brass and confidence. A totally difference ride from last week and the rides before. She was steadier on her legs, more sure of her balance with me on-board, lighter in my hands and more responsive. A wonderful and dramatic difference.

So after such a good riding day yesterday, I put on her driving stuff today. We're ground driving and still dreaming of a harness and cart. But, to date, while she's been wearing the bit, she's been driving with the noseband - a kind of hybrid bosal I like to start colts in. Well, today, I went ahead and attached the reins to the bit ... and she went along as if she'd been doing it forever. Of course, she's not 'giving' and 'bending' the way she'll learn to do, but it's simply incredible to be working with a little mare that has so much try and so much heart that she actually reaches out with open communication to figure out what it is the two of you are supposed to be doing.

She tentatively shifts one way, then the other, her entire being focused on mine. Tension and pressure, a frown, mean "that's not it" and softening and praise mean "good girl!" ... and she gives the same tension or softness back to me depending on if I'm being good or bad.

And that's the part that you never hear about when people talk about a partnership with their horse - that a partnership is a two way street. For all that Miree gives, she demands as much. I'm just glad that she's generous and forgiving and willing to work with me and give me the time I need to learn to be her partner.

TEXAS-OKLAHOMA SHOOTOUT

If you heard the sound of gunfire in North Texas this last weekend, it was the Texas-Oklahoma Border Wars in full swing. Two Cowboy Mounted Shooting clubs, the Texas Smokin' Guns and the Red River Rough Riders, converged at S&S Arena in Terrell, Texas to shoot it out in two tough days of back to back competitions.

Jared and I were packed and ready by Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning, we loaded Beri (The 'Berinator') and hit the road. Terrell isn't too far for us, a couple of hours, and we made it in plenty of time, with no wrong turns. :)

Saturday and Sunday both went better than could be expected. Of course there are usually issues of one kind or another at any kind of event, but real problems were wonderfully conspicuous in their absence over the weekend. Beri and I had a few harsh words for each other Sunday morning when she cussed me out and embarrassed me for not knowing the pattern (don't you hate it when they're right!) but she worked like a dream for Jared all weekend and they pulled their first win on Sunday.

The funny thing about mares - for the writers out there - is that a really good lead mare will try to run your life. Beri hasn't been a lead mare, but she's fully mature now, eight years old, and really coming into her own. I think the traveling and competitions have helped -- she's seen a lot of the world and done a lot more than the stay-at-homes. Patricia Briggs wrote a wonderful mare by the name of Lass (The Hob's Bargain) who reminds me so much of Beri that I giggle all the way through her parts of the story.

What happened Sunday morning is that I rounded a barrel too soon in the pattern -- that didn't matter, just cost us a few seconds, but I had to round the barrel (again) *after* shooting all the light colored balloons, and so we had to go around it a second time. She knew I had screwed up and she made sure I knew she knew by stopping and sulling up for (it seemed like FOREVER) but I'm sure it must have only been a few seconds.... before she would go on and finish the pattern. Of course, she ran it beautifully for Jared during his class, but - again - that's a mare for you. He doesn't try to boss her and run her the wrong way around stuff like I do .... *sigh*.


here is a snapshot that Jared took of Beri. Anyone who knows her will find it funny because it shows her "very Beri" attitude .

and to show that some things never change, a photo of them when she was just about a week old:

here are a couple more ...

...to see how far these two have come makes me think I must be doing something right.






And I have to back up a little and say what a fantastic job the clubs did running this event. Everything ran smoothly and on time, any hitches were taken care of and transparent to the participants. Kudos to the clubs, the management and especially the organizers and volunteers for these events.

Also to S&S Arena. What a fantastic facility!! It's absolutely beautiful *and* functional. Many, many thanks to them, not only for the use of the arena and barns, but in going above and beyond with their hospitality -- Sunday during the awards presentation, they presented very nice western headstalls to each of the kids that rode in the wrangler division. It's a wonderful surprise, in these days of hard-lines with the tightening economy, to find a business with a heart, but S&S showed theirs this weekend. If you are looking for a place to host your event - be sure to check them out. You won't be disappointed.

***added: Jim Arnold got this wonderful shot of me and Beri on the second day. He's local to North Texas and does a wonderful job with equine event. Check out his website and give him a call if you need a photographer for your event or a photosession for your farm. He does good work.

Chicken Dance

We have chickens again! .... of course that's totally not horse or writing related, but what the heck. :)

They are in a pen for now, but once they get used to the area we'll start letting them out. I got my first chickens a few years ago for natural fly control. They scratch in the horse poo -- that kills the fly larva and it breaks the cycle so we have less flies in the barn. They really do a better job than anyone can imagine that hasn't had free range chickens at the barn. (So see! ...this post is horse related, and writing related as well if you're writing about horses that would be in a barn.)

And the eggs! We were totally spoiled with fresh eggs and have been missing them terribly. These girls are young but have started laying already... and, yes, I'm already licking my lips... fried eggs, scrambled eggs, egg salad sandwich -- yumm!

We won't mention that they were delivered to me in a dog crate at the Last Hoorah endurance ride... or that one immediately escaped ... or that me, my son, and Thomas were running around chasing the chicken at the ride camp...

oh no. we won't tell any of that because silly (stupid) crazy stuff like that never happens to me. oh no. not me. *sigh*

The Last Hoorah Endurance ride

We (me, GWAIHIR, GLAMDRING and Lucy) had a wonderful ride this weekend. It was especially fun for me because it's a trail that I help put in years (and years!) ago and have ridden a lot, but I've always managed the competitions there and so this was the first year for me that I got to compete over those trails. - and I loved every minute of it.

I took off work Friday and the youngest son went to camp with me and help out with the horses. He's a great camper - he loves to set up camp and cook and just hang out. I saddled up and rode each for the horses for about an hour and even though I knew they were going to be excitable the next morning, I thought we'd have a pretty good start.



One of the funny things about horses is how they almost seem to have a collective energy - and so morning camp at an endurance can be a pretty exciting place.



We lunged ours for a few minutes before we got on - and then just walk walk walked around, being nice and quiet. We let the front runners go when they opened trail, and we stayed back until most of the pack had rounded the first turn in the trail and then walked out. We walked for awhile and once the horses settled, we picked up a trot and jogged and loped the rest of the day. This is a wonderful fun trail, but somewhat technical and it's difficult to do fast.



I knew the horses weren't conditioned to do a fast ride, especially in the tricky combination of rock and slick mud we rode through, so we started out with the plan to ride back of the pack and stuck with it all day.

The first loop was 15 miles with a 'trot by' where the vet quickly checks the horse, then another ten miles. So we did the first half of the ride in about four hours, and the second half in about the same so I'm pleased with our pacing. Eight hours is a good, solid back of the pack pace that gives you a full day riding without getting too long. The horses looked good at the end, not too tired - and they both had good vet scores.



I'm having a little trouble with GWAIHIR, I think it's related to his blind spot. (he has a corneal scar from an injury that clouds the front half of his field of vision on the right side). He wants to travel crooked, with his head tilted so he can see more forward with his left eye and while it's not hard to correct him, it takes a lot of consistency on the part of the rider. I have a bad knee and ankle on that side that aches when I get tired and exacerbates his crookedness. He stepped on his heel bulb and cut himself (all on the right side) and he was sore in the back on that side. See how the issues cascade?



This could be an excellent issue to use to escalate conflict for a western or fantasy hero that I've never seen used. We're going to go back to doing more dressage type exercises in the arena to try to keep his muscling even and go from there.

Home Again, Jiggity-jig... and gone again

After dropping Tamara and Xeresh off at their place, I made it home late Wednesday night - a full 20 hours later than expected. Certainly, we've earned bragging rights for making that kind of trip in such severe weather, but it's not something I'd attempt again.

The new-to-me truck did a great job, it's strong and steady on the road, although it didn't get near the mileage I expected (and had told Tamara to expect) so the trip was more expensive than expected - not to mention that diesel fuel had gone up nearly forty cents a gallon between the time of planning and the time of driving. The only lingering problems are that the skylight cover blew off the top of the vent in the trailer's apartment and the interior door between the apartment and the stalls doesn't want to stay closed now. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but I noticed it for the first time on the way home Saturday.

In other news, Saturday was fantastic.

After the intense week, between the travel and lots of overtime at work, I was up early Saturday morning and off to a Brass Tacks Match. Beri did fantastic. It was her second shoot and she's really coming along to be a good little shooting horse. I don't know if she'll ever be as fast as the quarter horses around some of the tight patterns, but once I improve my shooting accuracy enough to push her a little bit, it will be interesting to see how well we can move up the levels over the next few years.

We took another 2nd place, in the Ladies Class 1 division, which I am very pleased with. We were second a couple of weeks ago as well, but this was a bigger class, so I actually feel that we did a little better to hold onto second. I didn't see a photographer, so I don't guess we have any new photos - this is one from the previous match.

I've been trying to think how to apply the shooting events in my writing and the only thing I can think of is that some of those guys are so good - I'll probably never blink at another movie stunt or a hero's improbable' long-shot again. They can holster and draw so fast you don't even see it unless your watching for it and in the few matches I've been too, the shooting speed and accuracy borders on "you have to see to believe".

A horse of a better color...

So Saturday morning, early, my youngest son and I loaded up a couple of the mares and went to a cowboy mounted shooting event in Decatur.

The trip was pleasant enough, not too long (except for the infuriating road construction south of Fort Worth), but we found the arena easily enough - which sometimes is difficult for me. I have an odd propensity to be able to drive 100s of miles without a misstep and then spend hours looking for that last turn. I don't know why that is. Probably because I tend to overthink stuff. Anyway - the sign at the gate said "Lonesome Dove Feed" and we were looking for "Lonesome Dove Arena", but we could see a bunch of trailers and people riding so we pulled in. Thank goodness it was the right place.

The day got off to a good start. We brought BERI and MIREE. BERI to compete on, and MIREE simply for the experience. I used to always haul my babies on 'away missions', but she's managed to turn three without having traveled as much as the others.

Anyway, I've decided that MIREE's going to be my shooting horse because she's a nice western color. And isn't that how you pick out a good horse? by the color?!?!

*ahem*

But apparently - dun or buckskin or whatever color of bay she is - is perfect for a shooting horse. :) because she did wonderful. I saddled her up and rode her around in the arena during the warm-up. She was very attentive and alert, and wanted to run a little, but I didn't let her because we haven't cantered yet. Actually we've only trotted a few times and we did longer stretches of trotting in the arena Saturday than she has done to date. She's just turning a full 36 months this week so she'll stay in very light work for the rest of the year. The guns seems to be a total non-event for her. I've shot several rounds off her at home but I wondered how she would do with all the commotion and rapid fire of the competition... She was unphased. I'm so excited about what I'll be able to do with her over the next few years, I just almost can't stand it. She's one that has such a good mind and such a passionate "want to" attitude that I have to carefully check myself and be sure I don't ride her to often (no more than 2xs month) or too long (she's up to about 30 minutes walk/jog).

BERI, of course, was our star on Saturday. She's always been the one that I didn't get along with as well as I should with one that I raised. We've had a kind of push-push lead marish thing, which is a little odd since she's not the highest ranked in the pasture. I've just always felt that she liked to push my buttons. We knew from the time she was born that we'd be keeping her so while she was handled properly and trained, she didn't get as much as the 'for sale' horses, and she was spoiled a bit more (a bit too much). She was a 'kid horse' from the time she was young and by the time I started trying to ride her, she'd been well taught to ignore all the thumps and wallers from whoever was on her back. *sigh*

And it seems like she's never understood why she doesn't have her own bedroom in the house.

But as she's grown, she's eight this year, she's really turned into a good mare. She's started dressage and jumping but decided she didn't like jumping. And she can be a pig about what she doesn't like doing, so we took her out of training and let her be an endurance horse again, which she loves (see the BeriCam from a few posts back), and she's really good at.

Saturday she proved herself again. She doesn't like the guns, but she tolerated them well and I think is going to come along and be a good 'nuff little horse for us to shoot off of. We're hoping to make quite a few competitions, so it will be interesting to see where we are by the end of the year.

....and we don't have any photos yet... I'm compulsively checking the photographer site and will link to them when they show up.