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.

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.

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.

More kids, photos and horses for sale ~

I have to sell this horse. He's a fantastic guy, just gelded last year and coming along wonderfully in his training. He's been under saddle and trail ridden casually since he was three, he'll be seven in January, but he spent several months this spring in formal training and is started with dressage and jumping and has a solid base to start endurance riding, hopefully next month.

But this is the one that was bitten by a brown recluse spider in July, so he's been out of work for four months.

Today was his first ride in a long time and I wanted to snap some practice photos. I didn't get what I wanted, but I couldn't help but to share this one. Look at the matching expressions on their faces. Could it be any more clear that they are both bored to tears.

Not just their faces, but their entire bodies. Both of them. "Are we done yet?" Slouched and strung out, sloppy hands, no length of stride. *ARGH* What a terrible photo of such a talented horse and rider, but I know every teenager mom and horse mom will be wiping away the little tears of laughter in recognizing the attitude.

We frequently hear jokes about how pets and owners resemble each other, but I think that while most people think of physical traits, it more fun, and more author-worthy, to consider how pets, and especially horses who your characters might be working alongside, to use the emotional or attitudinal resemblance and contrast.

Does your hero's steed reflect his flawed traits and contrast with his noble ones or provide balance to his temperament? Is she a typical mare that pushes his buttons when she tries to boss him, or does he dote on her quirks? Or is he a typical gelding that just doesn't really give a darn as long as he's not having to work too hard?

More on Horsekeeping

One thing that I hear a lot of yapyap about that doesn't really seem to sink into people is that horses are a 24x7x364 kind of responsibility. It's more appropriate to say that you have to keep up with them 28 hours a day, 10 days a week, 400 days a year. You simply don't take time off without taking a chance.

that doesn't mean you have to keep your peepers on them literally all the time, you take reasonable and calculated risks, because usually they're going to be fine. It's just that when things do go wrong they tend to go horribly wrong. And that tends to increase exponentially by the number of horses.

Yes, I've come home late from a party and found one cold and stiff the next morning. There's no good or easy way to deal with that.

Yes, I've gone casually to the barn and found one standing in a puddle, yes a puddle - horses are big animals, of blood. And that's something that can, usually, be dealt with. Pressure with one hand, cell phone with the other. ... as an aside, blood is not good for cell phones. - and I've stood and watched the vet drain puddles of blood out of a horse's stomach (via nastrogastric tube) when the guts shut down and were refluxing blood and fluids into the stomach.

So with 18 horses, I take calculated risks on a daily basis. I even travel on an irregular basis. Three day weekends are ok. Leave Friday, gone all day Saturday and home on Sunday. Any longer is hard. It's difficult to ask someone to take on, not just the physical difficulty of feeding 18 horses, but the emotional responsibility.

For the RWA National Convention, I left early on Wednesday morning and didn't get home until the next Sunday. My mother and youngest son pulled the load for me, and I have to say they did a good job with it. There was a minor incident, a relapse of a lameness that I that I suspected - Marah had a hoof abscess the previous week and needed to be up for a few more days. She's ok, just still moving slower than I would like.

But the 'biggie' was something that had apparently be going on for some time.

Leah came down from Dallas with me on Sunday and we went for a ride that afternoon. We rode around the back of our property and found where a fence had been washed down at some point during the recent flooding. ...not just down, but pushed down and washed across a popular trail - five strands of rusty barb wire tangled in with branches and flood debris and still attached to the downed fence posts.

No matter how long it had been down - apparently the horses hadn't been to that corner - it had to come up. A mare and a two fillies had followed us on our trail ride and were nosed in to the good flood-fed grazing. They would remember that and come back.

So regardless of the fact that I had a guest, regardless of the fact that I'd been gone for an exhausting week, regardless that I'd spent the last week in the A/C and it was hot as a witches cauldron down in that valley - regardless of anything ... once we got back to the barn, I gathered up my boys and we went back down and cut the downed wire out and brought it up out of the pasture.

Because that's what it takes - you can't be perfect, things are going to happen, but you have to handle the things that you find when you find them and know you've done the best you can.

and/but :) as a writer, it's fertile ground for conflict. Horses will find a way to debilitate themselves in the most innocuous circumstances, and usually when you most need them. You can ask any horseman about the preparation for a high-profile event. You can train for years, feed, condition, make all the lower level training events and the morning that you're packed and ready to leave, your prime athlete will come limping up to the gate, not just with a shoe pulled off, but with a section of hoof missing.

When your hero needs his mighty steed, it's likely that the stud has been kicked in the balls by a fractious mare, the mare will likely have been bitten in the back - where the saddle should go and leave the hero the choice of an elderly plowhorse or a half-trained colt.

"Mare-ears"

*ahem* ... such an ugly face on a usually pretty girl, I hate to post it, but here it is - for your writing-details pleasure.


WITNESS is a wonderful little mare, gentle with people and very maternal, but she doesn't put up with nonsense. She'll ask nicely, and then insist. In spite of her (lack of) size, 13.3hh, she's pretty highly ranked in the herd and this is why.

She'll pull her first punch, but not the second and in this photo, she's telling MARAH, "You just got on my last nerve!"

MARAH is a pocket-pony and jealous of the attention the babies are getting so she's been trying to sneak in close to the visitors who have come to see little YODA.

Contrast the mare_ears shot with the on-alert photo, where the ears are tightly forward and the eyes are alert, but the nostrils are not flared as if she were smelling or blowing(warning). She's very interested, but not overly concerned.

In the mare_ears photo, you see the ears are back, although not flattened. She's serious, but not out for blood, yet. Her eyes are narrowed, if you can see it through the mane, her nostrils and lips are tight. Compare the photos and see how the anger actually changes her profile when she tightens up her nose like that.

The next stage, an instant before a charge would be to completely flatten the ears against the neck so tight you can't even really see them and to bare her teeth. If she's after another horse, she'll likely bite them on the barrel or rump if they are too slow. Anything smaller, like a wolf, and she'd likely strike with her forefeet and then bite as they dodged.

Hello World!

We had an exciting arrival early Friday morning, a brand new little stallion, barn name - YODA, who already carries the weight of the ages on his tender young shoulders.

He is one of my BLUE STARs, but more than that, he's a very welcome addition to a rare sub-subgroup of BLUE STAR. He makes #8 in his group, only three of which are mature and in production. (three are unavailable to us and one is his 2yo 1/2 sister, MIREE.) He is only the second one born into this group in over ten years and, barring unforeseen tragedy, ensures the group's survival for another generation.

What makes this little guy, and his group, so special? Their bloodlines - yes. It's based on the blood, defined by the blood and continued through and with the blood, but the blood is only a part of it. What makes these ('so-called' special the critics sneer) special lines worth trying to save are that they still exhibit the qualities that were bred into them starting 2,000 years ago in the interior of the Nejd. The fierce and loving war-mares, raised and trained by children, that would charge eagerly into battle, shift their balance to keep an unsteady (wounded) rider on board and consent to wait quietly, hidden in the women's quarters, inside the black tents until guests (potential thieves) took their leave.

They have a combination of physical, mental and emotional strength that make them what I call the "Family Style Performance Horse." Maybe not 'nuff said, but I won't /rant-on/ about it today except to say that one of the things that really draws me to this bloodgroup of horses is their intelligence, obvious thought process and a deeply rooted desire to be with and please their people.

Look at YODA's attitude here. He is not only accepting of being held and cuddled, but comfortable in my son's arms. See the relaxed expression, soft eyes and ears. Both of these guys are enjoying the contact and the 'getting to know you' conversation.

All under the watchful ears of the dam, ASF WITNESS. This little mare is facing an exhausting few months trying to keep her curious and friendly colt out of trouble and away from potential danger. She knows my son and is accepting of his time and contact with YODA, but see how wary she is of a visitor when it looks like YODA might want to get snuggly with someone that she doesn't know well.

That sideways ear is tightly focused on the stranger and is a warning for him to stay back. In this case, we eased the tension by giving her a few minutes and when she relaxed, the visitor came forward to pet the colt. If her ears had gone back instead of forward, we would have taken whatever time was needed to ease her fears.

Keeping their foals safe is the primary job of a broodmare and many mares will viciously attack if you approach their foals, especially if you get between them and the foal. While I don't tolerate aggressive behavior toward people, I also take great pains to respect my mares and ask visitors to approach the mare first and get the snuffle of approval before getting too close to the foal. We've found that if we ask nicely we avoid any potential defensive aggression and the associated problems.

Sue L.

Heart of the Hills - 25 miles

Can you think of a better way to spend your 11th birthday than deep in the Texas Hill Country on a good mare who is begging to run? This photo was taken by John Adame just a couple of miles from camp, early in the morning of the AERC Heart of the Hills Endurance Ride.

I've always loved riding through the other-worldly feel of a foggy morning. If you use the little (<<) button above the photo to go back one (#49), you'll see me on 'The Princess' - still winding down from his start-of-the-ride tantrum. I'm going to write a really really long post about riding stallions one of these days and I'm sure I'll make some people mad - but enough of that for now.

We had a fantastic ride and I'll (hopefully) have some on-trail photos to share in a couple of days. I was especially pleased with my son, not only for taking good care of his mare through the toughest ride he's done to date, but also for doing it in his fastest time yet. I don't have the official times, but I believe we completed in about 4 hours.

One of my best friends didn't have such a good day. Her mare 'tied-up' at 12.5 miles. ( Equine Exertional Rhabdomyolysis ). There is a lot of study and understanding about this, but we still see occasional, inexplicable, cases such as this of well-conditioned horses on appropriate feeding and exercise programs tie-up at far below their usual workload.

We rode together that first loop and her mare looked really good the entire time, she passed the vet check but started locking up within minutes of getting back to the trailer. We caught the signs in time and got her back to the vet and started treatment. She's doing well and will be back on the trail after a recovery period.

With the relief of hearing that she made it home and was tucked cosy in her stall - my mind starting working on how to use this incident in my writing. I think it would be easy enough, if a villain had access to a hero's horse, to set it up for this sort of issue. You wouldn't even need a villain, just an inexperienced stable boy to keep the horse stalled and grain-fed for a few days and if the hero charged out for the rescue early on a cold morning - he likely wouldn't get far.

This could happen to anyone who grabs an unknown horse out of a stall and starts off down the road.

A worthy hero would know to warm his horse up slowly, or to tie a rug over it's rump - but he also probably left instructions for the horse to be exercised daily.

Typically a horse will slow down, slightly, from their regular pace, but often won't show any real signs of distress until you stop for some reason. Many times, the first noticeable indication of tying-up is coffee colored urine. The dark color comes from blood in the urine. You don't want to try to walk them once this starts and as it progresses they aren't able to move. The large muscles that run down the horses back and over his rump will start to tighten up and harden. They'll be as hard as marble to the touch and sometimes will even cramp so tight that they'll raise up in a long lump down the horse's back. The article linked above seems fairly accurate so I won't repeat the lists and information here, but I'll be happy to answer any questions, if someone wants to use this as a bit of tragedy or conflict and needs specifics for their hero's situation.