monday musings by shyloh #90

Apparently, Allie felt that since she couldn't get me to the show that we had to do work. We went on a line driving extravaganza. I tried my very best to get out of work. I tried to be scared of everything!

Can you see me? I was just chillin' with my homies and these tractors when I got pulled out to do work!

A new pile of dirt. . .scoot away. Allie tried to make me look at it, but I wanted no part in it. I kept trying to turn around. . .you never know what kind of horse eating creature can emerge from disrupted earth. . . zombies are just one thing that comes to mind.

Getting ready for work. . .grumpy pony am I

And while I was being forced to be zombie food, someone ran from the barn with a wheelbarrow making all kinds of noise. Spook! Then Allie made me follow it to where it was being dumped.

Working it!

Next came the flowers. See, these are new flowers hanging on a post. I did not like them suspended in the air like that. Flowers should not hover like that, they belong firmly planted in the ground. I could barely look at these flowers and I wanted nothing to do with them. Of course, all Allie wanted me to do was go near the flowers. After a fight, I walked by them, but I was not happy about it. Next, Allie said the magic words. . .Touch it. So I did! I shoved my nose right in those flowers. I know that when Allie says to touch stuff, I usually get treats! But not this time. . .

No treats! That's not how you treat a Haflinger!

We went through the barns, around the barns, worked on stopping, worked on stepping over without moving forward, just did a bunch of work. Some of the stuff in the barns scared me and I didn't want to go past them, but Allie had the whip at the ready and tapped me onward. I was tired when we got done. Perhaps going to shows is less work than staying home? Nah. .  . I don't think so!

Big yawn!

~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

got shafts?

I went to the barn in order to get everything ready for our big debut tomorrow. I can't leave work as early as I would like, so I don't want to be in a time crunch. Eh. . .I am having anxiety, but Shyloh proves every time I get all worked up about stuff that it is no big deal to her. 

I got everything ready and I still had some daylight left. What to do. . .what to do. . . Work on line driving, of course! I decided to be brave because Shy has been extra awesome lately and got the shafts out. I was going to put them on her before a practice line drive. 

Shy got her harness and blinders on and I showed her the shafts. I got the usual white eyes, but I am starting to think that is all for show. . .like a few of Shy's behaviors. She set herself up to not move an inch as I touched her sides with the shafts and let her know what I was doing. She did not care at all. I put the shafts in the tugs (which is a bit difficult by myself) and Shy stood there like a champ. Then I realized I forgot the bungee cords to hold the shafts up in the back. Crap. . . I improvised with the lead rope. It worked just fine. 

I grabbed the lines and off we went! The shafts were a little too far up and way more bouncy than they will ever be with a cart attached, but Shy just kept trucking along. She was unfazed. I proceeded to do a happy dance in my head. Shyloh is coming along so well! As we were walking along, people at the barn kept saying when are you getting a cart? and you need a cart for that horse! All in due time. . .plus they have never seen her step off with a cart attached! Yikes!

As we were coming from alongside one of the barns, a feeding bowl came flying over the fence where the pasture boarded horses live. Shy spooked! Her scare spooked some horses being ridden in the outdoor arena. It scared me! I thought one of the horses kicked it over or something. But someone had threw it over. Shy's spook could not have been more perfect, as far as spooks go. She jumped about two feet sideways then froze. She didn't bolt or even try to, my lines never tightened! 

After that we kept going. Shy must have known it was close to feeding time because she kept trying to point herself back in the direction of her pasture gate. When I tried to move her away, she went into statue mode. So I backed her up and tried again. And backed her up and tried again. And backed her up and tried again. I told her she better give up because she was not about to win this fight. And she did. We set off in the opposite direction from the gate she wanted. 

Once more, I decided to be brave again. I asked for a trot. This was the first time I asked for a trot with the shafts on. And once more to my surprise, Shy trotted without a problem. She didn't keep the trot at first, but once I got her into a nice trot I asked her to walk then whoa. Perfect!

I gave her a ton of praise, then let her go eat with her herd. I am so happy with how good Shy is doing! I have been doing the happy dance in my head all the way home from the barn and will probably continue into tomorrow! I didn't get any photos today, but here is Shy with her troll hair.

training to drive

Gotta take the bad with the good, right?

I would call today successful overall, but with one major mishap. Shyloh got away from me. Again. But we got through it.

I got to the barn early to enjoy this beautiful weather! I cannot believe how nice it is outside! I got Shy and gave her a mini spa treatment. . .coconut oil on the hooves, Healthy Hair Care Moisturizer for the mane and tail, and some new braids. Then we ran through the exercises we have been doing all week. See the sled, click and treat, go around the sled, click and treat, move the sled, click and treat, walk next to the sled on both sides in the halter, click and treat. Shy was acting like a pro!

Whachu doin back there?

The next step was to drag the sled with the blinders on. I put the driving bridle on, showed Shy the sled was not going to eat her, and we went on our merry way. I was still walking next to her at this point. Shy was unsure for about half a second, then it was no big deal. She did spook once, but it was more of a start. It seems that when people just appear in her line of vision, especially if she can't hear that they are coming, she starts. It is in place and stops her, but she recovers quickly. I did the sled dragging with the blinders on while walking on both sides. Shy was amazing!

So I decided to take it to the next step. But first, I gave Shy some down time. I knew she was not physically exhausted, but I thought she might be mentally tired from doing new-ish things. We took a break for a while.

Why you down there sittin on the sled?

Then I went over line driving. Shy can gee and haw without me even using reins. She knows what she is doing. We went through our trouble spot from the days before with no issue. We went through the outdoor arena and the manure spreader, a tight squeeze, no issue. Lots of people were at the barn, horses were being ridden, golf carts were cruising around, barn machinery was making noises. . .no issue. I was so proud of my pony! 

You sure you wanna do this?

Then I decided to try and drag the sled behind me while line driving Shy. I prepared her that it was going to happen. She took it very well. Yay! We were going around and someone walked in Shy's line of sight. She started. Then a golf cart was going by. And a truck pulling a trailer in was coming through. And more people were walking by.  Shy pulled forward. I stopped her and made her back up. Perfect. Then she pulled again. Stop and back up. It was too much for Shy. Too much going on at once. Since she was a superstar all day, I thought she could handle it. . . I thought I could handle it. . .but she pulled hard and took off. I got rope burns (bad me, no gloves. . .I hate gloves!) I am so glad the sled was not attached to her. She didn't go far and some people caught her and I went to get her. She wasn't huffing or puffing or stressed in any way. I had left the sled and we went back to line driving.

Shy was not going to get out if this. If that was her game, I was not playing. I line drove her through the spot she took off at, past the sled, and all around the property again. No problems. Then we went back to the sled. I showed it to her then let her know I was going to drag it again. We were going to end this on a good note. Not once did Shy try to take off this time. She did keep stopping, but I'll take that over a bolt any day. I had her go back to the cross tie area, stopped her, gave her a ton of praise and untacked her. I think we can do this!

Shy's got this sled thing!

driven to drive

After Plow Days and all the fun I had riding and driving, and since I am out of a saddle, I have decided that I want to really get Shyloh driving over the winter. I have grand plans of working on line driving, then when I feel she is really good with that having her pull an empty sled and working all the way up to pulling me in the sled. My thought is that by the time the snow comes she can give sled rides!

Them other day, I got Shy's harness out of her show box and tacked her up. Shy's patience with me is also amazing. She stood like a pro while I untangled all her lines and got myself ready. I figured I would have some issues getting her going, but she walked on like she had been doing this for years. We went all over, including places I have never walked her before. We even trotted some. At one point I decided to test out Shy's "gee" and "haw." I can't believe that I have to learn more words for right and left. . .I have a hard enough time as it is with that! I wanted Shy to go right, so I said "haw." She started turning left. . . even though I was using the reins to tell her right. Then I said "gee" and she immediately corrected herself. Good pony. Clearly knows more than me. . . I was quite impressed! 

Shy did spook once, but it was so minor and if a spook can be good, I would call this spook good. We were coming up around a trailer and the lady that owns the two Halfingers was sitting on the edge of it. I didn't even see her, but Shy jumped sideways a little. I am just happy that she did not try to bolt or run forward! We worked on whoa and stand and Shy did her typical moving to the left until she was halfway around me. We need more work on that.

Today, I did some more line driving. I am so happy with Shy's progress!  

To be sure that we can be in the big leagues of driving, I have marked Shy so I can get the "gee" and "haw" straight. . .

This is what the pros do, right?

I think going around the barn property and not being inside has a lot to do with this progress. It is not a boring arena. I remember discussing using the outdoors quite a while back and now I have little roads to do that on!  Shy is very curious about her surrounds and got a little side tracked with some new horses she has not seen before. That was the only issue we had today, and I took her past those horses over and over until she walked right through and stopped trying to go up to them. It only took three times.

On the go!

Shy had a terrific whoa and stand today! So much so that she didn't move when I stopped and talked to some friends for about 5 minutes, she even cocked a leg and stood perfectly still!

Not going anywhere!

I worked myself on keeping contact and trying to match my walk to that pokey pony. I think I am getting better. We worked on some more trotting too. . .until I ran out of breath!

Shy did so well, I bought a plastic sled from Target. 

I am going to drag it behind me next time, that way, if Shy spooks at it, I can let go and she won't be dragging it behind her.  Then, I will need one of these. . .

show to-do list or round penning instead

Here is my list of things that I would like to accomplish this week before I take Shyloh to this show:

• bathe and clip, whiten that dirty mane and tail
• practice the mane roll
• practice our line driving (eek! harness has not been hooked up in forever)
• practice our golf club turns for halter and showmanship classes
• clean tack
• pack for show

Today is Tuesday. . .how many of these things have I done? A big, fat zero!

Super curious girl!

Instead, I pulled Shy out of her pasture today and tacked her up for some round pen work. When we were walking down the aisle, I stopped to chat with Kathy and Terry. Shy was so curious today! She was sniffing a muck rake that was hanging and it fell on her. Shy backed up, but I still had a loose lead in my hand. She did have wide eyes and flared nostrils, but she was not trying to get away. I think that is a good thing.

New halter!

Shy was amazing in the round pen! She was really focused on me and following my non-verbal cues like a champ. And then she got some spunk in her.

It had rained recently and while the grass was not wet and the round pen was not muddy, the ground was a little softer near the entrance. Shy stumbled a few times in that spot and I guess she got tired of it. After I got Shy in a nice working trot, I decided to test my luck and ask for a canter. I generally do not ask for the canter in the round pen for a few reasons. One, I want to get Shy's walk to trot transition to be very smooth; two, I am not ready for her to canter with me on her; and three, asking for the canter in the round pen usually means me chasing her until she gives me a few steps of canter then breaks back into a trot.

Today, for some unknown reason, Shy decided she wanted to canter. And canter she did! It was beautiful and I just stood in the center of the round pen watching. She must have been feeling really good because she let out a few mini bucks, but only in the spot where she kept tripping.

She looked so pretty! Of course, I did not have my video camera on me!

Round and round Shy went at her canter. I started wondering if she was being wild, so I decided to ask for a walk. I gave a non-verbal cue and Shy walked. Just like that! Wow, good mare! I turned her around and had her canter the other way. Shy decided to canter that way too, without much prompt from me. I stopped her and she was breathing hard. It takes a lot for Shy to breathe hard!

I wanted to walk her around the round pen to cool her down. But this horse knew our walk to trot to walk transition drill. She would walk about five steps, trot about five, then walk again. Repeat. I must be way too predictable for her. . .

By the time we got done, Shy was actually sweaty! I put her back in the pasture with Robbie, even if it was only for a little bit before it was time to come inside. She really deserved it!

I really need to get to work on my show to do list!!

holy cow

Two buddies grazing

Kathy and I took Casi and Shyloh for a visit to the cows. We wanted to see what the horses would do up close. The cows were quite intrigued to see us. . .but the bull was pretty upset.

Shy and Casi could have cared less about the cows. Shy gave some odd looks every now and again, but she was mostly interested in the grass. It was cute to see just how curious those cows were. They seemed so friendly and not at all concerned with the bull's digging and grunting.

Hey you!

So why is it that this horse could care less about moving, mooing cows, but is freaking out over anything that slides along the ground? First it was the tire, now it is a plastic tote that I use to store her harness. Shy had herself so worked up in her stall over me moving the tote that she was grunting, breathing hard, and refusing to eat her hay!

Great, I was so upset over this because Beth was going to give her a lesson today and I wanted Shy to be in a good frame of mind since she has not been ridden in about three weeks. Beth worked with her in the stall because Shy seems to have lost all sense of manners over things that slide along the ground. She tries to run people over, she puts her butt to them, she is just plain rude. This behavior is not acceptable! After quite a dizzying while, Beth got Shy to circle in her stall without trying to run her over when she was near the tote. . .which was not even in or directly in front of her stall! This horse can just about fold herself in half to avoid "scary" things. Then Beth walked her in and out a few times until she gave no resistance in leaving the stall or hurrying to get back in the stall.

I tacked Shy up in the dressage saddle and Beth got to riding. As usual, Shy did the unexpected. Beth was ready for a crazy, scooty, Shy not listening ride. And so Shy was nearly perfect, especially for the extended time off. Stood perfect for mounting, set her head right away, was light on the bit, bendy, and a few other dressage terms that I am not familiar with. Beth said that Shy is getting to the point where she is fun to ride and is picking up new dressage-y concepts. This pony loves dressage!

How do you think Shy looks? Do I really have to start learning dressage?

I think she does not love pulling stuff so much. . .what am I to do? Maybe this is her way of telling me? Or maybe she is just being a brat?

monday musings by shyloh #45

Why is Allie intent on scaring the living daylights out of me? I had to show her (again) why she should not do that!

Ima scared!

Allie brought out the tire again. Didn't I tell her last time (in a not so subtle way) that I did not like that tire at all? I guess she does not care about my poor Haflinger feelings. I made my thinking noise at the tire to show my disgust with it. It is kinda like a grunting sound. But then I realized that this tire is not going away. Also, it was not moving, so it might be okay. . .I bent down to sniff it, grunting at it the whole time. I had to show it I was boss!

Please don't hurt me tire!

Then. . .Allie moved it! Whoa! Maybe I am NOT the boss! Tire on gravel sounds suspiciously like mountain lions. . .I think. I have never met a mountain lion in real life, I am just hard wired to be afraid of them!  I took off running and found my herd. 

Help!! There is safely in numbers.

They all came up to the gate to protect me. Once I realized I was safe, I did my acrobatic moves to graze, 'cause my overcheck was on.

I'm the most flexible Haflinger there is! 

Allie got me back and took me through the barn, but I was on to her game. So I refused to walk out the barn doors. Ha! That will get her! But then she got my "best friend," aka the whip. After a few taps of that and some tugs, I burst through the door. I guess that was not acceptable and we did it again. And again, I refused to walk through the door. I just knew that tire was out there, getting ready to eat me! Or creep towards me, mountain lion-style.

We did this a few times and I just kept getting more nervous and tense. I was jumpy. I tried to run back into the barn and almost ran Maryann (Dulce's mom) over. Oops, sorry! But I was scared! I have heard that Haflingers are quite meaty and tasty treats to those mountain lions!

Allie then made me walk through the door until I stopped pushing into her (hey, I was trying to save her from the tire! It might like people as much as it likes Haflingers!) and walked nicely. Then I was done. Back to the safety and security of my stall.

Or so I thought. . .A short while later, Allie brought the big guns out. . .Beth! I knew this was serious now. Beth made me keep going out the barn door until I stopped refusing. I realized my stopping was futile and I think Beth is way more stubborn than me, so eventually I stopped stopping. At least I got to stop something, right?

Going out the door

Beth made me go by the tire and around the tire. Each way and lots of times.  I tried to tell her how scary it was and run away from it, but she would not let me. We did this a ton and I realized that maybe the tire is not so scary. I still don't want it chasing me, but right now I am okay with just going around it.

Had to do lots of circles around and around the tire!

Then Beth made me walk in the barn. Yeah! This is what I was all excited about, so I hurried up. Well, this was a mistake and I had to walk right back out again. This time Beth walked too close to the tire, so I tried to push her out of the way. I guess Beth thinks she can take the tire in a fight and made me do it all over again and again until I stopped pushing her. 

Being pushy, but really  I am trying to protect Beth! I promise!

After my turn with Beth, I had to do it all over again with Allie! But I was real good and it did not take long. 

I'm perdy

Whew. What a stressful day! I grunted a whole lot with my disapproval at this exercise. But we all made it through and no one was eaten by the tire, so maybe it is not so bad. . . maybe.

Finally done!

~Shyloh

climbing a mountain

Well. . .maybe not a mountain, but Shyloh made it up a giant pile of asphalt, pulling a tire.

With the heat wave that we have been having, I decided to work Shy outside. I hooked her harness up and worked on some line driving. Shy was doing great! She was responsive, forward, and just plain awesome. We even did some trotting.

So, I decided to grab the tire and hook it up to Shy to see how she would do dragging it outside. Here is where things went south. . . 

I had been using a regular bridle to work with Shy (as opposed to the driving bridle with blinders). She seemed more comfortable being able to see behind her and my goal right now is to get her comfortable pulling stuff. But since I wanted to work outside, on grass, I knew I needed the overcheck or I would have to fight the good fight against the grass. Clever Shy, never one to be denied grass, figured out that if she bent way over to the left and leaned down, she could grab the grass. 

Since I am only one person, I could only concentrate on one thing at a time. . .grass or hooking up the tire. I chose tire. I got the right side hooked, when Shy took a step to the side. I tried to tap her back over and she took a step forward. Now, I know she saw the tire and she knew what was going on. She is far from a dumb horse. When she took that step forward, she must have felt the weight of the tire on one side of her body. 

And that is when she shot off like a cannon! Down to the end of the outdoor area, back again, through the cars. . .all the while with the tire bouncing behind her and lines flinging away. I called out "Loose horse!" because I knew someone was in the barn with their horse out. She had all the horses looking out their windows on that side of the barn, cheering her on. I wasn't worried about Shy going anywhere, but I was concerned about her hurting herself with all the lines flying behind her. I didn't panic, because panicking would have only made the situation worse.  Then, I came out from between the cars and I saw Shy. . .

My extremely accurate drawing on the actual piles of asphalt.

. . .standing on top of the second pile of asphalt. Shy drug herself and that tire over one pile and onto the top of the second pile. I have to admit, it was kinda cute. I tried to get a photo, but when I got close enough, down the hill she went. She went back and forth a few more times, then tore into the barn. At this point, the rope that tied the tire onto her harness broke. As Shy rounded the corner at top speed, upending wheelbarrows, she ran into the fan on Dannon's stall, knocking it down. 

Broken clip

Finally, she stopped, dead center in the aisle way. Poor Shy was scared and tense. She knew she did something wrong and was not sure how I would react. I untangled all of the lines and checked Shy over. Just a minuscule scrape on her nose from all of that.

I made her go back outside and worked her some more. We did not drag anything, but we did line driving. She was a little jumpy at first, but settled down and was able to get back to good. She was a little hard on the right rein, but we worked through it. I just wanted her to know that freaking out will not get her out of work, she still has to do it. After the holidays, I will go back out and have her drag that tire outside. I am thinking I will have someone hold her head so she can't eat grass. As funny as that was (after the fact) I do not want a repeat!

Oh yeah. . .and Shy had a mouthful of grass throughout this whole ordeal! Kept it and tried to eat it once she calmed down. 

resy

Resy and Terry

I got to ride Resy tonight! He is a 28 year old Arab horse that has a ton of training under his belt (saddle?). Actually, Terry has been trying to get me to ride Resy for a long time, but I was always afraid I'd break him! Because of the type of horse that he is, he is much narrower and sleeker, and takes much longer strides  than I have been used to riding. But I got on him, and it went okay. . .

It's hard for me to get on another horse. I was so comfortable on Mia. And each horse is completely different. But, since Shyloh needs to overcome her issues and I need to work on my riding skills (or lack of), and Resy needs to be exercised, Terry thought it would be a good idea to practice on him. I believe that the more I ride him, the more comfortable I will get with him and it will bring up my confidence. Even as I type this, I am working on my leg position. . .knees slightly bent, feet straight, heels down. It's not the most comfortable position, but I have to get used to it. 

While I was riding Resy, Terry's sister, Alison, was riding Shy! Alison is an excellent rider. She has Shyloh walking, trotting, and even took her up to a canter! Amazing! She spooked twice, I think, but her spooks where just kinda scooting her butt. No bolting, no bucking, no rearing. So, that is good news! And on the spooky front, Shy did not spook once in the cross ties, she walked right into the arena without a problem, and when I was bringing her in, I thought she was going to spook at one point, but she didn't! Improvement? I hope so!

On another note. . .I think I have a new obsession! These crepes are delicious! There are crepes of every kind imaginable! I had one that was like an elephant ear, one that was like a Reese's peanut butter cup, and one that was chicken and cheese. Check it out, it's in Midtown on Woodward!

Look at all those kinds of crepes on the board! yum!

more spooks

Today was a spooky sort of day! I'm not entirely sure why, but Shyloh was very spooky and a little bit cranky. It could be that she is in heat (I don't know if she is or not, though), or it could be that she appears to have some sort of bug bite on the side of her lip. If the bug bite was the case, it explains why she was reluctant to take the bit and why she was cranky while we were trying to work. 

Can't really see it, bit it's the pink spot on her lip. I swear it was puffy! 

After I lunged for a bit, I decided to try lunging Shy over the pole, which we have done before. I got the pole out and walked her over it a few time. No problem. As I was lunging her, she came around the circle, saw the pole, and spooked at it! Ugh, what the hell? We have been walking and trotting over poles, around poles, through poles, and lunging with them for a week. That was when I took the bridle off and noticed the puffy pink lip. I put the halter on, and tried to walk her over the pole again. No go. I was thinking Seriously, Shy. This is not new stuff here. It took a while, but I had her walking over poles and through poles again.

As I continued to walk her around the arena, Robin got a carrot stick and attached a plastic bag to it. Plastic bags are THE most terrifying thing to a horse. I am not sure why. They hate it when they crinkle... but when a peppermint, butterscotch, or Jolly Rancher wrapper crinkles, they come running! Anyway, at the first crinkle of the plastic bag, Shy picked up pace real quick to get out of it's evil reach. On the second loop around, we stopped to investigate the horrendous villain. As Shy was checking it out, she blew out her nose, which made the bag make a noise. Oh my God, pure terror terror!  But we kept at it and eventually, I was able to touch Shy with the bag and move it near her feet on the ground. 

Next, I took Shy out to graze. I went out the back and decided to walk her the back way to her paddock, so she could graze along the way. At one point, she must have decided that the grass was so good and forgot about where she was and what was going on, because when I gave the lead rope a tug and said walk on, she jumped about a mile into the air! Oops. . . The good thing about Shy is that she recovers quickly from her spooks and doesn't deter her from doing something again. 

Mouth full of grass! yum!

Her last spook happened when we were leaving. I think Chick was spooked first at the car, which then spooked Shy, but they both took off in the paddock! Poor Shyloh! Do they make anti-anxiety medication for horses?

Eating left over hay with her BFF, Chick :)

Being spooky makes for a thirsty pony!

Shy doing something funky. . .

spooky!

Not growing up around horses has a real disadvantage. . .besides the fact that I have no idea what I am doing! I think I need someone to work with me from the very beginning and on very basic stuff. I don't even want to get into riding yet. I just want the basics. Terry really helped me out yesterday, and I am overwhelmed by all the stuff that I do not know. Ugh. . .

I am trying to continue to desensitize Shyloh, but sometimes it does not work out in my favor. Yesterday, I walked Shy around the arena. I had a loose lead rope and she was following me, every turn I took, she followed and when I stopped, she stopped. I think she is starting to begin to trust me, but then I do something stupid and we take a few steps back.

Terry's sister, Alison was riding Ryleigh and then Robin got on him! I had wanted to lunge Shy then get out this big blue ball to desensitize her to it, but I did not want to get in the way of their riding. I definitely did not want to spook Ryleigh with the ball! Maybe next time I go out, I can try those things. 

I did put a pole down so me and Shy could practice walking over. When I went to get the pole, I made the mistake of dragging it across the ground, which spooked Shy. She was like WTF, mountain lion!! and backed up, wildly! She was really terrified! I know that horses are flight animals and they think that everything is out to get them, but sometimes I think to myself, Get a grip Shyloh. You've never even seen a mountain lion. There are not even any in the area!  I also know that it is a deep seated instinct and in her DNA, so I don't blame her for it. But I held on to her, even though I know I did it all wrong. Terry came to help me out and give me some instructions on the right way to do things. She calmed down and was able to walk over the pole several times both ways with me. 

So, I have a bunch of things I need to figure out. . .like what is the best way to work with Shy and who can help me. There has been a snag in my previous plans, but it will all work itself out. 

the mystery secret!

We discovered the mystery secret that makes us able to catch Shyloh without chasing her around for an hour and without putting her in a corner!! With this mystery secret, Shy comes right up to me and lets me put the lead rope right on her halter! It is amazing! It is grain!

That's right! Just a little bit of grain in a bowl will send Shy running across the paddock. Me and Robin figured it out today, after an attempt to get Shy to come to us. We did it three times. We showed her the grain, let her have some, put on the lead rope, gave her a little more, then walked her into the barn and out the other door to graze. Then brought her back to the paddock, let her chill in there for a little bit, then did it all over again. 

Then Robin and I groomed her up and did some bonding with Shyloh. Shy really likes Robin. I think that her movements are slower than mine, which makes Shy feel more comfortable. I feel that I move too quick and my movements are jerky, which maybe puts Shy on edge and can startle her. I try to make a conscious effort to slow down, but it is hard! After grooming, I hosed Shy off with some cool, stinky, well water and we went into the arena.

Shy's first order of business was to roll. I got to see it, which was awesome! Then she ran around and tossed her head, in a Justin Bieber kinda way, and just checked stuff out again. She must be a klutzy horse, because she knocked down some wood that was blocking the back arena doors and spooked herself. That is the second time she knocked something down. Shy and Robin played a following game. I think she is starting to trust, she is at least interested in us!

Overall, tonight was very successful! I hope tomorrow will be, too. I am going to try and put a fly mask on her. And since she does not like her ears touched, I think it is going to be a struggle! Robin took a ton of pictures tonight, so I will share when she posts them! 

one hour. . .

It only took about one hour to catch Shyloh today. . .we are making improvements! She had to be caught today because the farrier is coming tomorrow to give her a pedicure and I doubt that she will spend that amount of time trying to catch her! Kathy will be there to make sure everything goes well. I hope everything goes well. . . It took Robin, Leslie, Kathy, Sandy, and Mike to hold a lunge line and make a "fence" in the corner of the paddock, with me on the inside getting ready to put her halter on her. And it was raining! Now that her halter is on, I don't think it is ever coming off! I don't want to spend all the time that I have with Shy trying to catch her, then not be able to do anything with her!

Mike surprised me again by coming out to the barn! And although I like that he is taking an interest in Shy, I was told that he needs to learn some barn manners. And so does Shy. . .I took her out for grass and then brought her back into the barn. She was sniffing all around, and I let her because I want her to feel comfortable and safe. Well, she hit a poop rake that was hanging on a wall with her head, and it came crashing down! She spooked a little, but Leslie was riding Ryleigh in the arena and he spooked, too! Whoops! I felt really bad about that and I am glad no one got hurt! We need to be more careful. . .

It does not feel like Shy is getting any more comfortable with me. Sometimes it is almost like she wants to reach out and make a connection, but then she gets too scared and pulls away. Almost like she is not quite sure what I am up to or why I am being nice to her. I hope that she figures out (the sooner the better) that no one will hurt her anymore. 

On a silly note, Maggie says hey. . . 

and we have a name!

Ta da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was meant to be. I told Mike about that name a few days ago, but he didn't really like it because we know a dog named Cheyanne and they call her Chy. Then I mulled it over at my dad's house. They liked it, so I texted Mike and told him I really liked that name. When I walked into the barn today, Leslie said, what about Shyloh, because she is so shy? And so it goes. . .

I took Shy into the arena today and Robin showed me how to use the lunge whip and exercise her the right way. She wasn't on a line, but she was trotting and cantering. At one point she kicked up some ground and a stone hit the side of the arena and she spooked! She took off and did a mini buck, but then had no problem going back to the same area. 

Mike showed up at the barn to see her, too! I swear, I always get the strangest animals. Every day I discover something new about her. She likes to lick. She will lick my hand, my arm, my shirt, the stall, whatever! I let her for now so she gets to know me and trust me. Leslie said I should put a sign on her paddock stating that she is in training and to only approach her with treats, so she comes to associate people with good things. 

Ever see that movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore? That's what I feel like with Shy. Each day, I have to regain her trust. I know, I know. . .I haven't even had her a week yet. But every time I go out there I spend a large amount of my time building trust. And that's okay.