I hope all of you have been having a wonderful summer with lots of riding. We have. This is actually the first summer I have had where I have had unlimited riding on both horses in at least 7 years. By the time Mingo's hoof abscess got straightened out, Cruiser bowed his tendon. Now, I can trail ride all I like. Ironically, this month I started riding Mingo in the outdoor arena on weekdays because I felt he needed variety (besides the evenings are getting short.) He was losing his enthusiasm for the trail--probably due to the heat and the hard, dry trails. We are doing very well in the arena, and it made me realize how sloppy my riding had become over the summer. Now, I'm riding better, and he is enjoying the trails more on the weekend.
Ellen and I have two long weekends planned in September as well as the Labor Day weekend. September is one of my favorite months, and I'm going to enjoy it as much as possible.
Ellen and I were riding together the other night on a trail that is fairly close to the road. Well, actually, all of our trails are fairly close to the road, though you usually can't see it. We were just walking, and out of the blue came some loud banging noises-I mean really loud. It scared me-I thought we were under fire. I was able to stop Cruiser and hold him. He was very, very tense. I knew that if Ranger took off, I wouldn't be able to hold Cruiser, and we would have "a problem."
Fortunately, Ranger danced just a little and then stood still. The vehicle that made to noises-must have been exhaust backfire-roared off. It was all over before it had barely started. My heart was pounding, and both horses walked pretty fast for a while.
We had a big advantage in this case. The noise was ahead of us. Most horses won't move towards something scary. We just had to keep them from spinning and running. If the noise was behind us, they would have wanted to dash off. This is very important to remember. If you are out on a ride and there is something scary coming up from behind, try to turn your horse to face it to keep him from bolting.
Our horses spook much less now that they are older. Cruiser, in particular, was very flighty when he was younger. I had many white-knuckle experiences. He's the one who taught me the trick of turning to face the monster-I had to figure something out for my own safety. These days, it has to be something very scary to get a big reaction from him. The other day, one of the park maintenance workers was driving a mower right down the trail. I heard it coming a couple minutes before we actually saw it. Cruiser wasn't frightened a single bit. My biggest problem was getting him to move off the trail so the mower could pass. I think he wanted to investigate it. Cruiser sure has come a long way.
If your horse is on the spooky side, don't give up. Time and experience will help him improve. In the mean time-face the monster.
This weekend is the Cleveland Air Show-now that can be a challenge. You never know when one of the Blue Angel Jets will fly through the park. It's hard to turn your horse to face a plane!
We keep our horses at High Lonesome Ranch. We have been there a number of years and are very happy. It is basically our health club. Why should we join a real health club when we can be a part of the High Lonesome Fitness Program?
It is an unusual type of health club-you end up paying less for getting more exercise. To save money, we can sign up for the "clean-your-own-stall" program. It helps to improve your manual dexterity, tone up your arms and legs and it even gives you a bit of cardio-pushing that wheelbarrow to the manure pile. In the summer time, if you have been eating too much pizza that causes you to retain water, well, sweating from cleaning stalls will take care of it.
Because the management of High Lonesome Ranch care so much about our fitness, they even moved the pile far, far away from the barn. It helps with the 10,000 steps a day goal that they are trying to push on us at my place of employment, too. We get real strength training in the winter when we need to push the wheelbarrow through ice and snow. It helps with our coordination-keeping it from tipping when it gets stuck in the snow.
For an even less expensive, but more effective program, you may be one of the lucky ones who can feed the horses once or twice a week. Positions are limited for this very special fitness program. Tossing hay in the stalls and hauling the water hose all over the barns sounds easy, but when you do it for over 30 horses in three different barns, it is a good repetitious exercise. (30 reps of water, 30 reps of hay-twice a week for me.) It also contributes to the 10,000 steps. You may even get to haul a few bales of hay for real strength training!
Now for the fun part of the fitness program-the horse part. We can carry heavy saddles, brush dirty horses and ride all we like. Riding is actually a very good exercise, and if you are doing a mix of walk, trot and canter, you are burning an average of 200 calories or more and hour. This adds up-particularly when you have 2 horses like me. To add to the fitness program, I often lead my horses the first and last 10 minutes of the ride. This adds about 2,000 steps, if I do both. In the winter, it helps you stay warm, too.
So don't bother getting a membership to a health club if you have a horse. Just maximize the fitness club you already belong to-your stables.
The other evening, I was going to ride Mingo with Kevin. Well, he invited a couple other people to ride with us. I was ready to go before Kevin and his friend. One of the other women who was going to ride with us was ready, so we went out together ahead of the other two. She rides a spotted gaited horse named Will who is rather new to the trails and can be challenging. I never rode with him, before, but if I did, I would have taken Cruiser, instead.
Mingo is slow and Will is fast. That wouldn't normally be a problem except that Will is a bit barn sour. He would pass Mingo up, get 20 feet ahead and slam on the brakes. His owner then had to fight with him to keep him from just spinning around and heading home. Mingo kept plodding along at his typical speed. When he passed Will up, Will would settle down. This kept on happening all the way down the hill to the river. I kept urging him to go forward, faster, so Will could follow behind us, but he kept up at typical Mingo speed.
Once we got across the river, I suggested trotting. Mingo trots slow when he is alone. If he follows another horse, he goes faster than normal, and if another horse follows him, he goes slower than normal. Will's owner wanted to keep him behind Mingo, so Mingo trotted slower and slower and slower. Keeping him faster than a walk was very difficult. In fact, I think he might have been going slower than a walk.
Towards the end of the trail, I suggested that we canter. My friend thought that would be a fine idea. It started out well-Mingo loves to canter, but when he realized that Will was quite far behind us, he kept slowing down to a trot. By now, I was really frustrated and gave up. We went to our slow trot for a bit and waited for Will to catch up.
We turned around here to go home. I could have gone further-there was plenty of time, but I had had enough. Will, being a typical barn sour horse, walked very quickly home, and soon there was no sign of him. By now, Kevin and his friend caught up with us and joined me on the way home. Their horses were a little faster, so I just stayed in the back and walked along.
Kevin and his friend rounded a corner and caught sight of Will. Kevin's horse, Starry, took off at a canter. Kevin's friend's horse started to canter and then began to bounce up and down when she was held back.
I was watching all of this, and I knew if Mingo joined the fray, things could get very difficult. There was no way the other two would calm down if Mingo charged up from behind. I told Mingo to walk. Of course, he wanted to canter with the other horses-what horse wouldn't-but he settled for just walking really, really fast. I just chanted, "Mingo, I love you, Mingo I love you..."
They got their horses under control, and I was just smiling. Sure, Mingo can be frustrating, but every time I'm ready to give him away to the next person that walks by, he does something that makes me appreciate his quiet nature.
Since Mingo had some trouble keeping up with the other horses on the way home, I just walked along at Mingo speed. Sometimes, we would do our slow trot and catch up. When they asked why I wasn't keeping up better, I told them, "I'm just staying back here with the good horses."
We had a terribly rainy June and July, but it has finally stopped raining and we have been able to cross the river consistently. It is strange to see it so low. With the rain came the mosquitoes, and now they are tormenting us like you wouldn't believe! Maybe the dryer weather will help.
Kevin is back from Alaska and settling into his routines. He had a terrific trip with my brother, his wife and two daughters. We helped take care of Starry while he was gone, but didn't ride him. One of Kevin's friends rode him enough to keep him exercised.
Ellen and I had a 4-day weekend, and it was great. We rode each day. The most notable part was when we took our nieces on their first real trail ride. They have ridden up and down the hill lots of times, and one day, they even crossed the river. This time, we had them cross the river and ride for quite a while-doing a little trotting.
I was going to have Sarah, our older niece, ride Cruiser like she usually does, but as she led Mingo out the driveway for me; I realized I was putting her on the wrong horse. It dawned on me that Sarah and Mingo are two peas in a pod. They are both slow, deliberate, careful and very smart. It was a match made in heaven. Sarah was patient with Mingo, and he never gave her any trouble. Melissa rode Ranger, Kevin was on Starry and I was on Cruiser. Ellen, and my sister-in-law, Liz, followed along on foot-getting a little wet on the river crossing, but it was a warm day. We all had a great time.
I have another long weekend of riding in August. I can't wait.
How many of you have had this happen to you? While riding through the woods, you approach a tree at the side of the trail and, for whatever reason; your horse is traveling too close to it. You know he is going to bang our leg on the tree. If you have ever had this happen to you in the past, you know how painful it is. It hurts a lot.
Your natural inclination, of course, is to move your horse out of the path of the tree-but how? The typical novice will pull the horse's head away from the tree-figuring that where the head will go, the body will, too. This seldom works well. In fact, it can be counterproductive. By only bending your horse's head, you will cause his shoulder to bulge in the opposite direction-bringing your leg closer to the tree. I remember seeing Kevin do this, years ago, when he was riding Mingo. He ended up getting so close to the tree that he had to quickly pull his leg out of the stirrup and up on Mingo's back to avoid a bash up. He got a bash up anyway because he lost his balance and fell off.
There is a better way to move your horse over on the trail-or anywhere else. I would suggest practicing it, either on the trail or in the arena, so that you can do it without thinking about it. Those trees don't wait for you to think.
Instead of turning your horse by pulling the rein, which is called a direct rein, try using an indirect rein. Using the rein closest to the tree, place it on your horse's body just behind the withers. This is logically called an indirect rein behind the withers. It tells the horse to move his shoulders in the opposite direction of the rein.
Alone, it means nothing to your horse. You need to add your leg to the mix. Take the leg that is closest to the tree and press it strongly on your horse's side. I say strongly because you need to get his attention for prompt movement if you want to avoid the tree. If you are just practicing in the arena, teach your horse to eventually do it to a very light cue. You are telling your horse to move his hindquarters away from the tree. With the rein telling his shoulders to move and your leg telling him to move his hindquarters, you should drift to the center of the trail.
One more thing you need may need to do is to shift your weight to the direction that you want your horse to travel. Don't just put more weight on one side-you need to slide your whole body away from the tree. This is uncomfortable for your horse, and he will naturally want to step underneath your weight to keep you in balance. Once your horse is good at this maneuver, he may respond to you with only a slight shift of the weight, and nothing else.
As soon as your horse does what you want, cease all aids and tell him how good he is. This is also the way to keep your horse on the rail in the arena if he keeps drifting away from it. I am teaching Kevin to use it with Starry. Star wants to crowd any horse that is next to him. Kevin then pulls his head away-and Starry moves even closer! I got him to try it, and right away, Starry started to listen to the command. The hard part will be teaching Kevin to use this command each time instead of falling on his old habit. It is often harder to train people than horses!
My name is Judi Daly, and I have written several books on trail riding, have a monthly e-newsletter for the trail rider and have written plenty of articles about horses. I have come up with a new writing project that I would appreciate help with.
It seems very common to hear of Morgans with Equine Cushings and/or Insulin Resistance. I am trying to find some sort of genetic connection. There might be certain families of Morgans that have a greater tendency towards these diseases. If we knew, maybe we could educate the owners of these horses so they can take precautions by proactively adjusting their diets and working to prevent obesity and hopefully preventing the worst complications of these diseases. Of course, there is the chance that the culprit is Justin Morgan, himself.
If you have or had a Morgan with Cushings or Insulin Resistance or even remember a Morgan from back in the time before we knew about Cushings or Insulin Resistance that had chronic laminitis, if you could forward me the horse's pedigree, it would be a great help. Send them to judiemail@yahoo.com
I am a great fan of Morgans-having owned one and currently own an Insulin Resistance Morab. I am also interested in the history of the breed having spent much time researching the "Mystery of the Morgan Horse in China" which you can read here http://www.lrgaf.org/articles/morgans.htm
Feel free to crosspost.
Any other suggestions that can help me with this project would be greatly appreciated.
Judi Daly
www.trailtrainingforthehorseandrider.com
Home of my free e-newsletters for the pleasure trail rider and my two awesome books "Trail Training for the Horse and Rider" and "Trail Horse Adventures and Advice"
