Fall Sunshine

"Sunburn Watch 2012" is now officially over, thank goodness!  The harsh summer sun has morphed into a gentler fall one and Monte has begun to grow his winter coat, both of which have led to an end of pink, peeling skin on the poor pony.  His mane has begun to grow back as well and he is now sporting a jaunty little mohawk on the lower portion of his neck.

Monte has also been getting some exercise the past couple of weeks.  Two young women are now riding him to help him get back into shape, "tune him up" and remind him of all his skills.  I was a little nervous when Courtney first rode him, afraid that he might be a handful but he quickly settled into the ride and performed beautifully.  After her ride she wondered why people have said he is challenging!  Gabrielle rode a few days later and he was again well behaved.  She did notice that he's not quite as soft in the mouth as he had been the last time she rode him (about 2 years ago), but we think that is something that can be regained. 

I'm hoping that Courtney's karma with horses follows her with Monte.  In the past, all the horses she has ridden have sold not long after she begins to develop a relationship with the horse.  So come on, Courtney!  Work your magic!  :)

I've been able to ride Zoe at least 3 times a week for the past few weeks.  The consistent riding is definitely making a difference for both of us.  But I do need to schedule a lesson or two soon as I think I'm beginning to develop a few bad habits (like leaning too far forward as I ride).  Another set of eyes would be good.

Miss Zoe has been a pig lately and tries to get to her neighbor's grain each night.  That wouldn't be such a big deal except that she now has half-dollar sized sores on her front ankles that won't go away.  Dropping onto the concrete to reach under the rails is not helping them heal at all!  Cathy and I have been brainstorming how to get this problem fixed but so far we haven't been too successful. 

The Lunchtime Dash

School has started up again and I love being back with all the kids. It really is wonderful to see them growing and learning.

And I'm ready for the sun to switch to fall mode NOW!

Monte is still burning on his neck and in the rubbed-out portion of his mane.  So everyday I rush out to the barn (8 min.), put sunblock and fly spray on him (10 min.) and rush back to work (8 min.).  That leaves me a total of 4 minutes to wash my hands and eat something.

I'm so ready for some cloud cover.

Barn Chores

After this weekend, the fantasy of owning a large equine facility with rolling, green pastures, big numbers of beautiful, long-legged horses and miles of white fencing has now been delegated to my "anti-bucket" list!

Our barn owners, Cathy and Larry, needed to attend a wedding in Bend this Saturday and asked if Em and I would be willing to do barn chores Friday evening through Sunday morning.  Of course I said yes - they have done so much for us these past years that I was/am happy to reciprocate in any way at all.

I'll be brief and just say it took 2 hours to get the horses into their stalls Friday and we were quite happy that only 3 escaped during transfer from field to stall. I also only confused the identities of 2 of them (thank goodness they know more about where they are supposed to go than I do!).  Turnout the next morning didn't go too much faster - 1.5 hours.  But by Sunday morning, we had that down to a respectable 45 minutes.  :)

And we were doing just the bare minimum that keeps the barn running!  No mowing, no irrigating, no prepping of arenas....just moving horses and feeding grains and meds.

I was tired by Sunday.

Had to call the vet out on Sunday for Zoe.  She had some eye goop on Saturday, so I cleaned her up, put on her fly mask and sent her out to the field.  On Sunday morning it was tons worse - all yellow and crusty. Yuck!  A couple of other boarders independently told me that I really should call the vet (even though it was Sunday and would cost a ton more!)...so I did.  I was really hoping Dr. Adams would say, "Oh, this can wait 'till Monday." but no such luck.  Everyone told me horror stories of what it could be...but thankfully, it turns out that she doesn't have anything too terrible.  Just conjunctivitis.  So 5 days of eye ointment and all should be good.

Monte is dealing with that same bug bites on his back issue that he had last summer.  I think it is commonly referred to as "sweet itch," not that there's anything sweet about it at all.  I've been applying MTG, which seems to help but we don't dare put a saddle on him right now.  He has also rubbed out a good quarter of his mane.  We put him in a stall during the day for a couple of weeks to help with sunburn and he discovered that if he reached under one of the bars he could pull a bunch of hay off the bales stacked there.  He looks really pathetic right now with part of his mane missing, pink, peely patches on his shoulders and dirt everywhere.



I was sad that he is currently un-rideable as my friend Kate came out to meet him this weekend and thinks she might like to try riding him.  Yeah!  She spent time grooming Monte and then learned how we round pen him for exercise.  I then saddled up Zoe and Kate spent some time with her in the arena.  Hopefully, Monte will be ready to go in a week or two, and we can then ride together.  :)

I've had a few more calls for Monte but as usual, it's for children who are too young and small to handle his spirit.  The last person said she was looking for a calm horse.  I replied that Monte was "gentle, but has the high energy of an Arab."  Seriously people, don't you read the ad that says "for experienced riders" ?!?

Summer is winding down and I'll be sad to see my week-day barn time dwindle with the daylight.  Looking back, I wish I had taken more advantage of the lazy days I had and ridden Zoe a bit more, but I'm happy that I did get to spend a fair amount of time with her.  And truthfully, I love riding during the crisp days of fall oh so much more!

Green snot

Yesterday was E's last official 4-H ride. She decided a while back that she didn't want to continue in the club once she started high school - a reasonable choice given the number of extracurricular activities and amount of just plain school work she has. Last night the club hosted its yearly potluck/awards ride night. E wanted to take Zoe since Monte is still plagued with a sore back (we have a call in to the chiropractor).

As she was loading up her tack, E heard Zoe coughing in the trailer. Being a little concerned we all peered in the windows and saw what appeared to be coughs caused by choking. E had hung a hay bag up in the trailer to give Zoe something to munch on while we drove out to the ride...and it seemed that Ms. Zoe gobbled down her treat too fast, causing her to choke on some.

We quickly unloaded the horse and watched anxiously as she coughed so much that green yuck came out of her nose. E ran to ask a visiting vet/instructor who happened to be in the arena just what the heck we should do. She was told to get Zoe's head down if possible and try to get her to drink some water to help with any obstruction in her throat.

Zoe was distressed and a bit panicky at this point - and still coughing green slime out her nose. I found a syringe and forced her to drink some water (about 180 cc's worth). About then her coughing subsided and she seemed to be okay. We put her into her stall to keep her from eating anything for a while....and then loaded up Monte and headed off to the ride night. All of this took about 30 to 40 minutes.

Upon return from the 4-H ride, we checked on Zoe and decided that she was just fine. I might have a new gray hair or two, but the horse is going to be okay. :)

Zoe has been used quite a bit lately by our foreign exchange student friend, Catherine. Catherine is a very good rider and has been schooling Zoe in jumping. I have noticed a change in Zoe, however. Her responses to my cues aren't as quick or as easy as they used to be; she just seems less reactive/responsive than before. I knew that this would probably happen to some extent, but it does make me a little sad. In hopes of stopping this change in Zoe, I have decided to ask Catherine to use a gentler bit while riding her(a french link); since Catherine is tighter with the reins than I am, perhaps this will help me regain some of that soft feeling that's been lost.

Going down the trail....

Saturday was my first time riding Zoe outside of our arena. I decided it was time to just suck it up, get over the fear and head on down the trail on my pony...and she was fabulous!


E has taken her to the reservoir one other time (and I believe she has been there with her previous owner) and discovered that Zoe, while not the most courageous horse, did okay. Her biggest quirk is that she insists on being behind another horse. As soon as she is in front, she just stops. No spooking or jigging....just. stops. and. waits. Once another horse (Monte in this case) is in front she's more than willing to move forward. Funny girl.

We did have a little spooking incident before I got on her. Don't know what caused it, but she ended up stepping on my left foot, bruising my big toe. It isn't a serious injury and didn't even delay our ride more than the few moments it took to take off my boot to make sure I wasn't bleeding. (I wasn't.)

It's been a busy month of competing at the fair and starting school. E and Monte weren't able to compete in the Western disciplines at fair this year; we discovered that his saddle is causing him pain (sitting too low in front, pinching his withers/shoulders a little...and he's a sensitive guy!). This would explain some of the bad behavior he's exhibited the last few times E's used the western tack. It all hurt the poor boy!

Zoe is being used by a third rider recently - an exchange student from France who is living with a Pony Club friend. She's quite taken with my pony and announced yesterday after their lesson together that if she were to live here, she would buy Zoe! I smiled and said, "Ah, but she's not for sale." :) It makes me happy that someone else loves my pony too, though.

Sunburns and headaches

E is still banned from riding. Her headaches are less severe and take a little longer to appear, but she does still get them whenever she exerts herself. Poor kid.....

Monte is probably okay with this break, though. He has gotten very sun-sensitive and has a nasty sunburn on his neck and his nose.

There are little cracks on Monte's nose from too much sun....

...and his neck is very pink and peeling profusely in sections.

We have been going out to the barn every morning to apply sunblock and to put his fly sheet on him for additional protection....and then we trudge back out again in the evening to take the sheet off. So far he's only burned those two places - hoping they'll heal soon and that we'll avoid any further burns. Poor horse.....

Recognizing the problem...

....is the first step, right? Okay, so it's not really a "problem" but I am finally beginning to understand what I'm doing wrong as I attempt to post while trotting. Like using my feet and stirrups to propel me up rather than my thighs and knees. And not keeping my leg on her the whole time (which goes back to using the stirrups too much). I also can't keep the rhythm of the up-down motion going for very long - I usually end up bouncing along within a few strides.

But I'm determined to get it eventually! This has become my goal for the summer - learn to post a trot. On my horse. (As opposed to someone else's - Zoe has such a smooth stride that I don't always feel when I should be up and when I should be down! The motion is much more prominent on other horses I've ridden recently.)

I had a lesson with Pat this past Sunday; she hasn't seen me ride in a couple of months and was surprised at how "brave" I had become - she was with me during my first few rides, remember? I no longer begin to hyperventilate when asking for a trot and am actually beginning to look like a real rider. It's nice to look back and see some growth.

E and I have had to cancel our Deary horse camp plans. She had her "big running test" to determine if she was healed enough to ride - and didn't pass. After running a mere .5 miles, she had a headache....that promptly disappeared once her heart rate was back to normal. It's pretty clear that her brain is still recovering. She was sad to miss out - this is one of the big highlights of the Pony Club year for her, but the risk of serious brain trauma is just not worth it.

Monte is dealing with a sunburn on his neck right now. We have begun going out to the barn each morning to put a fly sheet and some sun block on him, and then back out each evening to take it off. Poor guy! It's supposed to get up to 90 today and I'm sure that sheet is making him hot, hot, hot. I think it's kind of ironic that we don't blanket for the majority of the winter but will end up sheeting him the whole summer!

Really??? Another head injury???

E participated in a clinic with Victoria Cliff on Sunday, riding a flat lesson on Zoe and then a jumping lesson on Monte.

The first lesson, the flat one, was beautiful. E and Zoe looked wonderful together and made all the movements seem easy. E was able to get Zoe to round up into her trot and to carry her head in a nice position for most of the lesson - and Zoe appeared to be enjoying the work for the most part.

The second lesson, on Monte, started out okay but quickly went south. As usual, Monte was rushing a little and while they were cantering around the arena in a warm-up exercise his hooves struck a patch of loose dirt over hard-pack. Monte's feet slid out from under him and he fell completely on his side, taking a bit of skin off his left shoulder in the process.

E fell with him, of course, and ended up with a mouth full of dirt and a banged up shoulder, jaw and head. My first concern was another concussion, but her eyes looked fine and she was coherent and as stable as a person can be after having a 900 lb. animal fall on them. And she actually wanted to get back up on Monte - such a brave child! (Monte, by the way, stood quietly by us the whole time we were examining E - very unusual for him to not bolt after a scare! But maybe that's because this wasn't really a fright/flight situation.)

So she spit out some dirt (literally!), took a drink of water, wiped the worst of the dirt off her face and got back on her horse. After about 10 minutes of riding, however, E came over to the side of the arena and told me that she was feeling unbalanced - not dizzy or nauseous, but definitely "off". I told her to immediately get off the horse! (She also added that Monte was stiff as well, so she figured he was not feeling so great himself.)

After last week's concussion, we are a little freaked out about another head injury. E does have a headache again (plus she just plain aches all over!) so I am watching her carefully. We may have another trip to the doctor today - at the very least, she is scheduled for a sports physical tomorrow morning and I'll ask the doctor to check her thoroughly then.

Zoe side note: We gave Zoe a quick wash before E's lesson and she did beautifully. No nervous jigging or bad behavior at all. What a good little horse!

So much going on.....

Another school year done! I'm hoping that summer allows for a lot more riding (of course it will!) and that I finally begin to gain some skill riding my Zoe. I'm ready to get past the early beginner stage. :)

E hasn't had too much time with Monte recently. She took a tumble out of a hammock and got a mild concussion, so there was no riding for her for a bit. I find it ironic that she rides this wild, bucking pony but gets hurt while lying down! A week later and she still has a bit of a headache - poor kid. I let her ride yesterday in the round pen - where Monte spooked and promptly dumped her! Luckily she didn't hit her head again, but she does have a nasty bruise on her arm.

We introduced another friend to Zoe yesterday as well - a foreign exchange student from Portugal. She's going home soon and really wanted to ride a horse before she left. Surprisingly, Zoe was very calm and careful with her novice rider. But after their ride together I decided that we had probably exhausted Zoe's patience so I didn't ride her.

As we were putting her away another barn friend, Angelia, offered to lunge her horse Tantrum for me so that I could get a better feel for posting while trotting. I was plenty nervous (I mean, there has to be a reason the horse was named Tantrum!) but it turned out to be a wonderful ride. I could totally feel the lift telling me when to post out of the saddle - something I've had trouble feeling while riding Zoe because she's so smooth. We'll practice with Tantrum again - and I'll practice on Zoe too, of course.

My mom took us to see the Lipizzaner Stallions last Sunday - what a treat! A sale booth was set up at the entrance of the arena - and I immediately saw and commented on the little Breyer Lipizzaner horse. While talking to the sales guy I told him that my horse is from the Favory line, to which he replied, "They are known for their intelligence." Being the proud mama, I got all smiley and agreed that yes, my Zoe is definitely that. So silly!

It was wonderful to watch the horses and riders working together so beautifully. These horses truly are amazing. I was surprised to learn that two of the riders are local. At one point E did say that she would never attempt to ride such powerful animals, though. Their energy was a bit intimidating!

The show jumping and dressage rallies scheduled for this weekend were cancelled (darn EHV-1 outbreak!) but E will have the opportunity to ride in a clinic at our barn tomorrow. She plans to do a flat lesson on Zoe and a jumping lesson on Monte. Should be fun!

Little Big Man

Monte is a pony...okay, he's really a "small horse" since Arabians can be below 14.3 hands and still be considered a horse. But in his mind, he's the big guy in the field.

Consequently, he frequently feels the need to assert himself with the other horses pastured with him. This would be all well and good if he were the head honcho...but he's not, really, and in the process of being put back in his place he sometimes gets hurt. Nothing serious, just a few scrapes and the occasional pulled muscle.

We think that is what happened recently. Last Friday, E saddled him up for a fun ride but as soon as she tightened the cinch on her Western saddle he became a bucking fiend. Luckily she was able to quickly loosen the straps and get the offending tack off of his back - also luckily, this all happened before she got on his back! We've seen him buck before, but this was a show worthy of the broncs in the rodeo.

It was quickly discovered that he had extreme pain in his withers, so a call was made to the chiropractor. We finally had our session with her yesterday afternoon (yes, the poor boy had to suffer for 5 days!) and the relief he felt was almost immediate.

He had a very worried look in his eyes when the chiropractor began but as soon as she did a few seconds of work on his shoulders and then his withers, he relaxed, gave a big sigh, and closed his eyes. He started to fall asleep by the end of her visit.

E is hoping that he is back to 100% by Saturday; she is signed up to ride in a clinic with Jim Briggs and wants to ride her pony rather than mine. Don't blame her, really, since she does happen to have a pretty awesome little guy.

3/26 update: Monte is still hurting - poor boy. So E will be riding Zoe for the Jim Briggs clinic, which is fine for the flat, but questionable for the jumping. Oh, and C corrected me about Monte not being big-man-in-the-field. She says that although he doesn't kick and bite the others as much as another pair out there, he does "growl" at them quite a bit and they all pretty much get out of his way. But unlike most other alphas, he doesn't mind not being first to go in for dinner. So she called him a "benevolent leader." Ha! Benevolent is not a word I would ever have thought to use to describe Monte. :) I kinda think it might have to do with the fact that he defers to the human handling the horses and if that human says he has to go last, then last he will go. Now that's a well-trained pony!

Road trip for Zoe

The horses had all their shots on Monday, so when we pulled Monte out for 4-H last night I wasn't too terribly surprised that he wasn't feeling so hot. When E took him into the round pen prior to loading him in the trailer, he was practically dragging his head on the ground. Kinda scary actually - I'm so used to his high energy! There are several horses that have had varying degrees of adverse reactions to the shots, however, so I understood why he was feeling the way he was.

Zoe, on the other hand, did not have any noticeable reaction to the shots, so E and I made a quick decision to take her to 4-H instead. E had to pull her out of her stall and away from her dinner and Zoe made her displeasure over this disruption apparent by kicking out at E. Not a great way to begin an adventure! But the horse settled down in the round pen (E wanted to make sure Zoe had a brain before making the final commitment to riding her!) and loaded into the trailer fairly well. Of course, a manger of hay in there helped considerably. :)

Neither of us had high expectations for this ride night. Zoe has led an easy life these last few months, with little being asked of her. We were also taking her to a new arena, with new horses and people. All of these factors combined did not build a solid foundation for the promise of a smooth ride. But Zoe surprised us! She only had one incident of spooking (the traffic cone in the arena was going to eat her and caused her to back up several feet, snorting the whole way) and really gave E a nice ride. Being that she is so out of shape, E did have to finish up a lot sooner than she would of on Monte, but that ended up being okay too since our trailer buddy was riding a young horse who also pooped out after an hour of work.

I'm so glad that Zoe proved to be adaptable enough for E to use in a pinch!

My sassy girl is back!

It's been daily trips out to the barn this week, giving Zoe doses of pro-biotics and generally making sure she was okay. She was back to eating a regular amount on Wednesday but still picked at her food and was pretty lethargic for most of the week. On Thursday she wouldn't even eat the handful of alfalfa E tried to give her. What healthy horse turns down candy like that????

But yesterday I was greeted by my normally sassy girl - Yippee! When I pulled her from the field she was walking quickly and was actively reaching for more and more and more grass to graze. (She's never terrible when I hand graze her but she does test to see just how far and how much she can get.) And when I went to put her back in the field, I took her halter off just outside the gate (didn't want to walk in the mucky-yucky mud) and instead of docilely walking through and into the field, she backed up and started grazing again. Naughty girl! Once I got her to go through the gate (no real challenge, actually) she took off galloping down the fence line, tail raised high.

I loved it.

Tummy Troubles

Sad Zoe, confined to a stall

What a roller coaster weekend! I went from a fabulous Saturday ride to a colicky Zoe on Sunday.

Barn owner C called Sunday around dinner time to tell me that Zoe was laying down in the mud - even though it was feeding time and all the other horses were waiting at the gate. I rushed out to the barn, we administered Banamine (a horsey NSAID) and began watching her closely. She was confined to an interior stall - which she found terribly upsetting since it meant she had to be separated from her pasture buddy, Toika.

The colic did not appear to be life threatening, and after a call to the vet I decided to just keep her in overnight so that we could monitor her water intake and BMs closely. (I swear it was just like having a sick baby; I've become obsessed with the contents of Zoe's stall just as we were with our babies' diapers!) I could see that she was in pain (high respiration rate - around 90/min. at one point!) but she had calmed some by the time I left (respiration rate down to around 40-50/min. - keep in mind that 15 to 20 is more normal!)

I went out early Monday morning and Zoe appeared to be much, much better so I decided to let her go on out to the field to join her buddies. As I was closing the gate behind her I told C that I would hold off calling the vet unless Zoe laid down....which she immediately proceeded to do. It became immediately obvious that Zoe was still suffering so the call to the vet was made and she came out to the barn within the hour.

When Dr. Adams arrived she didn't think Zoe was the sick horse. She appeared to be calm and relatively happy walking around with me. But upon examination Dr. Adams could tell that Zoe was indeed off; her heart rate was over 50 (normal is usually 30ish to 40) and there were no gut sounds at all. We all suspected an impaction.

But an examination showed no impaction, only a slightly enlarged right ovary. Huh? So what was going on? We decided to draw some blood to see if there were any kidney or liver problems. During all of this, it was discovered that Zoe has a huge fear of needles and requires a twitch to keep her calm-ish and still-ish and that she reacts to one of the sedatives in a not-so-great way. She began breathing super-fast just after it was administered - kinda scary, actually. The blood tests showed us that Zoe is very anemic - but why? Possible causes include tapeworms, ulcers or an internal melanoma tumor. I'm leaning towards the ulcers, myself, and will begin treating her with appropriate supplements once we get this current colic stuff under control.

Zoe was kept in her stall another night and fed small amounts of hay. When I arrived this morning she appeared to be her old self, although there still was almost no poop in her stall. As I was standing there, wondering what to do she proceeded to poop, pee and pass gas. Hallelujah! I decided to let her go out to the field where she would be happier. I talked to the vet at 8:30 and told her the good news and we laid out a plan of action for the anemia. I was so relieved to have survived our first colic episode so easily.

And then not 15 minutes later C calls to tell me that Zoe is laying down and getting up repeatedly in the field again.

Another call to the vet, I leave work, meet her at the barn and another examination. But all vitals are normal. Gut sounds could be heard in all 4 quadrants. We have no idea what is causing Zoe to colic.

We will continue to watch her closely, but have decided against stalling her any further - it just upsets Zoe too much. (We'll work on breaking her emotional dependence on Toika later!) I got some more Banamine to help make her more comfortable and also purchased some pro-biotics to help with any imbalance she might have in her stomach juices. I'll start her on something to guard against ulcers and too much stomach acid soon (Uguard, perhaps) - Zoe appears to be one of those high strung horses that may be prone to these problems. Not surprising considering her history and her breed (cougar attack, 1/2 Arab). I also picked up a tube of wormer to get rid of any possible tape worms - although I really don't think that's the issue here.

Right now, I'm just tired. I'm looking forward to not being constantly worried about my pony.

Bareback, part deux

Both E and I are loving this new horse. We can't wait to get out to the barn each day to visit with Zoe and are happy to just be with her, letting her graze in the grass. It makes me smile each time I come around the corner of the barn and see her waiting at the gate for us. It seems like she enjoys our visits as much as we do!

Yesterday I had my first ride on her. Given that I have next to no experience in an English saddle, I decided to try bareback. (Feel free to question my logic here - I've never ridden bareback either! I just thought that if I was going to fall off, at least with bareback there would be less equipment for me to get tangled up in.)

Climbing on was no problem; she is pretty good at standing patiently. I was surprised at how wide she is once I go on; her broad back definitely stretched my hip and leg muscles a bit! I asked E to lead us for the first couple of circuits in the round pen - I freely admit to being a chicken! But after I got a feel for the movement under me and realized that I could indeed stop her, I walked off on my own....for maybe a total of 3 minutes. :) But I did it.

Today when we go out we're going to see if our Western saddle is wide enough for Zoe. If not, our barn manager thinks she has one that might fit. I'm looking forward to trying Zoe for real!

Monte update: E has been hesitant to push Monte (His reaction to our touches are rather dramatic.) but I showed her that I could brush him and he didn't shy away from me. So she went ahead and saddled him up and was able to ride for a few moments. Unfortunately, she has a sprained ankle and isn't able to do much. At any rate, she was very happy to see that he's getting better.

Oh, and she got a job! E will now be mucking stalls at the barn on Saturdays and Sundays. I think it's perfect.

Settling In

We went out to the barn to hand-graze Zoe for an hour or so yesterday. She's still separated from the other horses and has spent her time cooped up in Monte's stall and run.

Enjoying some green grass

As we were hanging out, C, our friendly barn manager, came over to say how much she likes Zoe so far. She is super excited for us and is really hoping this works out. As we were chatting, E took Zoe back to her stall - which she wasn't too happy about (understandably!). When E turned to leave the stall, Zoe snuck past her and trotted happily out of the stall. E got a little animated and called out for help but in the end it was Zoe herself who helped. She just walked right back to E within a minute. What a good girl!

As we were watching all of this, C got all excited about seeing Zoe's trot. This horse has beautiful foot movement and is wonderful to see. It is obvious that she is meant to be a dressage princess. :)

Zoe got to spend the night in a pasture last night. Today's schedule is a bit wonky due to various events (sleepovers, bbq's, weddings, etc.) so I think she might be relegated to the stall again but I'm hoping that tomorrow we can put her in a pasture with other horses. I know we are being overly cautious about all of this, but we just want to make sure she integrates well - and there is someone around to make sure that that is what is happening. I don't want any meanies picking on my new baby!

Monte fly bite update: He still shies away when we touch the area but I'm wondering if his reaction is becoming habit rather than actual pain. Or maybe it's itchy? Anyway, the reaction is greatly reduced and we can gradually get him to allow us to touch the area. E thinks she might try a saddle on him either this afternoon or tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that all goes well.

Pesky flies

After a break from riding (we were on vacation), E had her first lesson in two weeks yesterday. We were both happy to be heading out to the barn and I looked forward to seeing Monte. Plus E really needs to buckle down and practice some of her riding skills before the county fair hits.

Monte was happy to see E and even seemed pleased to see me. At one point E went to get something from the trailer, and while she was away he inched closer to me, lowered his head and gently rubbed his nose on my knee. Too cute for words! :)

Unfortunately, the fly bites on Monte's back are still bothering him. They are not quite as large as before, but he shies away whenever we try to touch them. And he was definitely throwing dirty looks at the person trying to do the touching!

Consequently, E did not ride him for Pony Club yesterday. But she was able to ride another PCer's horse, Sienna. Sienna is a Tennessee Walker - and E was (pleasantly) surprised how smooth and responsive she was. Monte is so light that she often finds other horses a bit hard to cue; Sienna was just about as easy as Monte.

The best part of the lesson is that E finally got her D2 checklist completed and can now schedule her rating. Hoping to have that done in two weeks.....

Bug bites?

E and Monte had to skip their riding lesson last night. It appears that Monte has been repeatedly bitten by either some sort of vicious fly or bees. There are big lumps near his withers, in the brown spot he has there. And it seems to be painful for him.

He was quite agitated whenever we tried to touch the spot, twitching and moving away quickly whenever his skin was brushed there. Poor pony!

So, we'll be keeping an eye on him and be more regular with the fly spray in the coming weeks.

The Tunnel of Death

The kids heading out for camp instruction...

What a first day at horse camp....and not one I'd like to repeat. I'm sure R is thinking along the same lines.

The morning started off breezy (not a good thing), but bright. R caught Monte, nice and easy, and we loaded up and headed out to the first day of horse camp. I helped her unload and set up her stuff and then headed out for a trip to the grocery store.

As I was checking out at the store I decided to take a quick look at my phone - and then panicked when I saw a message from the camp instructor. R had been thrown - twice - and was on her way home with Dad.

So here's what happened: R saddled up (with help, of course) and easily mounted Monte and then headed out to the trail course. She immediately headed towards the tarp tunnel (a.k.a. "The Tunnel of Death" - at least according to Monte now!) - in hindsight, probably not the wisest choice. As they were standing at the entrance, a big gust of wind came up and the tunnel expanded into a huge horse-eating monster, which terrified Monte, who then proceeded to back up as fast as possible, leap over a pile of logs, dash off to a back corner of pasture, do a speedy 360, helicoptering R out of the saddle in the process. I hear the display was quite impressive. They even broke one of the reins.

The Tunnel of Death

There were tears (Of course! Who wouldn't cry after all that!), but R got back in the saddle and went out into the arena. All was going along smoothly for about another 10 minutes until other riders began to speed up. Well, Monte (who's still plenty amped up from the previous performance) decides that he needs to speed up too. And he kept speeding up, as R tried to (ineffectively/inexpertly) slow him down. Her death grip on the horn and with her thighs weren't helping much, unfortunately, and the end result is that she fell off again. After this fall, she was done for the morning - and it was only 10.

Luckily, there were no serious injuries but she does have a nasty bruise on her side and it now hurts to run or walk on uneven surfaces. And surprisingly, she wanted to come back to camp for a second day. What a tough girl! I am so impressed with her courage, 'cause heaven knows I probably wouldn't have gone back for round 2!

R's bruise. She also has a scraped up elbow and bruised knee.

The camp instructor has very generously offered up the use of her amazingly trained horse, Julima, for the remainder of camp week. R went out this morning, saddled Julima up, and tackled the trail course again. She even went through "The Tunnel of Death" with Julima. Did I mention how courageous she is?

R and Julima, getting their morning instructions.

R is scared, of course, and is pretty much keeping Julima in a slow, steady walk, but she's up there, conquering her fear and trying new things right along with the other kids.

A, handing a flag to R

At the end of the lesson today the kiddos were asked to show the instructors one new thing they learned to do with their horses that morning. R immediately came over to the side rail, picked up a flag, and proudly showed A that she can walk and trot while holding the flag. We were all very proud of her today.

R & Julima, doing parade practice. :)