ice cream

The Good Old Days Show was put on this weekend. It is a long show that has English and Western riding classes, Pleasure and Draft driving classes, and in hand classes. I have went the past two years, once without Shyloh and once with Shyloh. This was going to be another year without Shy, but I am sure she was totally fine with that.

Since Shy was unable to get down to Ohio, Beth graciously offered me the use of her ponies for in-hand classes. Those classes would be trail in hand and ground driving obstacle. She would be taking Art and Rambo to the show. I accepted, then Beth made a friendly bet. . .loser would buy ice cream! And since they were in hand classes and the horses went one at a time, we could both use both horses. Challenge accepted. 

I told Beth that I would have to come down a day early to practice if I wanted a chance against her. So down to Ohio I went. We spent a little time practicing and more time killing horse flies. Those suckers were ruthless! They attacked in waves of two. Two horse flies came in, we (and by we I mean Beth) either killed them or they flew away after several attempts at killing them, then another set of two would swoop in  and we would have to start over. Ugh!

Ponies!

We decided to wash ponies and get them ready for the show the next day. The horse flies were relentless and continues their two at a time attack. But ponies got washed and clipped and sleezed up. Then Art and Rambo got put in the grassy round pen so they wouldn't roll in the dirt. Art decided to be an evil villain in his "costume" and was beating poor Rambo up in the round pen! So after a while the sleezies came off and the horses got put all back together. 

Super ponies. Purple Art was the evil villain and red Rambo was the super hero

Of course, when we got at at dark still for the show, Rambo had a line of dirt along his mane.  Rambo is such a funny horse. He is very busy and very mouthy and wants all the attention. He is so damn cute about it!

He sucks his tongue and holds on to the trailer. 

Once we got to the show, we braided horses tails and manes and got to showing. 

Donkey!

A Fjord!

Mule

Beth riding Rambo

Flo on Mick, Chelsea on Tom in the back

Farrier's daughter was at the show, too

Steve and Sally Sue in Pleasure driving class

Regina driving Art, they got reserve champion for the draft driving class!

Flo and her sweet new wagon!

The trail classes run most of the day so people can do them in between their other classes. So after Beth did her classes and the cart class with Regina (her youth driver), we waited for the trail results. And waited. And waited. Finally they made the announcement. . .

Beth took first with Rambo in trail in hand and I took second with him! I also took fifth with Art. Beth also took first with Rambo in ground driving obstacle and I took second with him. I took sixth with Art in this class. Looks like I owe Beth some ice cream!

Our selfie with Rambo

My ribbons with Art

It was such a fun day and very low key. Ponies were good and Rambo was a blast to line drive. I am so glad I got a chance to use Art and Rambo at the show. Thanks Beth!

Beth got Reserve Champion for the draft division!

my dogs are barking

Figuratively, not literally. Literally, the dogs are participating in their favorite past time, laying. Whew, I spent all day at the barn! Good thing I'm gellin' with my Dr. Scholls or my feet would be more sore! And now that I am home and not moving around, my sinuses are kicking in. 

I did go to the barn yesterday. Shyloh has found a NEW love. Forseti. We thought they would just be friends, but yesterday he threw her into heat and she was "winking" at him. That mare sure get around. . .first Chick, then Ryleigh, now Forseti. But Forseti is such a people lover that I think it is good for Shy to be around him and follow his example. 

Hot new couple at the barn

We let Forseti and Shy graze a bit, then I tried to get her to do some work in jumping. She just was not into it, maybe she felt it from me, being sick, or maybe her belly was full of grass. Either way, I did not press it because Shy usually does not give me trouble about doing work. Then I went straight home to sleep and hopefully kick this sickness. No luck. . .

So happy together!

Today, I helped Kathy again. I really enjoy the physical work of barn work. Feeding, mucking, letting horses out. . .it's my own therapy. Although I did get kind of stepped on by a rather large Percheron. We let Shy and Forseti graze together again. Shy was out there by herself and when I put Forseti with her, he galloped right to her and they stuck together like glue. After a while, I put her back in her paddock and Forseti ran to be with her. He would not leave her side! Sandy was a little upset, because every time she calls Forseti he comes to her. But with Shy in the picture, he was not going to Sandy! Those two horses are like peas in a pod! They are very attached to each other! Shy was trying to nap outside and Forseti was being her look out.l He had to protect her from the evil cows next door!

Shy and Forseti. . .always side by side

I set up another obstacle course for Shyloh. We learned a new move, the side pass! Shy did pretty good, but we need more work on it. I got some really good feedback from Terry today. Terry really knows her stuff when it comes to horses, especially Western stuff. She said my obstacle course is like a trail class. She also said that everything that I have been doing on the ground will translate into the saddle, I will just have to adjust my cues a little bit. So the trust that I am building with Shy now, will help when I start riding! 

Shy and Addie

And speaking of saddle. . .Mike got me a bridle and saddle pad for our 5 year anniversary! No saddle, but it is a start! He did a good job picking them out, too! Terry helped me switch out the bit and fit the bridle to Shy. Tonight I am going to out some leather stuff on it. Shyloh is such a patient horse. She just stood there without a fuss while Terry and I were adjusting and readjusting the bridle. I feel so lucky to have such a good pony!

Not the best picture, but the only one I have so far

Tomorrow, I have a little surprise for Shyloh! I hope it goes well!

obstacle course

You can call me the MacGyver of the barn. I can take a paper clip and an earring and make something useful. Okay. . .maybe not, but I can be pretty creative with the stuff we have at the barn to create an obstacle course for me and Shyloh!

Just in case you cannot decipher this high tech, to-scale masterpiece, I have made a key.

1. cones
2. tarp
3. poles
4. hula hoops
5. cones
6. jump
7. walk-through
8. barrels
9. plywood
10. poles
11. poles, again

This is what we did. . .walked through the cones, over the tarp, over the poles, put two front feet in one hula hoop and two back feet in the other hula hoop, circle in the cones and stop straight on, over the jump, under the walk-through, over the barrels, over the plywood, over the poles, and through the last poles for the finish!

Let's go! We got work to do!

Shy did amazing until number seven. We had never walked under something before, so Shy was a little hesitant, but did walk through it with me. Then number eight came. This was probably a mistake on my part. I wanted the barrels to simulate a log on a trail, but I think they were too big, She attempted to walk over. She put a leg up, but must have felt it was too round to get over. She bit the lip of the barrel, decided that it was not heavy (it was just plastic), and pushed it with her nose. Hey, she gets an "A" for cleverness! Everything else went great! We walked a few times, then trotted through. 

After our obstacle course, we worked on the mounting block. Shy did very good. Then I took her outside to let her graze. She was the first horse to graze in the new pasture! And it was so beautiful outside today. We had a wonderful day. I think Shy really enjoyed doing the obstacle course, so we will definitely be doing that again! I know she enjoyed the pasture! 

Oh yeah. . .and this hungry hippo stepped on my toe! Ouch!

Not me!

monday musings by shyloh #1

I have so much to share today. . .but that is going to have to wait. I am going to start a new segment called Monday Musings by Shyloh, where I write from Shy's perspective. I think that this will be a good exercise for me in writing and thinking about things from Shy's point of view. It may also be funny. . .so here goes. . .

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So, the people got wise to my grain stealing and put a new feeder out for Chick, my BFF, that attaches to the gate. Now I can't slide the bowl away! But, Chick loves me so much that he leaves some for me. He knows that I am a hungry girl!

The lady came again today. She comes almost every day. I am still not sure what her deal is. Today she came while Chick was out with his lady. I kept calling to him, but he was ignoring me because he was eating grass. I wanted to eat grass! I love grass! It is so tasty! 

The lady is so strange! She didn't come to see me right away, she hung out with Chick and his lady. Then, when she did come to see me, she went straight back to where the water is. I trotted behind her, but every time she looked back, I stopped. Haha. I don't want to her know how interested I am in her, because for some reason she is really interested in me. She always wants to touch me and stuff. But she gives me treats, so I do what she asks of me, for the most part.

The lady really is a weirdo. She hung out where I live for a while, but didn't do anything. I tried to played catch me if you can, but she wasn't interested. Then, I saw the strangest sight. . .a little horse, smaller than me was kinda by my fence. I thought I was the smallest horse ever, but I guess I was wrong! It was the strangest little thing. The lady and the other lady went to get it. There were three total, just loose out front. I guess they took them where they belong, because when they came back, the little horses were gone. 

Finally, the second best part of my day came! Hay time! Nom nom nom! I love hay. The lady stayed and watched me eat (I said she was odd), and kept dropping this thing. I wasn't scared. I had hay and Chick didn't seem to care about it. So it was all good. But then, the lady put the leas rope on me! We went inside and to the place where I she does all this funky stuff to me, then I have to undo it by rolling in the dirt. But I wasn't done eating! Not fair!

Look at all that hay left, and you want to do what with me?

Oh well. I was getting brushed and getting my neck scratched. I love love love getting my neck scratched!  Then I had to stand for what seemed like the longest time ever just waiting. People kept coming up to me and petting me. I am okay with that now, but still a little unsure. I mean, hey, I don't know them! I don't know what they want from me or what their angle is. If they have food, I welcome them to touch me, though. I did get to try something new today! Ryleigh's lady gave me coffee! It was a sugar filled delight! So good, it makes me want to smack your mama, or pucker my lips in a funny fashion!

After eternally waiting, we went into the big sandy area. It was busy in there today! Bob, my first love was there, and so was Ryleigh, Resy, Shamon and Eli. But I was well behaved. . .at first. I walked this maze thing a bunch of times, then I walked it backwards and over poles. This is easy stuff, but, backwards is so scary! I can't see where I am going and I am not sure the lady knows what she is doing. But, I will give this to her. . .once again, we made it safely through the maze. So, mayabe she does kinda know what she is doing. . .the jury is still out on that.  Ryleigh was doing the maze with me. Then Resy wanted to take his rider through the maze! Shamon and Eli also went through it too! And the best part was that Bob took his rider through! Bob is new to being ridden and he was fantastic! All the other horses did great, too, but I got real bored just standing around. I pawed the ground to let this be known to the lady. I mean, I am a pretty patient pony, but this was getting ridiculous! Plus, I had hay waiting for me!

The maze

The lady tried to walk me backwards through the maze again. Well, I was not having any of that, so I bit her. Partly because I was wanting my hay, partly because I was tired, partly because I had to stand around doing nothing for so long, and partly because I wanted to see what she would do. The crazy lady screamed and made a crazy sound. But that was it. I knew she was not happy about what I did but I did not get hit. . .I may have to test this out again. . .But now she won't let my mouth near her! Seriously, how bad could it hurt? Chick bites me all the time and I am fine and dandy.

I did a few other things for the lady, then she gave me a delicious banana and a scrumptious apple. Did I mention that I love food? As we were walking back outside to my hay, I tried to nibble on some grass. The lady was not letting me. So I pulled harder. Grass is so good, why didn't she understand this? All I got was a little bit, then I went to my home to finish my hay. Chick was waiting for me. 

One more thing. . .before she turned me loose, the lady took off my halter.  I wonder what this means. . .

~Shyloh

thief in the night. . .or just at feeding time

I learned today that Shyloh is a grain thief! I knew her love of grain was extreme when that was the only way that I could catch her ( I am able to catch her without grain now! Yay for me, boo for her), but she has taken it to a new level. . .thievery! Shy does not get grain daily. Being a Haflinger and reading all that I have about the breed, I opted to go grain free. She does get her supplements during the morning feeding though.

Don't be fooled by her cuteness. . .she has a Who me? Never! Look on her face!

But I have learned form Kathy how tricksy my pony is. . . She scarfs down her supplements, then goes for Chick's grain! I saw her once tip his bowl over so some grain spilled on the ground and she could clean it up. Kathy says that she has witnessed Shy multiple times stealing Chick's grain bowl right out from under him! She will grab it with her teeth and pull it away. And the strange part is that he lets her. I guess grain really is the crack of the horse world! And Shyloh apparently will lie, cheat, and steal to get some!

Pretty lashes. . .she probably stole them from another horse. . .j/k!

Today, I washed Shy's mane. Ever since I added coconut oil to it to help her dry skin (and it did help), it has attracted dirt like crazy! Her beautiful hair was looking gray and yuck. It temporarily looked so white and clean and pretty, until I put her back in her paddock and she rolled. Then she got up and snorted, pranced a little, and it seemed like she was saying don't wash my mane again, ha!  Sassy girl!

Clean and pretty mane!

Shy says I'll show you not to wash me again! Moo haha!

Must get both sides covered in dirt!

After her mane cleansing, we worked on an exercise called the keyhole. I really think I need to up the ante with these exercises for Shy. She is doing so good! I put the upright poles in front, because I know she has been leery about them in the past. After an initial stop to check them out and make sure that they were not a cougar in disguise, Shy walked right through them. I added cones, which we weaved and used to make the path narrower. I also put poles across, which she had to walk over. And, we backed through the whole thing! Shy was a genius! So I need to find some stuff that is more challenging to her. The other exercises that I found required manual labor to build parts, so I am not sure we will be able to get to those anytime soon.

I discovered this great blog, A Year With Horses, the other day! It's also in my side bar. This blog has put into words some of the things I want to accomplish with Shyloh, but I did not have the correct vocabulary for it, I guess. In this post, she discusses developing virtues in horses. The virtues she lists are:

Attention
Patience
Curiosity/ability to experiment
Forward/impulsion/responsiveness
Willingness/softness
Kindness/sociability
Calmness/relaxation
Self-confidence
Trust/trustworthiness
(taken directly from her post)

Her thoughts seem to be similar to my way of thinking and she explains how most people think they need to "work" the horse on the outside, but really, in order to establish and maintain a relationship with your horse, you need to "work" the horse form the inside. I thought that was very profound! She also has posts on her observations of how her horses exhibit these virtues and what needs to be developed more. This post is an example of that. And, yes, I picked this horse because his name is Pie and that is Maggie's "street" name.

This last post that I want to share is about making progress with your horse. I really appreciate her insight and how she is able to recognize that even the small steps count toward progress!  I encourage any one who reads my blog to also look at A Year With Horses. She has been blogging for a while and has many interesting and helpful posts.

Probably one of the best parts of my day were helping Kathy take the horses out! All the horses were great and it was fun seeing how excited they were to be outside. As soon as most of them got free, off they ran to the back of the pastures to graze or play or just be horses. 

labyrinth

Wow! 

What a great night! As you can see from the pictures, Shyloh was amazing again! And. . .no spooks tonight!

We worked on a labyrinth with the poles. I got the idea from here. I want to try as many of these exercises with Shy as I can to boost her confidence. We went forward through the labyrinth both ways. Then, I up'd the ante and I had Shy go backwards. I didn't think that she would do it, but she did! Shy proved me wrong, once again. Then I rearranged the poles into a different formation. We worked on going through them both ways again. Then i put two poles across and Shy walked over them without a problem! She did not even balk at them or stop to sniff them. And they were slightly raised off of the ground. A few times she hit the poles with her back legs (I think she was being lazy and not picking her feet up high enough) and rolled the poles a little, but she did not care. Like I said, no spooks tonight! As the last part of our exercises today, I removed the poles across, and we walked backwards through the path. Again, perfection! Shy did not give me any trouble!

The barn was so quiet and peaceful tonight. The only problem was the flies! They were everywhere! Poor Shyloh was covered with flies. I had to spray her twice, but I am pretty sure that the flies will still bother her. I even sprayed Chick down. He was having a rough time with the flies. Each season has its pros and cons. Winter=no bugs but cold, summer=no snow but bugs!