Relaxing on Maui

For the non-family members who read this blog, you may not know that you can track our travel adventures over at my husband's blog:

www.xanga.com/prullmw

Aloha!

High spirits

I'm beginning to wonder if Curly has always been in some sort of pain since we've known him. Reflecting back, I recall that we have been dealing with hoof issues since at least July. And if I remember correctly, he was even a little tender-footed before that. Plus we had the issue with his back being out of alignment. Oh, and I can't forget all the extra weight he was carrying at the beginning, which can't be good for a horse's energy level.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that we have been experiencing a different side to his personality this last week or so. He is much more energetic and feisty, and well, just darn right naughty! Yesterday, after we had finished our cleaning chores, he chose to run around like a maniac when we tried to catch him. He was bucking and ran straight towards us at one point! I wasn't afraid - in fact it was kind of fun to see him so wild - but it definitely wasn't the actions of a submissive, cooperative horse!

I talked to E. on the way home to be sure that she is aware that although it may be nice to see him moving again, we need to quickly re-establish his place in the pecking order. Training begins in earnest - as soon as we get back from Hawaii, that is!

Rasta-horse

It's that time of year when our horse doesn't get brushed as regularly as he probably should...and the consequence is the formation of dreadlocks in his mane. E. and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to work two of these knotted hair clumps out this afternoon. We managed to untangle one but I finally succumbed to the use of scissors for the second. Luckily, those were the only two that had formed so far; we have vowed to be more vigilant in the future and not allow our horse to go so long between brushings.

It was supposed to be a lesson night but with the wind howling through the trees E. decided that she really didn't want to get up on Curly's back. It was nice to spend a more leisurely afternoon cleaning instead. We had been out to the barn on both Monday and Tuesday (to have hooves trimmed and deliver hay, respectively) but had not had time to take care of some basic, yet essential, chores.

The girls reached new heights, literally, on Monday in their pursuit of climbing all available hay stacks. While we loaded the truck up they climbed to the top of a stack of hay bales that was at least 25 feet tall. I couldn't watch.

Ignorance is bliss...

We went to a 4-H event last night and during the course of conversation I learned that Curly was not as well behaved at that last lesson as I had originally thought. I guess while I was chatting away with other parents on the sidelines, he was attempting to seriously buck E. off a couple of times! Luckily her coach was right there to tell her to yank him into a tight circle, regaining control before he could follow through with his threat.

We definitely need to start working that boy! He's forgotten his manners....and no wonder she said she was nervous on his back.

Nervous Nellies....

As we attempted to brush the mud off of Curly yesterday afternoon, he was a bundle of nerves. He was surprised when E. led him past the gate to the pasture and towards the front of the barn; it has been months since he has been in that area. Q, on the other hand, calmly stood there munching on any grass he could reach.

E.'s ride went better than I had anticipated. I was afraid that he would attempt to bolt, but for the most part he attended to her signals. His training has definitely back-slid, however. He was tossing his head and generally acting like the horse he had been during the mid-summer. The only stomach-clenching moment was when he decided that the dirt in the arena looked like a wonderful rolling spot and he started to buckle all his legs and go down, with E. on his back! She kicked him back up and forward before he got there but it did frighten her a bit.

E. spent most of the hour walking him; she didn't want to push his feet too much. He appeared to be in no pain and moved smoothly the whole hour. After the ride she said that when she asked for his trot, he moved into it immediately and it was way too fast. I reminded her that perhaps she had just gotten used to the plodding motions of old Q! She agreed, saying that Curly's energy made her a little nervous during the lesson. (Hmmmm, sounds like something I said when I tried riding him!).

But she was extremely happy to have ridden her horse....and can't wait to go out again!

Canceled due to weather...

I had hoped to be writing about E.'s first ride on Curly in 10 weeks but the lesson tonight had to be canceled. It is 4:18 p.m. and the temperature is already down to 28. Too cold to be riding outside and too icy to be pulling a loaded horse trailer around.

When we went to clean stalls yesterday, we joyfully watched as Curly cantered around an open field. It was so nice to see him moving again.

The girls are both in school holiday programs tomorrow night, so no riding at the 4-H ride night either. Hopefully the temps will be above 35 by Wednesday and we can go have fun then...

Curly's doing better and better...

Just a quick hoof-health update for those interested. Curly is doing so much better that we even considered saddling him up today for an easy walk around the covered arena at the fairgrounds. The dirt is soft and rock-free there, a necessity at the moment. He spent three hours out in the pasture yesterday and did fine. No increase in his lameness - in fact his soreness seemed to be almost completely gone today. He is definitely bored. For the first time in weeks, he tried to escape from his run when he saw that the gate was open. A good sign, I think.

But E. decided she really needed to do homework, so Curly's fun was delayed.

R. had a lesson on Q and did great. It was a wonderful evening at the horse barn.

Wild weather...

It snowed last week! On Thursday, Friday and Saturday the lovely white flakes fell from the sky for hours and hours each day. Too bad the ground was too warm for it to really stick - we only saw an accumulation of a couple of inches overall. Plus on Saturday, everything froze which made driving a real adventure. Thank goodness for curbs and empty roads! E. and I almost went into a ditch when we drove out to the barn to take care of our horses. The snow did make everything look so pretty out at the barn, though.

Yesterday a warm wind came through and melted everything. It's been blowing so hard that I'm surprised we haven't lost a few tree branches. We did have to cancel our hay run; the rain was falling sideways and I wasn't about to drive the truck with a semi-stable load in this craziness!

Curly is beginning to heal noticeably in both back hooves now. He still limps a bit but we can see definite improvement. I was teasing E. last night that she might get to ride her horse next year. :-)

Afternoon barn chores...

Made a quick trip out to the barn this afternoon - which means I spent only 1.5 hours there instead of the usual 2 to 3! Cleaned stalls, visited with my horse buddies and brushed the more major mud clumps off Curly. He seemed to be doing okay today. He is still quite tender in that left back hoof, but was able to walk on it when I let him out of his stall to roam around the barn yard at will.

I called our hay supplier this evening and arranged to pick up 26 more bales on Sunday. We'll need to make three more trips after that to get in all that is needed for the whole winter/spring. Both horses are enjoying their daily ration of one pound of grain pellets. Curly sucks up every little crumb he can find in his feeder. You'd think we were starving him or something!

The other shoe drops....

I think I now have a more literal understanding of the phrase "then the other shoe dropped." When E. and I visited the barn today to do our usual cleaning chores and to check on Curly's healing hoof, we discovered that he is no longer putting any weight on the other hind hoof. I did a thorough cleaning of the now-painful hoof and found his ankle (sorry, not the correct technical term but it's the best I can do!) to be warm and swollen. He was very sensitive on the outer portion of the hoof. I freaked out a bit when I cleaned it because there appeared to be a hole next to the frog, plus lots of extra bits sloughing off. This prompted me to run to the barn manager's house and disturb her quiet Sunday afternoon.

After graciously taking a look at Curly's hoof, she educated me on what is normal for a horse (which the bottom of his hoof, "big" hole, sloughing off frog-bits and all, is). But she did agree that his tenderness has definitely increased and we need to keep an extra close eye on it now. Curly is acting with this left hoof exactly the way he acted with the right one just before the abscess came through.

On a positive note, he was using his right hind just fine. I couldn't clean it (since he couldn't put any weight on the other one) so I don't know what it looks like at the moment but I'll happily assume that it's healing right up. :-)

"E. Gets Sick" or "Mom's First Trail Ride"

E. was supposed to go on a 4-H trail ride yesterday, but she's been feeling a bit under the weather. As we were driving out to the barn to get Q ready she decided that she was too queasy to go.....so I went in her place!

I was a little nervous about taking Q out on the trail - even knowing that he's an old hand at this and the whole ride was to be done at a walk. Once we got out there, though, it felt awesome! I had such a great time and didn't even mind the fact that it was so cold that my toes began to hurt within 20 minutes of leaving the parking lot. Below is a view from Q's back:


There were no bad incidents out on the trail, other than super cold hands and feet. We did have a run-away horse, however, while trying to load the animals. I was holding onto another rider's pony when it decided it wanted to find its horse buddy (who had already been loaded into another trailer). I tried to stop the pony but when he began to drag me through the gravel parking lot, I had to let go; there was no way I was going to stop him without getting myself hurt. He took off up a trail, while we quickly unloaded his buddy to lure him back down the trail. After 15 minutes of a game of chase and follow with this guy, we were able to capture the (very naughty!) runaway horse. I felt terrible about letting him go, but am unsure what else I could have done in the situation, other than have had him tied to the trailer to begin with rather than holding him by hand. In the end, no harm was done...and I learned a bit about how to catch a horse!

Back at the barn, friend T. took a look at Curly's back hooves. We agreed that the right one does smell a bit "off" - she thought it might be residual medicine smell. Friend A. suggested rinsing with bleach water a few times to clean out any remaining bacteria, which we will do soon. We also took a look at the left hoof, which is exhibiting some warmth at the top, near the hairline. It was decided that this one is a "wait and see" situation - could be swollen and injured from too much use through favoring the right hoof, or could be something as awful as another abscess. I'm really hoping it's just too much use causing the pain!

E. made turkey pot pie for dinner last night - Yum! Here's how she decorated the top:

I especially like the hearts surrounding his name and the little horse shoes at the bottom.

:-)

Walking on all four!

I dragged my mom and J. off to the barn last night right after Thanksgiving dishes to check on our horse friends and to make sure they had their blankets on. The weatherman was predicting temps in the teens and I didn't want my boys to get cold!

When we arrived all the horses were happy to see us....they thought we were there to feed them, I'm sure. (It was their dinner time, after all.) Curly was standing at his water trough; he followed us all the way to his stall - a distance of 25 to 30 feet, walking quickly and soundly! I was so happy to see that. I took a quick look at his hoof after we had blanketed him and it didn't seem any worse. Still a little soft in the heel, perhaps, but no obvious problems beyond that. I plan to go out later today and do the sugar pack and a thorough cleaning to insure that it is indeed healing well.

All okay so far...

E. and I stopped out at the barn yesterday evening just before her 4-H meeting. Incredibly, Curly was even muddier than the day before! But his feet didn't seem to be in worse shape...so I'll tentatively say that he's going to do just fine without any further extreme medical intervention. We will take the time to super-clean and soak his hoof this weekend to make sure there isn't any hidden infection. Perhaps he'll be healed enough for E. to actually take a slow ride in the arena on his back in a couple of months....

Bandages are off...

After discussing all the problems with Curly's hoof at great length with the barn manager, we both decided that it was time to take the duct tape and plastic boot off. A continually wet hoof is beginning to create more problems with his foot and we both figured that his frog should have healed enough by now to handle some normal walking pressure.

If things appear to worsen over the next couple of days, we plan to thoroughly clean the hoof, lay down some clean bedding and lock him into his stall while the infection is completely eradicated. I sincerely hope we don't have to resort to this - it's pretty drastic and sure to make Curly unhappy.

Both horses were covered in mud (wet and dry) from head to toe today. Hope they had fun rolling...'cause it won't be fun trying to get them clean again!

Curly and Q appear to be losing some weight so I will begin supplementing their diets with Strategy soon - that's a grain pellet for you non-horsey folks. :-) It's not uncommon for a horse to need more calories in the winter - it takes a lot of energy to stay warm!

Curly's fed up....

Curly was incredibly uncooperative yesterday when we tried to clean up his hoof. He's always been a bit difficult whenever we have tried to pick his hooves, but I think he is beginning to reach new levels of stubbornness. Every time I asked for his back right hoof he would lift his back left. I know that he is in some pain and really dreads wound cleaning time, but it has to be done!

After about 40 minutes, E. and I were finally able to do a halfway decent job. Mud had gotten into the boot, so he was a mess. I didn't get all the mud off his hoof, just a major portion. We also discovered a spot just above his hoof in the fur that has been rubbed a bit raw - just like when we get blisters from our shoes, really. So I decided to use the duct tape bandage inside the boot to prevent more rubbing and to hopefully help the boot fit better.

I am concerned that a portion of his hoof (the back, heel part) is too damp and consequently getting soft and a bit swollen. I'm not sure what to do about this, though, because EVERYTHING is wet and muddy now. Yesterday was the official opening day of the "suck your boots off" portion of mud season. I am actually looking forward to "frozen mud season" now.

Fun and Games

E., R. and I played Horse-opoly tonight. It was great fun with lots of laughter and good-natured competition.





Both E. and I were surprised that R. could do all the math that is required so quickly. She's proving to be a real math whiz - or at least good at adding up money!

Mud season has arrived

We are not quite at the "suck your boots off" stage of mud season but it's getting close! It was a rainy afternoon which made it dark at the barn by 4:15. Consequently, I decided to not take Curly's boot off - with my luck I wouldn't be able to get it back on so tightly and it would then come off in the next day. So I left good-enough alone and we mucked stalls instead.

I think Curly must be feeling a bit better today because he hadn't pooped in his stall - usually a sign that he's comfortable enough to walk outside to do his business. I've been using the "Where did Curly poop?" barometer to assess his pain level a lot lately. Go ahead, laugh, but when the patient can't actually tell you where it hurts and how much, you use anything you can to figure this stuff out! I noticed early on that he only seemed to poop in his stall right after (or right before we discovered) an injury.

Q, on the other hand, regularly poops in his stall, which is why we mucked out today. I hate to see the poor guy surrounded by all the yuck. You'd think they'd think it was yucky too and change their habits....

E. and I want to train Curly to poop into a wheelbarrow. :-) I'm not betting that we'll ever accomplish that, though!

Lost boots

E. and I went out to the barn at 3:00 yesterday to trailer Q to the fairgrounds for a 4:00 lesson and discovered that Curly had lost his boot. I'm sure he was quite happy to be in a more natural state but the extra dirt and muck couldn't have been good for his back hoof.

After the riding lesson we came back and attempted to clean it out....in the dark. The sun sets early these days and the night sky was pretty much in place by 5:00. E. begged a bucket of warm water from the barn manager's house - the well water from the outside spigot is freezing! - and we got to work. I'm not sure how clean we got the wound, but the boot was back on by 6:00 and Curly was grumpy again.

We plan to go out again this afternoon to re-clean the hoof and muck stalls....

Oh no......

Just a quick entry this morning before we start our day in earnest....

The farrier was out yesterday to trim both horses hooves. Q is doing fine of course. Curly, on the other hand, is another story. Not only is the one hoof still looking pretty bad from the abscess, but now his other hind hoof is showing some sensitivity. He was favoring it all day, which made trimming really difficult. The farrier could feel some warmth in the hoof but we were unable to determine what is causing the problem. So it's a "wait and see" situation.

The farrier also suggested a home-made poultice of sugar and iodine solution for the abscess to help draw out any remaining infection. We'll try that in a few days. With the shorter days we never make it out to the barn after work/school before the sun sets. Mucking a stall in the dark is quite a challenge!

The medicine boot we got for Curly is working - sort-of. It is still a bit big on his foot and he easily turns it. It's kinda funny to see him walking with it turned sideways; it looks like his whole hoof is turned in. But it is keeping his hoof cleaner, and that is the goal right now.

Relaxing afternoon...

We just got back from a wonderful afternoon out at the barn. After taking care of some chores (mucking out stalls, changing Curly's bandage, etc.) the girls and I took turns riding Q. I don't think he was too happy about the constant change in riders, but we had a good time! I got him to canter - my first time riding a horse at that speed. I have to admit that I felt just a tiny bit out of control. :-)

Curly was happy to wander all over the barnyard while we had fun. He's still not ridable, and the bandage usually smells pretty bad when we change it but I do think he is healing....just very slowly. (The smell is probably a combination of yucky wound stuff, and manure and dirt getting trapped in there. We clean it out as best we can every other day. This probably should be done daily, but I can't quite manage to find the time it takes to get out there that often.)

I looked at a house with 2.46 acres and a small barn here in town last weekend. And I fell in love with the place. The house was nothing special, but the land was great and the location even better. But I don't think we'll be able to get M. to even look at the property, let alone consider moving there. I really would like to live right next to our horse buddies....

Hauling Hay

The whole family worked together today, hauling and stacking 26 bales of hay. I was in a bit of a panic earlier in the week because I learned that our regular supplier was already out of hay for the year. Luckily, one of my co-workers mentioned that her husband grows and sells hay for horses...and he still has quite a bit put under cover at their place. So off we went to their farm this morning to load up as much as we could. M. was great about pitching in - we couldn't have managed without him, really. Those bales are HEAVY! And the girls had fun climbing the stack once we finished:

We will still need to bring in another 4 tons to get us through the winter and early spring. Hope M's muscles hold up!

Curly was so happy today - he got to spend some time out in the pasture for the first time in a week or so:

Halloween Costumes

We had a Halloween party with the 4-H club last night. Club members were encouraged to dress both themselves and their horses up for the fun - not that these 10 to 14 year olds needed much encouragement!

E. and R. chose a theme for their costumes. R. was a princess astride her magical unicorn (a.k.a. Q) and E. was the knight in shining armor with her magnificent steed (a.k.a. Curly). I never got a good shot of the knight, but here's one of R. and Q:



We all proceeded to play musical chairs with the horses (parents provided the music) and then to gorge ourselves on treats. A very fun evening overall!

Moving to Blogger.com

I decided today that I really wanted this blog to reside in a more "kid-friendly" spot. I've been regularly submitting posts to our blog at xanga.com/ourhorse - and have been generally happy with the service - but because there are chat rooms and adult content associated with that particular host site, the kids in my classroom have been denied access to the blog.

But if you are at all interested in our (short) history of ownership, please check it out!

Here's a quick summary, in haiku no less!

Curly comes in May.
E. works hard to train for fair.
Fall brings injuries.

Here's E's haiku about Curly:

Curly canters fast.
Too fast, not in a straight line.
We're working on it!

Hoof health update....

Curly is finally putting his full weight on his injured foot. The abscess is healing but there is still a large hole in the bottom of his foot - kinda disturbing to see, actually. We took him to the vet on Monday for a follow-up and were told that all is going as it should. Curly was not too happy to have Dr. Kress digging around his hoof and was not cooperative about holding his leg up. In fact, he nearly kicked the helper in the head! So glad he doesn't react that way to us! But then, we are much gentler in our ministrations than the staff at the vet's office.

Part of our conversation with the vet centered on different bandaging options for Curly's hoof. He goes through the duct tape very quickly and we have been changing it daily to insure that the bottom of his hoof stays as dirt-free as possible. After some brainstorming, Dr. Kress came out with some used IV bags to be used as the layer next to the gauze (they are made of a very heavy plastic). We covered this with tape, hoping that he wouldn't wear through the whole thing so quickly. Seems to have worked pretty good. Curly was able to stay in the same bandage for a few days this week, which was great because we were not able to come out to the barn due to illness around our house.

So, in summary, all is going well. Curly will be ridable in approximately 2 weeks. We are on the mend in the house, as well. And I'm thinking about buying stock in the company that makes duct tape....

Duct tape bandages...

Yesterday I learned how to make a bandage out of duct tape for Curly's hoof. What did people do before that stuff was invented?!!


The tape is used to keep dirt and other nasty stuff away from his wound. It is still pretty yucky and he doesn't put much weight on that foot yet. This healing process is going to take months. He was allowed out in the pasture for the first time since going to the vet - and promptly tore the bandage off his hoof. Actually, 'wore through his bandage' would be a better description. He desperately wanted to run around with all his herd-mates! So we will be going to the barn daily to check on the bandage and replace as needed.

E. had her visit with the podiatrist. Her ankle wound is a bit more than a fracture. She broke a little section on the outer bony part and it's going to take a long while to heal completely as well. She has been wearing regular shoes for the past couple of days but is still unable to get her boots on.

So my two gimps were hanging out, getting brushed and learning to french braid yesterday. Curly may be lame at the moment, but he sure did look great!

Punctured frog?

I got back from my trip to Missouri to learn that Curly did not have a pulled hamstring. The vet actually uncovered a puncture wound in his frog. (For those who are wondering what the heck a frog is doing on a horse, it's a part of the underside of the horse's hoof.) We don't know how it got injured. (Sharp rock? Stick? Nail?)

His hoof is now completely wrapped with something similar to duct tape so that it can heal without infection. Curly is currently being confined to his stall and dry-run...and is very bored. Our visit yesterday made him quite happy - the carrots helped, of course!

The tape will be removed on Saturday, new medicine added and then we will re-wrap the injury. He will be out of commission for about another week, which is okay because E. is still out of commission too! She goes to the podiatrist on Monday to take more x-rays. The ankle is still slightly swollen and still pains her in the evenings. She tried to put her boots on yesterday but couldn't point her toes enough to slide the foot into the boot.

Quick injury update...

E.'s ankle has now turned a wonderful shade of purple - dark plum to be exact - and the swelling is still quite significant. She is able to move around fairly well with the boot on but is tired by the end of the school day and does feel some pain.

Curly might have a pulled hamstring. He is favoring his hind right leg but does not appear to be in any great pain. (We can tell because usually the more pain he is in, the closer to his stall he poops. Extreme pain causes him to poop in his actual stall. So far he is pooping near, but not in, his stall.) The barn manager has graciously offered to take him to the vet for us. (He favored this same leg a week or so ago but then appeared to be fine. I don't think the fall caused this injury, just maybe exacerbated it.)

I don't think I can say enough how lucky we are to have A., the barn manager, in our lives. She is a great blessing in so many ways!

A visit to the doctor...

Yesterday's riding lessons started off well enough but had to be cut short when Curly and E. took a tumble in the arena. About 40 minutes into the lesson Curly stumbled and fell, trapping E.'s left foot and ankle under his body for a few moments. The horse tried valiantly to not hurt his rider but he just couldn't stop from rolling a little. When he fell he pushed himself forward rather than falling naturally to the side, which I'm sure would have been much easier for him.

E. didn't appear to have any broken limbs and chose to get back on Curly after a few minutes to make sure he was okay as well. (He was.) But after two slow turns around the arena she said her ankle hurt too much and decided to call it quits. She immediately found that she couldn't put any weight on her left ankle so we rushed through the process of putting the horse equipment away and got her home to some frozen peas and an elevated leg. Here's what the ankle looked like last night:



Pain woke her up off and on throughout the night and the ankle was even larger this morning so we drove off to the doctor and some xrays. They are not completely sure but they think she has a hairline fracture on her fibia and have given E. a rigid plastic boot contraption to wear for the next week or two.

She is to go see a podiatrist in two weeks to make sure all has healed correctly.

Like any true horse lover, E. was concerned about Curly this morning and had to call the barn manager to find out if he was okay. He's a little sore, we learned, but doing fine overall. We'll be sure to give him a good rubdown and massage. Our guy did great during this whole ordeal. Not only did he truly try to not roll onto E., but he stood quietly by us as we were ministering to her in the arena. It was obvious that he was very nervous, maybe even a little scared, but he did a good job waiting.

Pasture fun...

When we arrived at the barn yesterday for lessons Curly was out in the farthest part of the pasture, calmly grazing away. He made E. walk all the way out to him to put the halter on - stubborn boy! She then had to perform the fine trick of getting just him out of the gate and keeping the other 6 curious bodies inside. Somehow E. managed it all.

As they walked over to our stall area I noticed that Curly was favoring his back right leg. It appears that he has pulled a muscle while running around the pasture yesterday. So no lesson for E.

R. got up on Q (he's the horse we are considering leasing for this next year.) and attempted to get through her lesson - but not very successfully. A grumpy old horse and a grumpy little girl do not make a good combination.

We will try again in a day or two. Hopefully Curly's leg will be healed up by then...

Birthday treat...

We just got back from a fun afternoon and evening in Dayton. Took Curly, the girls and my mom up to visit friend A.. The girls and A. rode Curly around the pastures surrounding her house until dinner time and then we let him have the rare treat of grazing to his heart's content.

A very yummy chocolate birthday cake ended the celebratory excursion. And Curly got an apple.

Everyone is sleepy and happy.

Happy again...

Well, we all survived fair and everyone is happy again. Curly was a big grump - and letting everyone know it - until the moment we pulled into the barnyard on Sunday night. As soon as we took him out of the trailer he was back to usual happy self. It was wonderful to have our horse-friend back again.

On the Monday after fair, the farrier came out and removed the shoes on his front hooves. Curly was pretty tender-footed all week long but he was able to keep up in "horse tag" last Saturday. The girls loved playing this game...I'm not sure if the horses did.

E. and Curly had their first post-fair lesson yesterday. She smiled the whole time - I'm sure partly because we let her go helmet-less for the first time. The lesson took place at the fairgrounds instead of our usual location and E. discovered as soon as we arrived that she had left her helmet back at Curly's stall. Rather than cancel, her trainer and I let her ride anyway - after a stern talking-to of course!

A happy pair...

The big event of the day, however, was that this was also little sister R.'s first riding lesson. She has been so excited all week, waiting for the big day to come. She was very serious when the moment arrived and paid close attention to all that her trainer told her. Like E., R. is starting out on Pyro, a 27 year old Arabian who is bullet-proof (and beginner-proof!). He is a great match for new riders - patient (most of the time), fairly slow and totally trained.

R. on Pyro - already looking like she was born there!

I got up on Curly for the first time after the girls had finished their lesson. I was surprised to learn that I am nervous on him! Very nervous, in fact. I think it is because I don't completely trust him to not bolt, plus he felt like he was in constant motion, which can be very unsettling. I have decided that I, too, need to begin lessons on a horse like Pyro. I don't know how E. controls him - it wasn't an easy thing for me and all I tried to do was get him to walk in one direction for half the arena!

Curly on the run - but never in a straight line!

We have the opportunity to lease another horse this year. He's an older trail horse living out at the horse barn - very similar to Pyro, in fact. Still thinking about it though. It might take some serious convincing to get M. to agree that another horse would be a welcome addition to our family.

After lessons, I had a conversation with the trainer about Curly's progress so far this summer. She is very impressed with the quickness and willingness to learn that he has demonstrated thus far. She is convinced that once we get his hoof problems under control and he no longer feels pain, he will be amazing. Should E. choose to put the time into it, Curly could become an amazing 4-H show horse. Curly is just entering the prime of his life and most likely, things are only going to get better!

Cheat grass and sour moods

Poor Curly! He had a rough day yesterday. E. tried to exercise him right after lunch and he would have none of it. It was almost like watching the Curly she started out on months ago. After 20 minutes of pure struggle, she brought him back to the stall.

We came back to the barn right before dinner and found an "I bite!" sign taped to his stall. We were pretty surprised but could understand the desire to be left alone. All of the horses were a bit anti-social by this point and tired of being poked at by fair-goers.

A few minutes later, however, one of the girls called out that they saw something in his mouth. All us parents went over and two of the braver ones searched his gum line and came out with a handful of "cheat grass" (a.k.a. fox-tails). The poor guy felt so much better almost immediately! He then let us touch him again - as long as we stayed away from his mouth area! - and seemed much more relaxed. Thankfully, there don't appear to be any sores in his mouth.

We checked his remaining hay bale and sure enough, there are bunches of this weed throughout the bale. Needless to say, we will be tossing it.









We get to bring the horses home tonight - at 11:00 p.m.

Can't wait to be back at our own barn!

Competing at the County Fair...

E. and Curly had their first full day together at the fair. They completed the Western equitation and pleasure classes and the trail course but scratched on the bareback competition.

We arrived at the barn at 6:30 this morning to complete all the cleaning chores and get ready for the day's events. The trail pattern was a bit more complicated that what they've done at other shows this spring and summer. Since Curly was not in the mood to listen to E., it was difficult going. Here are a couple of pics showing him backing up through the Z pattern and also going up on the "bridge."



We don't know what her placing was for this event yet. They immediately went from trail into the equitation class. Curly was far from cooperative - too many nerves? - so again, it was tough going. But E. persevered and ended up with a red ribbon and 4th place. In pleasure, it was the same scene, with another red and 10th place.

Everyone in the club is amazed at how good Curly looks - called him a "diamond in the rough who's more diamond than rough!" - and think that by next year his training and behavior will have caught up with his looks.

The club is doing great with herdsmanship (a.k.a. barn duty). They got a perfect score for Wednesday and Thursday (only club that did!); scores for today have yet to be posted. They are really working at keeping the stalls clean and greeting all the visitors to the barn area.

It was a long, hard day for the girls. The temps nearly reached 100 and it was super muggy. Plus lack of sleep is catching up with everyone. Only two more fair days left....

Working hard?

Last night was fair decorating. Some of the more established 4-H clubs have amazing stall decorations. One has recreated a wild west town using old barn wood to cover all their horse stalls. Another club even has a little sitting area, complete with glass topped table!

Ours is a tad bit simpler. We have a young group and this is their first year out at the fair together. The girls had a great time running around, helping get ready. But the fun did eventually wear off:

This is what could mostly be seen at the barn:
I did notice that our group was one of the few that actually included the kids in set-up. Those amazing decorations from other clubs were definitely "adult inspired and executed!"

Not that I'm biased...

I wanted to add that as Curly and E. lined up with those 10 other horses yesterday I was very proud to see how nicely he is shaping up physically. He was truly one of the best looking animals out there.

Pre-fair has happened....

E. and Curly just finished showing in the halter class at a pre-Fair competition. And they did better than I expected! The judge gave them 90 points (out of a possible 100) and she placed 5th in a group of 11. Not bad! They were criticized for not setting up quickly/easily (they were both pretty fidgety for this part) and for not picking up a trot when she took him back to the lineup. I was just happy that he didn't act like a big ol' anchor at the end of her lead rope!

It has been a long day for E. She must have hurt her knee worse than we thought last Saturday (at least that's all we can trace the current problem to...). It was swollen and pretty painful all day today. She even quit her lesson short this morning due to pain. I gave her Ibuprofen, iced it down for a while and gave her a knee wrap to wear. That all helped but she still was very happy to put the horse away this evening. It was kind of cute to hear her announce to everyone, "I have my first sports-related injury!"

We are taking tomorrow off from all horse riding activities and will be sleeping in. Yahoo!

Daily rides...

We've been up and out the door by 7:00 am every morning this week. Crunch time is here! And the riding lessons have been 2 hours long at minimum.

E. is quite happy with Curly's lope these days. He has very nice foot action and fairly good head placement, and is even becoming better about picking up the correct lead. He isn't always good at staying on the wall while loping, but that's improving. We are also happy with his general conditioning. He looks great!

She is still working hard on halter skills. Curly is beginning to understand what is required but is not always consistent. Everyone that leads him is quick to reinforce "the rules" - no walking past the leader, pay attention to cues, respect a person's space, etc.

The 4-H group is very supportive of E. and Curly, recognizing that she has the most challenging horse at the moment. But all agree that he is a sweety-pie and truly wants to please. As I've said before, with a little hard work he's going to be a great horse!

A close call...

E. had her first trail ride on Saturday and she loved it! Her trainer took her up one of the surrounding mountains on a ride that lasted about 4 hours. Curly did really well and only hesitated at one stream.

The end of their ride was not so calm and uneventful, however. E. was trying to lead Curly across the highway to be loaded up in the trailer and as usual, he was being a non-cooperative anchor at the end of the lead rope. As she was pulling, her trainer whacked him on the rear (she told E. she was going to do this, of course) and he leaped forward, tripping E. and causing her to fall on the pavement. That alone is enough to make your heart pound a little. But it doesn't end there. Curly actually ran over E., clipping the back of her head with a front hoof and missing the middle of her back with a rear hoof by inches. E. ended up directly under the horse - a place a rider NEVER wants to be. In the end, E. only suffered some scrapes and bruises from the fall. Her trainer took them to a place nearby for milkshakes so that she could make sure E. didn't have a concussion - and to calm her own nerves! Did I ever tell you that riding horses is actually more dangerous than riding motorcycles?

We are so lucky that no real harm was done!

Curly will be receiving some intense training on being lead and respecting a person's space this week.

"Why didn't I place too?"

That was E.'s question last night as she left the ring after the walk/trot competition at the final night of Hot August Nights. She totally gets why she would never get a ribbon for the other classes but was very disappointed that she didn't place in this one. Both her 4-H leader and her trainer reassured her that she did do very well and then explained the few things that need to be improved upon. It is moments like these that make the 4-H group so wonderful - incredible support with clear instruction to boot. Anyway, it mostly boils down to an inexperienced horse and the need for more time. We all keep telling her, "Next year it'll be better!"

I've been taking E. out to the barn for 2 hour lessons in the mornings these past couple of days. It's wonderful in the early hours - cool and breezy - and the animals are much more willing to work. Getting E. out of bed is another story! She isn't enjoying the 6:00 a.m. wake up calls. Poor baby!

Cantering is becoming easier. Curly still resists E.'s signals but ultimately listens. E. is letting him get away with less and less, and hopefully soon he'll stop trying to get away with anything. It all just takes time....and they've really accomplished so much already.

Trailer maintenance...

All this past week J. has been kindly fixing the brakes, repacking wheel bearings and generally checking our horse trailer over for us. This morning I took it in to the local trailer dealer to have the wiring looked at. Whenever we towed the trailer, the lights would remain on at all times - even if the truck was completely turned off. This hasn't been a problem for us so far (especially since we've only used the trailer twice now!) but I can imagine a time when I might forget to unplug the trailer from the truck and run the battery dead. The service guy found a crossed connection that easily solved our problem, thank goodness. And he even kindly turned our rig around for me without any comments about my lack of driving abilities! (Actually, he was quite nice about the whole thing. Makes me wonder how many other owners are squeamish about turning their trailers around in tight quarters.)

We now have everything in good working order and will begin "The Big Rust Abatement Project." (That's how I visualize the name of this chore in my head. ) But first, a trip to the pool with the girls.....

Learning to lope...

The main task for Curly and E. these past few days has been learning to lope. By last night's lesson they both had improved tremendously, picking up the correct lead almost immediately and continuing at the requested pace for as long as E. asked. He still isn't completely reliable when she tells him to lope, but I think within a few months they'll have it down. Which means, yes, they probably will still experience problems in the fair show ring.

E. has learned that the easiest way to get Curly to move is to make sure his buddy Zane is in front of him. We now call it the "Zane magnet" because Curly will disregard all cues and even cut across the arena to get closer to Zane! Funny to watch but frustrating for E. She continues to ride using two hands because of the "Zane magnet." Thank goodness Curly and Zane won't be in the same competition classes.

The "Zane Magnet"

While giving Curly his daily massage yesterday I discovered another tender spot near the middle of his back. We are hoping that it is just sore muscles (which is very possible considering the increase in riding lately) but I may have to call the chiropractor out again if it doesn't improve in the next couple of days. He is moving so much better than last week but still appears a little stiff in his hind legs.

Curly's first show...

E. and Curly participated in "Hot August Nights" yesterday. And yes, it was VERY hot! The thermometer was reading 102 in the shade - Uhg!

E. spent the afternoon washing and primping Curly for the show and he looked wonderful. After the kids got themselves cleaned up, we loaded up the horse trailers and set out for the fairgrounds. This was Curly's first trip out there so he was quite excited and wanted to look at everything.

E.'s first class was a walk, trot division. They both did well - no ribbons, but no obvious mistakes either. The next two classes were not quite so smooth. Curly did fine until E. asked him to lope (a.k.a. canter). I'm sure she was nervous because he had tried to buck her yesterday when she asked for a lope. And her nervousness was definitely communicated to the horse - so he tried to buck again. She immediately stopped him and then waited patiently in the middle of the arena until the judge asked everyone to slow to a trot. But Curly never really regained his composure after that. It didn't help that there were over 20 horses in a relatively small ring. All that nervous energy and activity was just too much for both E. and Curly.

This was a good practice, however. Now E. has a better sense of the specific things she needs to work on over the next few weeks before fair. And Curly will get another chance next week since "Hot August Nights" runs every Thursday until the fair.

I had a "first" last night as well. I drove the truck and trailer home from the show. Talk about being nervous! But we survived and the trailer is back in it's spot. Maybe not straight, but there nonetheless.

Massage Therapy...

So our new routine for Curly will now include a 10 to 20 minute massage session prior to saddling him up. The chiropractor came out and did indeed find some vertebra out of alignment. Curly was a little nervous at first but soon relaxed. We thought he was going to fall asleep as he walked back to his stall with E. when the session was all over!


It was unclear as to what exactly has caused this problem, but with dedicated care Curly should be back in top form soon.

M. has been joking (or at least I think it was a joke!) that Curly seems to be getting better care than our own children!

If your feet hurt....

....you're miserable! Or at least Curly was today. His tender feet finally got the best of him. He has been favoring one side to compensate for the pain in his feet and consequently threw his back out. E. was participating in a "horse camp" and all the gathered trainers and "experts" agreed that Curly was in too much pain to be ridden today. Poor guy! He really wanted to please E. and do what she asked, but just wasn't able.

So....he was given Bute (horsey equivalent to Ibuprofen), massaged by some expert hands (this turned into a "teachable moment" for the camp and all the girls learned a bit about horse anatomy and massage techniques), and then given the rest of the afternoon off. This evening we had a friend - who is also a farrier - come and shoe his two front feet to relieve some of the pain on the soles of his feet. She added rubber "wedgies" between the hooves and the shoes to bring his heels up and create a better angle to his feet too.

(This picture was taken a week after the shoes were put on - and he's still loving them!)

Curly was immediately happier. Tomorrow the chiropractor is coming to adjust his back. Who knew there was such a thing as a horse chiropractor!

E. should be able to ride again tomorrow and join in the camp fun.

Oh, and we discovered that Curly loves blackberries. He was disappointed that we had only a handful to share.

Busy days and nights....

The county fair is fast approaching and E. has been busy getting ready. She and Curly are together most days now, taking lessons and just generally bonding. Soon there will be two lessons per day (currently she does one every other day) to make sure they are in sync when it comes time to compete.


They will be participating in Western Pleasure, Western Equitation, Bareback, Showmanship, and Trail. This is all going to be quite a challenge for Curly as he has never been a 4-H project horse and has never competed in an arena. I'm sure E. will be quite frustrated by the end of fair since her last competition experience was on Pyro - a 27 year old Arabian who could compete in his sleep - and they took home a handful of blue ribbons!

We don't expect any blues this time around, but are preparing as much as possible to make the events come out as successfully as possible.

Having said all that, I must add that Curly and E. took yesterday and today off. He had his hooves trimmed on Wednesday and is pretty tender-footed at the moment. The farrier is very happy with the direction his feet are going, but it is still a somewhat painful process for the poor guy. And on top of that, E. has gotten some sort of stomach bug and was up all night vomiting. Poor girl!

We took one more step into the "horsey world" this week. Our family is now the proud owners of a truck. Never thought I would have one, to tell you the truth! Guess the city-girl in me is slowly fading away....

Cancelled rides...

E. rode for the first time in many weeks today - and said that it was her best ride yet! Having a professional work with Curly seems to have been money well spent.

We traveled far and wide during the last three weeks and towards the end I have to admit that I missed our guy. Our original plan was that E. would meet up with Curly at a Wilderness Summer Camp about 100 miles from home, but we received a phone call during our trip informing us that the camp had been canceled. Not enough participants. E. was quite disappointed but her trainer offered to take her on a trail ride today as a sort of consolation prize.

When the phone rang early this morning I had a feeling that something had gone awry. Unfortunately, I was right. Our trainer was thrown from a young horse and hurt her hip, making a trail ride impossible. She felt terrible about disappointing E. again. I was more worried about the trainer!

We went out to the barn anyway so that we could visit Curly and little sister R. could play in the stream. It was a very pleasant way to spend the morning.

Poor Curly is being plagued by mosquitoes. I am now searching for an effective way to treat current bites and repel the tiny bloodsuckers as well.

Hoof health and goodbyes...

The farrier came out yesterday to shoe the horses that will be going on the Wilderness Summer Camp trip in early July. When we pulled Curly out for his turn it was decided that we should hold off on shoeing him for a couple of more weeks. His feet just aren't the healthiest yet so the extra time barefoot would be beneficial. Rather than having a hollowed out, smooth section in the middle of the hoof, he has a fairly shallow, flat hoof - which all contributes to his tender-footedness. It'll be a long process to get them into top form. The farrier will make another trip to the horse barn in two weeks and we'll shoe Curly then. Sure wish this trip didn't require them!

We accidentally left the door to Curly's stall unlatched after lessons on Friday - and our trainer found him on Saturday morning in the main barn, happily helping himself to all the hay bales stored there! Needless to say, he did not get any breakfast that morning.

E. had to say goodbye to Curly since we leave for a long vacation today. She's going to miss her horse friend very much.

Sharing the fun...

E. led her best friend and her sister around on Curly this evening before her lesson. All three girls helped brush him down and then E. saddled him up. First to ride was best friend B:






Then E. led sister R. around the property:




And then it was lesson time:




E. is no longer using a snaffle bit with the German martingale. She has moved on to a Myler bit, which Curly seems to respond to better. He definitely tests her during their rides, though. Towards the end of the lesson her trainer decided that he was being a little too naughty so she took over for the last 10 minutes. But it gets better every day!

He was VERY sweaty by the time we left the arena. And immediately rolled in the dirt when he was free in his stall.

A good evening overall.

Battle of the wills...

E. had another 4-H ride night on Tuesday. Curly did okay but was challenging throughout the evening. The group was working on completing specific patterns, so precision was the goal - something that E. and Curly are still working on.

The end of the ride was a disaster - or maybe it was a triumph. Horses were leaving the arena as E. and Curly approached the gate so he decided to stop and leave too - without being asked to. This is absolutely not allowed! Curly still needs to learn that E. (or anyone riding him, for that matter) decides where they are riding, not him. E. realized immediately that this was an important teaching moment and signaled to keep going around the arena. He just stood there, looking at the gate. She tried kicking as hard as she could, but he refused to budge. By this time tears are streaming down her face because she is tired and frustrated. I stepped in and slapped him on the rear - and he just looked at me (now I'm frustrated too!). I grabbed his lead rope off the fence, told E. to hang on and "encouraged" him to move with a quick whip of the rope on his hindquarters. Curly finally figured out that he wasn't going to win this battle. He slowed on the next pass by the gate but kept moving. On the third time around the arena he did a little hop that frightened E. so she finally let him stop and quit for the night. This was a hard one for her, but I was very proud of her for sticking with it and teaching him that she is in control.

When E. was putting away tack, we asked her if she still liked her horse and she said that, yes, she did. Good thing they are so cute! Within 10 minutes of ending the ride there was no trace of her tears and she was back to her happy self.

Yesterday E.'s trainer tried a new bit on Curly. As she was putting him through different patterns she commented several times that E.'s hard work is very obvious when you ride him now. Curly responds nicely to leg cues and is beginning to submit to a rider's requests more frequently and more smoothly. He behaved very nicely for the trainer for her first 20 minutes on him....and then he proceeded to pull some of his regular tricks (disregarding direction cues, tossing his head, etc.). But he has learned bunches this past month and is going to be a great horse.

Learning to listen...

E. had her first lesson in over a week. Consequently, Curly was on the energetic side. The wind blowing all around us didn't help, either!

Trying to get the horse to take a bit is still a big ordeal. E. got very frustrated so her trainer stepped in to help. After working a few minutes, Curly finally accepted the bit when she said "Open." We are now wondering if perhaps he was trained to use this word as his cue....or perhaps it was a pure coincidence! We'll try saying "open" next ride...

His head tossing is substantially reduced - down to maybe 10% of what he started with. E. still uses the martingale, but perhaps by July Curly will be able to go without.

The big lesson today was listening - something the horse didn't want to do (E., on the other hand, can be an excellent listener!). He tried to take control of their movement in the arena and there were many struggles between Curly and E. over direction and speed. But E. stuck with it and made him realize that she meant what she said. This is not always an easy task, and really not a fun way to spend an hour on a horse, but eventually her focus and determination will pay off.

E. unintentionally discovered that Curly has a great response to a particular cue for transitioning from a walk immediately up to a canter. He was very smooth and looked wonderful!

4-H Ride Nights...

E.'s 4-H club had one of their ride nights yesterday. I've come to really look forward to these couple of hours spent chatting with the other parents as we watch our children ride together. Everyone is so nice and I always end up learning something new about the horses and riding.

E. was a bit frustrated during the ride. All the other girls got to ride bareback but she had to stick with a saddle. Until Curly's "steering wheel" gets a little better she'll have to keep using the German Martingale. I think she's also really tired - we've been out at the barn working almost daily, plus she's been having lots of outside play time with neighborhood friends as well. Her body is just plain exhausted!

The club used a weigh tape to estimate their horses' weights. It showed Curly at 1124, but everyone there thought it was closer to 1250 lbs. We also measured height and he appears to be 15.2 hands. He's really shaping up quickly - just has another 100 to 150 pounds to lose!

Called to have hay delivered. I'll feel better once we have a good supply of feed on hand....but wondering where we will store the extra ton we'll need to get us through the winter months (there's only room for one ton in our allotted storage space at the barn - or 2 to 2 1/2 months worth of hay). Perhaps the carport here at the house??? That'll raise some eyebrows in the neighborhood!

Holiday fun...

E. and I spent the afternoon out at the horse barn today, along with bunches of other people. Seems we were all taking advantage of a day off to come play with our horses.

It's pretty dry out there right now and we are all a bit gritty from all the flying dust. It must have been miserable for E. in the round pen, standing in the middle of the dust cloud:



Curly was fairly cooperative today and continues to work hard for E. in the pen. She still has to tie reins to the saddle to help with the head position, though. But he is getting better.




You can see in the picture above that he is losing weight nicely. That's also our new saddle on his back - used but decent quality. Next we purchase reins, bit and saddle pad.

Because of Curly's lack of training, E. has been using two hands on the reins. This gives her more control and power when trying to get him to turn. She still has to put quite a bit of muscle into all their riding. Maybe by the end of summer it will be easy.....

Training Part II

On Friday, E. tried out the techniques her trainer had shown her at the last lesson. We all thought that it would probably be a little rough but Curly proved us wrong! They stepped into the round pen and he did exactly what he was supposed to do - it was amazing to watch. I think E. and Curly will make a good team.

E. tried out a new piece of equipment later in the lesson to help him learn the leg cues and rein cues she'll be using in the show ring, and to help him get his head in the right position. I believe the trainer switched him to a snaffle bit with a German Martingale (I could have that last part wrong - there's so much to learn and so many different types of equipment!).

Anyway, it was almost comical to watch E. working to get Curly going where she wanted. She really had to pull and turn his head to get him to circle and reverse. Best part, though, was that she didn't get frustrated and really seemed to enjoy the challenge. She ended the ride with a big smile.

We will try out a new(used) saddle today or tomorrow.

Training begins....

Curly has the bad habit of tossing his head whenever he changes gaits. Today we started the process of getting rid of that habit. There was no riding during lesson time today. Instead, E.'s horse trainer showed her how to use some reins hooked from his bridle to his saddle on both sides of his head to help him keep it in the correct position. Whenever he would try to throw his head up, the ropes would pull him back but whenever he put his head in the right place he felt an immediate reward - no pressure.

We also began to learn the correct way to use the round pen for training. E. was shown how to use her body language and position to "tell" Curly what to do. By looking at his tail and being behind his cinch line she tells him to move forward. Shifting to the fore of his cinch and looking at his shoulder tells him to stop. There were other movements and body positions to learn as well - it was amazing to see how much the horse watches and reacts!

This is all completely new to Curly but after the hour he was getting the hang of it. In many ways he's a pretty green horse. Thank goodness that he's basically a gentle guy!

On the diet side, he's really beginning to look good. We can see muscle definition already. E. let him munch away at the grass surrounding our trailer today. He was quite happy to oblige.....

R. gets to ride...

R. had her first ride on Curly yesterday. E. saddled him up, adjusted her helmet to fit R., and then we hoisted R. up into the saddle.



She was surprised by how high up she was! E. then led them around the property for a little while - I think this is the longest horse ride R. has ever had.

Both girls were pretty excited and happy about our activities at the barn. I think it will be good to have something that they can do together. Since there is such a large gap in their ages it is sometimes hard to find activities that they both enjoy equally. Maybe horses will be it....

Curly's first 4-H ride night...

E. writes: Today Curly was very,very excited. Usually I have to kick him as hard as I can to make him move, but tonight I barely had to touch him. Since he has never riden with so many horses before, he thought he had to keep up with the leader! Once, he was so focused on catching up, he ran into a wall! Curly never wanted to slow down, only speed up. At the very end, we got to canter around the arena and I did my first "long distance" canter! By the end my legs were aching, but overall it was fun.

It's now official....

We are the proud owners of Curly, the horse! Seeing the joy in my daughter's eyes has made all the stress over making this decision so worthwhile. She was so excited her whole being just radiated happiness.

She told me later in the afternoon that having a horse of our own really does make a difference. Now all the effort and challenge will be more meaningful. E. says that she was happy to ride horses before but now she can't wait to get out there and work with Curly.

I wonder if we'll get M. up on Curly....he already has boots. My husband, the guitar-picking cowboy!

You need more than just a horse...

Tack. And lots of it, it seems. And it ain't cheap!

Curly and E. have been using an old saddle that the current owner is letting us try out. It's good quality but HEAVY! Curly's back is a bit sore from the way it pushes E. towards his rear end but I was informed by our trainer that that problem could be lessened, and maybe even completely alleviated, by a new saddle pad. "No problem," I think. Then she tells me which one she recommends and how much it costs - $140! And we might get 2 years of use out of it! Yikes!

Plus we need a new bit, new reins, a new cinch.....well, the list goes on and on. Another boarder at the barn passed by me while we were unsaddling and said quietly, "Ebay."

My husband's favorite line is going through my head right now too - "Christmas is coming!" But maybe not soon enough this year.....

Do we have to?

If Curly could talk, I'm sure that is what he would have been saying when Emily came to his stall this afternoon. He was happy to see her but definitely did not want to be led away. Lucky for him, we were short on time so she only spent 20 minutes in the round pen with him. The main reason we were out there today was this:




Thankfully, Emily doesn't complain too much about all the cleaning.....

Pre-purchase vet exam...

Curly was so good today! He calmly waited for Dr. Kress, the vet, to examine him and then continued to stay calm as he was poked, stretched and prodded. Dr. Kress concluded the exam by saying, "Go ahead and write a check for this guy!" He didn't have one negative thing to say about Curly's soundness or general health.

Now we wait for Emily's decision...

I've been learning all kinds of horse stuff this week. Like the fact that you can use baby sunblock on them to prevent sunburn on their tender noses (Curly's is susceptible to this because of his markings). Today I learned that to maintain weight the general rule of thumb is 1 lb. of hay per 100 lb. of horse. So Curly should be getting approximately 10 to 12 lbs. a day.

Later in the day....

Emily had another riding lesson this afternoon. She said it was really good - he even smoothly reversed directions while trotting. Curly is beginning to understand her leg cues. He's so smart!

Before she took him into the round pen the farrier showed up to trim his hooves. He's seen Curly before and was quite happy to find him at the horse barn being ridden. The farrier said that with a regular trim schedule, Curly's feet would be in top shape again. Especially since he is now being ridden regularly and is beginning to drop some excess weight. The horse was wonderful yet again, standing calmly while the farrier clipped and filed away at his feet.

On the ride home tonight I asked Emily her thoughts about the horse and she really wants to work with him now. Yes, he has a lot to learn and will be challenging but she can see that he is a truly good animal with a big heart. There's lots of reasons to love this guy!

All looks wonderful....

Note from Emily...
I think that Curly is getting better every day. yesterday I had to kick him hard just to get him to walk, but today I barly had to touch him. Smart horse! It's easier to ride him with other horses in the areana because then he knows which direction we're going! Although it's not as easy, mom says that I should ride him alone sometimes. That way he'll learn to follow my signals.

I'm starting to wonder if we'll be ready to ride at a 4-H meeting? there's a lot of horses there, but it's always fun. I'll find out on Tuesday!

Day 3 with Curly...

Emily's ride went really well today. After yesterday's activities, we knew that Curly would be sore and maybe not too happy to see us. But he showed how sweet he is again and willingly followed Emily to be saddled up.

I'm sure this has to be very frustrating for him. Emily constantly asks him to do things that he's never been exposed to before plus it was really warm in the arena today. The poor guy probably just wanted to hang out in the shade! But he obviously tried to please her. He's turning out to be a great horse and potentially a wonderful match for Emily.

We are still a little worried about his feet and legs. The pre-purchase vet exam will take place tomorrow. Hope we can get the farrier out too....

Emily's trainer, Anita, has been incredibly supportive and helpful during this whole process. There are so many things to consider - I'm sure I would never have attempted this purchase without her guidance.

E's first ride

Curly was saddled up this afternoon by daughter Emily for the first time. He wasn't too happy about the bridle and bit, but she managed with some help from her horse coach. It quickly became obvious that while sweet in temperament, Curly does have some bad habits. Like not respecting your space, not cooperating completely during the whole bridle routine, and constantly trying to eat any grass around him. He's a trail horse who hasn't been used too much in the past year...

During the past few months I've gotten over the anxiety I feel watching my baby ride these powerful animals. I trust that she (and her coach!) knows what she's doing and that the horses themselves really don't want to hurt her. Well, the anxiety was back a bit today. Curly is a complete unknown quantity... but all went well. He's never been a 4-H project horse or done shows, so he's unfamiliar with the skills and signals that Emily expects him to know and respond to. It will take a HUGE amount of training and just plain ol' hard work to get him up to show-readiness. But they both did very well today. He learned a few things and she stuck with it and even seemed to enjoy the ride.



Emily then worked Curly in the round pen. The poor guy is, well, fat. So he's being put on a diet and Emily has been instructed to end every ride with a 20 minute jog in the pen. He was VERY sweaty by the time she stopped him. But it will be good for him. Now if only I had someone forcing me to jog for 20 minutes every day...

On the way home from the stable I asked Emily if this is what she wanted. She gave a very clear-eyed assessment of what the challenges would be - I was impressed that she wasn't thinking only with her heart. She also said that she would like a few more days before she makes up her mind about Curly. I have to admit that I am very proud of her response at the moment - so mature for a preteen!

Curly needs to have his hooves trimmed very badly, so we are trying to get the farrier out in the next day or so. He seemed to favor his right front leg a bit - perhaps because of the long hooves. But we need to be sure it is something so simple before we purchase him. A vet appointment has also been made for later this week....

The Adventure begins...

We actually took the first step towards horse ownership today. We will be leasing and evaluating Curly, an Appaloosa gelding, for the next week. He is now safely housed at the horse barn and acclimating himself to his new surroundings.

His first challenge was to get used to an actual stall - it looked like a big scary cave to him, I'm sure! Emily walked with him all over the property, brushed him and just generally tried to make him comfortable for about an hour. We came back after dinner and saw that he hadn't eaten so I coaxed him back into the scary stall and showed him that it really is okay to stick your head into the hay bin. The poor guy was pretty hungry and gobbled half his food down in just minutes.

The adventure was further enhanced when I discovered that I had locked my keys in the car....and no one was home at the barn! After waiting for 30 minutes, Emily and I walked down the road to a neighbor's house. The neighbor kindly offered me a gin and tonic along with the phone.

I think Matt is seriously wondering what we might be getting ourselves into.....