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!

the kick

Shyloh has left me pretty much speechless today. . .

We started out by putzing around, just enjoying the weather. I attempted the mane roll again. I think I did a better job than the other day, but even after watching tons of YouTube videos, I still can't quite get it. I think I need a third hand to do this. The one good thing about the mane rolls is that I can now hop up on a bucket quickly and without giving Shy notice and she is fine with it. She used to always move away or if I got on the bucket quickly she would get scared. Small victories. . .

After I gave up with the mane roll, I took Shy to graze in the little bit of grass that is coming up. She was eating grass like she hasn't eaten in three weeks (clearly that is not true).

Then I put Shy back with her herd. Which is HER herd now. She takes her job as boss mare quite seriously. As I was walking around with the horses and talking to a lady who owns Rainy Day, I noticed that Rainy Day had a cut (in the shape of a hoof) on her butt/back leg, near her tail. I said something to the owner as I approached Rainy Day to take a closer look. She had another cut in the exact same spot on the other side. It looked like a double hoof kick to the rear end. The owner walked over, moved the mare's tail and saw bloody swollen lady bits. 

Ouch!!

I am pretty sure this would have been Shy's reaction to this. . .

Hehehehe!

Hahaha!

Bahahahaha!

Moo hahahaha!

Rainy Day is a little sore, but okay. We are pretty sure Shy did this to her sometime today. My sweet little pony. . .a vagina kicker! Shy sure has turned into something else since she thinks she is the boss. She used to only kick after she was provoked repeatedly but another horse, like when she first moved into the herd. Now, she pins her ears the the horses, snakes her head, and away they run. Expect Tony. . .he either doesn't care that Shy thinks she has gone big time now or he is oblivious. 

I left Shy to get ready for her dinner. I told her she needed to rest up and I packed a bunch of her stuff in my car. Shy has no idea what we have in store for her tomorrow. . . 

Shy says, "All the foods are mine!!"

who's the boss?

Farewell Lukas! Shyloh's new love interest has left the herd to be closer to his mom. Smart Shy, we have already discovered, tends to partner with a dominant horse. Jesse was first and he left not too long ago. Lukas was her next partner. They made a cute Haflinger team. 

He loved to mess with me and follow me around

I have to wonder exactly what Shy did to win Lukas over, because at first he wanted nothing to do with her. I guess I will never know, but Shy worked her charm and they became good buddies in the pasture.

Now I am very intrigued to see who will become top horse. 

Will it be Rainy Day? Or Tony the donkey?

Prince the Arab?

Dancer the Paint?

Or will Shy prevail and be little boss mare?

She doesn't think she is little!

I have a pretty good idea since three people have come up to me today to let me know. . .two are the daily feeders and one is the barn owner. 

No other horses can get near the gate when feeding time is near

They all say that little Shy, sweet little, Shy, is now running the herd. She has filled Lukas' bug hooves and thinks she is top mare. Ha! It really is a sight to see. 

I love watching her. She is not mean, never running horses down, biting, or kicking (that I have seen). She just seems to have this air about her. Swish the ears back, show them her butt, and they move out. The more I watch her, the bolder she gets. 

I have seen her moving Rainy Day and Prince, just because she could. She would nap. . .

snoooooze

then decide horses needed to move around. Then go back to napping. 

Sleepy girl likes to nap in the sun

It is strange that the only horse she will run from is Dancer, yet Dancer will run from all the other horses. Shy moves Prince, but Prince gets into it with the other horses. Tony is a little bit different, since he is not a horse, but Shy lets him know that she will not take any crap from him. Herd dynamics are so interesting! But Shy is quickly securing her spot at the top. Hey. . nothing comes between her and her food!

Shy is in no hurry to let the other horses think she is top. When I put her back in the herd, she respectfully waits until I take her halter off and move out of the way before she begins being bossy. So as long as she doesn't try to be my boss, then Go Shy!!

monday musings by shyloh #82

Oops. . .I did a bad. But the snake/hose did jump out and grab me when I wasn't expecting it and I had to get away. Snakes can be poisonous, you know! When I finally gathered my senses and stopped running from the snake/hose I realized I was kinda foolish. I wasn't sure how Allie would react to my bad behavior, so I stayed a little aloof for a few days (that is not hard for me to do, I am not the snuggliest horse). She was really upset.

Snake/hose is really not scary.

So after I ran away the nice barn people took me away from my cart (which I ruined, but Allie says is getting fixed),then they gave me some hay. Allie let me eat for a little bit but then I had to work. We walked all around where I was running and I was fine with it. I was super good for her cause I was really sorry for my outburst.

The next day, we did my favorite thing! A walk through the woods. I was so happy. . .

I smiled to let the world know!

There is so much stuff to eat in the woods. So much stuff to see. So much stuff to walk through. I love the woods! We lost our path and had to make one up through the trees and branches and everything. It was fun!

I see stuff here!

I see stuff over there!

This branch is tasty

I love looking at the woods

I spent a lot of time just hanging out with Allie. I searched her for foods. . .

Foods for me??

I knew she had a carrot! My nose can smell foods from a mile away!

I really need a mustache wax. . .

The weather is getting so nice. There is nothing better than napping in the sun. Ahhh!

I got to hang out with my bud Marshall over the weekend, too. Marshall used to drive a cart for the Amish, but he has a bad hock now so he can't do anything to strenous. He is owned by a little boy who just loves on him and brushes him and walks around with him.  I just hope Allie doesn't have any grand ideas about special trainings or anything since I took off with that cart. . . So, even though the weekend started kinda bad, it ended really good! It was rather relaxing

~Shyloh