Pony Noses!

There is no blankie with satin bound edges that is as soft and comforting as the muzzle of a horse.

And, though my heroes (Buck Brannaman, Will James, Ray Hunt, and Robbin Wright) might all cringe to see it happen, I do love to kiss that muzzle. Wrigley doesn't object. Wrigley really doesn't object to much.

Or sometimes we just stand, nose to nose, and I gently blow into her paisley-shaped nostrils and she inhales. Then she gently blows out and I inhale. We'll do this for awhile. Her breath smells sweet, warm, grassy. My breath, on the other hand...

It's wrong, dangerous, and disrespectful even, to behave that way -- sticking my nose in her business. Or is it the other way around?





Maybe she likes people noses too. I'll ask her.

Scratches Suck

Wrigley's had scratches since I got her. I tried using Desitin on her (>40% zinc oxide) which helped a bit. During a trip to the vet he gave her a topical of desitin mixed with a steroid, and an oral antibiotic. She'd been sedated for her wolf teeth removal, so they took the opportunity to clip her pastern and remove the scabs and put the goop on her. This took the swelling down almost immediately. Since then I've been applying the goop, and giving her the antibiotic. Things were looking really promising, she tolerated the care well, and didn't seem to be in pain. I ratcheted back, taking her off the antibiotics first because 1.) I don't like them, and 2.) they didn't seem to be the primary "cure". Then I started applying the goop just once a day.
And now she's tender again. Not swollen but tender.
Shit.
The wet weather hasn't helped her.
Guess I'll contact her awesome vet (did I mention that I love her vet and his technicians? awesome!). See if we can get more antibiotics and goop so we have it for the clinic.
Our dog Murphy had a skin condition. Oh, it lasted for freakin' ever. The vet said, "the thing with skin conditions is they are rarely fatal, they just never get better."
Murphy's panniculitis cleared up for no reason (other than that after battling it for 6 months, we finally called a specialist in Portland). Literally, the day I made the call, the swelling went down. There was NO CHANGE in the care he received.
I'm afraid that might be the case with Wrigley's scratches. All the care is the same -- antibiotics, steroids, blah blah blah.
I just hate seeing her in pain. She is such a sweet, trusting horse.
Might see about introducing an anti-fungal.
The thing with scratches is that it can be any number of things that cause it. Scratches is "just" dermititis. What causes the dermatitis seems to be a crap shoot as near as I can tell. Some people swear by desitin, others by antifungal, others by antibiotic. Vet said, "with all those different cures, what's that tell you?" I said, "that nobody really knows what causes it?" He said, "yup."
So, we'll try the next thing.
IN other news, her vet is awesome. He really tries to teach me about caring for her, asks me questions, lets me come to a conclusion, and is pretty kind when I do stupid stuff (which is somewhat of a trademark of mine...)
In sum, we're still battling the scratches after two weeks and I'm learning a ton and her vet is a great teacher and she'll get better one of these days.

Buck Brannaman Clinic This Coming Weekend: Trepidation

Wrigley has a pasture but likes to lay in her own poop.
She scratches against the pine tree and has giant blobs of pitch in her coat. (Except where I've brushed it out, which is somewhat bald.)
Our trailer, while completely functional, is almost as old as I am and has almost as many dents and rust spots as I do.
Her bridle is actually several pieces cobbed together, a frankenbridle.
The two saddles I'm using on her are the best-fitting of four saddles I have, but both are ancient and borrowed.
I'm afraid people will look down on us as the white trash of the bunch. Why does it matter? I guess because I'm constantly afraid that Wrigley's greatest obstacle to reaching her potential is me.
What people would fail to see, if they can't look beyond the shit-stained coat, is a pair of generous and kind eyes, the softest muzzle, an inquisitive mind, and an enormous heart.
Wrigley is awesome.

Wrigley's First Trail Ride

I took Wrigley out Saturday for a trail ride -- her first out-of-the-pasture adventure. There were some big scary dogs and scary fluffy sheep (one must ALWAYS watch out for killer sheep). Apart from those she did just so super. She really is gaining confidence.
I was using a d-ring snaffle with little copper rollers on it and this was okay. However, I switched to a 3" loose ring snaffle with sort of a little link in the middle and some copper rings on the link. The bit has strips of inlaid copper as well. Why copper? It encourages salivation, so the mouth stays moist and soft while you're riding. This is what I'm told, I can't say that I've noticed any drooling from Wrigley. She carries her bits well and is responsive, so so far so good. Why did I switch from the d-ring to the loose ring? I only used the d ring on her about 3 times. She responded well but I didn't like the fit -- it seems just a touch narrow for the span of her mouth. Also, the loose ring snaffle should be more "gentle" and with the little link in the middle with the rings on it, that should also be softer on her.
How do you know if a bit will be easy on a horse's mouth?
There are lots of things to consider for bitting, and I'm definitely learning a lot as we go. (My last horse was strictly a hackamore horse.) What I've learned so far is:

• Copper inlaid in the bit makes for more saliva, which makes for a nicer experience for the horse.
• The closer the reins attach to the bit (i.e. shorter or no shanks at all), the less leverage you'll have on the mouth, and the easier the bit will be on the horse.
• To find out what the horse will experience, place the bit in your hand and close your fist around it. Pull on the rings/shanks as if you are pulling on your horse's reins. How's it feel?

I put this latest snaffle in my hand and made a fist around it and gave it a couple of tugs. It felt pretty good, like it could pull but still maintain a bend that felt fine on my hands.

The next test was to put the new bit on Wrigley. It almost seems to be too wide for her mouth. It also slips through just a tiny bit if i am pulling on it. Could be a combination of lots of things -- maybe the bit is too thin, maybe it's too wide, maybe it's hanging too low (headstall has to be adjusted). But the d-ring did seem to fit better, to me.

Well, anyhoo. She went out on the open road and, although she travels in a completely confused zig-zag to get anywhere, she travels nice and calm and gentle. We can get her straightened out soon enough.

When we got back I do believe she was very proud of her accomplishment. She ran around the pasture bucking, kicking, and farting up a storm when we got back. She should be proud, she is really an amazing girl.

Yesterday I was working outside and saw that she was laying down. Ever try to approach a horse that's laying down (if it's not ill)? They usually stand up immediately. It's a huge trust thing (or your horse is sick) for them to remain laying down if you approach them. I thought I'd test her out. She expected nothing of me but lots of love and that's what she got. I pet her all over, scratched her, hugged her neck, scratched her forehead, then went back to do my chores. She really was at ease about it. Made me feel good. She is much quicker to trust me than I am to trust her. She hasn't been hurt by humans, but I've been hurt by horses. Maybe that's the difference.

Wrigley's progress in one month

Well... Wow. We picked her up in early September and trailered her home without incident. She loads slowly and tentatively, but she does okay.
She has a round pen now (Craig's List FTW!).

Here's just a run-down of what she's learned so far:

• She can lead by her front feet (I put a rope on each foot and lead her around).
• She picks up her feet and stands nice for the farrier.
• I've ridden her about a dozen times
• She ground ties for everything -- saddling, brushing, getting her feet cleaned, etc.
• She loads in the trailer pretty well.
• You can swing and throw a rope off of her
• She can back up in any direction

She's now learning to take a bow, just for fun.

She had her wolf-teeth taken out Wednesday and had her scratches treated by the vet. She's now on antibiotics 2x daily and some goop on her pastern daily.

This weekend she gets introduced to the snaffle and hopefully some riding outside the round pen.

We have a clinic we're going to at the end of the month, so we're getting ready for that. Can't wait!!

8/25/2010 at KT Ranch with Wrigley

They had a farrier come Saturday to trim Wrig's feet. Now she's lame and her back feet aren't trimmed. They had a battle. This is not how I hoped her start would be. However, when you buy an older horse you never know what treatment they've received in their past. Here's hoping Wrigley is a forgiving girl. She's practical, she'll be fine.
GOAL: none.
So, I went out to see her and to handle her. Given her sore feet, we didn't do much, so I just groomed her and messed with her feet a bunch. She'll be tranquilized this weekend for the farrier, but a little handling will certainly benefit her.
Wrigley's main mode of objection to a request is to back up. She will back right into and through a fence. She just crams her ass against it and keeps on pushing. Her only other option is up or forward. The pen we were in was not only "not round" but it had about 6 corners in it due to the funky layout of the fence. I hate corners. Wrigley likes them.
Wrigley is nervous because she's new. I'm nervous because I'm old. Wrigley is practical, I try. She successfully longed two directions, I picked up her feet repeatedly (briefly), and we chilled. This is progress.
Next goal: more foot work. She'll get better with her hind legs.

Looking at 2 year olds

3 2-year-olds. I was partial to the red dun, but can't buy a horse on color alone, so I looked at all three.
Filly #1: Wrigley. Red Dun. Mellow. She struck me as being very green, but a nice and practical filly. Inquisitive, friendly, checks things out with her mouth, but isn't nibbly. Compliant even if she isn't sure of your motives.
Filly #2: Flecka. Chestnut. Does she know she's a horse and not a lap dog? Very sweet, very friendly, but a bit too insistent that she get my attention. Definitely a second choice behind Wrigley, but her insistent nature puts me off just a little.
Filly #3: Red Roan Filly. HOT. Smart, athletic, pretty, a bit behind the growth curve. Hot hot hot. No No No.

I went home and thought about it, talked to Jeff.
The next day I called and told them we'd take Wrigley, the check was on its way.
3 people called them immediately after, all wanting Wrigley. One was from Wisconsin even. good price, good bloodlines, good lookin'.

About Me

My history with horses:
4 years old -- took riding lessons. The lessons really stuck with me (unlike piano lessons). Most of the lessons were basic horsemanship: how to groom a horse, pick up its feet, walk behind it, feed it without losing a finger -- good things for a 4 year old to know.
4-ish or so -- grandma and grandpa got a pony for me, her name was "Lady". They kept her at their place in Oregon, which was fine because we spent quite a bit of time there in the summers. From Lady I learned the difference between a knot and a loop, and basically there is no difference. I had a halter and about a 20 foot lead line for Lady (maybe it was only 12 feet). Gram and Gramp admonished me "NEVER tie the loose end of that to yourself." So, I didn't. Instead I looped the loose end around my waist. It took a LOT of loops. But where else was I going to put it? Anyway, it wasn't a knot, so it was all good, right? On most days, yes. Lady's main activity was sleeping. She was like a warm fuzzy jungle-gym, totally stationary. I just crawled around on her, slept on her, or tried in vain to kick her into a walk. On one of the rare days Lady actually attained forward motion, she was plodding next to an old truck covered in blackberry bushes. I don't know what spooked her, but she ducked and bolted. I fell, hard, next to her. This might've been the end of it, except that of course I still had 20' of rope wrapped around my 12" waist. She didn't appreciate it. Neither did I as I bounced along the clay behind her, flapping like a kite tail as she tore across the pasture. Grandma, Grandpa, and my older brother saw it all and to this day he shudders when he remembers it. I eventually unfurled, and lay on my back in the pasture, dazed. I had rope burns from my hips to my armpits. Grandma and I both shook for hours after that, and we both cried. Her sympathies ran parallel to my pain almost 100%... the exception being that she wanted me back on that possessed pony and I wanted nothing to do with it. I was, after all, a burned and bleeding mess. Grandpa caught Lady, and very gingerly lifted me on to her back. They made me sit there for a few minutes, and then took me in to give me a long soak in the tub and doctor my burns. Thank god for them.
Age 7 or 8 -- the neighbors got a horse. A "big" red mare named Spunky. They needed her to be ridden so they called my parents. The one rule of never tying yourself to a horse really needed no explanation. But, my parents had a second rule -- no saddles, ever. Spunky taught me TONS. In return, I flip-flopped between treating her like a million-dollar horse, and treating her ... well... terrible. Spunky was a testament to the forgiving nature of horses. Eventually, I started to get it right.
Age 13 -- two key events happened. 1.) the neighbors gave Spunky to me. Just drove up, called my dad out, and strong-armed him into letting me have her. That was that. 2.) Another neighbor with a horse ranch wanted a horse-handler. "Trainer" isn't the word, I was greener than the horses. I entered into another abrupt, steep learning curve. I had five yearlings to halter break and get going on some light ground work, a handful of older horses from 3 - 9 who needed everything from "broke" to "ridden" and a couple of stallions off and on to ride. I also fed when the owners were on vacation or whatnot. In return, I got hay for Spunky for the year. They had everything from race horses to show horses. I never specialized in anything, instead just handled the crap out of those horses. There were two major teachers at that place -- the owner, who's training methods were a bit harsh for my tastes, and an incredible blue roan filly who had zero tolerance for harshness. Fortunately, I rarely saw the owner. The two taught me a lot, but I liked her lessons a lot better. She was huge, long-legged, hot-blooded, and sensitive. She really refined me in a lot of ways, was far less forgiving of my errors than Spunky was, and it was time for me to learn those lessons. The arrangement lasted for 3 years.
Age 16 -- my first saddle, it was a birthday present. I still have it. It's huge and heavy and I still love it, if only for the fact that it was my first.
Age 16 -- Another horse is gifted to me. Atom. 6 or 7. Gelded at about 4. Ridden briefly, during which time he bolted through a barbed-wire fence, laying himself up and putting the trainer in the hospital (I believe that last part is true but I'm not 100% sure about it). My first project horse of my own. An arab/quarter horse with short-man's syndrome. Sensitive, easily offended, and WAY too freakin' smart. I gave Spunky to some neighbors with children, and she retired in lush green pastures. Around the time I got Atom I knew a few things: 1.) I don't ride bucking horses, 2.) I preferred more gentle and sane approaches to horse-training, and 3.) every horse is different and can't be crammed into a mold. With Atom I also got the mentorship of his owner, Robbin, a cowboy from Montana. Thank GOD. Robbin taught me how to use the hackamore, how to train with it, everything. I brought youth and durability to the table -- handy with a horse like Atom who could make you feel like you'd just run a marathon after the lightest session of ground work. With Atom we started at ground zero. He was HOT. I applied a lot of Ray Hunt/Tom Dorrance/Pat Parelli techniques with Atom and it suited us both, well. By the end of the summer he would stand ground-tied, anywhere, and I could pick up any of his feet. I could swing up on him bareback and ride him, anywhere. Where I failed him was getting him socialized. That came to light when it came time for a farrier to come out. Farrier #1: walkoff. Farrier #2: a LOT of tranquilizer, walk off. So, thanks Atom for teaching me to trim feet. Finally, with Farrier #3 (and after an EPIC battle in which Atom was thrown, only to come back up in full attack mode), the light bulb came on. "how about I hold his feet and you trim them?" i suggested. "We could try it" panted the farrier. He was sweaty, bloody, panting, and somehow still there. I drop-tied Atom, picked up his front foot, and the farrier began trimming. Atom licked his lips and all but dozed off. "I've been doing this a LONG time and have never seen anything like it" said the farrier. "What's your secret?" Well, I wish I knew. But the lesson there was that Atom could've benefitted from some socialization.
Age 16 - 29: Life, upheaval, and loss.
Age 30 - 39: I will never have another horse again. They're expensive. I'm too old. I'll get hurt. I'll have to sell it. I'm not good enough. I'm not settled enough. I'm too screwed up.
Age 39: married. Well, maybe a couple of nice horses -- mellow, totally broke. Or maybe I could just ride someone else's (that NEVER works out). Welllllll.... I guess I COULD get one.... but ..... now isn't the time. We are too: busy, cramped for space, transient, unsure...
Age 40: Shitty things happen to good people. A very strong (ridiculous) need to get back to "my roots". A huge part of my roots: horses. Okay, fine... Start allowing self to dream, then to dream a little bigger and a little more. Get encouraged by my all-too-knowing husband. And bam, we're buying a 2 year old filly for a project horse and planning to buy her a buddy in the spring.
This blog is about the 2 year old filly and her progress (okay, and a bit of my own progress too).

About Double the Dun "Wrigley"

Wrigley is a 2 year old red dun filly (born 5/1/2008). She's somewhat halter broke but hasn't had a ton of handling. Her pedigree is here: http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/kt+double+the+dun
Names in her pedigree that are horses I'm familiar with and/or happy to know are in her lineage: Doc Bar (duh), Snipper Reed, Johnny Pine. Those are all on her dam's side. On the sire's side I don't know too many of the names, but there are some nice ones in there. A guess at her talents would be that she will be good at team penning, sorting, cutting, roping, all things that require cow-chasing. She has a nice big rear end and looks athletic. I might barrel race off of her just because it's something I want to do, not because I think she'll really rock at it. But, we're in this for fun, so if we try it and it's fun, then that's what we'll be doing.
Oh, and she'll be a trail-riding goddess.