Fall Trail Ride in November

I finally made it out for a fall trail ride now that November is acting like October. I missed the few nice weekends in October when the barn went riding so I was very happy to make it out to what could be the last nice ride of the year. We actually rushed out of church on Sunday after spending Saturday farming and high tailed it back to the cities. Jeff wanted to bring the brown pickup back so he could get the trailer back to the farm on the next trip so I twisted his arm into letting me use the truck and pull the trailer for the trail ride. Otherwise we were one slot short. So against Jeff's better judgement he hooked up the trailer for me and sent me on my way.

Cody loaded well, just a few little stops, and we still have to kind of poke and push him into moving in the stall enough to shut the gate. Stitch and Diva got in no problems and we were on our way. The haul there went well and everyone unloaded. Cody wasn't even sweaty when we got there. I had put his boots on before we left which worked out well so all I had to do was saddle him up. I put some chlorhexidine on his spine and rubbed that in before saddling. Since the rain rot bacteria is anaerobic I figured it would be very happy to grow under a saddle. Hopefully it didn't with the anti-bacterial on there. I forgot the breast collar of course so I was riding Cody's tail by the end of the ride as usual.

Cody was slow as usual at first, having to trot to catch up. It didn't take long before he was a sweaty mess with the warm temps, full winter coat, and trotting. He did seem less concerned about his feet so that was good. He didn't really want to walk next to Vinnie, he seemed to want to be up with either Danny or Stitch if he wasn't lagging behind. We passed a ton of other horses and Cody behaved pretty well when they passed. Mostly I think he wanted to turn around and follow them back to the trailer. A couple times I thought we'd canter but he'd just speed trot. We did get one tiny canter/gallop in a clear spot when Stitch and Diva were cantering. I'd love to get a nicer calm canter on Cody like Diva's someday.

On the way back Cody was a lot more concerned with staying up with the group. The others had slowed down so it wasn't quite as much work to keep up but we had to trot a bit still. Cody was very happy when we got back to the trailer and everyone stopped. He was pleased to stand there and watch what was going on.

Everyone loaded back in the trailer well. A few less pokes that time to get Cody in his stall. And then we were off down the road. About a block from the intersection in Rosemont we found ourselves on the side of the road with a major blown out truck tire. I had noticed it looked low at the trail but didn't think much of it and there wasn't much we could have done about it at that point. We hadn't even passed a gas station when we had to pull over. We heard a loud crunching noise and I assumed it was the brakes. Then it dawned on me that it was the wheel. So stuck on the side of Hwy 3 with a trailer full of horses and no truck spare (we hadn't gotten that far in our repair/set up of the horse hauling rig). We made some calls and couldn't find anyone with a spare so J&J drove out with their truck to get the horses and trailer. Jeff came out from work to assess the situation and pull the truck off to an empty parking lot.

We zipped back to the barn and unloaded everyone and everything. Cody did his new usual slooooooow unload and was happy to be back in his pasture with Axel who was chasing Vinnie around.

We Can Ride Trail Ride

Despite the gorgeous weather the turn out for the WCR trail ride was dismal. But those of us that did make it made the best of it. Steph and I and Jeff went to the barn early to pack up the trailer and get the horses ready to go. A was going to meet us and follow us over. I successfully backed the truck up to the trailer and then pulled the trailer out of it's parking spot so we could load. Axel got in first as usual with no issues. Cody got in with only a minor amount of reassuring and *NO* backing out. We then had to help Vinnie load in A's trailer so the boys stood in the trailer waiting and they were exceptionally patient. I was just surprised Cody got in so willingly and that Axel didn't put up a fuss while standing there waiting.

When everyone was loaded up and ready to go we pulled out and hit the road, me driving! Only one issue that could have been a big deal, stopped at a light I probably should have just ran, on the way. We missed a turn and got a little lost but it only took a trip around the block to get corrected. And parking at the park was pretty easy since we were fairly early. It was warm out so the boys were pretty sweaty when they unloaded, then they stood in the sun eating hay while we situated the trail ride. So by the time everything was set I had two sweaty messes. We tried to put them in the shade and cool them off before they got their massages but they were still pretty nasty and the poor massage gal had some really dirty hands after my boys. Cody was kind of fussy between wanting to keep an eye on everything around him and the flies I'm not sure he took time to enjoy his massage. Axel had some issues with the flies as well and he had the hiccups. Seriously, hiccups. So weird. But since he's an itchy horse this year he did show us which spots he was happy to have massaged by curling his lip and making everyone laugh.

When it was evident no one else was going to show up, A, Steph, another gal, and I set out to the wooded portion of the trail to avoid the heat. It was pretty rocky and just about all of the horses in our group were unhappy about that. Even Cody with his boots on wanted to wander into the woods instead of staying on the trail. We made a stop in the lake for a sip of water. Cody stayed on shore, it was so muddy I was afraid he'd loose a boot. Axel tried to go for a swim and ended up covered in mud. We decided to stop back at the picnic area and take a break before heading out on one more loop of the trail. The horses appreciated the break and a sip of water and more fly spray while we packed up some of our stuff so we were ready at the end of the day.

A ended up bringing in the second most money so she picked out the western saddle and Steph as usual brought in the most money and was taking home the english saddle. When everyone was set to go we went out on the dog/horse trail that goes around one of the lakes. We had been on that trail the first time we visited Murphy. So now there's just one loop or so that we haven't seen. By the end of the day the horses were tired as well as the people. My hips were killing me, my stirrups were too long but since we were taking it easy I didn't bother fixing them. I think it's what made my hips hurt though. So up a couple holes on that saddle next time.

After we untacked and everyone had their share of water we dumped a few buckets on them to wash off some of the sweat and mud. Everyone loaded like an expert and they were starting to figure out how they need to squish a little for us to close the dividers in the trailer. It was a fairly uneventful drive home in the trailer and everyone survived. Cody unloaded so carefully and quietly he got extra praise as I was so impressed. Sadly I think it's because he's afraid now, but a quiet unloading horse is a quiet unloading horse.

Cows!

We got the trailer all packed up and ready to go, groomed the horses, hand grazed them for a while, chatted with J about where to park the trailer when we returned, and off we went. Axel got in like a champ but he was pretty squished in his slant. Cody took a small amount of coaxing but not bad at all, he's at about 2-3 tries now, which sure beats hours. Cody was also a bit squished in his slant so we're back to the drawing board on how to modify the trailer so they fit better.

Axel was pretty worked up when he got off the trailer (turned around and walked out just to make life easier), and he was worked up in the arena while Jeff tried to adjust the saddle and/or mount. So while we were supposed to be warming up and visiting cows over the fence, I suggested that I warm Axel up for Jeff. Cody was feeling calm and collected so he pretty much stood there while Axel kind of bounced around the arena. At that point I thought it was best that I just stick with Axel and Jeff stay with Cody. Axel doesn't quite have my number as much as he has Jeff's and I didn't think it'd be fun for Jeff if Axel was a pill the whole time.

Since Cody and Axel didn't seem fazed by the cows at all when we split up in two groups we started with the cows. Both horses could really care less about the cows. If we got close enough without moving the cows Axel would stand there nose to nose with a cow. If the cows didn't move he wasn't too excited to walk right into the middle of the group. And if the cows ran behind him he'd kick at them and pin his ears. But other than that he seemed pretty interested and locked on a few times. Cody did pretty well, he was feeling a little slow but he followed the cows without an issue. Jeff said he thought he locked on a few times as well.

When we swapped groups Jeff and I worked in the arena and they taught us a few things. We worked on getting a whoa as well as some rollbacks to get the horse on the haunches. Nothing ground breaking but it was good for Jeff to have a little instruction on some basic riding skills. Axel threw out a couple bucks to show his disapproval of having to work, or something. The trainer asked if she could try Axel for a bit, so I thought it was only fair to share the pain. I sat on her horse but didn't really end up riding because I was busy watching her work Axel. Mostly she was trying to get him to give his head and back up when asked. After a lot of fighting she got him working pretty good and also doing some right turns which I guess he was being ornry about. Surprisingly later when I was back on him and asked for a backup he did really well. At the end of the night we split up groups again and did some kind of team penning work which was a good time. Axel managed to kick a cow but I don't think he got her too hard, naughty horse.

Overall it went well and it was a good time. I think the horses enjoyed themselves and were happy for something different. Danny got a little less afraid of cows but I don't think he's going to run out and work on a ranch any time soon. Things only went south when we got back to the barn. We had put Cody in the last stall and he stepped out of the trailer before he was untied. He freaked out and smashed his head into mine and in turn into the wall of the trailer. He must have stepped on me as well, I've got a huge bruise on the back of my left leg and my right foot is swollen a bit, thank goodness for the steel toed boots. Despite his freak out, we calmed him down and stepped him out of the trailer. When he had his back feet out we stood there calm and I petted him for a while before getting all the way out. So we'll see how he does next time, but he won't be in that last stall that's for sure. But I was surprised how he calmed down pretty easily. He's really mellowed out lately.

So that was our little cow adventure.

Trailer Repair by Gray Kitty

Bridles and Trailers

Friday I ran out to the barn before leaving town to try Cody's new headstall on. And his new saddle blanket. I also had to grab some stuff for Amanda's birthday. I groomed Cody quickly and put on his new tack so I could take a photo. He looks pretty snazzy in all the new gear even though orange on a chestnut horse is probably not kosher.

Then this weekend we spent starting to fix up the trailer. I bought all new lights, most of which were sealed LEDs and Jeff worked to replace those. So now all the lights work - always a pain in the butt with trailers. We also torched off the old broken jack and took apart the bent axle and broken leaf spring. Hopefully if all the new parts arrive this week we'll get it all put back together next weekend and get it on the road.

While they're working on the hard stuff I'll probably try and scrub the ceiling tiles in the dressing room, they're kind of gross. And I'll try and fix the screens in the windows, they got pushed out and let in bugs. I've gotta pick up at least some trailer ties before the trail ride. After that my list of supplies gets pretty long. But none of it is necessity unless we're camping.

Training Ride

We're just going to call this one a "training" ride. I zipped on over to the barn where B and A were waiting to go on a trail ride. I decided it was Axel's turn and he hopped into the last spot in the slant load trailer. Last spot = not as far to back out + we've been working on backing off the bridge and out the barn door = easy unloading. WRONG. He refused to get out. The problem appears to be that with the corner tack room in a slant load, he can't see where he's going. He turns his head to the left and presses his body up against the opposite wall. He can't turn around and in that position if he started to back up he'd hit that opposite wall. He won't turn his head straight and move his butt to the left and back out. After a lot of swearing and pushing and pulling and tapping and hitting and just about everything we could think of, he finally pretty much fell out of the trailer. We had unbalanced him enough by pulling on his tail a bit that he stepped back and sideways and we kept him moving with the momentum and he was finally out. New lesson: backing up with blinders on.

So after we got him out of the trailer we went on our happy way. Nothing like having to hitch a ride in the first place only to have your horse do something as stupid as not wanting to get out of the trailer. When we got to the little pond/lake thing B decided Diva should go in the water. She hates water and we were ready for a bit of a battle. Axel and Danny jumped right in, and out, and in, and out ad nauseum. Diva did not want to get in. After a lot of fighting (similar to the trailer unloading event) she finally got some feet in the water. She was still not terribly happy about the situation but she stood there, walked around a bit, and didn't completely loose her mind. So we called it a success and headed back to the trailers. All in all it was a short ride but after two big battles we were spent.

Instead of the fight we put Danny in the slant load with Diva and Axel spent the ride home in the stock trailer by himself crying the whole way. Since I'm a glutton for punishment I chose to back him out of the stock trailer. Which he did. Perfectly. So I think that just reinforces the reason he won't get out of the slant is because he can't see.

First Trail Ride of the Season

I'm pretty sure Cody knew something was up after I groomed him and let him stand in the crossties with Amigo in a stall while the barn owner and I loaded saddles into the trailer. Luckily he loaded after about three attempts of "front feet in, fly backwards." He didn't know what to do with his head to make himself fit in the slant load though, so there was a lot of pushing to get the divider shut. Amigo jumped right in and Diva likewise and we were off to Lebanon Hills. Another notch in my belt for Minnesota Horse Trails.

Cody got out of the trailer a sweaty mess, partly because it was pretty warm and partly because he was a nervous basket case. He aimed himself towards "home" despite being 10 miles away and was actually fairly reluctant to follow the other horses down the trail at first. But I'll admit this is our first away from home trail ride that he walked, willingly, most of the time. The only time he trotted was when he'd fall behind and want to catch up. He wouldn't even canter more than a few strides when we all decided to have a go. He stuck next to Danny who was gaiting, and he trotted his heart out to keep up. We didn't go in the water since I wasn't sure how it would work with his hoof boots on so we just watched Danny wade and Diva do her best *not* to get wet. By the end we did almost all of the 9+ miles available and probably more since I there was a little backtracking on some of the trails. Cody was getting pretty tired by the end and my hips were killing me, though I think we were only out for maybe 2-3 hours. Cody jumped right in the trailer to go home, this time we put him in second and he fit a bit better. He got hosed off a bit when we got home and then found himself a couple nice spots to roll in the pasture. Hopefully we didn't undo any of the chiropractic work from Friday and hopefully I'll be able to catch him next time I ride (going to try and alternate days for each horse now instead of riding both every day).



Unfortunately I didn't think to take any photos of my awesome summer riding pants, pink plaid, and you can't really see them in this photo that one of the other boarders took. Oh well, next time. You can see Cody's cute boots and the fact I'm riding on a long rein, I did my best to just stay out of his way and let him be happy.

A New Chapter

Yesterday afternoon was the first page in a new chapter for Cody and Axel. Jeff and I met Stephanie out at the barn. She had just got done showing Kalani to a potential buyer (Kalani decided to do everything opposite from what Steph told the buyer, so we don't think he's sold just yet). Patti et al was packing up some trailers to start moving to their new farm. And Tricia was on her way with her trailer. It was a packed house. We carried the remaining odds and ends to the truck. Patti and her crew were ready to pull out just as Tricia arrived with the trailer. We were pretty happy to not have an audience for loading.

Since Cody doesn't always load very quickly the last thing we need is "help." When everything was in the truck and all that was left was horses, Steph grabbed Cody and I grabbed Axel and we walked down the yard to the sounds of Kalani and other horses calling. Cody only balked at the trailer a few times before he got on. Even the times that he balked were minimal, just backing up, none of his usual flinging his head up in the air and flying backwards. Axel jumped right on as usual. I rode with Jeff in his truck and we led the way, Steph jumped in with Tricia and the trailer.

When we got to the new barn, Steph unloaded Cody, who unloaded easier than he loaded. No flying backwards, just calm walking out even while Axel and the other horses called out. I unloaded Axel by turning him around, I didn't feel like fighting at this point. Axel was a little warm and Cody was a sweaty mess from the ride, at least they didn't freeze. Luckily it was 44F and sunny, couldn't ask for better weather in January.

We didn't waste time wandering around, we put Cody and Axel in an empty paddock between two pastures each with two other horses. The north pasture had a little colored Arab (I think, sure moved like an Arab) that kept running back and forth looking very pretty. That horse's pasture mate was in the arena riding around with her owner. The south pasture had two geldings, a Grulla named Vinny and a black TWH named Danny. The boys started by meeting the geldings, it was pretty calm but they kept getting too close to the fence and getting zapped. When they went to meet the Arab they got smarter and sniffed from under the fence. They went back and forth several times, everything was pretty calm with the Arab but Axel was squealing and kicking at the geldings. I'm not sure if it was because they were geldings or because the fence kept zapping but Axel wasn't terribly happy with the other boys. I just hope he doesn't get caught up in the fence and take it down or anything.

We watched them run around for a little while, put out some hay to keep them busy and then took a little tour of the barn. Another boarder was riding in the arena, it was nice to see she was riding english so I won't be the odd man out. I think the boarders are pretty varied in disciplines so that's nice. The footing in the arena is nice, it's sand and rubber and it doesn't freeze. They've got a radio in there as well. They showed me which stalls weren't getting used so I could put the boys in a stall when I need or to get them used to it. I could have hung out all day watching the boys goof around or whatever but we were getting hungry and Tricia probably needed to get the trailer back sooner than later. We parked the trailer at our house, piled into Jeff's truck, and got some lunch at Gossips.

I'm doing my best to refrain from going out there at the crack of dawn. I think I'll head out around noon. The barn owners have to go pick up another horse and will be gone for a while, I kind of just want to hang out and check things out on my own for a bit. Another boarder that I've been talking to online might swing out as well, I have to give her a call a bit later. I'm hoping to bring them both in the arena and a stall too see what they think. Whether or not I can do this one horse at a time will remain to be seen. Once they settle in they'll be with Danny and Vinny so taking one horse away won't be too much of an issue. Right now it might be quite the event. Stay tuned!

Mud Everywhere!

Where to even start? As usual we did our best to meet at the barn and get everything loaded up on time if not early and I think we actually succeeded this time. However it was raining and so we probably stood around a bit longer hoping it would stop. When it didn't really, we hooked up the trailer and loaded horses and were on the road about 10 minutes after we planned to actually be at the park. For this trip we went with Cody and Axel in the front and Kiko and Kalani in the back. Cody got in with a little help from the tapping stick, no big deal. Axel is always a champ and jumps right in. Kiko and Kalani had a bit of trouble but nothing major. I just managed to get stepped on by Kalani as he decided to exit prematurely. Ended up with a bruise on my thigh that you can't actually see.

At some point the rain let up, the horses were tied to the trailer at the park happily munching away at some hay. We were all getting our paperwork turned in and having some lunch when it started raining for real. And it rained and rained and didn't show any signs of letting up. Though once we finally gave in and went to tack horses it did let up for a while. We managed to make most of the ride either under the trees out of the rain or with just minor sprinkling. We didn't, however, miss out on any of the mud. At one point we came to a spot in the trail that was mud all the way across. A really wide part of the trail too. Anne and Cinder tried to make a new trail through the trees but ended up in some low area and Cinder went up to his chest in mud, Anne bailed and they both decided that was not the place to cross. We finally managed to get everyone across the mud on the opposite side. The trip back Kiko decided to jump over the mud which was an interesting feat to say the least.

Overall the ride went well. Cody managed to walk most of the trail with only a few minor bouts of needing to trot in place, and it was the first time Andrea rode him in the rope hack and the first time he was ridden in the rope hack with all sorts of unknown horses around. Axel found his soul mate when it comes to trail rides, Alissa's horse Pacman is just Axel's speed. Darrel might have been pushing Axel a bit to walk up but I think if he was given a choice Axel would have hung back with Pacman all day. Kiko was her normal sane self and didn't even bat an eye when other mares joined our group. Kalani had a few issues just with the new horses and not knowing them and wanting to check everyone out. Other than that everyone survived (and there was not spastic cantering for me yipee). It would have been nice if the weather was better and perhaps more people would have made it out but we did raise over our targeted amount for We Can Ride so that was great! And we found a nice new leg of the trail. We usually head East on that trail so this time we opted for West. From that particular parking lot to the end of the trail to the West is about 3.5 miles. So it was a nice short little round trip (7 miles total). The East leg of the trail from the main parking/camping area to the highway is about 6.5 miles so that's a lot longer and, as we found out, a lot sandier. The West leg is wide grassy trail which is a nice change of pace. Had it not been raining there would have been a lot of nice spots for trotting or cantering.

So when all was said and done we packed all our stuff back up and decided to put Cody and Kalani in the front this time. We thought Kalani was just too long for the back of the trailer. Turns out Axel is also too long for the back of the trailer but he did fine and it was a short trip. Another discovery was that Cody is quite calm when asked to back out of the trailer "lead rope over his back" style. In fact he backed halfway through the trailer by himself and then stopped and looked around for a person to guide him the rest of the way out. Axel still insists on turning around to get out. That one might take a while to get figured out.

Finally a trail ride/Ouch

We finally made it down to the MN Valley trail near the barn. Nathan had fixed the trailer brakes so Tricia was able to use the trailer and bring Oly and Cinder (Dusty/Dirt had thrown a shoe). So she and Lexi came down and picked up Axel and the three of us went to the trail. Lexi and I hung out with the horses while Tricia took the trailer back to get Kalani and Cody. 4 horse trailer and 5 horses doesn't work out quite so good so we made 2 trips. Luckily the trail is only 5 miles from the barn.

From the sounds of it Cody loaded really well. It looked like he unloaded just about as good. Just a minor increase in speed right at the end of the trailer but nothing major. He started out on the trail pretty calm. Got worked up a little ways in but as soon as he was in front of the pack he was once again calm as could be.

Axel was moving out a little more than normal, still slow but he did his best. It wasn't until we started cantering where I ran into trouble. The first short canter Axel plunged his head down between his front legs. I was able to pull him up and push him forward but it wasn't the best ride ever. Later on in the ride everyone decided to do another canter, this time they just kept going a lot further than I was prepared to sit. Axel continued to canter with his head between his front legs and no amount of me yanking on one rein would get his head up and I wasn't in the best position to force him forward more. I did my best but it was not pretty and I am pretty sure he was disjointed on top of it all. The third time I said "no thanks" no cantering for us. So somehow in everyone else's mind cantering away from Axel and I was a good plan. Axel proceeded to have a fit. I tried to get him to just walk or trot behind them but that turned into our spastic head between the legs canter again. This time I could not pull him up at all. The reins on my dressage bridle are so short I only had one had on the reins and I was fighting with all my might to either pull him up or push him forward but I was not winning the battle. When Axel finally gave in I got off to wait. He proceeded to call to them and run around me in a circle freaking out. To say the least it was not fun.

The return trip Axel would even throw his head down in a small trot. Punishment for that was circling. I think I only had to circle two times before he stopped with the head deal. Then he decided that Oly and Cinder and even Kalani were evil beings and if they got within 10 feet or so behind him he'd try and kick at them. Cinder actually got Axel moving out quite a bit for most of the ride. When that finally wore off he was still pretty fiesty. We had some interesting "collected" trots and even popped over a log.

We'll just say I've had better rides. There are not many parts of my body that don't hurt today. We decided to load our three horses first this time so Cinder and Oly didn't have to load and unload. So Cody went first, he needed a minor amount of convincing but got in pretty effortlessly. Axel jumped right in as usual. And Kalani just needed a little coaxing as well. The unloading was a bit different. In all reality it didn't go that poorly it just sounded like it. When we pulled up Cody turned on the volume and the welcoming committee and he traded cries as loud as possible. When he finally shut up Axel decided he had enough of the trailer and started shifting his weight back and forth squishing Cody in the process. Andrea was able to back Cody partway until Axel squished her against the wall and stepped on her foot. Cody flung his head up in the air and hit it on the trailer roof. Believe it or not, he then proceeded to back calmly the rest of the way out of the trailer. Axel can't figure out the backing deal so he walked out forwards but calmly and in control.

I just hope Axel is a little better behaved for Steph's dad on the WCR Trail Ride Fund Raiser. He should be fine, Steph's dad usually just walks and he's a horseman so he should be able to put the fear of god in the horse if he misbehaves. We're still not sure what other horses we'll have. With Kalani and Kiko for sale and Andrea maybe riding Cody, who knows. She can maybe ride Papillon if needbe. Time will tell. I ordered mecate reins partly for the trail ride as I don't have any long western reins any more and eventually I'd like to try Cody in a bosal. I might start with just the rope halter and mecate reins and see how that goes before I buy a bosal.