As the barn turns

Oh the drama!

Buckerooni does not like to be in the triangle (the name of one of our pastures) while the other horses are across the driveway so we've been putting the other horses in their stall/paddocks at night and bringing him up to the barn pasture. This worked when he first came home and everything seemed to be fine. Granted, it was raining when we first tried it so he snuggled in under a tree and rode out the storm, but all seemed to be ok with no shenanigans.

Well. Things have changed.

Buck was out there last night and I don't know what he and Paddy were doing over the fence, but they brought the fence line down (electric tape fence). Colin feeds breakfast so he fixed it, but then they did it twice more in a couple of hours. Buck had gotten himself INTO the paddock where Paddy had been and Paddy was out, running around. Then after the next time Colin fixed it, Buck was chasing Paddy around the small pasture. This was not good. Paddy was not feeling well yesterday and I don't want him to get stressed or hurt. Colin had to go out and somehow get two amped-up horses separated and bring Buck back across the driveway where he probably doesn't want to be but too effin' bad for him.

Last night I came home from a horse show and since Buck and Paddy have shared a fence line without trouble I thought they could get introduced and go in the pasture together. I put them out and it didn't seem to be a problem until I went to go and get food. Then Buck pinned his ears at Paddy and backed up and tried to double-barrel him. There was squealing and kicking and running and so I separated them right away. Clearly it is now ON and Buck wishes to take what he sees as his rightful place in the herd.

I understand that horses (like dogs) have to figure out their heirarchy and work the details out themselves. I am perplexed, though, why this seems to have come up recently because Buck seemed to be so mellow and it seemed like he got along with everyone.

We don't really turn the horses out together anyway - Tomato goes out by himself and Paddy goes out by himself - because I don't want fighting like this. I guess I naively thought that between these two easy-going guys that it would be easy and they would just get along. I suppose it is hard because if they were out in a herd, like where Buck came from, then there would be more room to run and escape (vs. getting cornered by fence lines or stalls) and surely Paddy could out-run Buck if he had to. But here they are in a more enclosed area and it would be easy for someone to run into/through a fence (knocking wood here that that doesn't happen) or get caught in a corner and get hurt. It also probably doesn't help that Buck grew up in a herd situation so this is de rigueur for him, but for Paddy it isn't.

So now they are all separated again and it is raining and Buck is standing outside because he doesn't want to go into the scary haunted house that all the horses seem to hate for some reason.

Kudos to Colin for managing the situation so well and remaining calm, I'm thankful that he was here and he handled it so well.

I must admit that I am worried now about how they'll get along in their separate-but-shared-by-a-fence pastures and of course I want them to be able to be on the horse trailer together so that we can hit the trails IF the weather ever clears up!

It's official! Well, almost...

It is (almost) official that Buck now is in our family. I'm waiting to hear from the seller to get his papers, but there's no turning back now!

Soooo....he will be getting a makeover with a mane pull (trim, I hate to pull) and fetlock trim, and visit from the vet for shots and dental!

Riding with friends

Today's adventure centered around riding with a buddy - joining someone already in the arena, riding together, then having the buddy leave. It was a good lesson.

It is not unusual for a horse, especially a green horse, to be unnerved by riding in the arena with a buddy - the problem could be that the horse doesn't want to focus on the work and leave his buddy (or have his buddy leave him) or it could be that he freaks out by having another horse ride close to him, either coming up from behind or coming at him head on.

Colin and I have a couple shows coming up over the next couple of weekends and Colin needed to practice his dressage test. I offered to be his eyes on the ground, or eye from horseback, if you will, to give him feedback on his test. I watered and dragged the arena while Colin tacked up the Tomato and then he got started with his warm-up while I tacked up Buck. I brought Buck down to the arena and got on. He was pretty much unimpressed that another horse was riding in the arena where, up until now, we've always been alone. As our steering isn't great, we meandered around and tried to stay out of Colin's way. Colin practiced his test and while he took a break we trotted around the arena a few times, changing rein across the diagonal. When we were done we parked ourselves along the rail while Colin practiced his second test. Buck really couldn't have cared less and we just stood there and watched Colin go through the paces. Great - check the box for that not being a problem!

We decided to go down the irrigation ditch again and this time we had to side step all the brush that the irrigation district workers cut down and graciously left there for us to clean up (big eye roll here). Buck and I walked behind the Tomato, on the buckle, just moseying along. Trail riding really is his thing and I do hope to get him out a lot this summer!

We went back to the trailer and untacked the horses and Colin took the Tomato to be turned out and Buck and I stayed at the trailer to finish up grooming and check different saddles for fit. He was a little antsy at first when Tomato left, but then he settled and it was fine.

I do think that the saddle that I've been using (my other dressage saddle) is too narrow for him so I was trying other saddles on to see what might be better. While he was very forward the first couple times I rode him he is now a bit hesitant so I'm going to start with the obvious (keeping in mind, of course that I DO need to have his teeth done!). It looks like my jumping saddle may be a better fit and if not that then I'll just work in my treeless trail saddle, which he seemed to like ok when I rode him in it before.

Oh, and I de-wormed him today which he didn't think was very funny, but he was a good sport.

Lawnmowers, poles, and lunge whips, oh my!

After working my behind off this weekend re-doing a bunch of fencing lines, riding two horses both days, moving/spreading the manure pile (not to mention getting the tractor stuck in the manure!), I just didn't have the energy to ride today. I thought it would be good to do some ground work, though, so ground work we did.

When I rode Paddy yesterday I had set up some cavaletti poles in the arena to walk, trot, and canter over. I left the exercise set up and decided I would work with buck over the poles to introduce him to another level of work that he'll be doing eventually (as a precursor to jumping).

At the same time, Colin decided he wanted to mow the lawn and asked if he should wait until later so that he wouldn't disturb Buck. No need - Buck needs to get used to busy-ness and loud motorized noises and working with distractions. So off Colin went to mow and I groomed Buck and put the bridle on.

We walked up the high road and he stopped to listen to the lawn mower (he couldn't see it because Colin was in the back yard) but didn't really make a big deal out of it. We continued up the path toward the arena where the mower was now louder and visible. No big deal, though.

In the arena I worked with Buck at the walk, leading him over the poles. There were two single poles set up perpendicular to the rail, one on each long side, and three poles in a row, set at a walk stride, perpendicular to the short side. Well jeepers, that must have been the most boring thing in the world to him because he didn't give a rodent's patootie about walking over the poles.



I thought I might try to introduce Buck to lunging today, since it is something he needs to learn. Lunging is a useful tool for many reasons - it is frequently used as a diagnostic tool to watch the horse move during a veterinary exam, it can be used to introduce a horse to contact with the bridle, and some people use it as a way to get rid of excess energy the horse may have before riding. I had prepared ahead of time for this by having him bridled with the lunge line attached to the bit. I keep a lunge whip by the arena gate and brought it out to introduce it to Buck. First I showed it to him then I gently touched him all over his body with it, running it down his neck and back, tickling his belly with it, and running it down his legs. Again, he just didn't care.

We then walked on and I dragged it behind me so he could get used to the sight and sound of it following me on the ground. He didn't bat an eye. The one thing that will be difficult will be getting him to move out away from me with me facing his side. When I stepped back to try to get in the center of what could have been a small circle, he turned to face me. So I've got to teach him to stand so that I can face his side and he will move forward, not move to face me. I didn't have a lot of time and didn't want to push the issue so my next focus was to walk him on the lunge line but have more distance between us with him moving forward more to keep an even pace with me. That seemed to work well and after two circles we finished for the day. I ran the lunge whip over him again, gave him some carrot and we went back to the trailer.

He continues to be a bit fussy with his right ear so I'll keep working on positive reinforcement with him letting me touch it and move it, but I'm sure he'll come around.

When we were done Colin was mowing the front hillside and Buck and I just stopped to watch him. We were fairly close (20 feet or so) but Buck didn't care. He seems to be getting more mellow about things . . . not that he was every overly excited, but I have sensed some tension at times.

We'll see if I have time to ride tomorrow!

Slow and steady wins the race

Some could accuse me of going too slowly with my horses and they would probably be right. I like to make sure that the basics are really solid before moving on to the next thing, whatever that may be. I suppose that's why I haven't progressed too far up the levels in my riding career, sigh.

I do think this is important, though, when working with Buck. I want him to have a really solid foundation and trust in me (and me in him!) before we go too far in our adventures. Surely I could stuff him in the trailer, take him to the local park where I mostly go trail riding, and hop on and off we go. But I want him to listen to me in all aspects - go, whoa, turn, wait, change gait, etc. Things that sound so simple, and in one respect are, but if the shit hits the fan, he's got to know to trust in and listen to me. So we take baby steps.

Today we progressed to him being in the cross ties and me walking away. At first he wanted to follow me but I worked with him so that I could go farther and farther away with him just standing there. That was a good lesson to learn. We also worked on me handling his ears, as he doesn't like one of them to be touched.

We went for a ride in the arena and again worked at the walk and trot. It is very windy here today and there's a tarp covering some farm equipment in an area that he can see from the arena. With the wind the tarp was blowing around and he did look at it but didn't spook or act scared. This is the kind of reaction that I'm hoping my baby steps will develop - looking is ok, running in the other direction is not.



We worked at the walk and trot on light contact, doing transitions and figure eights and transitions through the figure eights. Again he was better than the last time and so we called it quits after about 25 minutes. I opened the gate from his back (better this time but he still wants to go right through it, which I can't fault him for, as if we were on the trail we'd open and go straight through - this is just a different rule for a different situation) and we went on a short trail ride down our irrigation ditch.


Today was the first day that I've taken him down the ditch. There were lots of rocks to look at and scenery of a neighbor's pasture, the sound of people in their yards, and of course the wind! There was a point on the trail where he wanted to stop so I gave him a little tap with the dressage whip (which he did not care for - I got a tail swish for that) and he marched right along. Lo and behold what he balked at was some sort of skeleton on the trail! I was not actually looking down to see what caught his eye until we were practically on top of it. It looked like mostly ribcage was left and I couldn't make out what it might have been. It could have been a small deer, which would be the most likely animal. Wonder what got it?



I do notice that Buck is a little more alert than the other horses - I think it probably comes with the territory for a mustang (which is what I've heard as well). His survival in the wild would depend on his ability to pay attention to everything going on around him.

We finished our training session with more trailer work. He will now easily follow me on with no hesitation. Today after he followed me on I put the chest bar up (it is removable in my trailer) and hooked his halter up. Then I'd unhook him and ask him to back and I'd slide under the chest bar to go out with him. Then we went on a couple more times with me ducking under the chest bar after leading him in, then hooking him up, and we'd just stand there. So far so good. Now I need to build on that further to get him to stand hooked up without me being right there. Baby steps.

I may ask Colin if he can take a couple pictures of us riding over the next few days so I can see what we look like!

Oh, while walking back to the house from the ditch I saw our fierce little hunter, Monkey Beans, hiding in the bushes.

Weathering the storm

UGH! We had the hugest hail storm yesterday, complete with insane thunder and lightning. Since nobody wants to be in the spooky haunted run-in shed/paddock, I had Buck up in the barn pasture where he'd hang out under a tree or next to the barn doors if he needed a wind break. The other three horses were in the barn. FLASH!!! CLAP!!!! BOOM!!!!! The other horses went running out of their stalls into their paddocks. Buck scooted a little bit but settled right down. The stormy weather actually didn't seem to bother him too much and I think he would have been scared had he been in the barn - it is very loud in there with the metal roof!

So another sign of how sensible he is.

He did figure out that he and Paddy could play bitey-face over the paddock fencing but he didn't get too involved in that that it caused any trouble.

Today the storm is over, although we are still having a cold snap, and Buck is out in the small pasture across the driveway. When Colin went out to fetch him from the barn pasture at lunchtime he came right up to him from across the pasture. I think he likes us ok. :-D

Welcome home!

Last Thursday I got a special delivery to my doorstep.

Meet "Buck" (a name change may be in order), a 5-year-old BLM mustang. He was adopted as a yearling and given a great start in adapting to a life with people. He has been started under saddle, has been on long trail rides and pack trips, and is now ready to move on to the next phase of his training . . . with me!

Buck came home to much interest from his

soon-to-be friends Tomato and Paddy, but he was not impressed by their antics and glares. We got him into his paddock and took his halter off and he just hung out with us while we talked . . . what else? Horses.

Buck seemed to be doing ok and settling in just fine so we let him be with some hay and water and Pippa as a neighbor. Of course I couldn't help but look out the window every 5 minutes to make sure he was still there! Before he came I was worried that he wouldn't want to be here and that he would jump out of his fencing and try to leave. Where he'd go I don't know, but I was stressed about it all day. Of course I worried needlessly (what else is new!?) because he stuck around and seemed to settle in just fine.

This first post is going to be long because I've been thinking about starting a blog since he showed up last week and have only now have gotten around to doing it. I don't want to forget our first few days so I'm going to put them all down now before I forget.

Day two I didn't have time to do anything with him, as I actually wasn't expecting him to be here, so I just let him be to let him get to know his new friend Pippa and graze in the pasture. I did go out and sit with him, though. Prior to coming here, he was living on 100+ acres with a small herd and wasn't handled on a daily basis, and so was difficult to catch. I wanted him to get used to me and know that I am the bringer of food and rewards and all things good so that he would be easy to catch and work with.

Of all the horses I've had, I've not ever actually sat in the pasture with them before, for fear of something spooking them and them running me over and/or kicking me by accident. Now here I am with this horse I've had for less than 24 hours and I'm sitting on the grass with my camera, watching him graze.

He noticed me and started to come closer . . . and closer . . .

He gave me a snuffle and went back to grazing. Good start.

Saturday rolled around and I decided it might as well be time to ride. I would guess he had not been introduced to cross ties so we started there. At first he didn't want to go into the cross tie area but with positive reinforcement and a couple of tries we walked in there and walked out. We did that a couple of times and then tied up to the trailer, which he is accustomed to, and tacked up.

I thought we'd walk around the neighborhood a little bit but quickly decided that that might not be the best idea with a 5-year-old horse whom I barely know. In short order we came across a neighbor's barking dog, a neighbor doing road work, baying sheep, more barking dogs, cars driving by, etc. Although he didn't act up, I thought it best to not push him on our first ride so we went back home and into the arena where we did a short ride.

Despite his extensive trail experience, Buck is basically green broke and doesn't really know about work in the arena. He definitely knows go and whoa, and he is very polite and stands for mounting, etc., but I can see we have a lot to do on refinement of the aids. At first he wanted to stop every time we passed the gate. Then he wanted to trot realllly fast. He was very wiggly (you cannot imagine how hard it is to walk in a straight line!) and really had no idea of what the expectations were. I tried to focus on keeping my hand steady so that he could find the right contact. After a short ride I decided to end on a good note. Plus, I was in my trail saddle, which I don't find conducive to arena work.

Sunday I brought him into the cross ties and he quickly remembered yesterday's lesson. He walked right in so we stood there for a minute so he could get used to the area. I clipped up one side of the cross ties and let him move his head around so he could get used to the boundaries that the tie set. I held on to his lead rope on the other side just in case he had any problems, but he didn't.

We went back to the trailer to tack up and this time I put on my dressage saddle. I also tried a different bit that I thought he might like better - not that it was really a problem yesterday, but today he was easier to bridle.

We went in the arena and today was better than yesterday. He is wiggly but mostly doesn't know what to do with his head/balance in carrying me - head up? Head down? Head up? Head down? Lean in? Lean out? Go slow? Go fast? Again, I tried to just keep my body and hands still so that he could find his balance. Today was better than yesterday and we worked on mounting/dismounting a few times to end the lesson.

After the ride (keeping them short at about 20 minutes) we worked on trailer loading and after about 20 minutes I got him to easily follow me in. This trailer is a straight load and so I'll need to teach him to self-load, but first things first.

I turned him out in the triangle pasture and put Paddy in the front pasture next to them so they could have their official meet. Everything went fine - no problems, which is great news!

Monday I was interested to see how much he remembered from the previous day's training session. We groomed and tacked up in the cross ties with one tie attached with me holding the lead rope. No problems. No problems again with bridling. Walked out to the arena and got on and had a lovely ride. Kept it short and sweet, again focusing on go and whoa, steering, circles, and steadiness in the bridle - there was definite improvement from the day before. This time, to end the ride I opened the arena gate from his back and we walked back to the cross ties. We untacked with both ties attached to the halter and he stood perfectly quietly. Great progress! We did a brief trailer-loading exercise and turned him back out to the pasture.

This morning was difficult, as it started raining and I had to play musical horses. Last night Paddy and Tomato had been in the barn and Pippa was in the barn pasture so that Buck could see him. When I put Pippa in the stall because of the rain, Buck was worried and calling for him, so I moved Buck to a closer pasture. He was still stressed and started running around so I moved him to the barn pasture. The good news in this scenario is that he let me catch him and didn't act like a crazy man while I was leading him up to the barn pasture. Paddy would have been jumping around at the end of the lead rope and it would have been a scary and potentially dangerous situation - and Paddy is 13 years old!! At 5 years old, Buck was a gentleman and very easy to handle.

So Buck spent the day in the barn pasture area with the other three horses in the barn. He found a wind break when he needed to and when the weather cleared he made his way around the pasture. All seems to be well in his world.

So far I'm very pleased! I wanted a horse who would be a project, who had a good mind, and great feet. I wanted something I could trail ride, but also something I could bring along for other fun activities - camping, dressage, jumping, XC. Looks like he fits all my criteria, and then some!