level up!

Shyloh and I have reached a new level in our relationship. I am not sure what made her decide to take the next step, but she has! And it is not just with me, it's with other people, too, like Robin and Kathy. Shy is approaching people on her own, not backing away from people when they approach her, and following me around the arena. She is showing an incredible interest in the things that I have been doing, something she could have cared less about just a week ago. 

However, along with her new trusting behaviors, she has come out of her shell in other ways. . . 

I should have taken this act yesterday as a predictor of what she would do today. . .

Peek-a-boo! Is there food out here?

I had Shy in the arena with Casi and I was cleaning their stalls. After I got Casi back in his stall, I turned around to find a loose Haflinger! Shy had opened the arena doors and started running down the aisle, like I'm free!, but then got distracted by the open hay closet. A Haflinger's mind never strays from food. 

I have discovered the hay jackpot!

And Shy was not my only escapee today. I was taking Baby Bob from the arena to his freshly cleaned stall when he decided at the last minute that he wanted to run toward the slightly open doors at the far end of the aisle. With all his might (and that is a lot of might), he pressed on until I had no choice but to let go of his lead rope or be drug behind him. Good thing it took him a minute to try and figure out how he was going to open those doors. I brought him back to his stall and turned around to put Dannon in his clean stall, when Bob busted out of his stall! He tried to get around Rob (Robin's husband), but was unsuccessful, so he turned around and ran into Ryleigh's stall. Ryleigh was outside with Robin, grazing and waiting to come back inside. Finally, I got Bob and secured him in his stall. Whew. . .it is a much scarier experience when some one else's horse escapes on your watch, let alone the barn owner's horse!

Shy has also discovered a way to ask for treats. How does she do this? Well. . .I taught her how to wave. . .

And now when she wants or feels she needs a treat, she comes up to me and waves. Over and over and over. It is so cute, I can't help but give her the treats when she "asks".

Another new thing for Shy is her playing on her own with Casi. Yesterday, Shy and Casi were in the arena, running like I have never seen them run before!  We were not even making them run, they were doing it all on their own and they seemed to really enjoy themselves! Shy actually worked up a sweat. Here is the video I put together.

And Shy got to hang out with Ryleigh for a little bit, today. They were in the arena and outside grazing. 

Shy also got to spend some time in the arena with Casi. 

We did some free-jumping today, which once again was a lot more work for me than for Shy. My two out of shape legs cannot keep up with her four legs! 

Shy had a busy weekend! The only thing I did not accomplish this weekend was a ride. But I am loving that Shy has taken our relationship to the next level and I look forward to what this brings.

freezing friday

Brrrr. . . it was a cold night! I spent a little time with Shyloh at the barn, but I did not have enough layers on to keep warm. Shy has temporarily moved stalls because her stall flooded from all the rain we have been getting. Right now, she is right between Chick and Casi, on the complete other side of the barn. I am grateful that Beth had her moved to a dry stall until her's dries out.

I took Shy outside to graze a little bit. Kathy and Casi joined us. It was freezing out, but the horses seemed happy to be out. We had a heck of a time trying to get them back in the barn! They loved being out and gobbling grass!

Even though this photo is blurry, I like how the wind made her mane into a mohawk

After, we took Shy and Casi into the arena to run around. Casi really loves to run! And he has such a pretty trot and canter. It looks like he is floating on air. It is beautiful! And his tail gets so high, it's almost straight up! 

Run Casi Run!

Shyloh was doing her head toss and refusing to run at first, but she finally got into the swing of it. Soon, her and Casi were running around the arena and Shy was bucking for fun! Casi started bucking back, but they both kept up the running, so Kathy and I were not worried. They seemed to be having so much fun. 

Trying to keep up!

I gave her a few treats, then I had to finish Christmas shopping. After being disappointed at several stores, I finally found the last thing on my list! Glad that is done, I will not be going to any more stores for a while. . .it is a mad house out there! Now to finish  my secret project, wrap these gifts, and stay warm with the dogs for the night. Back to the barn in the morning.

Casi probably lapped her, which is the only reason she would be in front!

absence. . .

. . .does make the Haflinger heart grow fonder! Sunday was the last day that I was at the barn. I left Shyloh as her usual aloof self. Her general attitude towards me is "Oh, you're here. . .do you have food? No, well you can go or stay, doesn't matter." Today, Shy was all over me! 

I was conflicted. On one hand it was nice to have her actually approach me, nuzzle me, and be close to me on her own will. On the other hand, I do not want her to get used to being in my space. Ahhhh! What to do?

Put her to work of course! We worked on our free jumping. I think Shy likes to jump. She did a great job, although, once again, I did more running than she did. But this time, I did not have to push her as much to get over the jump. Yay us! And I did get a video, but of course, she would not give her best jumps for the camera. Which goes to show how sassy she was today!

For example. . .I was down the aisle and I saw her stick her head out of her stall. I said to her, Hi Shy! and she did her sassy head toss. Whoa. So I did it again, Hi Shy! Again, head toss. I said to Kathy to watch this attitude, and repeated it, Hi Shy! Which was followed by a, yup, a head toss! Oooh, she is so cheeky!

I also got this video of Shyloh coming up to me on her own. This is a very rare occurrence! A once in a lifetime opportunity!

 She has got her eye on me! Silly pony!

monday musings by shyloh #15

See how fuzzy I am?

Another weekend gone by. . .And what a cold weekend it was! Good thing I have grown a nice, thick, fuzzy coat to keep me warm, even though I am stuck inside. Although, I did get to use my coat for a short time when Allie took me outside to eat delicious, delicious grass! It was really icy out, but I didn't mind since I was on a quest for the best grass.

Casi and Kathy

Ryleigh and Robin

Speaking of deliciousness, Allie gave me something new to try!. It was warm and it had carrots in it. . .it was bran mash! I hope I get some more of that soon.

I love to eat yummy things in the sun!

I guess that I am not allowed to hang out with Ryleigh anymore because he is mean to me. I don't mind, but I guess Robin does. If it really bothered me, I would let him know, for sure! So, now I am hanging out with Casi. He loves to run and tries his hardest to get me to run with him. I will run for a little bit, but my legs are not nearly as long as his! And I think my thick winter coat slows me down a bit. . .just a little bit.

Whad up!

I was measured this weekend. . .I was not too happy about it! Doesn't Allie know not to measure a girl before she has gone on a diet? Like I would ever diet. . .voluntarily. . .Anyway, she put this thing on my back to see how wide I was. Like, I said, I was not pleased and I made my thinking noise to prove my point. I also tried to scoot away from it, but Allie got the measurement. I heard something about being in between a medium-wide and wide. Does that mean I'm fat? If that thing is for a saddle, I don't plan on cooperating. Saddles mean work!

Does my butt look big with this tail?

So, Allie thought she got real smart on me. . .but I showed her. She turned the mounting block around, so I had to go between it and the wall. This way, I was not able to step out to the side when she tried to get on me. While I was busy thinking about how to get out of that predicament, Allie just up and got on me! I'll admit, I was a little stunned. We started walking, but then I thought better. I stopped. Then I refused to move. Ha! Allie was squeezing my sides and telling me to walk on, but I stood as still as a statue. Finally, I decided to move, but I. . .moved. . .so. . .slow. . .hahahaha!

Don't mess with the best!

Allie got off of me and looked around kinda confused. But then we went to the mounting block again. And she hopped right on me once again! Well, it was time for me to play statue again. And then the whole scene repeated. Allie checked me out to make sure I was okay, which I was. I was running around just before, I just can't make things too easy for Allie! Think of all the things I would have to do if Allie had an easy time with me! No thanks!

Trouble is my middle name. . .

She tried the same thing again the next day, mounting with me against the wall. I let her get on me right away, but. . .to mix it up a bit and keep Allie on her toes, I took off. . .at a fast walk. She made me stop and stand for a bit, then got right off me. Hahaha. 

Well, I think I will be spending the rest of the night thinking up of ways to mess with Allie.

Or I could dream about eating more grass. . .

~Shyloh

things i've learned from mucking stalls

Okay. . .so after a weekend of mucking stalls and dealing with horse poop for hours on end, this is what I have learned:

1. The Arabs need a special fine toothed muck rake to get all of their teeny tiny poops.

2. The Thoroughbreds are incredibly messy! And they need to stop covering their poops with the sawdust, like kitty litter. It's like a search and rescue mission for poop in their stalls.

3. Not sure what these two are, but they are equally as messy! I totally don't understand the pooping right at the door thing.

4. The Appaloosa seems to spin and poop. It is every where!

5. The Quarter Horses are the neatest of the bunch. Poop goes in one corner, pee in another. And then they stay out of those places when not using them.

6. The Tennessee Walking Horse's poop falls apart and disintegrates. Why?

7. The Big, Black, Drafts drag their hooves throughout their stall, which gets their pee and poop mixed up in everything. Then their sawdust builds up along the edges and there is none in the middle.

8. The "tch" brothers are my favorite! They are pasture boarded, no stall to clean!

9. The Haflinger prefers not to pee in her stall. The moment she is out, she will go. She is pretty neat, too.

10. My new Muck Boots are awesome!