made it to the barn

I finally got to the barn tonight but I did not complete anything I had planned to do.

Make video? Nope.

Teach new trick? Nope.

Lunge? Nope.

When I arrived, I was the only person there. Yes! I thought I could make my video in peace. I really did not want to have to make these videos with people at the barn. . .I am kinda of embarrassed by it. Blush. But as I walked down the aisle to Shyloh's stall, I noticed that she was in it and not outside. I had no idea why she was not turned out with her herd, it was strange. So I put her in the arena and checked her out. She seemed fine. 

I set up the video camera so we could tape. But since Shy was cooped up all day, she wanted to run and play and not come to me and do a video. She stopped and rolled around on the ground, then continued to play catch me if you can. Grumble. By now, someone had come to the barn so I put up my camera. Oh well. I think I need a script first anyway. I think I will work on it tomorrow and tape tomorrow night (if no one is there) or Saturday morning.

Instead of taping, I finally caught Shy and we took a walk around the property so she could get some fresh air. We walked around, stopping every once and a while to graze. . .

nom nom nom

. . .and we met up with the big boys. Shy seems to have (another) new admirer in Clutch. Oh pony love, so sweet. 

hey there big boy!

Then I brought Shy inside and took my time grooming her. Sometimes it is nice just to groom her and talk to her and not do work (not that we do much "work"). I think we both enjoyed it. I got all of the mud off of her legs, dipped the muddy end of her tail in water to de-mud it, and put some Corona on the underside of her tail. I guess her tail bag had rubbed it, so I have been treating it and not using the tail bag anymore. Hence muddy tail. 

Jaime was there and it trying to convince me to show Shyloh this summer with her, Notch, and Clutch in draft class. She also wants me to go to some driving clinics with her, she says that they are really fun, everyone is really nice and helpful, and there are a ton of Halfingers! I am pretty sure I want to go to the clinics, not so sure about the showing. We will see. . .If cuteness and sassyness got points, we would win for sure!

more work. . .eh. . .not so sure. does it involve eating grass?

missing shyloh

I've been sick this week, so I have not been out to the barn. Basically, this is what I have been doing all week. . .

Sleep sleep and more sleep

Stretchy sleep

The sickness required a full day off of work and I missed yoga. I had been looking forward to yoga most of all. Oh well. I am back on the mend and should be going to see Shyloh tomorrow. I am positive she missed me just as much as I missed her goofy self.

The one good thing about being stuck on the couch is the hours on end of Law and Order. Just what the doctor ordered to make me feel better! And I got this book in the mail!

Click on photo to take you to the site

I am excited to teach Shy some of these tricks. But I am slightly confused by the book. In the introduction, the author, Carole Fletcher, talks about not teaching a horse to rear (which I would never do anyway!) but there is the picture, right there on the front of the book, of a horse rearing. The book does not teach you how to stand on your horse, either, as it shows on the front, thank goodness! Misleading. So far, that and the lack of color pictures are my only complaints. I do like how she states that the tricks should be taught in a certain order based on how the horse learn and to build off of one another. So the tricks starts out simple, using the head, the mouth, the legs, then the body. Look for videos of Shy being super cute to be making an appearance! I also like how Fletcher discusses using trust and love, not force, to get results. She also points out that the relationship between horse and human is important and that the horse must have basic ground manners before beginning to learn tricks.

On a final note (and a shameless plug). . .voting for the Equestrian Social Media Awards ends this Friday. Me and Shy somehow made it into the final 10 for Best Blog (Category 17). I am not even sure how we got into this, but since we are here, we will do our best!

We need some help from you guys. We need to make 2 one minute videos. One is an acceptance speech in case we win the category and one is a general message of support in case we do not win. 

Here is what I am asking. . .

Any ideas on what I should do or say? I am at a loss when it comes to this kind of stuff. Oh, and I only have until Friday February 17th to submit it. Thanks!!

monday musings by Shyloh #23

Not everything I am unfamiliar with is a mountain lion in disguise.  Not everything I am unfamiliar with is a mountain lion in disguise.  Not everything I am unfamiliar with is a mountain lion in disguise.  And repeat. . . I have to say this to myself every time Allie brings me something new to do.

In my harness get-up!

For those of you not in the know, mountain lions, aka pumas or cougars, reside primarily in the west (sorry Pippin and Doc). So, I guess me and Camryn (still on the lookout for saber tooths, though) do not have to really worry about them here in Michigan. Although aside from humans, mountain lions have the largest range of any other animal in the whole western hemisphere! So, in theory they could make their way into my little corner in Michigan. Wolves are more of a probable enemy that I should be worrying about. They live in Michigan, but not really in my area.  But they could make their way down here! They were just taken off the endangered species list! Now coyotes ARE something to be concerned about. They DO live in my area, Allie has seen some! Okay, one. . .but not by where I live, closer to where she lives. 

But back to the reason I am talking about mountain lions/wolves/coyotes. Allie brought this thing out again. . .

dum dum duh dum. . .

It was super scary at first. Everything is a little scarier when I have my blinders on because I can't see as much. A coyote could come attacking me from the side and I would not even know it until it jumped on my back!  We played touch with the thing and it was not so scary. Just a little bit. I walked over it and touched it some more. It got a little less scary.

Then we did some line driving in the arena. It is still really muddy outside, which is why we didn't go out there. I know this because I have been going out and I have to walk through a lake to get to the grass. Allie almost fell over into the mud when she came outside to get me. I wonder if she fell if I would have had to do work. . .Look at my beautiful tail! A mud mess, my legs, too! Yuck!

Grossness

Allie attached the contraption to my harness and hooked it in somehow so it would stay. I was scared again because it was making some strange creaking noise. But Allie kept walking right in front of me where I could see her and telling me it would be okay. I decided to give her a chance to see of she was right, so I stood still. Okay. . .almost still, I just jump a few times, but I did not run off and away from the thing like I wanted to do.

Look at me! I am so brave!

Allie got behind me and told me to walk on. I did, but the thing was dragging behind me and making more noise! And since I couldn't see, I thought maybe it was a mountain lion or wolf or coyote! How was I supposed to know? So I scooted real quick, but Allie remained calm  and told me easy, and so I calmed down. Before I knew it, I was going along, dragging the thing, and it was just fine. No attacks. Yay me! Which is why I have to say to myself, not everything I am unfamiliar with is a mountain lion in disguise. Some things are not so bad. . .

We are on the move!

~Shyloh

every animal but me. . .

. . .got a pedicure today. The farrier came out to the barn to trim hooves. I riddled him with questions about Shy's feet, since I have been noticing differences because she has been mostly stall bound due to the weather. Where these her bars growing out? Why does the front of each hoof look like it's flaking by the coronet band? Her frog and heels are peeling, is that okay? Is she thrushy? Did she founder? Is this white line disease? Is that a bruise? Why has she been giving me trouble lifting her back right leg? Are her other feet sore?

Farrier butt. . .Shy was licking it.

The farrier politely stopped me and asked me if I subscribe to Equus. Of course I do! Doesn't every one? He laughed and said that Equus feeds into their reader's hoof paranoia. Every time a new article on hoof care/problems come out, he gets a ton of questions from his clients, but he said he does not mind answering. 

She also licked his neck. She does not leave the gentlemen alone!

He then patiently answered all my questions and reassured me that Shy has some of the best hooves he has seen. Yes, her bars are growing out, it happens.No, she is not thrushy, she actually has very nice frogs. The flaking at each hoof is comparable to our cuticle, it is just retaining moisture. Her peeling frogs and heels are just from standing on the wet ground. No, she is not thrushy, her frogs are quite healthy. No, she did not founder. No, that is not white line disease. No, that is not a bruise. She might be giving trouble with her back leg because it is her kicking leg and sense she is in a new herd, she might be in a protective mode, so no her other feet are not sore. Whew. Peace of mind.

When I got home, it was time to trim the dogs' nails. So they each got a little trim, too. And then there are my feet. . .sans pedicure.  But, I guess since they are stuffed in boots 90% of the time, it doesn't really matter. 

Maggie toes!

a better day

The horses went outside again! This time Shy and her herd were in a different pasture, one that does not require walking knee deep in mud to get to. Even though the first fourth of this pasture was a mud pit the rest of the ground was pretty solid. All the horses for some reason where congregated by the gate and in the mud spit, splashing around and having a good horsey time. Except Shyloh. . .she was in the far back of the pasture, grazing all by herself. Yup, that's my horse. She knows what is important in life. 

As I made my trek towards Shy in deep mud/quicksand to get Shy, she noticed me coming and ran at a full gallop to the front of the pasture. Her little legs were on fire! I was so shocked that she was actually running to me and not away from me. Kinda made me feel good after my Debbie Downer day yesterday.

As she ran past me in a blur to the gate, I realized that I was attempting to get her without her halter or lead rope. What was I thinking? I unstuck my feet from the mud and turned around. Shy let me halter her and I gave her the peppermint I brought, just in case I needed some reinforcements. 

When we got inside, I hosed her legs off. It was another 50 degree day! Shy was caked in mud from the belly down! I am lucky that she is not a mud roller. Some of the other horses owners are not so lucky. . .most of them are mud rollers!

half of a muddy pony

I put her in the arena and she rolled around. Shy is a sand roller, she loves to roll in the arena, especially when she is wet.

Feels so good to get down in the sand

Then we did some free lunging before we played. I am teaching Shy to play soccer with me!

Shy's gonna be the next best soccer player, watch out David Beckham (that's the only soccer player I know)!

So far, she can only kick the ball backwards. But she seems to like playing. If I kick the ball away, she will go to it and kick it behind her. Soon, we will be playing full field one on one. . .hahaha!

I also bought a book today. I am really excited for it to come in the mail and can't wait to share. And. . .some progress was made on my something interesting! The results depend on a clause. . .we will see soon enough how much I can share! Enjoy the fuzzy lips!

Gimme a kiss!