She's backkk!

My Sissy and my Mare!

Since we have had monsoons in the weather department...  we really could not ride together this trip in town for my sister. We decided to go to my stable and do groundwork and my sissy would ride the mare, and tell me what she thought on her soundness.

 I had allowed her to get too "Goaty" with  long hair everywhere, so her other mother, trimmed her up for me.

For being in  (open stalls to 150 ft runs) for almost 2 weeks and having my ride last -5 days prior, and only arena turnouts. We have had record rains of 1-2 inches a day...and a TORNADO, yesterday, in Oregon!It just missed Oregon City, yet another town, less than 100 miles away, did NOT get missed. fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.

This day, mare was totally docile. Her whole herd was in the barn with her too, which made for a relaxed time.
She yields very well to my sister needing to look at her work on the bridle path.

I did ride *the arena last time out, which makes it the second time for me since we moved in.

***For those of you that may be wondering why I mention it and have moved to an arena...my mare dislikes the arena, and it is pain mostly she remembers and associates with it from a previous trainer(s). This trainer tied her into frame, used a very harsh bit, beat her when she misbehaved and used a saddle the left open wounds on her, and he'd then put plastic over them, and saddle up!

Almost 30 days in a row.

 So... When I ride the *arena, I must be sure nothing is painful.

 I have no saddle to comply with that(right now) so a bareback (and padded) saddle pad is used. I usually ride bitless, though I have her dental work done yearly and also checked from time to time , in between, by my Equine therapist. She loves the footing, it is soft and even. She has had massage, stretching and warm ups...

Today, my sister decided to try her out...as I do get nervous sometimes...though the last ride -5 days ago- was excellent. We did in hand, and then lunge, both directions for 6-7 minutes, Cavallettis...lots of obstacles to look at and manage around.

My sister is a traditional trainer, she likes the use of bits for the horse to accept light contact and partner with her. So  I used the rubber mouth, unjointed snaffle. Just a straight piece of rubber with the rings on the ends.

Part , if not all of my mare's  problem now is-"MENTAL PAIN".

This  is what we decided it really is with her and the arena, is her great fear of being trapped.

So having a soft bit and also a non-reactive rider is tantamount. Me, having all sorts of trainers in the various stables I've been in,  has given me all sorts of  actions/advise for dealing with my mare's eruptive behaviour.

 It all had failed...and I have tended to ride the vast outdoors instead. Though- an outdoor arena suits us fine too.

Today, the goal is soft and relaxed. Hoping to have the mare bend a little and stay supple and longer while doing walking/halt/walk transitions. She also wanted her to accept the outside rein.

(please accept my apologies for the terrible photography..low light and high action has me stumped!)

We lunged for a short time...just to warm the mare up, she tends to be very cold backed and stiff. Then my sis walked long reined into short and back again...over and over.

The mare remained calm

This is my mare's impression of a race horse...looking through the starting gate.

The mare was fairly receptive for the first rounds of walking, my sis  letting her head out and then gathering up the reins.

                                                                                         

Good mare, you be nice to my sister, and not kill her!

Then, as she instituted the outside rein as the guiding rein...the mare got agitated...that familiar "look of- don't hem me in" came across her face into body. My sis was leaving the inside rein open and sometimes leading her with it...but still...

She was about to do her thing that she does to me...and  I think my sis had the thought it was me, and her responding to me...till...

And UP they went!

 The mare surprised herself, I think. My sister sat back...till she had to reach around her neck, to remain on her. There was never any danger of my mare going over...though I think my sis thought so.

She came down again, my sister collected the reins and asked for a walk, as if nothing happened...and it was as if nothing happened!

Though as they continued on, my sis talked to me about this event, she said her heart was racing and knows now what I go through, in the arena!

My sis was being totally fair, following her mouth, sometimes resting her hands upon her withers and not asking for much. The mare reacts violently to connection to the bit and feeling trapped.

Even the hint sometimes, of connection to one side only. And sadly, bitless too.

She was good for the rest of the ride mostly. Here, she takes offence with my sister asking for a little bend and release

                       There you go Wa mare...just chill out!

A little horsey hug, a little more rubbing of the reins to supple and accustom the mare to a contact without pain. It looks like my sis is pulling, though she is massaging her hand, up and down the inside rein.

She "recovered quickly"..and that is what we are looking for!

You are such a sensitive girl Wa mare! And We love you so much- REALLY!

My sister then decided to attach ONE side rein only, and lunge her a short time. It is the OUTSIDE contact she wants the mare to accept.

This is where she really strutted her stuff, enough for my sister to say again...you're mare is sound and moving up nicely/evenly.

 I agreed!

                  She volunteered a nice canter several times

Though she did not watch where she was going, on occasion and  tripped once-that turned out to be hilarious ~ Out takes at end.

        

She fussed a little, but relaxed into her short small trot, and here her "trot up" trot. My sister did many transitions, requiring the mare to remain in contact and lower or she had to move on again...till finally...the session ended on a very good note!

You did so well Wa!

Out takes...that  made us laugh...she tripped once, then spooked herself another time as she rounded  to the middle and saw a barrel in her way.."oou where's that come from!"

Funny thing was, as my sis asked her to calm down, in  quiet tones, the mare did, very quickly and never jerked the lunge line..she remained in light and steady contact while she jumped around!

Though the mare was reactive, my sis did not give resistance and it lent to her recovering quickly.

My next ride, will be in the bitless and I will take all the same measures to engage her mind in groundwork before hand and also to remain calm, as my sis did.

 We shall see....I have all the time in the world and there can be as many "Details" as the day calls for...and someone will come and feed me...is what I tell her..as well as MUCH praise for any effort she offers!

A Christmas horse Tale~ the end ~ is the BEGINNING!

 ...From the last post, I had been catching up with my Green Grocer friend about JACK, the White Horse, that stole her heart....

As you all may have figured out, She has been reunited with her beloved white horse, but this is still the story of how she came to that point!

I made a date with Gwen to go see her beloved White Horse last week, and she began to tell me bits and pieces of how long it took to find him.  As I drove, I listened intently to the sorted story, and the country roads took us to the barn where Jack is now residing. 

It was a very cold and windy day, out in the country where Jack resides

Not wanting to interrupt much,  is why this story has been drawn out a bit.  I'm not really as naughty as you may think...I really could not  rush the details. I  did wish to start the story with what I had though, as long posts don't suit me.

As the story goes....
It happened so quickly, one day poor Gwen was faced with a situation. The woman that had allowed her to groom and care for Jack & had told her that," he was hers",  now,  had decided to trade Jack for two other horses!
Oh poor Gwen, she told me just yesterday, as I sat in the Grocer gathering this story...tearily....she was speachless and did not know what to do.
She somehow managed a deal with the new owner, that lived in Canby,  to come see him still...but then, within 2 months,  this new woman SOLD him!

                                        Neat artful things everywhere, in the gardens where Jack resides

Gwen was despirate to find him again. The woman sold him for $1,000.  and told Gwen the name only, of the fellow that bought him.

  As I stopped into the Grocer from time to time, I had known that she had looked and looked for him over the past year...driving to and fro, through the countryside, till one day, SHE FOUND HIM ! This was due to her online searching and narrowing it down to a city, and a certain amount of acreage.

I was in a boarding stable at the time, with both the mares Pantz and Washashe. I had wanted to take her to my stable, but feared the condemnation of the owners, who were extremely judgmental and critical.
We met one day, and I risked it, and took her to meet my mare. We only stayed a short while then jetted off, to go drive by her found horse.
 She then told me that the owner of him now, was not a nice man. I won't go into the details, but..he really wasn't a good bloke.
She had done some research on him and also had seen him, as she petted Jack once, from outside the fence line. The wife had shooed her away.

The place was a mess...just the sort of place you'd expect to see a man with a riffle slung over his shoulder, waiting for an excuse to shoot you! The ill natured man, that allowed this white horse to be kept in a metal scarp yard, with wire and machinery everywhere, had recently placed MANY "No Trespassing" signs up.

My heart sank that day.

I thought the journey was over for my lovely hearted friend and the white horse, for sure!

Going into the pasture, to find a deaf horse!

Time passed by us both that year, in a disheveled fashion. I ended up relocating my mare to another boarding situation, but kept contact through shopping at the Green Grocer, with Gwen. 

 She had lost some of her sparkle the white horse had lent her, through appreciating his continence and loving him. It was heart rendering, as SHE WAS HIS TRUE PARTNER!

One day this past summer, she had told me that she had News of Jack... I learned it was = that she was his owner !

                                               Gwen, swinging her arms...to get the attention of HER Jack horse!

Apparently, the man that bouight Jack for $1000 decided that he was not a good "cutting horse", and wanted him off the payroll.
He walked into Gwen's store- this past July- she immediately burst into tears, after he said his name.  And after she had "her moment"...he said, "You want that white horse?" She said, "YES!"

She bought him on the spot for $1,000 and  just as quickly, arranged for  him to be trailered to a friends place. This friend has a small barn /garden at her house, she sells to Gwen- "Greens" from her garden, for the Green Grocer store. She has followed the story of heartache and had told Gwen,"if I have a stall, and you have a horse, you are welcome to keep it at my place".

                             I truly adored seeing my friend with her lovely White horse Jack!

That wonderful day I went into the Green Grocer was because, I craved the ending- to the story- of the White Horse Love, for Gwen.

                                   Jack, as he emerges from the evergreens, later on that same day~

You are Gwen's Christmas horse Jack, her Dreams come true with you!

Camera Critters Freyda Cat

BIG KITTY Freyda LAST YEAR at Thanksgivingtime.

 Her mother, my sister, had to lean back, to hold her up!

22-25 lbs

Freyda came to live with my husband and I this past summer 2010~

She has been on a Kitty diet of only 1/3 of a cup of grain free, dry kibble and  lots of lazer exercise!

Here she weighs in after 2 months.....oou....

thought it cute of her to be such a good girl too!

Look at the results!!!

Good job Freyda..though your "underfoot activities" in the kitchen

are going to get you/us hurt.

She does a fair amount of asking for MORE Kibble please!

We  love our Freyda cat!

To visit many more Camera Critters,
 please Check out "Misty Dawn's" fun animal meme ~

A Christmas Horse tale~ The Beginning

Let me take you further into the story of a girl and her love of a white horse she befriended~

When my "Green Grocer" friend Gwen, first met the white horse that she loved to pet and snuggle with, she soon learned his name to be "One Eyed Jack", and a harrowing truth.

 The owner apparently had gotten his Dam, and did not realize she was in foal. The colt was born upon a bed of trash, or something (in my estimation) that should never be anywhere a horse may tread in it's domain. He had a nail in his eye.

These photo's, she was given, after the owners found her to have such a great admiration for the cute horse.

Gwen has these pictures in her store. From the 2 shots she has, the place he was kept is nicely fenced and he looks to be a normal little colt.

Maybe it was the fact that his mother was not taken care of for having a foal. She may have lacked the vitamins and minerals it takes to give a growing baby all it needs...that he was born deaf. Though, I know that sometimes white offspring have the propensity for this trait.

Jack was about 2 years old when Gwen sighted him and began to sneak into the pasture and rub and pet him.

 She then bought a brush, to go along with her carrots and apples... till finally, she met the owners to have permission to keep on - keeping on- with her love affair with him.

They granted her the simple pleasures of handling him and allowed her to care more in other ways later, as well. She really did not know how to do anything, other than fill her desire to love on him, by brushing and visiting.
2-3 years passed, and the owner woman began to train Jack and  ride him occasionally.
 The owner, one day,  offered Gwen a ride upon her white Romeo.

This turned out to be a terribly ignorant, short sighted offer; as Gwen had no riding background or formal instructions from her or previously, from anyone.
 It ended badly for Gwen, she sustained many injuries yet, she does not blame the horse, (I don't either) BUT I DO BLAME THAT WOMAN!
His saddle likely did not fit and the woman had been riding him for some time, that day. She then had an inexperienced, very nervous young woman mount up....Jack bucked his heart out with Gwen, clinging to the Western saddle horn, effectively ripping her tendons in her shoulder and forearm, before she finally let go!
I cringed, as she told me these details of a reckless horsemanship, handed to her, by someone that had no business to!

I have offered many people the experience of loving a horse -but- not before they learned ground rules of being near one of these Equine animals!

Regardless, Gwen healed then continued to LOVE the White, Deaf, Jack Horse......till one day- he was going to be given away, sold(?) and no longer around for her to visit.

This broke her heart and that is where I met Gwen...at the point of broken dreams and loss of her lovely white horse.

Recently, while my Truck was serviced nearby, I decided to check in my my Green Grocer friend.
 Here she is with "Frederico", a stray kitty that was dropped by the store and she rescued.

"Frederico" is the name of the heroine in "Little Women" as the sisters acted out a play in the attic. This lovely feline creature, is the (twin)opposite of our adopted kitty, Freyda!

We chatted and caught up. I Looked at the Valentine I made her, after she gave me such kindred friendship with my mother's hospital adventure. She keeps it upon the wall, behind the cash register. It is a Cabbage leaf, and card...Of course, Jack is represented too!

It was very nice catching up...but again, I get ahead of the story...

This past summertime, I had been shopping and Gwen had excitedly told me, " I have news about Jack"!

Behind this "Apron curtain" ( it is in Gwen's store) is the ending (and true beginning) of this Christmas horse tale.

Hang in, facts are being sought out, as you wait.

A Christmas Horse tale

I have been frequenting the neatest little Organic Grocery store, in our fair city of Oregon city, for a few years now.

It is called "GREEN GROCER" and it's delightfully warm and caring  Owner /Creator Gwen, is an  individual  that I instantly loved.

The first time I arrived to check out the place, years ago, I noticed that she had a couple framed photo's of a cute, white horse.

I queried, of course!
When she found out -I too- was all about loving horses...she laid out her own story;  a love affair with this young, sweet-deaf- white horse, that resided nearby to where she had been living.
 His name ( then) was "One eyed Jack".

 . . . . . . to be cont. . . . .

If you wish to, please read how my Green Grocer friend Gwen helped me in a time of need, through a wonderful loving gesture I will never forget

~ HERE~