Grace's Dog "Belle"

I was going through my personal pictures on my work computer this morning. I couldn't help but realize that my dog Belle is in most of the pictures of Grace.

When Belle was a puppy I knew she needed a job, so I went out of my way to make sure she was with me when I fed Grace morning and night. Belle took her job very seriously, making sure to keep a close eye on me anytime I made a move for the front door. She soon moved on to accompanying Grace and I on rides.

Belle loves the trails as much as Grace does. When I pull onto the road where the trail head is, she gets all excited. Belle loves to take the lead when we head out on the trails. Grace used to get irritated with her, but she soon came to realized that the Boogey man is less likely to eat her if he has a small dog to snack on first.

"All safe and clear"

Belle going up the bank jump while Grace goes around

Belle loves water! She uses it to cool herself down. It doesn't matter how cold or wet it is outside, she will find a puddle and wallow like a little pig.




I keep a stack of towels in the truck!



Tuckered out after a trail ride. The best Blue Heeler is a tired Blue Heeler!



At home Belle is my "ground person"






She also thinks she is a horse. Here she is grazing along side Grace. Always fun later that night when her body remembers that she is indeed not a horse and she pukes up all the grass.




Belle makes a good cow in a pinch!

Yes, one day Grace and I broke all the rules and chased Belle like she was a cow. Belle thought it was the best game ever! I walked Grace up to Belle, dropped my hand down and said "get that dog!" Grace pinned her ears back and gave chase. Belle ran out of the arena, shocked that someone would dare to "herd" her. I called her back in and tried again. That was whens she figured out how much fun it was.


I swear the two of them are closer now since that day. Grace used to tolerate Belle, but now she has a use for her. Grace has even started sharing her grain with Belle at feeding time. Of course she might just be fattening her up for the Boogey man!

My girls!




A picture of Belle with Grace in the background.

Pictures!

I love pictures of Grace! I can never have enough of them. I can't stand pictures of myself, but for some reason I don't mind so much as long as Grace is in the picture.

Last night I had the super good fortune to have two photographers show up for cow night at Diamond Hill Ranch.



I love this picture that Nina took! Beautiful!




Pictures, like video are great for me to learn from. I heard Sarah saying all night that I needed to move Grace's shoulder over with my leg and not hand. I've been working on that at home and was really making some progress. For some reason when we get back on cows, it all goes out the window.

See - too much hand!

Someone needs help with her hair! If I am going to be committed to wearing a helmet for every ride, that doesn't mean I have to have bad hair. Someone help me figure this out!

Cassie took this one on Saturday. I know it wasn't from last night because I am wearing pink gloves (yet all my other clothes seem to be the same!). I know I didn't have gloves on last night because my hands froze!

There is where Grace says "Sit Down, Shut Up and Hold On!"

At the end of the night Sarah and I separated the cows by color.

Seriously girl - get some help with that hair!

3 Blanket Weekend

I was reminded this weekend why Grace has so many blankets She has at least 10 of them, all with different weights of denier and fill. That doesn’t include coolers or her magnetic sheet or the two blankets I sold last month. This weekend in the Pacific Northwest we experienced one of our “100 year” rainstorms,which was similar to the last 100 year storm we had only 2 years ago. In 48 hours we received almost 6 inches of rain with temperatures in the 50’s. Was it really only 3 weeks ago that we had snow and temperatures in the teens?

Blanket #1

Grace started the weekend off in her pink and black Duratech turnout blanket. She had been wearing her heavier purple Duratech until I switched it out Friday morning in preparation for the warmer weather. The rain started out light on Saturday morning. We hauled up to Diamond Hill Ranch for arena sorting. I was the only haul in for the session, which allowed us to have a lot of one on one time with the herd. The rain started to pick up during the few hours that we were at the barn. I left the trailer hooked up since there was a good chance we would be hauling out to ride again on Sunday.

Cows!

By the time I fed Grace on Saturday night, it was in the 50’s and the rain was at a steady down pour. Instead of standing in her nice dry, clean, freshly bedded shelter, Grace chose to stand out in the rain. Her pink medium weight blanket was saturated. She was still dry underneath, but the blanket was heavy with rain. I pulled it off and put on her purple plaid turnout sheet. I then watched as the grabbed mouthfuls of hay and pulled it outside her shelter and dropped it into the mud. I dragged the hay back inside and threatened to stand there while she ate her dinner. Once she had her grain in front of her, she stayed put.

Blanket #2

We headed back up to the barn on Sunday morning after breakfast. Grace’s head and neck were soaked, but from the shavings in her tail it looked like she had slept inside her shelter. I had planned to do some ground work in the arena before tacking up. Since we had the place to ourselves I promised Grace she could roll once we got inside. My plan was to get her into the middle of the arena where the dirt was dry and it would be safe to roll. We were not two feet inside the gate before Grace was already down in the dirt! I made her get up and moved her to the center of the arena to let her finish her dirt bath. After a great ride and extra grooming time inside the dry barn, we headed back out in the rain to head for home.

Grace wondering why we are not working the cows on Sunday

By the time I pulled the trailer into the driveway, the rain had slowed down to a drizzle. It was still in the high 50’s. Grace’s mane and tail were full of arena dirt from her roll. I couldn’t take it anymore; I pulled out the hose while Grace grazed and started washing her tail. Since it wasn’t fairly warm out for December, I went ahead and washed her mane as well. The only problem was that she was still wearing her turnout sheet. When Grace lifted her head all the water went down her shoulder, underneath the blanket. Time for another blanket change. That was when I realized just how many blankets she has. I had to dig though a stack of hanging turnouts to get to the one I wanted. I’m almost disappointed that the rain has stopped.

We have at least another 3 days of blanket changes ready to go.

Blanket #3

Trail Rides

Parking lot in Port Gamble


Grace and I were invited to go on a trail ride last Sunday. It was a friends birthday weekend and she wanted to celebrate it out on the trails. The best part was these were trails that no one in the group had ever been on before. They eventually connect to the trails that we usually haul out to, but I had never made it out that far.

At the trailer after the ride

There is a small tourist town where we parked to get onto the trail head. I had no idea we could park there until last weekend. The town is an old mill town and it was all decorated for the holidays. There were 7 of us that hit the trails. The trails are nice wide logging roads that are very well groomed. All the trees that had fallen in the recent winter storm had been cleared and there was very little mud. I was really fortunate that the group I was with was ok with letting Grace take the lead. We only walked on the ride, but she set out on such a fast pace that I had to stop several times to allow the group to catch up. It didn’t always used to be this way....

When I bought Grace as a 3 year old, she had only been worked in an arena. She was turned out during the day in a large pasture with a hill. She had no problem galloping up and down the hill with her sister Ginger, but she had never been ridden off the confines of a flat arena. The woman I bought her from was adamant that if I took Grace on a trail ride I would only “ruin” her. She pretty much told me I would “ruin” my horse if I did anything with her.

When we moved to another barn, I started to take Grace, who was now almost 5 out of the arena. Out first trip out was a ride down the barn’s driveway. It was on a steep hill and it became very clear that Grace had no clue how to walk down a hill with a rider on her back. She was very careful with each step she took, almost sitting down at one point on her hind end. It was a bit of a shock to me, every horse I had owned in the past thought nothing of hitting the trail. I grew up galloping up and down the steep hills; I just assumed it was natural for my horses.

We eventually moved on to a long narrow trail which was a short walk from the barn. It cut through a large piece of property. There was tall scotch broom on either side of the hill. That was the trail where Grace learned to lope. She hated to lope in the arena. As soon as I would ask for the lope, she would stop dead and back up across the arena. She had been punished at one point for going too fast and she was not going to make that mistake again. Out on the narrow trail I would let her long trot until she fell into a lope. There was no where for her to go, so I had no fear of her taking off. One time she spooked at something and jumped into the scotch broom. When got herself wedged up to her shoulders in the brush I was laughing so hard I almost couldn’t help her get out. By the end of that summer she was able to gallop that trail. She has also become more willing to lope in the arena.

The first time we went out to the trails in a group Grace kept getting left being the group. She would jig and jog to catch up. He walk was incredibly slow. The more we went out on the trails the more it improved. After I moved Grace to my house, we started to trail ride with Jeanni and Jasmine.

Jasmine is FAST! There is a stretch of trail where we would always gallop. I quickly learned to give Jeanni and Jasmine a head start so that Grace and I would not end up in the rooster tail of mud and dirt from Jasmine’s hind hoofs. Jasmine taught Grace that she could run. I am still trying to convince Grace that she doesn’t always have to run just because we are out on the trail. That’s a tough one because I enjoy the gallops and it takes me a little while to settle down after a good run. I really have to work to stay calm and think “WALK”, otherwise I spend the ride sending mixed signals to Grace (ok, walk now – but I really want to run – ok but we need to walk...). If I bring my dog Belle along she is no help at all. She knows the areas where we tend to open up and run. Belle will come up to Grace’s shoulder and bark at us as if to say “C’mon – let’s go!” One time I had planned to just lope and next thing I knew we were flying down the trail, the horse and dog feeding off each other’s energy, with me just along for the ride.

The last two group rides we’ve gone on have been at the walk. Grace is really good as long as she gets to take the lead. I know I need to address the jigging when she is behind another horse, but there are times I just want to enjoy a nice trail ride. Trail riding has been wonderful for Grace. We both enjoy it and she ends up working without even knowing it. Every time we haul out to the logging trails, I tell myself I need to do this more often. Grace and Belle agree!

Forgot to mention that Grace wore her sleigh bells!

What do you mean I have to hold still for a picture?

Someday I will get this!

I had a great lesson with Sarah on Friday and was reminded once again why she is my trainer! Sarah and I go way back, we rode at a Hunter/Jumper barn together almost 20 years ago. She was instrumental and helping with my last horse “Bailey”. It wouldn’t be out of line to say she saved him. She has also saved Grace many times over in the last 10 years.

Sarah is a Master Saddler; she also does body work, rehabs horses and is one hell of a trainer. She understands movement like no one else I have met before. If I think something is not quite right with Grace and I just can’t put my finger on it, Sarah will have it figured out in a matter of seconds. I have a ton of respect and admiration for her work.

I had a history of straying from Sarah. I say “had” because I believe I have learned my lesson. In the past my “agenda” has gotten me in a hurry which caused me to cut corners. This has ALWAYS resulted in my horse coming up lame, at which point I sulk back to Sarah, hand her the reins and say “Fix it!”

For the last year, I’ve stayed put and have for the most part worked on the exercises she has given me. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that at this time my horse looks and feels better than she ever has. So it surprised me one day last week when Grace looked off behind. I could tell right away just by the way that she was moving that it was her hip. I could also hear her left hind toe dragging in the wet arena sand when she worked at the trot. Grace’s stride was short behind; her movement just didn’t add up to her new and improved body.

I know from years of training with Sarah that for Grace to be sound, she needs to carry herself over her back when she works. As much as I would love to let her work long and low all the time, she tends to hollow her back and allow her hocks to go out behind her in that frame. When Grace stops using her body correctly and it isn’t long before she is lame. This is the area where I as the “amateur owner” struggle the most. Sometimes when I ask Grace to step up from behind, she says “I can’t possibly do that!” Her first reaction is to stop forward motion, swish her tail and grunt. This is when I usually back off and go on to something else. When I don’t back off and I ask again, she might slam on her brakes and throw in a little rear. At this point I am convinced that she “can’t possibly” do whatever it is that I am asking so I go on to something less complex.

This is where the trainer comes in! I had Sarah check Grace’s body before we worked on Friday. Sure enough her hips where out. After an adjustment, I put Grace on the lunge line so Sarah could see her move. She looked much better than she had earlier in the week. The toe drag and short step was gone.

I do an exercise on the lunge line where I ask Grace to come in on a smaller circle; I take her nose to the inside and ask her to step over with her inside hind leg. This is hard for her, Grace usually talks me out of it. Sarah confirmed that we need to continue this exercise and worked with me on when to ask for the collection, and when to give a release on a large circle.

Sarah introduced a new exercise under saddle. It was a serpentine at the lope, while staying on the same lead. I understood it in my brain at the lesson, but will admit I did not get it in my body. It required me to ride off my leg and not my hand at the lope. The exercise – when executed properly- will help Grace to use her body. Sarah rode Grace during the lesson and did the serpentine exercise with her. Now I saw that Grace could do it. When we ended the lesson on Friday, I knew what I needed to do in order to get the exercise right – use my leg at the lope. Once again my brain gets it, but the connection to my body is very slow. I learn by feeling, once I “get” it, I won’t lose it, but the process of getting it can take forever (10 years) sometimes.

On Saturday, Grace and I headed out to the large outdoor arena at home. I had one goal in mind, to nail down the lope exercise. After a really good warm up, I experienced 10 of the most frustrating minutes I think I have ever had on Grace’s back. I hit that point where I usually turn back, but this time I was determined to push though. I immediately understood why I don’t like to use my leg when I lope my mare. She drops her back and RUNS when I add leg. Grace knows to lift her back when leg is added, she did it just the night before at the lope when Sarah rode her. Knowing this only added to my frustration. I pressed on and tried again. My goal was to accomplish the exercise with leg, not hand. This is a bit of a challenge when my horse is running from my leg pressure. This was one of those moments that I am grateful that no one is around 99% of the time when I ride at home. I’m sure if someone had been watching they would have wondered who the beginner was and why her horse was running away with her. At one point while letting Grace catch her breath, I decided to just work on guiding her at the lope with my legs. I didn’t care if we were in a serpentine; I just wanted to get the feel of her moving off my leg pressure at the lope. I asked for the lope again, this time keeping Grace on a large circle. I asked her to move her hip to the right, then to the left. I only used my reins to guide her on the circle. Grace seemed to say “oh, that’s what you want, ok”. We then went on to the serpentine exercise. It was no big deal. Grace slowed down her lope and moved off my leg. I asked her to speed up coming out of the counter bend to help her keep the correct lead. Again it was easy and relaxed, no problem. I switched directions – again no big deal. As we cooled out I realized that it may have been the first time I have ever kept my leg on Grace at the lope and not backed off when she pitched a fit. Makes me wonder what the next 10 years will bring.

Connected Groundwork

I just got the ok from my boss to adjust my work schedule from 6:00am – 3:00pm for the winter. He said since I have been flexible with him (i.e. driving his kid around) he is willing to be flexible with me. My plan is to only do this on Mondays and Fridays so I can continue to go to the gym the other 3 days of the work week. I am in the process of interviewing for other jobs right now, so I will have to enjoy this schedule change while I can. I am really looking forward to getting more daylight time with Grace during the week.

This week I went back to doing ground work with Grace. I pulled out my Peggy Cummings Connected Groundwork book and did a few of the exercises. Every time I start doing these exercises again, I always wonder why I stop doing them. I supposed it’s much easier just to throw a saddle on and head to the arena. I seem to forget how much impact these simple exercises have on both Grace and myself.

I find the Connected Groundwork calms me; I am almost forced to get into my body and tune out the rest of the world. It’s the best form of meditation I have found! The odd thing is that in the first few minutes, Grace actually gets a little crazy. I consider her to be a very calm horse. Things that upset other horses, she will usually not even notice. Yet, she consistently acts up when we start the Connected Groundwork. Last night she was convinced that the Boogeyman was in the woods nearby just waiting to eat her. I am starting to believe that the ground work does get her to connect to her body, which may actually be a scary place for her. Her calm demeanor may be her way of checking out. Grace did settle down after a few minutes, and then seemed to really enjoy the work.

Last night we worked on exercises that we could perform in a small space, small as in under the flood light off the house. This is where I am always surprised by how well the exercises work. The movements are small, and almost seem more like body work. No one breaks a sweat, yet I see big improvements in the way we both carry ourselves when we finish.

Grace’s body has changed so much over the last year. It still baffles me that a 13 year old horse’s body can change. Her posture is nothing like it was just 2 years ago. She does not appear to even have the same conformation. I really need to get some updated pictures to illustrate what I am trying to explain here. Grace’s back is wider than it used to be, this change has occurred only in the last 6 months. Her weakest point is still the lumbosacral area, but even that has greatly improved. Her back has lifted, and ties much better into her hip. I swear there are days that I think her back is shorter than it used to be!
The Connected Groundwork exercises have awakened a new awareness in me about how my movement and energy affects Grace. At one point last night I could feel her spine flex and bend under my hands. She was able to bend her ribcage in a way we have yet to accomplish under saddle. As much as I have hated the dark, wet, cold shorter days of winter, I have come to appreciate the time out of the saddle. We have a ways to go before Spring, so I should be able to establish a routine of groundwork before the temptation to just throw on the saddle and head out for a ride returns.

Thankful for Horse Poop!

Today is Friday. I haven’t ridden Grace since Sunday. 4 days in a row without a ride, I am seriously jonesing! We were hit with a winter storm on Monday. The snow that started to fall on Sunday when we were cow sorting, started to stick on Monday, the temperatures dropped, everything froze and our County came to a stand still. The temperatures finally came up above freezing yesterday – Thanksgiving. I had no idea I could get so excited about it being 33 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grace came through the storm with flying colors. I always worry about her when it gets cold. She was born in California and has only experienced our somewhat mild Western Washington winters. I was with her when she saw her first snowfall as a 3 year old, wide eyed and very interested in the white stuff falling from the sky. 7 years later, she doesn’t pay it much attention. Even though she is dressed in her warmest winter blanket, I still stress about her in the cold. My biggest concern is her water intake. Grace has an 80 gallon stock tank in her pasture. It’s too far from a power source for a tank heater, which wouldn’t have really mattered this time, since our power was out for the coldest part of the storm. When it gets cold, I diligently break the ice off her stock tank and add a boiling pot of water to it several times a day. I also offer her a bucket of lukewarm water. Grace seems to make it a point to never drink in front of me when it’s cold out, which only increases my anxiety. I fed her as much hay as she would eat during the coldest days of the storm. Once she started turning it into bedding, I knew it was time to bring her back to her regular rations. I also increased her grain, something she was very agreeable to.

Every time I walked out to the pasture the first thing I looked for was the freshest pile of poop. I think only horse people will understand the value of a new pile of horse poop. I even have a happy dance I do when I find it. As long as Grace is pooping, everything in the world is going to be all right! Between the consistent piles of manure and that her skin would snap back when I tested her for dehydration, I was positive that Grace continued to drink even though it was below freezing.

I had planned to have the day off today, but after missing two and a half days of work; I decided to come in to catch up this morning. Still waiting for the IT guy to get the server up and running. I originally had planned to show Grace on Saturday, but after 4 days off in a row we are going to skip this one. I plan to leave the office today early enough to get a ride in. Grace let me know this morning that she is ready to go, greeting me with a squeal and a buck, right before she took off across the now very muddy pasture. Must remember to decrease her grain now that it’s warmer out!