Time for Shots

Stephanie came out yesterday to show me how to do vaccines and we went for a little ride around the arena as well. Groomed both horses in the crossties, they were fairly patient as far as that went, tacked 'em up and we were off. Originally my thought was a trail ride down the road but it was cold and threatening rain so we stuck to the arena. Steph rode Cody and I rode Axel. Axel had his fast pants on and we had to circle frequently so we didn't run over Cody. We did a bit of trotting and experimented with posting diagonals to check out if his crankiness was learned or if it was actually his back left foot. It was his back left, unhappy horse when you sit on that diagonal in both directions. So I might be posting the correct right diagonal and the incorrect left diagonal from now on. We'll see how that works out. We attempted a few canters purely because when I post that one diagonal Axel either bucks or tries to canter. We went with the canter as long as he was offering. Oddly none of the cantering felt good, it was the correct lead (right) and wasn't disunited but it just felt yucky. He kind of leaps into it and puts his head down and I think he's going to buck. Turns out ... he's actually striking off into the canter with his rear end (like he's supposed to) and he's brining up his back and putting his head down a bit to do so. Aka, this is what a real canter from Axel should feel like. Go figure. Sure makes my legs hurt, though he did have a few wonky sort of bucky canters that I had to squeeze him through.

Steph worked on some trotting and cantering with Cody as well as some halt and giving to the bit. She had him backing on a super light rein. She had him working on little bits of turn on the haunches, an 1/8th of a circle at a time. He struck off at the canter on the first request on his good side, it was a little more work on his bad side (left I think) but he managed. His canter doesn't look as speedy and big as it feels. It actually looks kind of "sporty" to me, almost like a reiner. He was doing a nice regular trot for her while she posted - no speeding up. And they worked on a really calm western trot as well.

Axel and I worked on backing off the bridge for a while which worked well 2 times and then he refused to cooperate any longer. After fighting through that 3rd attempt we managed a 4th attempt and called it a night on that. He's so goofy about it, hops right up on the bridge before I'm even ready but backing off it - heck no! We played a little with the bowing and treats but he turns in a big beggar when there's treats or anything that might be a treat so I don't think I'll be treating him by hand any longer. Cody did some stretching for treats with Steph and was very polite about it. She gave him his shots to show me how and I gave Axel his. It went well and was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.

Cody's little fight of the day came when I saw some wood ticks on his nose. He was displeased and would not keep his head down for us to pull them out. He goes into immediate giraffe impression as soon as something gets near his nose that is not petting. I really have to keep working with him on that but he seems to do well when there aren't ulterior motives, he's too smart that way. I am going to pick him up a fly mask with a nose piece on it to keep away some of the sunburn he's prone too since he won't let me put any cream on his nose.

And Then There Was Mud

Another nice weather day but I just wasn't feeling like riding so I went out to the barn with some chores in mind. I was late on deworming this month so that was on the top of my list. I also borrowed Steph's cordless clippers. Of course the horses weren't up by the gate so I had to wade through the mud to get to them. By the time Axel and I got out to the drive way he was covered in mud. There were no puddles to walk through so we walked through a big snow bank to try and clean our feet off a little. It didn't really help so I walked him around the arena for a while. One of the other boarders was riding so we just hung out in the middle. Axel was very interested in watching the mare trot and canter around. When his feet were as dry as they were going to get we went out to the crossties to groom. He actually did really well for most of the time but when the girl and her horse decided to go outside to ride he started in with the head flinging and getting angry at the crossties. I shaved up his back ankles to try and prevent mud fever but it might be futile judging from the amount of mud in the pasture.

When all the exciting grooming was done it was time to deworm, something I am not terribly adept at. I gave Axel half an apple and then shoved the dewormer in his mouth. He was pretty good about it, I had a bad angle but I think most of it stayed in his mouth. He spit a bit out but the job was done. I gave him the rest of the apple and took him back out side.

Cody was still on the far end of the pasture when I turned Axel out, luckily Danny came along to see what was going on and somehow got Cody running and they both came up to the gate so I didn't have to walk through the mud a second time. At least with Cody I wasn't planning on shaving his feet so I didn't even attempt to get the mud off of him. I groomed him quick in the crossties and he started to get figity pretty quickly. I brought him into the arena to deworm where I figured there'd be more room and less obstacles in our way. Cody was not playing my game. He squeezed his lips closed and flung his head in the air and was not going to be dewormed no matter what. I struggled a while with my hand on his nose trying to keep his head down and figure out how I was going to get the dewormer past his zipped lips but I gave up and went for an alternate method. Cody always opens his mouth for the bridle and bit. So I grabbed a bridle and held it as if I was going to bridle him. When he opened his mouth to take the bit I put in the dewormer instead. In the end it went quick and easy, though I wonder if I'll ever get a bit in his mouth again! He was rewarded with a bunch of quality apples courtesy of my place of employment.

Now that the ice is gone from the drive we can use the side door to the barn aisle instead of the tack room door. There's a pretty decent step up and it's pretty narrow so it's the perfect door to practice backing out of so when I was done with Cody that's exactly what I did. And he did fabulous backing through the narrow door and down the big step. I'll have to start doing that with Axel. Unfortunately they keep a bale of hay there and Axel is constantly trying to eat it.

Ouch

I thought for sure my inner thighs would be sore today after riding on Saturday but instead my abs/ribs are killing me. I feel like I did a million sit ups or something.

It was finally 50F on Saturday so a trip to the barn was required. Apparently everyone else felt the same way. Two other boarders were out getting ready to ride as well. The owner of the little Arab and the owner of Steele, who I later found out is a TWH/Andalusian (gorgeous trot - so jealous). Cody was first since Axel likes to kick at other horses, I thought life would be easier with a crowded arena and Cody. It was evident that it is finally spring, Cody found the mud and was shedding on top of it.

1. Relax in barn/arena - I groomed Cody in the cross ties, he was facing the little Arab mare for a while and the TWH/Andy for a while so he was pretty calm and just interested in the other horse. When they went into the arena he was more concerned luckily I was just about done so he didn't have to figit for too long.
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - he did pretty well undersaddle. I didn't want to use just the rope halter with two other horses in the arena so I just used Axel's snaffle. Cody doesn't like the snaffle so he was a little worked up about that but he settled down and did his best to listen to me on his back. If I keep it up I think he'll come around, hopefully I can find a bit that he's happy with so he can pay attention to me instead of the thing in his mouth.
4. Lunge 3 gaits - when I untacked the other horses had left the arena and Cody was beside himself so I lunged him a few times around each direction to get his attention back. It was mostly trot and a bit of canter just on the 12' lead.
5. Gain confidence with rider - we're making some baby steps under saddle which I will hopefully supplement with ground driving when I get some long lines, but he had his moments of listening to me and moments of not listening to me. He's not bending right now because he's too concerned what's going on around him but he listens to commands like "easy" and he's getting better at walking when I ask. I am hoping some of this arena work with other horses will translate to the trail.
6. Load and unload

The other two boarders were grooming up their horses after riding when I brought Axel in. There's only two cross ties and since Axel isn't particularly hospitable to other horses I put him in the arena tied to the hitch they have in there.

1. Relax in barn/arena - believe it or not he stood there tied like a statue even with other horses in the barn that he couldn't see. There was even some calling being done by the mare to her pasture mate and he still stood nicely. I suppose I should have just groomed him and turned him out as a reward but I didn't.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits - I tacked up the big black, shedding, muddy horse and decided to lunge him for some warm up time with the regular lunge line. He's getting pretty good at the lunging bit, a little confused when we first start out but I'm surprised how quickly he picked it up. Walk, trot, and canter with a few bucks at the canter but nothing major.
5. Move out - we worked a bit on moving out at the walk and he started out pretty good, then we did some trotting but when I post on the left diagonal he does not appreciate it. The left diagonal is the one that I'd be sitting when he puts down that sore back foot so I suppose it makes sense. I haven't figured out if it'd be better to use the wrong diagonal with him so he's not sore or if that will just encourage him to be off balance.
6. Use haunches
7. Canter both leads - We tried some cantering as well, he did okay to the right a few minor bucks but I was able to push him through. The left was a bit of a different story. First time it was the wrong lead. Second time it was disunited and I could hardly sit it (probably the biggest factor in my sore abs), the last few times I think he had the right lead but there was some bucking so I pushed him through that and tried to keep him going.

So when I was done working with Axel he had his usual roll in the arena and I brought him back out to the paddock. I tried to give both horses some apples, banana, and oatmeal cookies. Amazingly enough they weren't too thrilled with the oatmeal cookies which surprised me. Of course as soon as I moved some of the banana and cookies for Danny to eat then Axel and Cody were jealous and wanted to eat the stuff. So I guess the key to getting horses to eat something they don't want to eat is to give it to their pasture mate. Go figure. So far the mud isn't too bad but it'll be here sooner than later. Axel's back legs seem okay so far but I think I'll see if I can borrow Steph's cordless clippers to clean up his legs to help prevent the mud fever that is bound to happen. I also have to remember to groom them in the aisle or outside for a while when they are shedding, it's too hard to pick up the hair from the arena.

Good Boy, Cody

Cody and I had a pretty good ride this afternoon, all things considered. Naturally I had to wade through the beginnings of the mud river to get to the horses. God forbid they walk through the mud to come to the gate. Anyway I had brought Cody's western saddle and bridle, now that the weather is getting warmer I imagine I'll want to ride down the road eventually. I decided that Cody and I were going to do some work in the arena tonight. I groomed him in the crossties, he stood fairly okay but got a little antsy. I'm not quite sure why they react so differently in the crossties than they do tied in the barn at Pinto Creek.

I decided to try Cody in the bit and bridle again since he was a little stubborn the last time we rode and there was another horse to look at. I just do not like the bit/bridle combo that I am using, it doesn't seem like it fits. I have to undo the curb strap to even get it on him and even then it doesn't seem right. We went around several times but he was just fighting it the whole way, mouth open and only concerned with the bit. Another boarder had come in and was getting ready to ride so I decided to take the bridle off and put his rope halter on instead. He wasn't going to listen to the bit since it was annoying him so much so I thought it'd be better to have his attention first and then deal with any other issues.

The other boarder and horse was a good lesson for Cody. He really wanted to run up and meet this paint mare but he was pretty decent at minding the fact that I didn't want him to do that. He had a few hissy fits but nothing major and even with just the rope halter I was able to keep him in control. We did some trotting and he's actually really responsive to the "easy" command. The longevity of the cues isn't there yet, he'll slow up when I ask or walk but only for a few steps if he's got his mind on other things. It was a big reminder that if I can get out there and ride him more often he will really shape up. As soon as we can get past some of the confidence issues and paying attention then we can start working on bending and moving a little better.

He seemed a little off which I think is a stiff shoulder, at least I hope it's not his feet again. The other boarder let her mare and Cody meet. Surprisingly there was a bit of squealing, she thought her mare started it and then Cody was annoyed that the pretty mare wasn't smitten with him. We were standing there talking and the mare would just barely put her ears back and Cody would slowly back up. I guess he's just a pushover when it comes to women.

When all was said and done Cody was a little sweaty, it was 40F and probably even warmer in the arena (really nice for me). But it was still sunny and warm out so I wasn't too concerned, he wasn't even steaming it was that warm out. I gave him a banana as a treat, he grabbed it at first and then most of it fell onto the ground. I think he was a little shocked. When I brought him to the pasture I tried to give Axel the banana as well, he tasted it but didn't seem too interested. Since Axel tasted it then Cody wanted more, then Axel wanted more. In the end Axel ate about half the banana and Danny ended up with a bite as well.

A Much Quieter Day

Yesterday I went back out to the barn hoping for a quieter day than the previous and my wish was granted. Cody and Danny were standing at the very back fence looking over at the airport as if waiting for an incoming airplane. Axel was hanging in the sun by the corn crib and made a run for it when he saw me coming (I guess he wasn't impressed by Saturday's events).

I brought Axel in and crosstied him while he ate 1g of bute and some snacks. he only lasts a few minutes in the crossties before he starts flinging his head and getting impatient, it's very obnoxious. I tied him in the arena on the wall so I could groom and give him time for the bute to kick in. He wasn't willing to stand still from the moment I clipped the lead rope. I'm not sure where this new found hatred for being tied up is from. He's never had a problem before so I'm hoping it's just a phase from moving to a new barn.

I lunged him for a few minutes with the lunge line trot and canter. He won't quite walk, if I get him down to something that would come close to a walk he just stops instead. But he picked up both leads at the canter and didn't throw a hissy fit on the lunge so that was good. Even after lunging he still hated being tied, he's taken to bucking while tied up. After I fought through tacking and mounting we were finally on our way.

We did quite a bit of trotting that went well. He was moving out and willing to go with very little encouragement. He's still a bit off when I post to the left since that puts me sitting on that back left foot which is his sore foot. Ironically he should be balking at the right lead canter because of that same reason but it's the left lead he hates. We picked up only one little canter to the left but it was too short lived to tell if it was the correct lead or not. My camera was having some issues so that didn't get on video either. We'll have to try again next time. We didn't ride for too long since he was getting damp. Luckily he's still a fan of rolling when I untack him and it was sunny outside so I didn't have to dink around waiting for him to dry under a blanket. I can't wait until he sheds out and it's warmer.

So overall a much better day than Saturday but the impatience while tied is annoying and if that doesn't get better Axel will have a date with the hitching post this spring.

Elise and Axel Make a Movie Part 2 from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

What a Day

Well it was quite a day at the barn. If you're a horse person you know how to *not* make plans because they will never work out in the end. If this narrative seems a little random and all over the place, that's just kind of how the day went anyway.

I brought Axel into the barn and put him in a stall with a bucket of some treats, feed, an apple, and some bute. I wanted to see if some bute would make him move a little better and be less cranky about life when I rode. Since I wanted the bute to kick in I thought he could stay in the stall and get used to it for a while and I'd go get Cody. Danny wasn't in the pasture as he was at a parade so it was a good time to get both the boys in the barn at once since leaving Cody alone wouldn't make him very happy. Axel was doing pretty well in the stall, ate his little snack, and knickered loudly as Cody and I came in. Cody was mildly on edge but was doing pretty well. I groomed him in the crossties and took him into the arena to do a little ground work and decide what to do next.

Axel stayed pretty quiet while I worked Cody. That was the end of the calmness. The new boarder arrived and all hell broke loose. I tied Cody in the barn while I chatted with the new people. It was a good lesson for him to stand there. He screamed a bit, I suppose he knew there was another horse in the barn and he wanted to see what the deal was. Axel was doing pretty well with all the commotion, lots of things to look at. The longer we stood there the more he started pawing in the stall. I threw a saddle on Cody and rode around a little and he did pretty well. When the new boarder brought in her very very pretty Arab mare Cody wasn't so interested in anything I had to say. I tied him back up and untacked. I figured he'd be alright in the arena watching the new girl. He ended up working up a pretty good sweat so I put the cooler on him. I decided to swap Cody and Axel and maybe ride Axel. I tied Cody in the stall so he wouldn't lay down in the blanket.

Axel had worked himself into a sweaty mess at this point and rolled several times in the arena while I walked him around. Between bucking in the stall, bucking while tied up to the arena wall, and acting quite worked up about the whole deal I decided riding wasn't in our future for the day. I did get out the real lunge line and lunged him a bit. It was more like Axel just speeding around like a demon and not so much lunging. But he cantered in both directions on the correct leads. As idiotic as he got on the lunge line he's always willing to halt (and walk towards me which I don't like). So now I had two sweaty horses, Axel took care of himself pretty well by rolling but Cody just got sweatier by worrying in the stall. There wasn't much I could do at that point so I turned them both out. Axel just rolled in the snow. It was sunny so I figured they would just find a warm spot and dry off.

No videos from today, just too much going on. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. The new boarders mare is absolutely a dream. Through this whole ordeal she was quiet, well mannered, and just plain nice. They were riding her and she was never out of control or interested in other things, she just plugged along like a good little horse. So jealous!

2 Rides in 1 Day

Made it back out to the barn today with a lot more time on my hands so my intention was to at least ride Axel. It was a lot colder out than they originally predicted for Sunday but Axel was warm standing in the sun. The advantages of being a black horse, I guess.

1. Relax in barn/arena - he managed to stand in the crossties fairly patiently. For some reason as soon as he tries once to move and gets stopped by the lead he gets pissed off and keeps trying and flinging his head around only causing more pulling by the ropes. I haven't quite figured out what he thinks he's going to accomplish but I'm trying to time un-clipping him for when he's standing quiet. He had a couple starts from the snow sliding off the roof but no run-offs.
   
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Move out - we worked a bit on moving out at the walk and for once he didn't take those cues to mean trot, so I think that was a success.
   
6. Use haunches - we made our first attempts to work on the turn on the forehand. I can't tell if he's using his back legs properly so I'm looking forward to getting my new video camera. But at least it was a start trying to get him to understand that I was asking for a turn in place. We worked on bending and serpentines as well, I figured if he can move off my leg and seat in that respect it'll only help our other work.
   
7. Canter both leads

I still mean to stand out near the pasture and work with Cody but the wind was like ice despite the sun so I wimped out and brought him into the barn hoping that he wouldn't be as worked up as he was last time.

1. Relax in barn/arena - he stood in the crossties fairly calmly. After I picked out his feet he must have stepped on a piece of the snow and slipped because he was parked out and afraid to move at that point.
   
2. Relax in stall - when we were done working I brought him into a stall and gave him an apple. He was a little preoccupied with the smells in the stall but didn't seem scared about it.
   
3. Pay attention to handler - we did our usual lunging and backing and a little bit of standing still and paying attention. He wasn't vibrating like he had in the past but he's still not paying me total attention. The snow was sliding off the roof making some loud noises which startled him a few times but he handled it well.
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - he's starting out a walk now which is nice, he used to go right to the trot even when I asked for a walk. He wasn't too happy to canter and threw a minor fit about it but came back down to earth after one lap.
   
5. Gain confidence with rider - we worked with just the rope halter and lead and a saddle. He was very interested in the gate and kept trying to head in that direction. He's fairly responsive to leg cues and my inexperienced neck reining. I wanted him to halt facing the opposite wall of the gate and he wanted to turn around so we played that game for quite a while. When I finally got a decent halt I dismounted. There was some more attempts to turn around as I was un-tacking in that same spot so I put the saddle back on and moved him around until he stopped facing away from the gate and finally removed the saddle then.
   
6. Load and unload

Try Try Again and Probably Again

I might have to rewrite my goals for these horses. Sheesh nothing like thinking you know your horses only to have them act completely different. I started with Axel again today and we went right into the arena to work on standing still. I started by grooming him in the arena tied to the wall because he was a mess, he must have rolled in something after getting sweaty last night. He might have been an ounce better than the day before but he was still pretty obnoxious. After working a lot on standing and not moving I let him have a break and run around (maybe that was a mistake). I figured if anything he's getting exercise and he was doing quite a bit of cantering in both leads (always the correct one to boot). So after some running around we worked just a bit more on standing and then he was ready to go back out. I had the wool blanket on him for a bit but he wasn't as sweaty as the night before and the sun was out so he was good to go.

Cody seems to be settling in as far as letting me take Axel away and not having a heart attack over it. I crosstied him and groomed him. He's starting with the pawing again so I snapped him with the buckle a few times while he was doing it to let him know I didn't approve. We worked a bit in the arena with some circling and then some standing still. He seemed pretty responsive so I grabbed the saddle to go for a ride and see what he thought. He too didn't want to stand to be tacked up but he was better than Axel. And the mounting process took a lot less time than with Axel but still something to work on. He was a little fast but he was pretty good about walking when I asked. He really wanted to stop at the gate but was willing to listen to my leg after he knew I wasn't giving in. He got pretty sweaty fast so we only rode around for a while. After riding I went through two blankets to try and cool him out. We spent quite a bit of time in the arena waiting. Someone that is moving her horse here at the end of the month came in so I chatted with her for a while while Cody was impatient to go out. He wasn't drying but he was cool so I let him back out in the sun.

I plan to work more on the attention issue but I thought first I should work on whoa and stand commands so they at least know what I'm trying to get at. Every time one would move a foot, he'd get put back in his spot and told to stand. No one perfected that yet so we'll keep working. So maybe it's back at it tomorrow. I'd like to ride but if Axel won't stand still he's gotta work on that. What little I did ride yesterday and today has made my inner thighs sore, so I guess it's been a while.

Frustration

Wow was tonight a frustrating evening. It was nice out, I left work early, and I was going to take my calm, slow, plod-along horse, Axel, and ride in the arena. Led him into the barn and he was calm and willing. Crosstied him to groom and I think that's where things went down hill. After standing in the crossties for a while he started jerking his head around, getting really mad at the ropes. He would paw at the cement ground and just fling his head all the while putting pressure on himself since he had the rope halter on.

I tacked him up and took him into the arena to put on his bridle. I was going to tie him to the tie ring in there but he was kicking at the wall and trying to walk away and just not standing still. I let him do a couple circles in the arena on his own and then I attempted the bridle again. He took the bit but kept flinging his head not letting me buckle everything up. Standing still was not happening. Finally got him ready to go and lead him over to my make shift mounting block. The mounting process took probably 20 minutes. He would not stand still. Head flinging, gnawing on the bit, and being generally rude. We haven't really worked on ground manners too much because he's never really had any issues with it but it was evident now that he had zero concern for manners.

I finally was able to get on in a split second that he stood still. He wasn't nearly as awful under saddle, or I was able to handle it better. He had quite the walk, which is not something he ever has. He threw a few minor attempts at a buck or whatever. We worked on some figure eights and serpentines, I thought that would get him listening. He spent the whole time fighting with the bit. His body was cooperating but his head was not in the game in the least bit. When I finally got a good halt with no yanking at the reins I dismounted. My intention was to lunge him and somehow try and win the battle he started but there wasn't a lunge line around. I chased him a few times at liberty and he bolted around like an idiot.

He was pretty sweaty by the end of all this. Mostly I think he was sweaty from working himself up, not from anything physical that we did. I put the cooler on him and walked him around the arena for quite a while. He cooled off but was still wet. I thought he might roll so I took the cooler off but he just took off running again, so it was back on with the cooler and more walking. I finally decided to take the cooler off and put him in a stall to dry.

I grabbed Cody to bring him in and groom and give me something to do while Axel dried. He hadn't even been calling as far as I could tell. He was standing back from the gate and just hanging out. Cody was really good in the crossties. Concerned about what was going on around him, he still kept trying to turn around but he was just trying to see. The barn owner's brought in Amigo, so the two were facing each other in two sets of cross ties. Cody got pretty tall looking at the new horse but they both stood there and didn't squeal or anything. I turned him back out and went back to deal with Axel.

Still a wet mess and steaming I put the cooler back on yet again and tried to tie him again so I could try and scrub him dry. I scrubbed for a while but I think at this point the fleece was wet. He wasn't going to stand there any longer and I was tired of getting head butted. He was so angry, flinging his head around, he smacked his head into the part of the stall that sticks out for latching. I finally just took him outside and walked him for a while, he wasn't steaming any more but still wet. He wasn't going to dry if he had to stay inside and get himself worked up so I just took him back to the pasture. It was still 37F out so there wasn't much more I could do. I checked on him before I left and he wasn't shivering at all and dinner would be served sooner than later.

Ug. So frustrating dealing with rude ground manners. I'll go back and try again in the morning. I'll bring more blankets this time. This video is from Wednesday, just playing around with different websites to upload these to.

Axel running around a bit from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

Getting Closer

Cody: brought him in the barn and actually backed him through the tack room. I was able to cross tie him finally. He was concerned that something was going on outside the far barn door so he would have stood a lot better had he been facing that way but overall it went well. Turned him out in the arena for a few minutes, he mostly just hung out at the gate. Worked at liberty for a few minutes and then on the lead. He was a lot more attentive but we still need some big lessons in attention. I almost got on bareback but since he doesn't stand by the fence while I climb up it just wasn't happening.

Axel: he called a few times while I was in the barn with Cody but he wasn't too horrible. I put him in the stall while I shut the doors. He figured out the little hole for his head in the door right away. I groomed him a little in the stall and he had a piece of apple. I turned him out in the arena and he ran around for quite a while. He hangs out by the gate a lot so I figured I'd give him an apple when we were in the middle of the arena. Before he got to the middle he spontaneously did some spectacular moves I've never seen him do before (check out the low quality video). We did some real simple work on the lead line before I brought him back outside. Cody had been calling quite a bit and I think that's what send him running most of the times. I think we'll definitely be ready to ride on Friday and this weekend assuming I can actually get on the horses with no mounting block.

Still Trying

Okay so didn't I say these would be shorter? I'll do my best.

Cody and Axel's pasture mate, Danny, was in the barn with the vet and then working in the arena. Both boys were standing at the far end of the pasture while their pasture neighbor, Vinny, was freaking out because no one was near the fence to visit with him. Word has it that in a matter of a single day both Cody and Axel have climbed the ladder and Danny is now the bottom of the herd (previously Danny was boss man).

Axel: brought him into the barn and he was calm enough that I cross tied him and was able to groom him finally. We had a snack and visited the stall for a moment. Then we joined Danny in the arena for a little while. Did some walking around, walked over and backed off of the practice bridge, and just kind of hung out. Axel was calmer than the previous day but still had some spunk in him. He likes to headbutt when he doesn't get his way.

Cody: expecting Cody to be a sweaty mess after being in the pasture alone, I was ready with the cooler but when I brought Axel back he was just standing at the gate. He had called a few times but apparently didn't pace at all. He was looking for us over the vehicles and looked a bit like a giraffe. He and I went in the barn, visited the stall, and then into the arena, he wasn't quite calm enough for the cross ties. He was a bit distracted in the arena and wasn't completely with me but he wasn't calling out so it's progress.

I think by Friday I should be able to ride Axel, we'll see how he does tomorrow as far as being calm in the barn (if there's no one else there that is, not sure if that affected his calmness or not tonight).

Impatient

Ran out to the barn later than I had planned. But I was greeted by both Cody and Axel at the gate. They actually called out when one of the barn owners drove up. Guess it doesn't take long to learn who carries the feed buckets, eh? I had a heck of a time getting Cody out of the pasture, Axel kept wanting to sneak out. He was nearly charging for the gate. I walked Cody up to the barn, through the tack room, and into the barn aisle. He was actually fairly calm about it, still takes a little coaxing to get him through the tack room but his reaction is similar to his trailer loading issues. So getting him comfortable with the tack room will only help the trailer loading, right?

I tied him for a minute in the aisle, I didn't cross tie him yet as I had a rope halter on him and we haven't worked on the cross ties yet. He was calmer than the day prior but still a little agitated. I turned him out in the arena where he trotted around a bit. No calling or anything. I lunged him a few times, he was a little more defiant than Sunday but still pretty good, he was willing to walk today. When I was done with that I walked him into a stall and tried to give him a treat but he was more concerned with sniffing everything.

After shooing Axel out of the way to get Cody back in the pasture I grabbed Axel and went back to the barn. Cody started calling a bit but I couldn't hear any running. Axel even needed some coaxing to go into the tack room. I guess even he needs some time to adjust. He was quite a bit more worked up that Cody for once. I put him in the arena right away and he trotted around for a while, then he cantered around (both leads weee), then he galloped around a bit. After that he wandered around snorting at everything. He wasn't going to stand still for grooming so I lunged him around just a few times (he's not very good at it yet).

Both horses have lost a bit of their ground manners when they are worked up about whatever it is they are worked up about. There was minor improvements so we'll keep working on it by just going into the barn and not doing anything terribly difficult. I, for one, am getting impatient, I want to ride and and have a good time! Hehe. Or at the very least work with a horse for more than 2 minutes at a time.