swamp monster

We have been getting torrential downpours all week, with the occasional tornado warning thrown in for fun. Jaime braved the rain, hail, wind, and warnings to make sure the horses were safe and stayed in the barn until it was over. Poor King Leonitus (new paint horse) didn't know what was going on as hail pelted him. He thought Jaime was doing it and she had a hell of a time getting him inside. 

Kyle's new horse

When I got to the barn later in the week, I was in for a surprise. . .

First, all the horses were hanging out in the barn listening to the soft rock radio station while Reba was munching hay from the hay loft. The thing about drafts is that not much is out of their reach.

She makes it look easy

Second, I no longer had a horse, I had a swamp monster! 

filth

Shyloh was covered in mud, her tail was disgusting, and she looked downright awful. I set to work, fruitless as it was since she was being turned out back into the swamp and she decided to be in mad heat again.

I hosed her leg, mainly to get the mud off the one leg and re-clean her wounds  underneath, but while I was at it I got all four legs. Then I washed her tail, braided it, and bagged it. That problem is solved. The wounds from the shit fork fight seem to be healing well. Shy had two more small cuts on her, one on each side of her near her hips. Kinda looked like she tried to squeeze through something and her hips got caught. 

I also noticed something else. . .

Hives! Shy has never had hives before. I am going to keep an eye on it, but they don't seem to bother her, although when I scratched her she did seem to enjoy it. They are on both sides of her, too. And since I was cleaning her up and our first show is next weekend, I decided to clip her face. She makes it really hard because she tries to eat the clippers when I do her lips. I think it tickles.

Whisker free

After all my work, I turned her back out into the swamp. Good thing we have awesome drainage so as soon as the rain stops the pastures will dry back up!

wind and rain and mud, oh my!

I was sick earlier this week. Sick, on the couch, bundled in a blanket, hacking my lungs out, not able to go outside sick. On the nicest days we have had this year so far.

So, when I am finally able to make it out to the barn, of course it we have 50 mph winds, rain, and the pastures are a mud pit along with the horses. Such is life. We can only have a few perfect days in the year that aren't too cold, too frozen, too rainy, too hot, too muddy, too whatever. 

But I still went because I missed sassy Shyloh and all her animal companions. Of course, the three big, black horses were huddled in the barn away from the wind, rain, and mud and Shy and her minions braved the weather for the comfort of the round bale. It is all about priorities, right?

I clean Shy up as best as I could knowing she was going back out in the wind and rain and mud. I got some more hair off of her, which I think she liked. Then I hopped up on her bareback for a quick minute. 

Shy was in a cuddly mood today, maybe she missed me too? I was still really bummed about the weather since I really wanted to start working Shy in the round pen since the snow was gone and the ground had dried (until the rain came). I also really want to work on riding. Weather said denied!

Whitney Houston is growing up so fast, she is getting stripes and has tail fathers now!

But the weather looks better for the rest of the weekend, so there is hope! Only a 10% chance of rain and partly cloudy! Joy!

trick or treat

Happy Halloween!!

Yesterday would have been a perfect day for trick or treating. . .today, it is all rain. So far, only three kids have come knocking at my door. 

I was deciding whether or not to go to the barn all day. . .if I went, there would not be much I could do, so I decided to save the gas. Then I got a message from Jaime. . .she was going to put the horses in the barn to let them dry out for a while. 

She said Shyloh and Reba looked like they wanted in anyway since they were up at the gate.

Wet ponies in a muddy pasture

Of course all the other horses with sane minds came in right away. Not mine. She ran right to the round bale (to get in the barn from diet pasture, Shy must go through round bale pasture). Shy wouldn't let Jaime catch her, she was being such a brat! Jaime tried to coax Shy in with a flake of nice dry hay but Shy was having none of it. Sole horse with unlimited round bale!! How could she pass that up?

So Jaime, trying to be nice, left the barn door open so Shy could go in of she decided to be normal or got lonely. It didn't long before Shy wandered in. . .but Jaime had left the barn area. By the time she made it back, Shy caught on quick to the plan and scooted right back out to her precious round bale. 

She doesn't care, eating hay blocks out everything else: rain, loneliness, just everything.

So Shy made a conscious choice to stay in the rain all by herself. Just for some hay. My horse will never fit back into her harness, will she? She is determined to be large and in charge.

I also didn't get to put Shyloh's Halloween costume on, so I will do that tomorrow. I hope it turns out cute. 

rained out

Why is it that Sunday was a gloriously beautiful day, but Monday rained and rained and rained? Because I had awesome horse plans on Monday, that's why.

Jaime and Kyle picked me and Shyloh up at our barn and we headed down to Ohio for a drive with Beth and her ponies. Beth warned us that it was sprinkling, but it looked like it would stop for a while so we could get our drive in. The plan was for Jaime to drive Notch, Kyle to ride Clutch, and Beth to hook up Shy and Art and take a trip down the Rails to Trails path. 

See this tail flapping out the trailer?

Didn't happen. I was pretty bummed about it, but we ended up having a fun time grilling brats and chatting and watching Beth's dog, Skylar and Jaime's dog, Bindi run around in the rain and play in the yard. They were so cute together!

Bindi, taking the wheel

Beth's Haflingers were very curious to see what was in our trailer. They all lined up and stared just waiting for them to come out. Except Art, he could have cared less.  The four Haflingers did put on quite a how for us, rearing, bucking, playing, and galloping around their paddock. It was very impressive. Leah, the mare would chase Curly and Rambo off, Curly and Rambo would play with each other, and Art was just being Art. Then they would stop, line up, and stare at the trailer waiting for something wonderful to come out of it. And when the rain started coming down even hard, they went under the overhang (except Art), and poked their heads around to look at the trailer. If I had four Haflingers in my yard, I would get nothing done. They would be a constant source of entertainment!

Our horses probably thought that this was the lamest trip they have ever been on. . .getting trailered up and not doing a thing! I really wanted to drive (chasing that high. . .I would make the worst addict!), but I rather enjoyed a relaxing day spent with friends. I do not foresee many relaxing days through June, it's a busy month for us! Between shows and trips and birthdays we are going to have a ton of fun!

Mean pony chased all the other horses away! This is Shy's wet hay!

One thing we did discover, Shy can fit out the escape door in the trailer. And since she gets hauled in the tack area of the stock trailer, it will make it easier to pick us up and drop us off without having to make unnecessary trips or rearranging giant horses. Let's just hope she will go in the escape door. . .

downpour

Rain! So much rain! I know it is much needed, so I am not really complaining, but if it continues, I am going to need to use my kayak as my chief method of transportation. 

Shyloh is completely un-bothered by the rain. So much so, that she continued to eat her dinner hay in a massive downpour, even while the other horses opted to take shelter.

Proof that Shy is not sweet and made of sugar. . .

Yeah, my horse is THAT hungry. . .

Clearly she is not melting

I did attempt to brush her (why? I'll never know) but realized it was futile after a few strokes. But I did pick her feet, which are water logged. Since Shy was so wet and so stinky and a little dirty, I just put her back in with the herd and observed her.

She looks so terrible, but with a super clean mane!

Shy sniffs puddles before walking in them. . .can she smell how deep they are? I think some of the dripping rain was annoying her because she would swing her head back and pin her ears, but no other horses were around her. 

After Shy finished her fill of hay, she decided to take cover. As she walked into the other horses already in the shelter, she pinned her ears and they all moved over. Shy took the spot she wanted and settled in for a post dinner nap. What a brat!

Apparently that is the best spot in the shelter.

So why was I at the barn in pouring down rain and a flood watch? Because I had the cart guy coming down to bring me some new wheels! Woot woot! He put them on the cart for me, too. He said he was surprised by what little damage was done to the cart. Tomorrow, the frame is supposed to get welded back together and we are good to go. Except for the me part. But I'll get there, one day.

Should have got spinners. . .next time. . .

monday musings by shyloh #84

While Allie really wanted to blog about her trip to Equine Affaire and the love affair she was having with other Haflingers that are not me, Monday is my day. So Allie will have to wait. 

It's okay, I have a love affair with grass.

I was abandoned all weekend to be a free and wild pony. We have started to go on grass, so all is good in my world. The weather has been awfully wet, but I heard we need this rain to grow grass and hay, so I'll allow it. 

Yuck!

Silly Allie ran out of vet wrap to wrap my tail up and now we are a muddy  mess. I don't mind so much and I have to giggle as I think just how dirty she is going to get as she cleans me up. Ha!

And when she brushes me. . .

Tons of hair!

Last time this is how much hair Allie got out and she had only missed one day of brushing. Imagine when she finally brushes me now! A mountain of hair will come out!

Rain washes out my pretty hair, but leaves my legs all gross.

At least I am still beautiful!

Model hair

~Shyloh

winter, where are you?

Where has winter gone? The deluge of rain has melted all the snow, along with the 50-60F temperatures. What is going on?

Now that me and Shyloh were having a ton of fun in the snow, it's gone. Sad face. In the place of snow, we have mud. Tons and tons of nasty mud. 

Ewww. . .mud.

Since our fun had melted, I decided to tackle the whoa, then turn around problem we have been having. With a cart attached, Shy won't be able to bend around like she does, but it is not safe for her to continue to get tangled in long lines, traces, and tires. 

I was expecting a super muddy and wet pony when I got to the barn, but I was pleasantly surprised with an incredibly clean and dry pony. Not that I am complaining or anything, but I have the cleanest horse around! She doesn't lay in mud and tried to avoid it as much as she can. I even had sandy evidence that she rolled to dry off after the rain ended. Good pony.

I took Shy into the indoor arena to give her hooves some dry ground. I also gathered all her tack and grooming supplies to bring in there. These natural showers keep Shy really clean. Last winter, she was a dusty dirty mess. This year, her mane is really clean and she is not dusty at all. By the time I got done grooming her, another person came to use the arena so I had to keep Shy on her lead rope.

I tacked her up and went to put her crupper on, she scooted out from me. What? This went on our whole session. . .Shy was really jumpy. I had quite a few incidents of the quick feet. I could give a million reasons (we never work in the arena, it's dark in there, there was another horse being ridden. . .), but I really think she probably did not want to work after being rained on all night and most of the day.

The session started out rough. First, holding two long lines plus a whip plus a horse that does not want to stand still. But I kept at it, did lots of circles, and soon I had control. Shy's steering was spot on but she was still giving me trouble with "stand." We practiced a ton and I worked on telling her to walk on before she decided to do it on her own. I also worked on her moving her front and rear independently to get back in line with me when she moved over. With lots of praise, at the end of the session, I had a decent stand. 

While this session was not as great as the past few weeks sessions, it is to be expected, right?  Got to take the good with the not so good. 

Photo I forgot to post from sledding. Shy is cute sticking her tongue out

jingle bell rock

I finally arrived to the barn to a dry horse! It has been rainy and muddy and just plain drab for what seems like eternity. Shyloh had been wet so I just didn't work her. And with the whole working late thing last week, I also didn't have the chance. So I was rather happy that when I got to the barn and Shy was dry. Time to work!

I want to get her used to noises behind her, so I bought some jingle bells. Cute ones.

Rockin' around the barn!

The first day I had them, I just attached them to Shy's cooler (I was trying to dry her to work her, but that didn't really work out). She was fine with them. 

Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring

The first day I had them, I just attached them to Shy's cooler (I was trying to dry her to work her, but that didn't really work out). She was fine with them. Today, I attached the jingle bells to her harness. Again, Shy could have cared less about the bells. Well, that idea was shot down. I still worked on our line driving with the jingle bells until it started to rain. 

Giddy up jingle horse, pick up your feet

Then it started to rain and we were forced in the indoor arena to continue our work. I don't care to work in there if it can be avoided. It is small and dark and I do not care for the footing. Another horse was in the arena today, so I took the jingle bells off. I didn't want to scare a horse with a rider on! We stuck to half of the arena and worked on turns, figure eights, stopping, and backing. Shy was a rock star! My only issue with her was walking up to the wall. She knows it is there so she won't let me run her into it. Not that I would, but I was trying to get as close as we could so we could practice sharp turns. Sometimes, my horse thinks to much for herself. 

But, Shy was amazing and we had more foamy mouth!

Dancing and prancing in jingle bell square

After the other horse finished her lesson, I got out the shafts. Again, no point in scaring another horse with weird contraptions. As I walked Shy back in the arena door, the side of her harness hit the door and Shy spooked. So, I walked her back out the door and the fight began. She refused to walk through the door again. Once I got her through, out we went again. And again. And again. Until she walked through the door without a problem. 

I got Shy reacquainted with the shafts by having her touch them and rubbing them on each of her sides. No problem. I had someone hold Shy and I put the shafts in her tugs. No problem. I rigged the back end up. No problem. I jiggled the shafts and had them move on her while I had someone holding her. No problem. Then off we went. Shy was doing well, then problem. A scoot. But a weird scoot. She tucked her butt and scooted it in, but her front end did not seem to shoot forward. There was no tightening of the lines. 

Now the jingle hop has begun!

After a couple of the same scoots, Shy was great. I am pretty sure the scoots were like the riding scoots. . . she was just trying to get out of work. I worked on trying to get her to cross over her legs for turns. I am not sure of that command, but I used over. I would call ourselves moderately successful on that. 

Overall I was really pleased with how we did today, especially since it had been a week since we did  any work. 

autumn fun day!

Today is the first day of autumn and Shyloh and I had a fun day! We did do a little bit of work. . .spirals on the lunge line in the arena. It was raining all day! But after that, we had a lot of clicker fun!

And Shy was featured in the Stale Cheerios blog for the Almost Wordless Wednesday this week! It is a blog on clicker training and it has a ton of great resources for anyone who wants to try it. 

For our Autumn fun day, we. . .

• Did a lot of at liberty clicking, see, no halter, no lead! Shy was amazing. She walked right up to her "new" mat without a problem. The old mat was leaving chunks all over the arena. The new mat is a little too narrow, but that didn't stop Shy!

On the mat!

• Played with cones. Lots of cones. Shy was all about cones today! I was trying to get her to hold them for longer so we can work on more tricks. 

There is something on my butt. . .

A cone on the butt. . .a cone in the mouth!

• Kicked the ball and licked the pole. I was trying to teach Shy to kick forward, but she likes to kick back. Something to keep working on.

Then we got some horsey friends out and played with them. Casi and Robbie wanted to play way more than Shy did!

And. . .I found another toad!

Toad on Shy's butt

Toad on Shy's head

Shy liked the toad so much she tried to eat it. I had to pull it out of her mouth! Poor toad. . .I put it in a safe place, far away from Shy's chompers. 

The first day of fall gave me and Shyloh some good old fashioned fun, even though we were stuck inside because of the rain.

wet pony

It rained! It rained! It rained! I actually had to pick mud out of Shyloh's hooves today! We need the rain in a bad way.

But, then it rained. . .so no round pen and no ride. I don't ride wet horses. And here is why. . .

One time, the Haflinger Mia, that I leased was on outdoor board. I am not even sure I was leasing her at this point, just riding her, so I was really new to riding horses (not like I am an old pro now, but. . .). Anyway, it was raining outside. Mia was in her shelter and I was not about to walk across a muddy paddock to get her. So I grabbed some hay and Mia came trotting out. Mia loves to eat even more than Shy. 

Fuzzy Mia

I put Mia in the cross ties and questioned what to do next. The "trainer" at the barn said towel her off and tack her up. I questioned this. . .she was soaking wet! But the trainer said it was fine. Later I learned that it was not fine. . .I kept asking the trainer if she was sure it was okay and she kept reassuring me that Mia was fine. So I did what I was told. Then I walked sweet, old Mia to the arena and mounted. We walked one length of the arena when Mia reared up! 

Wet Mia

Let me tell you, I would have sworn on my life that this rear was vertical. But witnesses on the ground said it was only about two inches off the ground. Then Mia bucked out! Again, it felt way worse than it was. Mia was an extremely overweight 18 year old lesson horse. She really was not doing much. But for a very very new rider, it was quite the ride!

She had the softest hair!

Oddly enough, I was not terrified. Don't get me wrong, I was a little afraid, but I knew Mia would never bolt or take off, it was not her style. I stayed on that hefty mare without a problem. And I continued to get on her multiple times a week. Why can't I do that with Shy? 

I came to the conclusion that Mia did not appreciate being ridden while wet, so I dismounted. I gave her some apples and carrots and loving. I never rode Mia when she was wet again and Mia never bucked or reared on me again.  And I never will ride a wet horse again.

But, I suppose I could have lunged Shy. But I didn't. Lazy me. . .

Shy on a non rainy day

monday musings by shyloh #35

Oh, hello there. . .

It is rainy and overall yucky out and I am very tired from my travels yesterday. But I was a good Haffie horse (the best one there in my opinion) and I hope I get to go back soon! That's all I have to muse about today, I am a sleepy pony. The rain is not helping a Haffie stay awake!

What is your favorite place to travel?

~Shyloh

monday musing by shyloh #14

I'm going stall crazy! This rain has kept me inside all week. At least Allie opened by window so I could smell the fresh air. . .until it got too cold and it was voted that it needed to be closed. Good thing Allie, Aunt Kathy, and Aunt Robin let (forced) me run around the arena! A girl has got to get her exercise to keep her figure, especially if she wants to eat as much as I do!

At least I'm not muddy!

I had an eventful weekend. I learned how to get that horrible hay net off the wall! How did I do it? I'll never tell. . .and I didn't even break it! I like to keep Allie guessing.

And one time, I was in the arena with Ryleigh and Allie took him back to his stall for dinner. She left the arena door open just enough so I could fit through! So I went through it. . .  escape! I was kinda surprised at myself and stood just outside the door in shock. . .where to go with my new found freedom? I started to go to the right, but then I realized that MY dinner hay was in my stall, so I went left. straight into my stall. Hey. . .I can't pass up food, that's just not my style!

I reunited with an old flame this weekend, too. Chick went into the arena and he was calling for me, so I answered. This went on for some time, so Allie took me in there with him. Wowza! I couldn't help but "wink" at him, if you know what I mean. Ryleigh was sooo jealous. I must not be a one horse kinda mare. . .but Ryleigh is still my main gelding. 

Me and Chick, catching up on old times and living outside

Ryleigh checking out my luscious apple bottom 

What else went on this weekend. . .oh yeah! Allie rode me without the lunge line! We did real good together. Except at one point, I was paying more attention to following Aunt Robin and I tripped. But we were okay, I wasn't scared and Allie handled it real well. She made me turn left and turn right, stop and go. All on her own and without a saddle! I can tell she is getting more comfortable and her balance is getting better. Although sometimes, when she tapped her boots on the sides of my belly, I startled. . .I prefer her to squeeze gently. I may be sassy, but when I have an important job to do, nothing will get in my way.

I'm good!

Allie also worked with me on the mounting block. I am really not as scared of it as I pretend to me. . .life just isn't as fun without giving Allie a hard time! She kept lining me up, but as soon as she stepped on the block, I stepped away and she had to start all over. Soon, that got boring though, and I let her get on my back. Allie was really living life on the edge, because we were all alone in the barn! She did not have any helpers like all the other times. She sat on my back, so I was real good for her. I didn't move a muscle because she didn't ask me to. She kept rubbing my neck and telling me how good I am. Then she hopped off and I got some good eats! Sometimes, it sure pays to be good!

I was fell asleep with my head sticking out of my stall!

Well, that was my weekend. It was good times! I hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend, too!

~Shyloh

must teach shyloh to swim

This has to be a record year for rainfall! The pastures have turned into swimming pools and if it gets below freezing (as predicted) they will become ice rinks. The land can't take any more water in, the ditches are full, and the roads are flooded. 

That means ponies are stuck inside. And to make matters worse, the water is seeping into the barn stalls. Fortunately, the stalls have not flooded, like they did at the barn where I leased last year. That was bad! Unfortunately, Shyloh's stall seems to have the worst water seepage, but it is not pooling, just damp. 

Praying "rain rain go away"

My work was kind enough to let me leave and go make sure Shy was not floating down the road. I packed in extra sawdust pellets around the edges of her stall, Ryleigh's stall, and Casi's stall so they can soak up water. I can't stand the thought of Shyloh standing around on damp bedding. Ugh. . .so bad for her hooves! I hope the sawdust soaks up the water until stalls are mucked tomorrow. 

I let out Shy and Ryleigh to stretch their legs in the arena. They had a fun run! It took a little persuasion to get them going, but they needed to get moving!

Then they just hung out and walked around for a while, following each other like they always do. 

Butt sniffer :)

They love long walks on sandy arenas

I wanted to hop on Shy bareback again, but there was no one at the barn and I did not want to get on by myself. Maybe later this week. So I groomed her and took her mane and tail braids out. Her hair is so silky smooth!

No rides for you today :(

I let Casi out in the arena, too!. That horse can run! And he is fast! He has the prettiest trot.

Speedy!

The rain is so bad that when I was driving home from the barn, there where whole sections of road where the water came past my tires! When will it end?