through the woods. . .

. . . a-line driving we will go! But first. . .

Shyloh had a visit from the farrier. Same farrier, but the first visit at the new barn. Funny how the new barn doesn't seem new anymore. Anyway, Shy's hooves are doing great. Being outside all the time has been good for her. I asked about the changes in her hooves and he patiently answered me. He said it would not be a normal visit if I didn't have questions, ha! Basically, when she was at the other barn, her heels contracted a bit, but now that have gone back to normal. And that is from being out 24/7. It makes me happy and lets me know that I am doing the right thing by her.

Before the farrier came, I had not been out to see Shy in a few days. Wild pony! Not only is she super shaggy, but her mane was a mess, her tail braid was coming all out, and she just looked wild. With her being out, I can't seem to contain her mane. It flips over on both sides, then all flips on one side, then flips back over to the other side. Crazy.

Fuzz

After a few freezing cold, windy days we are having a sunshine-y break. It is wonderful. I can handle the cold if its sunny and not windy. Or at least not windy.

I've said before, I feel like sometimes I am the MacGyver of the barn. I do not have a ton of resources available to me, so I have top make do with what is around me. I have been working on homework assignment #1, #2, and #3. 

Front view

Rear view

We practiced our line driving and when I felt I had nice contact and we were doing good, I took us to "nature's cones."

I used the tress and weaved in, out, and around them. We could switch up the pattern as often as I wanted. We did tight turns and wide turns. Shy would duck under low hanging branches and was not bothered when the branches brushed up on her back or sides. 

Shy did great, even though we did have a short argument about whoa/stand. We even got more foamy mouth, but green this time because she had eaten green stuff before we started. 

She was chewing a lot, too

After our line driving session, I put Shy in a paddock to hang out with her. Shy's first order of business. . .roll off all signs of having been worked.

Then we messed around with this old truck tire. I got Shy to trust me and she put her front feet in the tire. Yay! I feel like I am making some really big strides with Shy. The weekend is supposed to be nice, so I will be spending it at the barn! I hope I can get a header so we can do some tire dragging.

more changes

Not only has Shyloh changed physically in the past year, she has also changed emotionally. When she first came to me, she was all wide eyed and flared nostrils. Now she is much more relaxed and droopy lipped.

From this. . 

...to this!

And even though Shy no longer runs to the corner of her stall when I approach, I have learned that she still does not trust new people. She was afraid of the vet. My only guess is that he wants to put her hands all over her and she is thinking, geez, this guy didn't even buy me dinner first! She had no problem trotting away from him, but refused to trot back to him or get near him when he was evaluating her. It was kinda funny. . . But she did like the chiropractor who was cracking her. Weird pony.

But then I thought back. Shy was afraid of me at one point. I could not touch her head or brush her forelock. In fact, that is how I got bit by her! And just recently Shy is letting me touch her ears without swinging her head away. Shy did not like Beth either, but now she trusts Beth enough to let her ride her.

I actually think moving her inside helped a lot with her emotional growth. While she loves being outside, people would not make the extra trip to visit her. Inside, she has a prime location. Her stall is right across from the grooming and wash rack and right next to the arena and a small common area. Shy gets to witness a ton of action each day and people can go up to her stall, pet her, or give her a sugar free treat that I provide at her door. Shy no longer cowers and faces the corner when people approach. And that makes me happy.

For riding, Shy has become a much more relaxed horse. She still has her moments and will get uptight when she is not sure what is being asked of her, but overall the scooting has been kept to a minimum. Shy aims to please and was getting so worked up when we first started riding you could just feel the nervousness and tension in her. But now, she is very open to learning and retains what she has learned very well. With the exception of the latest tire incident, Shy was doing really well with pulling stuff. I have no doubt we will get to where we need to be.

It has been fun to watch Shy grow and change throughout the year. I have made some mistakes along the way but I have also accomplished quite a bit with this horse. We are still working on trust, but with whatever happened to her in her previous life is hard to erase. I am looking forward to many more years with Shy!

proof!

While I was off with family celebrating the Memorial Holiday doing this. . .

Ahh. . .kayaking. So peaceful!

and this. . .

Bonfires on the beach, with S'mores!

Shyloh was having herself a good old time doing this. . .

Goofy looking forelock, from the humidity maybe? Shy likes hose water!

 and this. . .

Rollin', rollin', rollin' in the di-irt

Anyway, on my drive to the barn from work, I was contemplating the show and in particular the trail class. Bear with me, my thoughts are sporadic! 

Why would Shy not back up through the obstacle? Was it a trust issue? I have worked so hard to gain trust with her, what else can I do? Is it because I don't trust her, but only when riding (a whole other issue in itself)? Anyway, I went on and on about trust or the lack thereof. . .hey, I hit construction on the way to the barn, I had a lot of time! I was really bumming myself out with all my doubts. Then I was getting mad. Mad at me for not being able to provide Shy with what she needs and mad at her for what I have to offer not being enough. Ha. . . yes, I am a little bit crazy and quite possibly over analyze everything.

I walked into the barn irritated at both of us. But as soon as I saw Shy's silly face, it all went away. My perfect little Haflinger was just waiting for me. I groomed her, set up a trail obstacle, grabbed my clicker training stuff, and began to tackle the trust.

Turns out, I give Shy much more credit than she deserves. . .Yes, she is smart, perhaps smarter than me, but she is simple. As in, she simply did not want to back up. Going forward was easier. Shy was not understanding why she had to back through it when she could walk forward through it.

After a few frustrating attempts, mostly of her backing the first leg of the obstacle, then powering forward to avoid the turn, success! This mare has amazing lateral movements when she is trying to get out of going backwards. It really is amazing. . .if I wanted her to go sideways. 

So, for the trail judge on Sunday and anyone that does not believe me, here is the proof that Shy will back through an obstacle!

And here is the sidepass that we worked on, too. Pretty good! She can do it without me touching her now. But, is it me, or is Shy actually hitting me on purpose when she swishes her tail?

bareback pad disaster

It finally came! 

My bareback pad! 

I was so excited to get my package the day before Christmas; it had been on back order for weeks. It had stirrups that I could remove if I did not want to use them. It was blue. It seemed perfect for my needs. 

Simple, like this bareback pad, but blue

I got to the barn Monday to feed and muck stalls. I patiently waited all day to try this new thing on Shyloh. By the time I got done with everything, the barn was busy! But, being so excited to try this new piece of "tack", I moved forward. I groomed Shy because she was a little muddy from being outside. I put the pad on. Hmmm. . .what was this odd buckle contraption?  I could not figure it out, so I called in reinforcements. Kathy also had difficulty figuring out how to secure the buckle. Finally, I got it. . . sort of, kind of, maybe. 

The arena was busy! Notch was in there doing showmanship type stuff with Jaime, Dannon was being lunged, and someone was shooting guns nearby. Remy was getting tacked up to come into the arena, too. There was a lot going on, and I usually ride by myself. In fact, I've only ever rode with another person once. But, my enthusiasm to use this bareback pad persevered. 

I knew I would have to get on and off Shyloh a few time to adjust the stirrups to the correct length. We walked up to the mounting block. I swung a leg over. . .and I was stuck. The mounting block isn't tall enough for me to sit down on Shy, I have to swing myself over. If I got on like normal, the saddle pad would re-adjust itself crooked. So, I stood there, with one leg swung over Shy's back and the other leg on the mounting block, wondering what I should do. 

Shyloh decided for me as she walked off! I hung on for dear life (because a drop from 13.3hh is soooo far), while half hanging on the side of her until she stopped. It seemed like forever, but in reality it was probably only a few steps. I slid off of her and checked everything out. Apparently my sort of, kind of, maybe girth adjustment was not right. The pad was massively off-center. . .I fixed it, I think, then started over. 

This time I got on Shy but the stirrups were way to long. I got off and adjusted. I got back on. Too short. I got off. Adjusted. Got back on. One stirrup was decent , but the other was way off. By now, I was annoyed, so I threw the saddle pad over the arena wall (and I may or may not have been cussing at it), and hopped on Shy like I always do. We did a few laps around the arena. 

Shy was great, even with all the commotion! She stopped frequently to check things out. If a giant horse was running in my direction, I might stop and let him pass, too . . .just to be safe. She listened perfectly, even though I could tell she wanted to GO! She was very forward and at one point almost broke out into a trot. Whew. . . I am not ready to trot bareback. My balance is not there, yet! Soon I dismounted and led Shy back to her stall. Even though we had a short ride, it was a good ride. Better to be short and successful than to push her and have something unfortunate happen.

While I was getting that d@#ned bareback pad from the arena wall,  Shy thought she deserved a something delicious and sugary for her good behavior, and took it upon herself to provide herself with a treat. 

Jackpot!!

Notice the destroyed SweetTart box. . .

Maybe it was not a terrible disaster. . .It could have been much worse. But I was very disappointed with the bareback pad. I will work on it and try to figure out this buckle and attempt again.

And news in the Shyloh trust and progress department! I thought that since Shy was going back outside, she would return to her wild self, refusing to come inside, and everything else that she used to do.

Wrong!

I went to go get her and Ryleigh today from outside. Ryleigh was a gentleman, as always, but Shyloh thought it would be fun to play her signature game, Catch Me If You Can. I did, for a minute, then just took Ryleigh inside. As soon as we were out of the gate, Shy trotted up to the gate. She was still there waiting when I went back out to get her. She saw me and nickered! Then she flung her head a few times. I went in the gate and she trotted away, but I called her and she trotted back to me! First time ever! That and the nicker she gave me made my day!

routine maintenance

Isn't the dream of owning a horse the picturesque "riding off into the sunset"? When you have the dream, no one tells you about the day to day dirty stuff that needs to be done to maintain a horse's health. For the longest time, I could not pick hooves, the smell made me gag. Then there is the poop, oh all the poop! And if you have a gelding. . .good luck cleaning that sheath.

Today, I had to de-worm Shyloh. Her fecal sample came back positive for worms, so Mike picked up some paste from the vet for me to administer. So far, Shy has eaten anything that comes in contact with her mouth without a problem. Thank goodness the de-wormer was no different! Shy took it like a champ! Robin gave me a little scare saying that it tastes bad and sometimes horses spit it out. But, I am pretty sure Shy has been de-wormed before. . .she was looking at me (as I was reading the instructions), like hey, I know what that is and I can clearly tell you do not know what to do with it! 

Little bit of paste on her mouth

Next, I decided to clean her teats. I have attempted a few times before, but I never went through with it. . .those cow kicks are quite intimidating! But today I had the time and I brought the baby oil. It took about 20 minutes, but I did it! At first, Shy was not happy. I had to adjust some of the things I usually do. I attached the lead rope while she was in the cross ties and put the excess over her back. When she cocked her leg as I was running the towel under her, I told her no! If she raised her leg off the ground, I put pressure on the lead rope that was attached to her halter. As soon as she put her leg back down, I released the pressure, then I started over. If I could run the towel underneath without her doing anything, I praised her. I should mention that I used warm water and baby oil on the towel. Eventually, I was able to get all the gunk out of her teats! I think she actually enjoyed it!

Shy's first reaction was to back herself into the corner as far as she could to avoid the teat cleaning. . .

Kathy came up to the barn and offered to let Shy try on her saddle. It fit well, so I was going to take Shy into the arena to walk her around and work on mounting block behaviors. 

Whoa! I got a totally different Shyloh than the one I have been working with recently! She reverted back to the old Shy, the one that first came to the barn. She refused to go into the arena, then refused to walk once I got her in there. Her ears were back. She started doing her nervous licking behavior. What was going on? She had a saddle on yesterday and was fine, but I did not ask her to do anything in it. Since Shy has only been ridden a few times with me, I am thinking that either a) she is upset about having a saddle on and the possibility of carrying a rider or b) something bad happened to her in the saddle. Who knows. . . ? I do know that she spent a short time at a trail riding park, all saddled up and ready to go each day, so I am guessing she had some bad rides.

Not a happy pony

Fortunately, Kathy is being generous enough to let me use her saddle to work Shyloh in it. And that is what I am going to do. . . saddle her up to work her so she can get comfortable in it. I know I have said this before, but that saddle didn't work out. I will take as long as I need to let Shyloh know that she can trust me, with or without a saddle on her back.

Kathy on pretty Shamon. I wanted a better picture, but my phone battery was drained.

After I put Shy back outside and gave her some hay, Robin had a lesson with Beth. She was doing long lining with Ryleigh. I was there to watch, but Robin invited me into her lesson to let me try long-lining with him! It was amazing and Beth taught me a lot about the whole process. I cannot wait to try this out with Shy!  I really love our barn! In addition to having friends there that came from the old barn, all of the other boarders are very friendly and helpful!

Robin and Ryleigh with the long lines!

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!

social butterfly?

Maybe, but not quite yet. Shyloh had a very social day with horses, dogs, cats, and people. And she was amazing, yet again! 

First, she had a  new farrier come out to assess her hooves. He said that she had great feet and she was quite pleasant in the cross ties. I was quite impressed with her not being spooky while he moved the foot stand thing all around her. I was very happy with him, so Shyloh has a new farrier! He does barefoot, so it is perfect.

I put Shyloh in the arena for a few hours to dry off, it was raining again. . . I told Robin that she should bring Ryleigh in the arena, too, and him and Shy can meet each other (not over a fence) and play. She was a little apprehensive, but Kathy helped.

We HAVE to do this again!

Follow the leader!

Holy cow! Shyloh and Ryleigh were awesome together! They followed each other around, sniffed each other, groomed each other, and were just so great together. Ryleigh took in a big sniff of her "scent", and Shy kept sniffing his male parts. It was love!

Awwww! She is quite the mare of the barn!

They like long walks on the beach. . .in the sand. . .

At one point, Ryleigh grabbed a cone (he loves cones), which had a lunge whip sticking out of it. Shy was interested in what he was doing, so she went to check it out. Inadvertently, Ryleigh kept hitting Shy with the whip, under the belly, on the legs, in the face. . .and she did not care one bit! She was not afraid of the whip at all! She even tried to grab it from Ryleigh a few times. 

What kind of trouble and we get into together?

Playing together

Then Terry came to the barn and brought her dog, Addie. Ryleigh, Addie, and Shyloh played in the arena for a bit, then Robin took Ryleigh out to be groomed. So Terry brought in Resy. 

Pow wow in the middle of the arena

Resy and Shyloh

Including me, there were five people in the arena. Shy would go up to people, let them touch her, and not run away! It was quite a difference from a month ago! She is learning to trust others, too! 

Going right up to Rob while he is playing Angry Birds

I am teaching Shy a trick, how to wave her foot. I have been taking a dressage crop and tapping her leg so that she lifts it, then giving her a treat. She caught on really quick! After a few times, I did not even have to tap her leg more, I waved my hand, said wave, and she would lift her foot. This is only step one. Step two involved stretching her leg forward, which I will work on tomorrow. Shyloh is so food motivated, that she began lifting her foot for me, when she wanted a treat, even when I did not ask her! Smart girl!! But what have I gotten myself into?

monday musings #3 and day nine

The rain is back! 

I have been having a good ole time. . .I am getting comfortable in my new home. I was so upset last week since Chick was moved, that I couldn't even write, but yesterday I got a new friend! Caesar! He is a big boy and he likes to get dirty. Don't get me wrong, any time the lady tried to beautify me, I do my best to reverse it; but Caesar likes to get very dirty! 

And I have learned my lessons with horses past. . .I will not let him bully me! So I have been showing Caesar who is boss. Earlier, the foot guy came to give him a pedicure and I was not about to let him go out the gate without me! I tried to tell him that he better stay, I even pinned my ears and everything, but the barn lady still took him. But Caesar came back. I still won't let him on my side of the shelter yet. I barely know him and it is too early for that much intimacy. 

Nom nom nom

The treat dude came to visit me today! I love it when he comes to the barn! I got so many treats today. I even got some new treats from another lady who is always at the barn. Treats are so good!

Today, the lady took me inside and cleaned out my feet. I wonder if she has given up on brushing me, because I keep letting her know that it is pointless. Next she took me to the big indoor sand pit. I'm not sure what she wanted, so I hung out by the treat dude. But then she made me trot around for a little bit. After that, she made be go up the the thing that makes her tall. It is getting less scary. I go up almost all the way now and she asks me to get closer and closer, so I do. But sometime, if I get too scared, I move my butt away. So, after a few times when I did really good, we stopped. The lady does this crazy thing where she jumps off the block. At first I was scared, I didn't know if she was going to jump on my back or what! But now I know she won't, so it does not bother me.

Sticking my tongue out

I did not get any grass today. . .I have been getting grass in a pasture all to myself for the last few days! I loved it, plus all the boys really like me. And I like the attention. I just have to wiggle my rump a bit and it drives them wild! 

When the lady took me back outside, her and the treat dude were watching me. Caesar was getting too involved, so I bit his butt and told him to get moving. Then I shook the gate with my teeth. I wanted more treats from the dude! But he left and the lady went back inside. Then she came out with dinner! I was so excited! I trotted next to her (as much as I could in the mud) and at the same time I was telling Caesar that he better stay away from my dinner. I think the lady was going to put the hay in the shelter to be out of the mud and rain (she is a nice lady), but Caesar went up behind her and pulled it out of her hands! Ha! I don't care if my hay is muddy! I will still eat it up!

Muddy Caesar and me!

I think I like the lady more every day. I don't think she will hurt me. I keep testing her, though, just to be sure. I go in her space, I bit her feet, I paw the ground, I refuse to move, and I am hard to catch. She really does not put up with my shenanigans and lets me know, but not in a hurtful way. I will keep trying to find her limit though, just to make sure that she is a great as I think she might be. . .

~Shyloh

---------------------------------------------------------------

Two Songs.

Song 1 - First Date by Blink 182
Blink 182 is my all time favorite band. And on our first re-date, my husband sang this song to me! This band is fun and goofy and has really upbeat music.

Song 2 - Kandi by One eskimO

I like this song, but really, I like the video! It is so cute!

day seven and sexy shyloh

I am exhausted from my day at the barn!! Me, Robin, and Sandy spent most of the day feeding horses, giving them grain, mucking stalls, filling water buckets, and turning out horses. Whew! My feet are killing me!

Catch me of you can!

After all that hard work, I asked Robin to catch Shyloh. I thought just a peppermint would work, but Robin brought a granola bar out, too. Shyloh must have known that, because she would not come to her for the peppermint. Robin ended up catching her with with the granola bar and walked her around the paddock, then let her go. I am asking others to catch Shy now so she can learn that other people can be trusted, as well. My own personal catch and release program. A few hours later, I asked Sandy to catch Shy. Shy gave her a little bit more grief, but Sandy was able to catch her, too!  

A little later, I went back in and got Shyloh. She came right up to me (yay!), so I think her trust in me is growing. I worked with her on ground tying and some more desensitizing. I think the trust plays a part in the ground tying, because the ultimate goal is me being able to circle around her, without her moving. As of now, I can back away while looking at her, walk away without looking at her, and move side to side in front of her. If I try to circle, Shy follows. So we will continue to work on this and trust.

Hula hoop desensitizing

Our barn is home to the horses of a local equestrian team. They have an event tomorrow, so those horses were loaded up and taken to the fairgrounds. That meant that there was a free pasture! I put Shy out there to graze for a bit and wowzaa!

She had all the geldings in the adjacent pastures up in a tizzy! Red was running around like crazy. For a short time they stopped to sniff and graze near the fence with each other. Dante would not stop strutting his stuff up and down the fence line. Ryleigh could not stop staring at her beautiful butt. When he did break his gaze, it was to try and run Dante off! But the best was Bob, her first love. They leaned over the fence at each other and gave each other "kisses." They groomed necks. I would give anything for a picture of that, but I was afraid to move and have them stop and run off. It was a remarkable sight!

Shy seemed unfazed by all this male attention. She just grazed, like this was a common occurrence in her world. But I did notice that she was pickier with her grass and did not shove mouthfuls in at a time. . .could she be a self-conscious eater? She would take a few blades here, a few blades there, like a little lady.  Shy must be hot stuff in the horse world, haha!

Meet Bob!

Shy and Red

I like big butts and I cannot lie - says Ryleigh

After I put her back in her paddock, I hid pieces of apple, carrot, peppermint, and SweetTarts all around for her to find.  And I forgot to mention yesterday, that Shy was being a beast! She bit my feet, though my boots. . . twice! Once while I was standing on the mounting block, and another time on the ground! How does that even happen? Oh, yeah, me letting her sniff then her deciding to take a bite. Then, Terry brought Addie, her dog to the barn. Shy loves dogs! She was trying to get Addie's tail and she tried to groom Addie's back! 

I will be relaxing the rest of day!

Looking for treats in the shelter

Four Books. So, hard! I love reading!

Book 1 - Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.  It counts as one book because a) it was actually written as one book, but broken into three because it was so long, and b) I own a copy that is a single book.

Book 2 - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I had a hard time getting into this book, but after I read it, I was like wow.

Book 3 - The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. Not a single book, but a very interesting series.

Book 4 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling. Again, not a single book, but so enchanting and fun to read.