Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Blankets ... should you, shouldn't you

A little miniature foal stands shivering in the spring rain, even with full shelter available. His winter coat is soaked through to the skin. This is what greeted me one evening after a day of teaching.

So shocked at the sight, I called out the vet worried that maybe he had worked up such sweat for some reason. Vet confirmed that he was just wet and that was why he was shivering. He temp was dropping though, so I had to dry him off and get him covered.

How had Sam's coat gotten soaked through? His friend was just fine. I have never seen another horse so completely soaked that had not been given a bath. Did some local kid pull a prank? Was there a downpour  that soaked him before could get into the shelter? Did he work up a sweat, either from running or a fever? None of those answers really sounds probable, and I never did figure out how Sam had gotten so wet. He did though and I was unprepared.

Miniatures were just gaining in popularity and blankets to fit them needed to be special ordered. I didn't have time, poor little Sam was cold now!

The local tack shop had limited choices for a miniature foal. Even foal blankets were a bit big for him but I found something that would work ... well enough. Sam recovered and I don't think I ever really needed to use that blanket again, but I had it.


When I first got into horse ownership, blanketing was just not a thing. Maybe stable blankets on stalled horses, but there were no turnout blankets available like there are today. The first real turnout blanket was the New Zealand Rug and it is positively primitive compared to what we have for horses today.

I am an au natural horse keeper. Horse should have forage free choice, live outside, not wear shoes, and not be blanketed. But, the experience with Sam taught me to be prepared.

So when I got Tank, I bought a light and medium weight blanket and two fleece blankets.  By combining those I can make a heavier medium weight and a heavy weight blanket. Tank came to me having been stalled at night, but I prefer to keep him out 24/7.  Tank did lose some weight after I got him, his teeth were really bad. At least I was prepared this time when he started to shiver and was able to give him the simple luxury of a blanket.

This fall I am not blanketing until he shows me that he needs blankets. But I am prepared. I have laundered and waterproofed his sheets and blankets so if he needs them they are ready. They are at the barn if he should start to shiver again, but because I solved the problem of his weight and he has been kept outside year around he is growing a nice thick coat this year, I doubt that he will need them.

Blanketing is a highly personal choice. It depends a lot on the horse and the owner, but in my book, if you choose to blanket or not it is not as important as being prepared.






Monday, October 22, 2018

Update on Tank

Here is my boy from this summer. Get a load of those ribs!

My boy has had issues getting on weight and getting his feet back on track. A lot of this summer has been dealing with these two issues.

My farrier is a great guy and has been doing a wonderful job at getting Tank comfortable with having his feet done. We think he may have foundered, but I have not done r-rays so we are not positive. As my farrier said, it wouldn't change how we are dealing with his feet now. The growth that is coming in is looking better and we are still just waiting for a little more of the "dish" on his front feet to grow out.

As we are dealing with these issues, he also came up dead lame one day. Vet said it was just an abscess which after he cut it out, we treated with penicillin and a wrapped hoof. I learned that Tank really doesn't like a shot in his butt and he is not all that fond of one in his neck either. Not uncontrollable ... but not trilled either. And even an offering of carrots is not welcome after shots.

If you look carefully you will notice a beautiful mane in the picture at the right and in the one above, Tank has been roached. He rubbed off his mane. So I roached it. This fall he started to do the same thing again, even rubbing off his brand and the hair on the other side of his neck.

After some research I decided to do double doses of ivermectin, a treatment I found is used for horses with neck threadworms. This seemed to help with his rubbing and he is finally growing that hair back. I might have to repeat this is the spring, or I might get him a neck cover for his blanket. I just really want his mane to grow back. I have even thought of buying a new hay feeder for him ... but he is boarded and I don't really have the money.

Finally, back to the weight. Earlier in the year the stable he is boarded at decided that pasture horses would no longer get an afternoon feeding. I think that really impacted his weight, even though he has free choice hay. After teeth and other issues were ruled out, and his supplements were not doing enough, the vet suggested a switch to senior feed ... and a lot of it. That has made a difference. Thankfully, the barn owner is willing to give him a second feeding and he is  going into the winter with a little meat on his bones.

Health issues finally under control and I asked a friend to take a few rides on him.
He is a calm boy under saddle but needs work on steering. I am looking forward to moving forward with his boy. He has a great mind and is just a wonderful horse all around.

Although I have to wonder how this little hot house flower would have ever survived in the wild.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Update on Me

What a wild and crazy summer it has been, and now we are halfway through fall.

Tank and I have spent the summer getting ourselves healthy. Today I will talk about me . . . but don't worry, I'll tell you all about Tank in the next post.

Me ... that has been my focus as of late. Trying to get healthy enough to do ... anything! Doctor visits, lab work, podiatrist, physical therapy, oral health, and mental health care. That was my summer.

I started out strong, doing things and I hurt my back. Was it Tank? Was is gardening? I have no idea but half of June and July was working on being able to sit with any comfort. Moving was not as issue as much as sitting. Sitting to drive to see Tank. Sitting to write on the computer. Sitting to read a book. Sitting to do something other than stand. It was horrible.


As soon as that started to clear up my feet were getting worse, probably because I was standing to avoid sitting. So, off to the podiatrist. Earlier in the spring a drill was dropped on my foot and apparently pushed the bones in my toe apart a little. It makes it feel like I have a bruise on the ball of my foot all the time. So I start walking more on my left foot ... guess what! I got plantars fasciitis in my left foot. Trying to be good to my feet I was wearing good walking shoes. It took well in to August to realize that the shoe was aggravating my condition.

Well, I got some inserts from the podiatrist. Yea! that helped get my feet back in order and even helped make my walking shoes good for walking. On the right track, right?

So head out to the barn. A friend at the barn was putting some rides on Tank. I have his weigh issues under control (more on that later) so even though I am still too heavy for him, I think he can handle walking around with me on him.

I get on him and he give a little cow hop. Okay ... maybe not ... I hop off. More because I got nervous than because he was acting out. Left leg is okay but my right knee gives out.

Sick stomach ...

Light headed ...

popping as I try to walk. ...

Oops.

Tank is a trooper and calm as ever. I walk him over to where I can sit down for a moment. Eventually I get up and put him away. Driving is painful but by the end of the drive I am doing okay.

Great! Maybe I am not hurt as badly as I thought.

Until I try to get out of the car. I can't walk.

Long story short (too late) I have done something to my knee I just don't know what yet. MRI scheduled.

Ugg ... I take 2 steps forward and 1 back. It hard to see any progress.

But that I one reason I want to start blogging for myself again. So I can see my progress.

Friday, October 19, 2018

No followers . . .

I struggled with the fact that I don't have any followers for awhile. What is the point to write without anyone to read?

But I read.

I wish I had kept up with the progress of the past  7 months. So . . . I write for myself and I am back again . . . again.

This is my boy over the summer.

But what I really want to talk about is friends. The furry kind.

Yes, they are our friends and they are important. I let go of a friend today, AJ.

AJ was a cat I rescued from the litter of a feral queen. I took the whole litter of 3. Two of the kittens survived, AJ and Rockford. AJ is the gray on the left and Rockford is the black on the right. The orange cat is Simon and unrelated. These boys were all named after P.I's James Rockford (Rockford Files) AJ Simon, and Rick Simon.

AJ was a friend. The kind of friend that was always in your face. Didn't get the hint that maybe he should move out of your way or leave you alone sometimes. He would trip you as you walked down the stairs or down the hall.Even if that meant that he had to flop into your underwear as you sat on the toilet.  He felt that he was there and you should talk to him.

Yes talk. AJ loved to talk. He would tell you about everything that had happened that day. He meowed and meowed. I had whole conversations about all sorts of things. He was a good listener too. You could tell because he would respond to everything you said.

AJ was so handsome, too. That steele gray coat with striking green eyes. He was a big, thin, steele kitty that has a mind of his own. The funny think about AJ was that he back legs were on backwards. No, really. His left paw was on his right leg and visa versa. It was the oddest thing. He also did not have an extra digit on his front paw, but it looked as if he did. Aj was very unique.

AJ also had his own unique flop. I never saw that cat lay down, he would flop over, sort of just fall on his side.

AJ was my friend. I will miss him. Rest in Peace old man.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Feet? Hip? Behavior? What is it? Part 1

Hanky Panky, Mr. Tanky has a problem. He doesn't like to pick up his feet. It is turning from  mildly annoying into an honestly perplexing problem, as these things often do with horses. Minor limping turns in to debilitating lameness or saddle fitting problem turns out to just be a training problem. One day your horse bolts and never does it again. Another day the Steddy Eddy of the barn starts spooking at everything, only to discover a month later he is going blind. It is never simple with these big fellows. And it seems to never, ever be what you first think it is.

Tank came to me during the season of mud. Small dirt paddock and wet mud made for  mess beyond anything I had kept a horse in before, the compromises of boarding. The muck was so thick and deep, that I could barely walk. Each step was an effort making sure that my boot would not come off as I tried to break the suction of the mud. Placing my foot down, I tried to choose a place where my leg would not sink in up to my ankle or even higher. The high traffic area by the gates was the worst.

Of course, during those first few weeks Tank was not willingly coming to me. He seemed to understand that I could not catch him very well in the mud and would head there often. Note in the picture at the right how deep those horse are sinking into the mud. Notice how high up there is mud on his legs. Stop and imagine for a second what his feet look like. It was cold, icky, and I couldn't always find a place to tie him up. The last thing I wanted to tackle where his feet.

When I tried the first time he was NOT happy. Pulling back, not wanting to lift his feet. I was surprised because he had reacted to everything else so well.  Blankets, brushes, scary things, he took them all in stride.  Even standing on the cross ties went much easier than I thought it would. Everything else I tried with him, he was stellar at.

So once I got him on the cross tied,  I started to work with his feet again. Again ... not so good. Rearing up if I tried to do his front legs and if I tried to do the back he acted like we were swing dancing. His butt would swing from one side of the aisle to the next!

TRAINING ISSUE!

Yes, I see that. This is a training issue. Start working on this training issue. Poor dear was probably abused as he was having his feet worked on. So I start working on picking up his feet. A few seconds at a time. What a good boy! He is getting it. Only hold them for a second or two at a time, but making progress.

Problem solved?




Saturday, March 17, 2018

A Tale of a Tail

There once was a lovely little horse, who had a horribly tangled tail.

I don't mind the task of detangling a tail, but how and with what. Now I have detangled some horrible burr filled tails before. Luckily, this was just a nasty gnarl of a knot, no icky burrs.

As everyone knows, you start at the bottom and work your way up. On the first day, I only had a stiff hair brush from Dollar Tree and this brush from my Schneider's Deluxe Grooming kit. I actually really like this grooming kit, and this brush was okay. I didn't have any detangling spray.

Several people suggesting  the Oster version of this brush for detangeling.  I really didn't find it that helpful for really, really tangled, matted hair. Even when I got Mane and Tail detangling spray the next day, this brush was just horrible for detangling a mat.

So I moved to my old stand by; a good old hard plastic comb. I find these combs are wonderful for really getting in to a tangle or mat. That little end works like a pick to gently pull out a few hairs at a time. I used the Mane and Tail spray again.

 The thing I hate about the spray is working it into the mat and waiting for it to dry. Although Tank is trooper and doesn't mind being sprayed at all, I just got tired of spraying. I also really hate the idea of spraying on dirty hair. With this comb and the spray I did make it up several more inches.


You can see (I hope) in this picture that about half of his tail looks looser than in the first photo, which looks like a hair bat.  I did this part on Sunday and just didn't make it out to the barn again all week. Darn weather and work!

So in the mean time I found a recipe for a dry shampoo: equal parts ground oatmeal, baking soda, and corn starch. So armed with this and this comb I had bought at Walgreens for my hair I headed back to the barn. Now I am not sure if this comb was better than the other combs, but it was defiantly not worse.

Now the dry shampoo was easy to pour over the mat and really get it all the way through the mat. I didn't need to keep getting more of it. The oatmeal absorbs the oils, the baking soda absorbs odor, and the real magic is from the corn starch that looses everything up. Perfect!

Another suggestion I was given was a brush called, "Wet Brush." I did not get to try the "Wet" brush because, of course, it came after I left for the barn. I ordered the pack figuring it was good enough for Tank, it would be good enough for me also. I did try it on my hair. It really is easy and painless to use. Lucky for Tank I ordered two and so one will go out to the barn.

The end result:
Of course that sucker is now braided and tied up in a tail bag!



Tuesday, March 13, 2018

One Happy Surprise After Another

Every moment I spend with Tank, I feel renewed. Which is a good thing because things in my professional life are less than perfect right now.

Tank keeps surprising me. I ordered a rope halter, making one will come in the future. I got very confused, even watching it on YouTube. He is, of course, much more responsive to the rope halter than the other one. Plus I can hide it in my pocket and slip it on easily. (note: goal for this month is to teach Tank to be caught easily.)

I discovered that Tank must have worn blankets in the past because he has not issue with them. Even when I didn't tie him and he wandered around with a blanket half on. No spook, just wandered around until he managed to step on it and pull it off. Otherwise, he has been blanketed with no issues what so ever.

I also discovered that his tail is one big rat's nest. In the picture it might looks like it is nice, but under those outer hairs is just a big tangle. I was unsure what to do as I have been lacking places to tie him up but.. hey ... if I loop the lead around something ... anything really. He stays. Damn he is a good horse. So most of the weekend was spent trying to untangle his tail. I am about 1/3 of the way done. Last weekend I used Mane and Tail Detangler. This weekend I think I am going to use a mixture of cornstarch, baking soda, and ground oatmeal. A dry shampoo that should help with the tangles also.

I must admit that I enjoy the challenge of detangling a tail. It is relaxing and at the end, it is like unwrapping a present as you see a beautiful tail . I think that he is going to have a very nice tail when I am done.

Over all it has been a nice few weeks. Although it has been cold. I am very much looking forward to the nicer weather coming. 40's and windy is okay, but I would like a nice few days in the 50's or 60's.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Day 3: Mirror Mirror


Okay horrible picture of Tanky..

I came out on Sunday with a totally different attitude. I decided to play with a little of the Horse Speak book. I went out without the idea that I would catch him. Although I did want to give him some feed, when I went into his paddock I didn't try and catch him, just have a conversation.

Well it was much easier to have a conversation with Tank's pasture mate. We did the greeting, mirrored each other, and I explored some of the "buttons" mainly, the move your head out of my space button. I have to admit that it worked really well with him. But as I was doing that, Tank got curious and came over.

Although it was not as easy to have a "conversation" we did have a greeting but he was not into mirroring. At least not into mirroring my behaviors but he is a perfect mirror for attitude.


With a attitude, of " Hey let's get to know one another," he was much more relax. He even licked my hand. Okay that made me laugh. It has been a long time since I was licked by a horse. After a long time of just talking and petting (and licking) he let me halter him. I took him out to eat some feed.

Our walk was calmer. With a gentle pressure, he was willing to follow. He even was okay with me digging my car. I do love the way he doesn't spook. If something bothers him he stops and looks. You can almost see the wheels turning in his head.

Everyday is just learning what Tank knows and what he doesn't. And sometimes what sets him off.

On a side note, as much as I love this purple halter, it has to go. It is just too big and probably why he isn't responding well. He came with a halter already, so it might be back to that one.

But how could I stay annoyed with this face for long!




Sunday, March 4, 2018

Days 2: Who's the boss?

It's Mr. Tank to you.

Sorry that picture just makes him look so full of himself. Not to say that he isn't.

Weather gods were shining favorably this weekend, so I took full advantage of that. It was nice to have a horse to go see. I am actually figuring out how to get down to the barn and back without getting lost.

Yea! Progress!

Tank is a work in progress and I am still evaluating him. His whole known history is only 6 months. I wonder often what happened to him from the time he was captured to until he found himself with a one way ticket to Mexico.

Over the weekend I did a lot of stuff wrong, and a few things right, Saturday was mostly wrong. Saturday, catching was a problem and then I had groomed him just outside of the paddock. I have no place to tie him up except in his paddock, with two horses lose in there I didn't want to do that. He stood really well while I was on his left side, but right was difficult.

He was trying to walk through me and I was doing my best to put him in his place. Eventually he had a temper tantrum. Tank stepped away from me and started pawing. He lifted his leg way up. He pawed the air two or three times, when he realized that he was not hitting the gate. So he moved to make sure he got a few good swats in on the gate. Is he a brat or what!

Getting him to back was next to impossible, he just was not going to give to pressure for anything!

By that time I figured what did I have to lose. I wormed him. OMG ... he didn't care about that. Stood there and ate it all. Didn't even try to spit it out!

I did take him for a walk around the farm, which is part of our routine. Just trying to getting him use to the sights and sounds. He hates going in the barn, but we went in anyway. He is pretty good once we get in there but he is nervous.

As we were leaving the barn, I was working on him not rushing past me. We would back, but he was not going to. At the door he really wanted to rush past me, I tried to block him. Choice to back up to rush through the garbage can. He chose to take out the garbage can. I was a little perturbed.

I ordered a rope halter and I changed my attitude my attitude for Sunday.



Wednesday, February 28, 2018

A quick visit before more belch!

Man this is a wet year! Forecast for tomorrow includes rain and then through the rest of the week snow. It was a now or not until the weekend day to see Tank.

I love the place that he is at, but ... it is 30 mins away on a good day. Chicago being Chicago, it is 40 -50 min during rush hour. Today I wasn't able to get out of work soon as I wanted. It was a race against the sun to get down there in time to have a little day light.

I also got smart about my phone and just turned the dang thing off until I needed a few last minute directions. When I got to the barn I took some photos so I have a few new ones.

Surprise, surprise Tank was really curious and came up to me right away. You can see he is finding his carrot cookies. I was amazed at how he just walked up to me and was letting me rub on him.

As you can see, he had no problem getting up close and personal.

    Isn't that a cute little nose?

              Well, that lasted until I took out his halter.

                    Then it was off to the muddiest part of the paddock.

He is out with a little guy about his size. That horse was trying to be helpful. I swear he was biting Tank in the butt and telling him that his mom was here and he should go up to me. Tank wasn't having any of it.

Great thing about Tank is that once you have a rope around his neck he stops. He is fine then. My lead slipped though the halter during all my walking to catch him. He was fine as I fiddled to get in all straighten out.


Training with Tank right now is getting him used to me and being handled. What I think I am seeing is typical mustang behavior. Doesn't trust really easily at first but has to warm up to you.

In Tank's paddock is a shelter and it has a ring for tying, so I have decided to use that instead of taking him into the barn. He is nervous in the barn, and I have no place to straight tie. Seeing that he has no problem trying to run though the halter, I am not confident that he would do well on cross ties yet.

While grooming, we played the pressure/ release game. He gets nervous with being handled around his back legs. Actually anything past his the middle of his barrel is iffy. Not that he is bad or dangerous, he just starts to swing from one side to the other. So I go up and rub on him just a bit and turn my back on him. Do it again, so that he learns that if he just stands there he will get release. He picked it up really quickly and was standing quietly.

I started to do a little ground work but they were coming around with grain and I didn't want to do that him. After I released him he actually followed me around and say "good bye" before getting his grain. Awww! What a sweetie little man!


Sunday, February 25, 2018

Day 1 with Tank ... AKA Booger Brain

Yesterday Tank arrived. It was totally love at first site. He is just a sweet boy. He is not a really big guy, but I knew that and am totally fine with it. I just want him and to have fun with him.

I didn't do much more than let him look around a bit at the property and took him out to his paddock where he got to meet the two other horses that he will share the paddock with. He was amazingly quiet, as in not calling out. He did a lot of looking and thinking. When approaching anything new, I could see him taking it in. He would stop and look. After turning him I tried to take a few photos, but my phone hates this barn. It just acts up as soon as I get on the property.

The people from the rescue were wonderful! I really enjoyed talking to them. They shared a little more about his story. Thankful doesn't even beginning to express what I feel for all the people that put up money, time, and energy to pull this boy out of the kill pen. It seems that everyone that comes in contact with this boy say the same thing, "there is just something special about it." And I couldn't agree more!

Today I went out to see him and spend more time with him. And today he earned the moniker: Booger Brain.

To be fair, it wasn't really his fault that he was so hard to catch. He doesn't know me, this place, and everything has been changing in his life a lot lately. The pasture he is in right now is a mud pie.

Nothing makes catching a new horse more difficult than having to do it while being suction cupped to the ground. Oh wait! There is! When another more dominate horse, who is also a huge pocket pony keeps getting in the way!

Actually I owe a lot to the 16hh pocket pony, for one I was able to grab on to his neck a few times to keep from falling in the muck. I can't wait for drier weather!

In the end I put a a few treats in his feed pan and he was suckered in. HA!

Booger Brain ... I mean Tank ... was pretty good in all but I did learn a few things about him.

  1. He definitely likes being outside rather than in. He was really nervous walking in the barn, and then in the barn as well.
  2. We need to work on leading. He tends to get "stuck". As I was leading him he would get to places where he just didn't want to move forward.
  3. We need to learn to give to pressure. While he was nervous he wanted to run though the halter. What made matters worse outside is that the footing was so bad that I really couldn't work him properly. In the indoor he I could move him around a bit better.
  4. He is forgiving. I was not at my best today and there were times that he could have taken advantage of me and he was not interested in doing that. Not always cooperative but never dangerous or mean. 
I am really going to like working with the horse. Next step, make a rope halter for this boy! 







Friday, February 23, 2018

One more day!

Arg! It has been a hard week to get through. Between the weather, my job, and my excitement, I can barely wait!

My mind is spinning.
     ...  Money ...
                 ... Time ...
                           ... Health ...

So many other issues ...

And yet ...

        Another horse. Another friend. Another adventure.

What will we do this year?

So two days ago I made a list of things I wanted to before I kicked the bucket. This is a list of what I want to do this year with Tank.


  1. Work though all the steps of the Horse Speak 
  2. Teach Tank to stand, lift his feet, and ground tie
  3. Teach Tank to target 
  4. Establish a bond .. not sure how I will decide when that has happened but ...
  5. Ground drive Tank
  6. Braid his mane and tail
  7. Keep a log of what we do
  8. Find Tank's favorite place to be scratched. 
  9. Ride Tank at walk and trot
  10. Make at least 1 video a month of Tank
  11. Get Tank to put all 4 feet in a hula hoop
  12.  Trot exactly 10 steps, walk exactly 10 steps 4x's in hand 
  13. Teach Tank to come
  14. Discover is Tank is right or left handed (hooved?)
  15. Teach Tank to lower his head
  16.  Pick out your horse’s hoof from the opposite side of their body.
  17. Write a poem about your horse.
  18. Knit or crochet an amigurumi that looks like Tank
  19. Hug Tank
  20. Place buckets with a single horse treat inside randomly around an enclosed space. See how long it takes for Tank to eat all the treats.

Many of these are from this list of 214 Things to Do with Your Horse

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Mustangs: part 2

Now that we know where mustangs come from I wanted to learn more about them as a partner. Talking to a number of different people about them has been interesting. I learned some super things about these symbols of the west. Many will agree that a horse is a horse, but a mustang is different.

First of all, mustangs are hardy horses with healthy feet. Horses that get sick or have bad feet don't live to pass on those genes. These horses have tough as nails hooves and tend to be healthy in general. They live off of what they find on the range, which is not always the best forage, so they are easy keepers. In captivity, they retain these traits and are easy to care.

Even just looking at a mustang, you can see the thicker legs, slightly larger feet. They have an all around sturdier build that I like to see. Americans love to breed for exaggerations and so even good stocky horses of old, like the quarter horse, are now being bred with tiny feet. 

Mustangs grow up on a variety of terrain. Every day is an endurance trail experience, averaging 18 miles a day.They know how to navigate natural obstacles, like logs, water, and rocks. It isn't going to pay to spook at stuff that isn't really a threat. Sure footed and able to read a trail, they know how to move and are sensible on the trail. This makes them ideal trail partners. But they are't just trail horses! They can be found competing in all levels of dressage, hunter/ jumper, and western sports. 


Another trait that was mentioned over and over again by owners is how intelligent the mustang horse is. They tend to think about situations. Owners describe their horses are learning faster than other horses they had worked with.

Finally, part that I am most excited about is how mustangs bond with their owners.  Since that is my primary goal of owning a horse this time around it makes sense to choose a breed that excels in this department. . Many of the people that shared their stories spoke of a deep bond with their horse. Often it was chalked up to mustangs that were raised in a wild herd have learned the language of the horse and tend to do a better job reading the body language of a humans as well.

Darn near the perfect horse right?

Although most of the people that owned mustangs loved them, there were a few that said that they had one that was difficult.

They are wild horses. These guys did have to live by their wits and defend themselves against predators. They had to fight for their place in the herd and themselves against other horses. Finally, they were chased down by a helicopter and trapped. For some, they just can't get used to life if captivity. Especially if they were captured later in life.

Their intelligence can work against their owner, if the owner is not at least as smart as the horse. Seriously, this can be problem when the horse ends up training the human. Mustangs, like all horse, are herd animals. They if you are not going to tell them they you are boss, they will just assume that they can take that role.

All in all, most everything I learned about these horses as partners was really positive. Some described them like your average horse, only more. I can't wait to meet Tank and get our partnership started.



Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Bucket List

This is a bucket list of horse related things I would like to do. It seemed like a good post to make as I am waiting for Tank. 3 more days.


Horse Related Things

  1. See a herd of wild mustangs
  2. Watch the Lipizzaner Stallions in Vienna, Austria 
  3. Ride on the beach
  4. Camp with horses
  5. Teach Tank at least 10 tricks
    1. touch
    2. fetch
    3. bow
    4. leg up
    5. Spanish walk
    6. stand
    7. come
    8. head down
    9. hold your foot up
    10. back up
  6. Teach Tank to ground  drive
  7. Run a barrel pattern
  8. Enter a photo show
  9. Ride Tank
  10. Take Tank on a trail ride
  11. Ride upper level dressage movements: pirouette, passage and piaffe
  12. Ride a Norwegian Fjord
  13. Drive a Norwegian Fjord
  14. Drive 4 in hand
  15. Win a blue ribbon
  16. Have a professional pictures taken of my horse and I
  17. Attend a fun show
  18. Ride side saddle
  19. Ride bridleless and saddleless. 
  20. Be in a breed demo at the Midwest Horse Fair
  21. Teach a horse to paint
  22. Learn to throw a lasso
  23. Play with horse soccer ball
  24. Ride a dressage test, at home or at a show
  25. Use body paint on my horse
  26. Watch the Kentucky Derby at Church Hill Downs dressed to the nines
  27. Share a bond with a horse that is deeper than words ... again
  28. Have the courage to do that right thing by my horse, even when it is difficult
  29. Ride a cutting horse
  30. Attend the clinic of an equestrian icon
  31. Watch a polo match live
  32. Own a mustang ;)
  33. Curl up with laying down horse
  34. Crochet or knit ear fly thingy 
  35. Make a knit/ crochet amigurumi of Tank
  36. Attend Pony Penning Days in Chincoteague

More items will be added as I think of them.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Book: Horse Speak

4 more days until Tank arrives!

I am so excited but there is so little I can do. One thing I am doing is reading.
Horse Speak: An Equine-Human Translation Guide: Conversations with Horses in Their Language by [Wilsie, Sharon]
My goal with Tank is to develop a relationship. If we end up doing tricks, trail rides, dressage, or driving, all those will be secondary to our relationship. Horse Speak seemed like a really great way to start on that relationship.

 I did not receive this book to review, I went out and bought it.

Ever wondered what your horse is trying to tell you? Ever think that your horses behavior come "out of no where?" This book attempts to help you read your horses body language and have a conversation with your horse.

The concept is going to be really foreign to some that feel that the horses feelings don't matter. The idea that the horse should be blindly obedient and not allowed to express how he feels about a given demand.

Some of this is pretty basic and nothing new to me. Other parts I am not sure if I buy into. I do think it is worth and try and nothing is to be lost by taking a step back and look at what a horse is trying to tell me. The book is set up in steps instead of chapters.

Step 1: Building Your Foundation
Step 2: Observing Facial Expressions
Step 3: The 4 G's of Horse Speak & Greetings
Step 4: Going Somewhere
Step 5: Horse Speak In-Hand
Step 6: Grooming Rituals: Finding Unity
Step 7: The Five Levels of Intensity
Step 8: Negotiating Areas of Vulnerability and Defense
Step 9: Moving with Grace
Step 10: Who's Driving Anyway?
Step 11: Let them Be Free
Step 12: Now You're Up There ... What should you do?

There is a lot I like in this book. First of all, at the start of each step is a list of "keys to horse speak". The keys tell what is included in the chapter and page numbers if you want to skip right to that section. Also, as each part of the horse's language is introduced, it is referenced to photos and other places in the book that it is referenced. Really user friendly. Plus there are a ton of photos to help the reader understand the body language. I like to cover the caption first and see if I see what the author sees. Next each of the behaviors is explained in details. This book attempts to make it as easy as possible to have a conversation with your horse.

That is the part I wonder about. Can you really have a conversation with your horse? Will your horse read your body language as he would read it off of another horse? I am going to try these steps and report back.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Shoe String Budget: Revamping a Halter

It looks like I will be getting Tank! Yippy! In six more days to be exact. This will be a tough week to get through!

This time around I am really working on a shoe string budget. I have a lot of horse gear and I need to make do with what I have. I found an old halter that I actually really like, purple with a plaid trim. It has been neglected and the chrome is chipping off
a bit. So I decided to spruce it up a little.

After two time through the washer it is looking a whole lot cleaner, but the chrome finish is flaking off. Back to the dollar store for two things. Gray nail polish and top coat!
Perfect! Now I carefully paint all the metal with the gray nail polish. This takes awhile because you have to go bit and bit and let it dry. I actually did it over several days and put on several coats.

I am sure that in time this will start to flake off again, but a few touch up and we should be fine. My goal really is just to give it that new feeling instead of going out and buying a whole new halter. After all it still is perfectly serviceable.
You can see how much better  it looks with just a little nail polish. Again, it takes awhile to do because you have to do a small part and then let it dry.

Next add the top coat.

Voila! Looking snazzy enough for my new boy!


Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Mustangs part 1

There are several horses that I have always wanted to own. Frisian, Fjord, Morgan, Gypsy Vanner, and a Mustang. Really of my list of horses who hasn't wanted to own one or more of them. They are flashy and romantic horses. The most romantic of them, for an American, has to be the Mustang.

Mustangs and the idea of spirit go hand in hand. Spirit of freedom, of bravery, of survival, all ideals
that American hold dear. What horse more embodies spirit of America, than one that has escaped and returned to the wild? What horse can more properly exemplifies how America sees its self as a melting pot? Mustangs are not a breed, but the result of several breeds escaping or released back into the wild.

Just like most Americans, Mustangs are not indigenous to the United states, although North America is the birth place of horse, it is believed that they went extinct. Did they ever really leave? How did they get reintroduced? Nobody is quite sure. Native Americans claim that they had horses before the Spanish came and before the Spanish, Vikings visited America. Could they have dropped of some Fjords at that time?

They most common story is that as Spanish Conquistadors moved across the land, some of their horses escaped or were released. No one breed was used by the conquistadors, and the original breeds are extinct but their genetics lives on in the Mustangs. Over the years more people from different countries moved in and brought their horses with them. Horses of all colors and types. Some were released in the the wild, and others escaped.

Ranchers might release a stallion they liked into the wild herds and come back later and gather up some of the prodigy that they liked.

In fact, the Mustangs have been treated as a free source of horses for many pioneers and even the US Government. Mustangers were cowboys that would round up the Mustangs for their personal use, or to train and sell.  Mounts for the cavalry  were gathered up from the Mustangs. When the Government was does with them, they released them back into the wild.

As we moved from using horses to do work, to using machines, Mustangs started to be seen as a threat to to the ranchers. Ranchers wanted to use the government land for grazing their cattle and sheep. Mustangs were eating the grass that the cattlemen wanted. Conflict over a species with no economic value against a species with great economic value has been going on for a long time.

No history of the Mustang is complete without the mention of Wild Horse Annie. She lobbied for the protection of the Mustangs in the 1960's. Finally, in 1971 the Wild Horse Protection Act was passed. Before this act the wild horses were rounded up and sent off to slaughter. After this act the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)  was tasked with managing the lands to protect the spirit of the west and allowing cattlemen to graze their cattle. Conflicts still occur today, but at least the horses are protected.

Part of the management plan includes managing the numbers of wild horses on the lands. This is done in part with Mustang round ups. Using helicopters,  Mustangs are rounded up and kept in holding pens until they can be adopted out. Mustang Adoption by the BLM allows anyone to adopt a wild horses and burros. To own a part of an American Symbol of the West. Often times these horses are not even halter broke and require special fencing. Unfortunately it is getting harder to adopt out these horses and burros. So they often sit in holding pens for years.

In a way, the Mustang is again a symbol of the people of America. Once living the American dream, but not being pushed out of their home by those just trying to make a profit.




Monday, February 12, 2018

Swimming to Ride

I think I have mentioned that I have 100+ pounds to lose. With the weight I have lost, I would be happy with losing just 100 lbs right now. I would be above what the charts say I should weigh, but I would be at a healthier weight than I am now and I will be thin enough to ride.

Salads and soups are playing one role in taking the weight off, another is swimming. With my weight, I have issues with my joints, particularly my knees. Water takes off the weight off of my knees allowing me to walk, jump, and move around. I started out with just walking in the water.

Walking can be boring and sometimes I can't use the outside lanes I need to do it. In the middle of pool it gets deeper and I am too buoyant. I found a lot of great exercises to do here. Most of these exercise are easy to do and require no equipment.


In addition, I was excited to learn that I can still swim. I was worried about my shoulders for a bit but I am able to still do free style, backstroke, and side strokes.

My goal is 30 minutes every other day, right now I am up to 30 minutes at least 2x a week. I mean seriously people, it's cold out there!

Blankets ... should you, shouldn't you

A little miniature foal stands shivering in the spring rain, even with full shelter available. His winter coat is soaked through to the skin...

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