Crickhollow Farm

Memorial Day with the Horses

Since it's Memorial Day, and we actually have it off, Bonni & I rode this afternoon.  We were going to do so yesterday, but it was so hot and the flies so horrible, we opted to groom and hand-graze instead.  Today was much better on all counts, though, so we took Merry & Rocky to the north paddock for a little ride (the arena was a bit too wet after the storms last night).

I finally got to try out my new Courbette bridle I got cheap at the Expo.  It matches my saddle perfectly and looks gorgeous on Merry.  I think the old caramel bridle will become Morgana's.  I'm quite pleased with that purchase.

Merry started out the ride being a bit of a dork.  He settled down okay, but there's something about starting out in that paddock that puts him on edge.  Not sure if it's the girls nearby (though he doesn't pay them much mind), the size, or if it's just because it's different that's the issue. He was dancing around like a dork and I actually had Bonni wait to get on Rocky because I didn't know if he was going to explode into some idiocy or what and didn't want to set Rocky off, too, if he did.  I got him moving forward and he was fine, but it's one of those things where you wish they could talk so you could ask them what the hell they were thinking.

Now Rocky, after starting out only wanting to trot, was a bit of a slug for the most part, but he did okay in the end.  Bonni was able to get him moving again after each petering out moment and no major battles ensued. 

I cantered Merry a little bit here and there during the ride.  He has a hard time keeping it up in the small space, but he picked up both leads absolutely perfectly, so I'm pretty happy about how he did.

After our ride, I washed Merry.  I wish I had a proper wash stall, with warm water & everything so I could really scrub him, but I got a fair bit of dirt washed off him with just the hose and a bucket.  He looks so nice and shiny, and it really helped to get his mane & tail washed out (and then ShowSheen'd to a fair-thee-well).

So it was a nice day.  I'm glad Bonni was able to stop out again (twice in one weekend!) so we could ride together.  It's so much more fun to ride with someone, and easier to get motivated to do it, too.

Perfect Weekend for Horse Activities

Finally we got a perfect weekend for spending outside, doing things with the horses.  Warm, sunny, and not too windy.  It was great.

Saturday started with mucking and giving lessons, after which we did a little tackbox cleaning over lunch.  Then Bonni & I tacked up Rocky & Merry & went for a ride down in the arena.  Yes, there are pictures this time.

Merry did really well.  We got in some canter work -- on both leads!  It's not the prettiest yet, I pretty much just let him have his head and let him balance as he will, but he doesn't feel confident in the gait with me up yet.  Prettiness will come with time and a better balance.

Rocky did well, too.  He was petering out towards the end, but Bonni was able to get him moving again without any battles, so it's all good.

 

Good Day

It was a beautiful day today, fairly warm & sunny, though the breeze was a bit chill at times.  Bonni & I had conspired to have the day off (it was supposed to be vet day, but she had to cancel unexpectedly) and Diane was able to get it off, too, so I had a full day out in the barn. 

Diane came out in the morning & helped me get my whiteboard hung up in the barn.  We also pulled Morgana out to groom & I longed her a little (a very little -- her attention span is rather short & I don't want to make work a negative thing).  We also groomed Annie after we put Morgana back out.  By some miracle she has not rolled yet, so she's looking pretty clean for once.

Bonni came out later in the afternoon & we took Rocky & Merry into the back paddock for a ride.  Sadly, I didn't think to get anyone to take pictures.  Rocky was super good.   Merry's never been ridden with anyone else before, but other than a couple small snitty moments, he was quite good as well.  (During one snit-moment I asked Bonni how she liked having the well-behaved horse for a change.  She liked it just fine.)  Merry settled down fine and we ended quite relaxed. 

No idea how long we rode.  I didn't have my watch on & didn't think to check the clock in the barn as we went out.  We just did a bit of walk-trot until I started getting thirsty and both boys were behaving nicely so we could end on a good note.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so we can try for a repeat performance (hopefully with fewer snits on Merry's part).

Dear Rocky,

When I said that I'd always wanted a black Welsh pony, I was not intending to suggest that you go wallow in the mud until you turned black. 

 

Exasperatedly Yours,

Alexis

Green Grass

I have managed to get the horses out on grass a couple of times this past week.  They haven't been allowed out on it for very long -- we need no colic or founder here -- but they were very excited about getting out at all. 

Merry knew what was going on as soon as I started shifting the temp-fence panels around and got himself quite worked up.  It was particularly hilarious that first time, because Rocky had no idea what was going on.  Poor guy just stood up in the door to Zahr's stall and watch in confusion as the other boys went bolting out into the green as soon as I opened the gate.  I actually had to call him down and talk him through the gate.  He's an odd one, is Mr Rockmeteller.  (This is where I have to admit that, in my mind, he's not Rocky after the fictional boxer, but after Rockmeteller "Rocky" Todd of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster stories.  He's just that sort of hapless goof that populates those stories.)

Getting them back up off the grass is always a challenge -- I can usually get Merry & Zahr running & wound enough that they'll barrel up into the paddock & I can shut the gate behind them.  Rocky & Gimli I have to go fetch with a lead rope.

The girls all had to be fetched with the lead, too.  Although, I didn't nearly have the battle with Morgana that I sometimes have in the past.  Once I had the rope on her, she came along well enough.  No tricking her by backing her towards the gate this time.

Unfortunately, with all the rain we've had in the last day, & look to be getting over the next few, it'll probably be a while before I can get them back on the grass again.  I don't want them tearing it all up because the ground's too wet.

While I didn't have the camera when the boys went on their big tear their first day out, I did get some photos of them out grazing (and one of Rocky pacing the fenceline, looking forlorn after I locked them back in the paddock -- I won't post that one 'cause he'd just rolled in the mud and looks entirely too gross in it).  I'll post a few of the best here.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Or, as I like to think of it, St Perfidia's Day.   You see, the Arab mare I had as a kid, C.V. Perfidia ("Toad"), was born on March 17.  We tended to celebrate with carrot cake cupcakes with those green shamrock sugar decorations on them.  As a result, I always think of her on St Patrick's Day.

It's an unusually warm day for March, today.  By about half past nine this morning, I was down to my sleeveless t-shirt as Diane and I mucked stalls.  It was warm (the thermometer in the barn was just hitting 70 at about ten) and humid.  I'd had my hair up in a ponytail to start with but the ends were curling around and sticking to my arm, so I had to re-think my strategy and braid it instead to keep it out of my way.

It's sort of vaguely threatening rain.  The wind is pretty strong & it's been blowing in clouds, pushing them past us to the north, all day.  I pulled Rocky out to groom & play with him for a bit this morning, trying to get some actual interaction with a horse in before the skies really did open up (still hasn't, of course).  I just took him out to the north paddock to ride a little bareback & reintroduce the concept of work.

Peevish ears.

No Such Thing as a Pony-proof Blanket

Now that the weather is improved (no more rain/wretchedly cold wind/rain+wretchedly cold wind), I've taken Rocky's turnout sheet off on him.  In doing so, I discovered that somebody managed to tear a hole the size of my hand clean through the left hip of it.  The little bastards. 

That was 1200 denier rip-stop nylon, too.  I can only imagine what a less tough sheet would look like by now.  Rocky had also managed to liberally coat it in mud.  I have to find some way of cleaning it off without making the hole worse so that I can patch it.  With what, I have not yet decided.   I sense a trip to the fabric store in my future.

This is why I don't like leaving blankets on them for very long (or buying boys nice things).  They always seem to be determined to destroy them.

Horses at Play

The horses were being quite wild & playful this afternoon.  As I was getting ready to go out to give them their evening hay, Myf & Morgana were being goofs on one side of the barn whilst Zahr and Rocky were being goofs on the other. 

Myf was on a rope twirling binge, which seemed to make Morgana jealous.  Myf would buck and run a bit, but mostly she just twirled and twirled...  Morgana stood nearby at one point, looking like she wanted to have the rope, but getting her face too close would have meant getting hit with it.  It was hilarious.  Myf did eventually drop the rope and they went careening around, bucking & hopping.  The jolly ball was even put into play at one point.

Zahr, meanwhile, was trying, semi-successfully, to get Rocky going.  He did run and buck a bit, but mostly it was Zahr hopping about, trying to harass him into action.  He had his tail flagged and was looking quite handsome, as he does when he gets revved.  He almost got Merry going good, but I think he was more concerned about his (woefully empty, just ask him) stomach than playing.  He kept going back towards the barn and poking around for any bits of hay that might've escaped from lunch.

I would have liked to get pictures but, as it was dinnertime, I knew that all action would stop as soon as I opened the back door.  I just stood and watched from inside for a while, until it looked like Rocky would appreciate the rescue.

Napping Horses

I got a shot of the boys napping after breakfast this morning.  Gimli, Merry, Rocky were standing in this perfect three-spoke configuration & Zahr was off on his own.  Of course, they were behind the tree from where I was, looking out the back door, so it's hard to see.  I didn't want to go out for a different angle because they would have heard me and all turned to stare.  They do it every time.

 

And on that theme, some shots of nap time a few weeks ago.  There was no snow then, so it's not as pretty.

January So Far

After a brief flirtation with sub-zero windchills, the weather has bounced back up into the unseasonably warm range.  I manage to enjoy it up until the point where I think about how wrong it is and start to wonder what it's going to mean for spring & summer that we have had practically no snow (and only a little rain in its place). 

Is it wrong of me to hope for a wretched, properly wintry February & March?  I have sections of hay-field that are supposed to be re-seeded after my neighbour's drainage tile project of this autumn.  Drought would not be good for that.

 

I need to pull Rocky in for another weight measurement soon.   I did the old poke-him-in-the-side-and-look-for-ribs test this afternoon and actually found them without having to dig in so much!  The winter-fuzz makes it a little hard to judge, but I think I've got him about where I want him.  I'd like to get a number to help me confirm that.  Gives me something to write down, at any rate. 

Tonight I'll start upping his feed ration a bit.  He doesn't need a lot, but I don't want him getting too skinny.  Neither do I want him blimping out again, so it will be a careful adjustment to find the level of feed that keeps him at the weight I want.

Now that diet (and the Gimli & Zahr mandated exercise) has succeeded in stripping Rocky of most of his excess, his next step will be building muscle.  His topline over all needs work, and getting actual muscle in his hindquarters would help his shape a lot.  (There's just something about a flabby butt that's so off-putting!) 

Rocky stands around with his head up in the air most of the time, which causes him to cave-in his back.  (My uncle, who is not a horse person, even commented on his "swaybacked" appearance when he saw him, though I wouldn't count Rocky as being truly swaybacked.)  He needs to build up his back muscles.  Being ridden will be a much more comfortable proposition for him once that starts to happen.  If the weather forecast holds, I will try to get a start on that tomorrow by taking him out for some longing over ground poles.  Nothing too fancy, just something to make him pick up his feet and, hopefully, to stretch his neck down to stare at.  Eventually, I will want to break out the surcingle and side-reins, but to start we'll keep it low-key.

 

Pony, not Hippo

When Bonni stopped in for her Christmas Eve visit, we pulled Rocky in so that he could say hi without interference from the other boys, get a couple treats, and a brush-down.  We also took the weight tape to him again.

He's averaging about 806 lbs now!  It takes a fair bit of poking yet, but a person can find his ribs finally.  There is a chance that I will not be humiliated over his weight come the spring vet visit.

Friends After All?

Rocky and Zahr might end up as friends after all.  Rocky's been learning how to fit in with the herd (like figuring out what I call the "Merry-go-round" -- Merry decides what pile of hay he wants to eat from and everyone else shifts from there, often multiple times in one feeding; Rocky was getting stuck with no hay while a pile went spare just because he'd been ousted from his initial pile.  He's learned to make a break for whichever one is left open now), and isn't as scared of the others now as he was.  A couple of nights when I've been doing the evening feed, he's practically been in Zahr's stall while waiting for me to get to his bucket.

A couple times now, I've seen him and Zahr standing and playing that "duelling muzzles" game that boys are wont to play.  They poke at one another's faces and sometimes heads get tossed around, but it never devolves into the full-on battle (mock or otherwise) with rearing & striking.  It's just poke, poke, poke...

Before, Rocky would not have stood still for this.  He would have run from Zahr at any sign of confrontation.  Now, he's relaxing into the herd dynamic.  He's still bottom of the heap, but he can interact with the others rather than just trying to stay the hell out of their way.  It's taken him a bit longer than normal, but he's getting there.