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

back seat passenger

What a weekend! I don't even know where to begin. . .Equine Affaire or the trip home. 

I choose the trip home. While Equine Affaire was fun, the trip home is something that will never be forgotten. 

Jaime, Kyle, Haley, and I had went to EA together. We woke up Sunday and headed down to the fairgrounds to spend a few more hours at EA. I had wanted to go to the stalls where all the horses are kept (especially the Haflingers) and the others wanted to do a bit more shopping. 

But on the way, we saw a truck and trailer that had pulled into an empty corner with the hood up. Kyle is a huge truck fan and knows a lot about diesel engines, which this truck had. So we stopped and Kyle offered to help. The trailer appeared empty, but the longer Kyle talked truck talk to the guy, the more Jaime, Haley, and I realized that the trailer was not empty. It contained:

Baby!!

Mama

Minis!

More minis!

Even more minis!

Minis!! Mini donkeys, mini ponies, and a mini baby and mama! The truck and trailer has come up from an auction and was headed home with the minis. Pretty soon it became apparent that the truck was not going to start, something with a computer chip and other truck speak I am not familiar with. So Kyle used his AAA to get the truck towed to the nearest diesel engine fixer upper shop. The guy had called a friend to come get him and the trailer. 

Jaime had decided that she wanted a mini donkey. Kyle said no, but Jaime is pretty persistent. Needless to say, we somehow ended up like this:

Yes, that is a donkey in the back seat of a truck.

Meet Shady! She is a seven month old jenny who is super sweet. She is even registered. Jaime got the papers!

Shady came with a bandana and the  business card of the farm where she was bred in Texas.

Jaime named her so because it was a pretty shady corner of Columbus we were on and the whole thing seemed a bit Shady. Shady rode in the back seat of the truck with us until we got to the nearest Tractor Supply store.

Shady allowed herself to be lifted in the back seat and was very good in there. I opened some treats I bought for Shyloh at EA and attempted to feed her some. At first, Shady wouldn't take them. But eventually I got her to eat a few and she really liked them. I think this solidified our relationship, because Shady seems to really like me. I tried a peppermint after that and this is all Shady did with it:

Just held it. 

Once we got to TSC, of course we had to take Shady in with us.She was very well behaved and got lots of attention from everyone at the store. Jaime and Kyle picked up a large dog crate, a Western saddle blanket to put on the floor of the crate, and a new halter for her. I bought her some treats.

On our way in the store!

And we're in! The TSC employees said they never had a donkey in the store. Dogs, pigs, and goats, but we were the first donkey!

We put her in the bed of the truck in the crate and made our way home. Shady was very good. She caused quite a stir on the freeway! We were having a blast seeing everyone's reactions as they passed us by. Some people saw there was a donkey in there from a while away and took pictures. And some people didn't realize what she was until they were going by. That was the best and had us cracking up at their reactions.

We stopped once to get food and when we climbed out of the truck, Shady brayed for us! Super cute! She was quite the hit at that truck stop! Everyone who was coming and going stopped to look and point at her. 

How cute is this baby long ears?

We took her to Kyle's parent's house (which has the mini ponies, and a separate enclosure, just for Shady). When we took her down from the truck, I said to be careful around the dogs, since donkeys generally do not like dogs. There are about five dogs at his parent's house. 

Well. . .Shady brayed at the minis, which came running up to the fence line, then made her first kick attach at poor Daisy.

This dog is such a sweetheart with her mushed up face!

Daisy barely got hit, but came running to me, like help!! I'm so hurt. Secretly, Daisy is my favorite of the bunch. Then a little dog got the wrath of a Shady kick. Oops. . .After that, I offered to take Shady to her new home.

To get to the pen, I walked through a ton of mud, courtesy of the rain we had been having, and my feet came out of both of my shoes. Ugh. Shady got excited when we were getting close to the minis and began to trot and bray. . .so so cute! I couldn't be mad.

She has fresh water now, not that water. The minis are so interested in her!

I also got shocked by the electric fence via the water hose when I was giving her fresh water. Kyle's mom gave Shady some hay and she tuckered in while the minis watched from the other side of the fence. Shady needs some groceries and wormer, she looks to have a little rain rot, and she needs a good bath and I think she will be good to go! Her hooves look pretty good and she did let me pick them up. She even let me straddle her and pull the hip number sticky glue out of her fur. She is going to be a great little donkey, maybe even learn to drive when she gets older. 

Loving these long ears!

What a fun weekend! How many people have went to help a truck in need and ended up with a mini donkey that rode in the back seat? 

new bit tryout

I had a wonderful line drive today with Shyloh. It was sprinkling on and off, but that did not stop us. I really wanted to get a feel for the new bit we got. 

I think it was a success. Shy was relaxed, had her head down, and was blowing out a ton. And at the end, we had foamy mouth!

You really can not see foam here, but it is there.

Shy was against me taking a good photo of foamy mouth. I think she did not want to admit that she liked the bit. 

After our regular testing period, which lasted much shorter than normal, Shy was stopping and standing like she had no where to go. We did a bunch of weaving through trees. Then we went to the tires to weave. The tires are set much closer together, so I have to work on timing my line aids. While we were working on this a horse got loose from the pasture. It was the gray Arab, one of Shy's pasture mates. 

He was entirely too happy to be free (hey, it's not like he has acres of pasture of run through all day). He was running like a mad man throughout the farm and people where chasing him. There were people riding horses, people hand walking horses, and me line driving Shy. It could have been disastrous!

But I was so happy with how calmly Shy handled the whole situation. The Arab ran right by us more than once, running in true Arab fashion. I stayed behind Shy and cued her to face whatever way he would be coming from. The only grief Shy gave me was trying to get closer to the gate of her pasture, since we where close to that. But she was not phased by the run away horse and commotion. Win!

To the woods!

After the horse was caught, we continued weaving the tires, then went into the arena. I wanted to give Shy a chance to trot, so I lunged her at the trot in each direction. We also worked on fanning, since I know I needed to work on my line cues. I think it went well! 

Hug and kisses, itches and scratches

When we were done, I gave Shy her good job peppermint then put her back with her herd. She let me hug on her and scratch her itchy head and neck (from the massive amounts of shedding). But when a horse got too close to us, Shy let them know to back off! 

Shy says "Go away, this is MY Allie!"

This weekend is Equine Affaire! I can barely contain my excitement! Who is going?

monday musings by shyloh #83

What a weekend! I was forced to do work. Actual work. Not the "work" that I do with Allie. It was fun and I think I may have a new love. I was paired with Art. He sure is a handsome Haffie. We kept looking at each other when we had the chance and nibbling on each other. 

Can you see my tongue sticking out?

See. . .I am a good horse! But I have been getting a bad rap at my home. Ever since Lukas left (he was my meal ticket), I have had to fend for myself with my food. So I was forced to be a little bit mean. See. . .

Hey, a working girl has got to eat! And I have to do whatever is necessary to make sure I do.

But I can be nice and share, too. . .When I want. . .

But my ears do get sore from being held back all the time

So it seems that Allie is getting super serious about me pulling a cart. She got me an actual driving bit. She means business now!

It's a straight bar Liverpool. I used a similar one at boot camp.

Allie just needs to realize that I do enjoy going fast. My legs may be short, but they are quick. She has to get used to that and then I think we will be okay. 

And I got a visit from the treat guy! I let him give me hugs because he gives me treats.

Awwww

Well, I'm off to wash all this sand and dirt off me. It's raining and I am pretty dirty. Ah. . .natures shower!

~Shyloh

pony boot camp

Jaime, Kyle, and I took Shyloh (and Clutch and Isaac) down to Ohio for some pony boot camp with Beth and her ponies. Beth was awesome enough to volunteer her time, horses, and equipment to help me and Shy get this whole driving in the cart thing down. I can barely summarize everything without writing a novel about it, but I am going to try to keep it short. 

Waiting for Jaime and Kyle to pick us up!

All loaded and going to get the big boys!

First, we (and by we I mean Beth. . .I still have no idea how to do a farm harness) put a farm harness on Shy. She was totally fine with it. I walked her around and trotted her in hand, just so she could get used to the different sounds. There is more metal on a farm harness with the hamess and traces and other parts that my harness does not have. Shy was fine. 

Haflingers galore!! Curly (Moe) in front, then Art and Shy

It was so windy! Shy looks cute in this harness though.

Beth then hooked Shy to the cart next to Art. Art tends to be picky about his cart partners, but Shy worked her charms on him and they made a great little team. Shy was a little nervous at first, but Beth had her just stand hooked in the cart and next to Art until her breathing slowed. She stood perfectly still, but was breathing a little hard. For safety, Sierra held Shy's lead for the first couple rounds, but when Shy didn't act like a crazy lunatic she was unclipped from the lead. I think Art was great for Shy and held her back a few times when she wants to do her scoots. 

So cute together!

Butts! Shy needs to work on building hers up!

Beth is so so calm in the cart. She has a calm I feel I could never have! Her and Art kept Shy in line and they did great at walk and trot. Beth was a little surprised that Shy was able to match Art so well because Art can make tight turns and that is harder to do. Maybe we have a team in the future. . .? The little dogs running around, yeah, they liked to hop on the cart and go for rides too. So cute!

We gave Shy a little break while Kyle rode Clutch bareback (after he was launched off the other side of Clutch and landed in a pile of poop!), and Haley rode Isaac. It was only Isaac's second time with a rider! He was so calm! Isaac did an awesome job on our outing. 

Isaac is so big!! Haley is testing him out first.

Then Beth hooked Shy by herself and got a feel for how Shy works. Yes, Shy is very forward. Yes, Shy's transitions and gaits are rocky. Yes, Shy is quick and wants to go. Yes, she is too much for me at my current skill level of zero. Beth could handle everything Shy was throwing at her with a laugh (which really wasn't much), but I am not equipped to deal with it. . .yet. Luckily, Art is similar to Shy in the way he drives, except that he is dependable and has been doing this three times longer than her. So, hopefully I can get a few more drives on Art. 

I did drive Art for a while. He is so much fun! I love this punk rocker! I drove him for a while and I am already getting more comfortable with him. When you let him trot, he picks up a quick trot, but he will slow down when asked. He is such a good boy. Jaime even drove her first Haflinger!

I took in a ton of information today and had a really fun time with everyone and the horses. Shy's new driving bit came in the mail today, so I am looking forward to putting that on her bridle and working on refining her skills as I line drive. The cart still needs to get fixed and I am not ready to drive her in the cart by myself, so more line driving it is. I need to come up with cone patterns, trail patterns, and other challenging things for us to work on. Should be fun!

Going home. . .tired pony!