Have the Bionic Cowgirl and Bill Lost Their Minds? Part II

Our second challenge gave us an excuse to trailer the horses into Wild Basin, where we'd be guaranteed to run into hikers. It's a rare occasion that we see hikers across the street where we normally ride. As a general rule, we're okay with that, but since we needed to have people to throw a party for, we had to go where the people were.

The ride itself was amazing and we couldn't have asked for better behaved horses. They did a great job as Mustang Ambassadors that day.

Mom had baked cookies for us to give out as party treats and I bagged them up into individual treat bags. I thought that maybe people would be worried about taking home-baked cookies from strangers, so I quickly made up labels that said "Courtesy of Allenspark Lodge B&B", so they'd know the cookies came out of a commercial kitchen. (That came back to bite me in the butt later.)

Thank God Bill was the one driving, because I don't think my nerves would have made it. People coming out of the park were kind of a-holes. We were supposed to be spreading love and kindness, but I really just wanted to spread knuckle sandwiches with the way some of those people were driving.

Finally, a car saw us coming up the one lane road and pulled off to let us pass. I made Bill give them a cookie, which he tossed to them through the window as we yelled "thanks!". We did that for the next few cars. Sometimes you gotta train humans the way you train horses: make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing pleasant. People who insisted on not giving way on the road out had to thread past the truck and trailer; people who pulled over and let us by got cookies. As Ranger Mustang used to say, "Peeples can be VERY HARD to train".

Finally, we were able to get parked, tacked up, and on our way. Along the way, from the trailer parking to the trail head, we ran into some hikers who were thrilled to see horses on the trail. They stepped off to let us pass and guess what? They got cookies. Make the right thing pleasant, right?

We didn't want to risk losing the "unicorn's" horns, so we didn't put them on the "unicorns" until we reached the hitch rail.

Unicorns and fairies ready

All that was left was to set out the party sign and find us some people to surprise.

The hitch rail is off the beaten path a little bit, as you can see, so we had to go trolling for people. The first group wasn't super excited. The kids were, but their mom, not so much. The girls came and rubbed the horses' noses then off they went.

Mom walked down toward the falls, which are on the same path as the hitch rail, just a little beyond it and found a family that wanted to come meet our pet unicorns. In fact, one of the little girls was wearing her unicorn shirt, so it was perfect.

The girls were shy, but excited to pet the unicorns and spent several minutes with them. Their parents had to practically drag them away.

The most surprising reaction came from adults. Remember when I said my decision to label the cookies would come back to bite me in the butt? Yeah, Mom met them where the trail met the turn off to the hitch rail and handed them cookies. They looked at the label and asked if this was some "publicity stunt" for the lodge. Ugh. It was like an arrow through the heart. Once we explained that we thought people would be more comfortable knowing that the cookies came out of a commercial kitchen and that we were doing this for a scavenger hunt, their tunes changed.

I was hoping to see pure surprise and joy on the kids' faces, which we didn't get. However, the look of joy on the previously dubious adults' faces? Priceless!

The reaction from the adults were my favorite and I felt like we'd nailed the task. Shortly after, we packed it in and rode back out. We'd entered Wild Basin with 20 cookies, and had three left. Easy, peasy, we just stopped at the ranger station on the way out and spread the love there too.

*Verbal consent obtained for posting pictures.

(Cross posted on Wilsons' Wild Ones.)

Skeeter's Fine Day

Bill and I set out with this plan of getting my horse Washoe 'legged up' for some upcoming tough rides.  We borrowed GunDiva's horse Skeeter, to be a companion horse on longer rides.  Neither Bill nor I ride alone in the national forest or park; not a good idea for a horse to come back sans rider and not be able to go find the missing party because you have people at the lodge, so our granddaughter, Autobot, serves as an extra rider.

In our last post, we had picked up the horse and transported her to our guest pen - which she now claims as her own.  The following day served as a day off for the horses so we could get the weekly 'town chores' done.

This brings us to Thursday and the plan was to just pony Skeeter around town so she could get used to the sights and sounds of mountain living.  We saddled up Ranger and Washoe and discovered Skeeter does NOT like standing patiently at the hitchrail when different stuff is happening, i.e., noisy trucks going by, bicycles, crazy people making strange noises, etc.  Welcome to our life, Skeeter.  She tried her hand (hooves) at taking down the rail, with no success.  Finally decided to just watch and check-it out.  Good horse.  Then we got hit with large raindrops which quickly turned to hail.

We waited out the storm and when everyone was calm, we took her lead rope and started out.  Hmmm.  Ponying is not a natural thing for this horse.  She had her own ideas of where she wanted to go and it certainly did NOT include being next to another horse.  We learned many things about ponying that day - long, slippery lead ropes are not the way to go.  The first time she yanked it out of Bill's hand before he could get a dally done; but to her favor, she didn't run off, just stopped to look at whatever took her interest.  OK, next time he was prepared and got her dallied but she almost pulled poor Ranger over.  He's just a little boy compared to her, so I took the rope as Washoe could compete with her size.  I got it dallied in time, but Washoe did not approve of her behavior and gave her a major stinkeye, which she did not even notice.

Rethinking this whole plan, we decided to back up to Skeeter's comfort level.  We dismounted and I walked the saddled horses back home - all of two blocks - then Bill led Skeeter around a couple blocks on foot.  She got a few nasty reprimands about who was to do the leading, but came back doing pretty well.

Friday,  I led Skeeter for a much longer walk through and about town, with a handy boundary stick and by the time we got back, she had figured out it was best to stay in the proper position. Then I hopped on Washoe and we walked and trotted the Ski Road loop just to loosen up.  I had planned on two times around, but that didn't pan out either.  By this time it was late evening and I was riding in a halter and short lead rope, so when Washoe was not in favor of another trip, we came home.

Saturday,  Autobot and I led Skeeter on a longer and different route through town; she only needed a couple pops on the lead rope as a reminder.  Much improved!  I sent Autobot out on Washoe for an hour and half ride - I thought.  They were back in minutes. "What's the matter?"  A:  "He won't go."  Me:  "You have long leather reins; insist."  A:  "I did but he only backs up."  Well....I think that Washoe has decided (in his teeny middle-aged brain) that if I didn't go, he didn't have to go.  I start walking down the road and sure enough, he follows along like a puppy on a string.  It's a nice day and he needs to learn to trust Autobot, as she will be riding him a lot this summer, so I just keep walking toward the Allenspark trail head.  Autobot rides part of the way, and leads him part of the way.  When we get to the trail head, I tell her to just keep leading him up the trail until she can find a place to mount him easily.  This time he followed her nicely and I sat at the trail head and waited for some hikers to get there.  Once mounted, Autobot rode back to us very nicely, then right on past.  She and Washoe came the 1.6 miles home on their own. (I can't blame my horse for this.  I am constantly putting some non-rider on him and walking them around town.  He just follows me and listens to voice commands, so it's not his fault.)

Sunday, we had thought we would try ponying Skeeter again, then decided maybe it would be easier for her to be ridden, since that was not 'new' to her.  Bill opted to be the trial monkey, so Washoe and Skeeter got saddled.  I had planned on going, but we had people we needed to wait for at the lodge, so I was to stay behind.

Bill took Skeeter to the small pen across the street to mount the first time.

She's not used to being mounted from the ground, so it took a bit of persuasion.
We had a 'new bit to Skeeter' on her and wanted to see how she would respond; bits are not her favorite thing.  She took to it like a fish to water and walked around the pen on a soft rein.  So time to try going down the road.

Washoe was in the lead but that didn't last long.  Again, he said, "wrong person on me" and came home.  OK, fine.  I threw a back-soon sign on the door, grabbed Ranger out of the pen and hopped on bareback.

We took the lead with Skeeter next and Washoe behind.  We needed to keep Skeeter slowed down.  Again, she took to the ride like an old pro, mostly just looking around.

We had cars passing us on both sides, dogs barking from cars, even a runner with earphones on who would not slow down or even acknowledge us as he ran up from behind.  Skeeter only had one instance of belligerence; when one of the cars came up on us from behind and Bill asked her to move over to the side of the road, she didn't want to give up her spot.  That driver was nice and stopped to wait until Bill turned her around to see the car and she moved over.  Otherwise, she did really well paying attention to rein cues as well as she knew how.  She is young and only has a very few hours of ride time, and has never been out on dirt roads like these before, so we couldn't have asked for more.

We finally let her take the lead and she slowed down on her own and led out very nicely. It was fun watching her want to smell the different trees and watch everything - all so different to her.

As we came around the final corner, there were llamas in the corral across the road.  I had noticed her staring at some earlier in the day, so I told Bill to watch her.  As they came around the front of a parked pickup, she saw the llamas, stared for a good two seconds, let out little snort and turned away to look at our old tractor in our own yard.  This horse is not a spook!  It was a very good day with Skeeter.
Bionic Cowgirl

The New Foster Kid

Only this one has four legs.

Me:  "Hey, kid. How about loaning me one of your horses for awhile - like maybe a month?"

GunDiva:  "What?"

Me:  "I just realized I only have a couple weeks to get Washoe legged up for some long rides coming up, really soon.  Ranger has a one hour limit on our trails, so I really, really need a horse that can go out for 3 - 4 hours at a time.  Loan me Skeeter.  Please."

GD:  "Well, she does need a lot more wet saddle blankets and I am booked up with the Greeley Stampede for the next two weeks.  When can you get her?"

This conversation was a couple days ago.  Today, we picked up granddaughter Autobot and went to collect a horse.

All three of us walked into the pen with a halter.  We got met by three horses.  Pearl was closest so I just put my arms around her neck and Autobot slid the halter on while Bill reached for Skeeter.

Oops.  Not happenin' pal!  And off the other two went.  We were not the right people to be holding their halters and they were taking exception to that.  They spent a whole lot of energy running around the pen/track; we spent the time standing in the middle, shuffling our feet a bit every now and then.  They did eventually give it up.  In 92 degree hot sun, you can get really tired.

And the others?  Well, Pearl got to graze on the grass outside the pen.

And since it was that hot, I didn't want to leave Washoe in the trailer. (We had brought him with us to keep Skeeter company for the ride back up the mountain - a new experience for her.)

OK, so maybe getting caught has its benefits.  The trailer loading went pretty well; only a couple of mis-attempts, but with Washoe standing in the front stall, a large open window with ... wait ... do I see Grandma cookies poking in that window?  A flop of the flag as a reminder and in Skeeter went.

Where are we?  This is all new.

Skeeter will be in the smaller 'visitor pen' for now.  She knows all our horses except Alloy, who she met through the fence with no dramatics at all.  She unloaded better than I have ever seen her do, so I think having Washoe as a traveling ambassador worked well.  She was calm and quiet, and waited for the backup command before trying to step off the trailer.

She now has her own water tank ... which she promptly ignored.

... and her own feed bin, complete with slow feed hay bag.

... and of course, Jesse had to come visit.

After leaving them alone for an hour or so, Bill took a book and chair out to keep them company, but apparently Alloy is not used to that yet.  I guess only a couple pages got read, as Al kept poking and prodding at him for attention.

Stay posted.

Bionic Cowgirl

Slightly Off Day

Yesterday, we had sort of a 'day off', meaning we could break away from the Lodge and attempt to get some town chores done and maybe have a bit of fun.  Yes, we had guests, but they were all staying through and were fine with us being gone for a bit.

I had my yearly physical a couple days ago and was told that our doctor's office no longer draws blood for testing (insurance won't pay), so I got to go to a "certified phlebotomist" for the draw.  We also needed to get brake pads for the van and pick up more milk.  You know, just getting small stuff done.

Our oldest daughter (GunDiva) had suggested we ride their horses as an option for the day.  That actually sounded fun - even if it meant a long drive - so off we went to her place.  The horses happily greeted us at the fence, bringing with them a tumble weed they apparently like to play with; it had been quite a while since we had been there so they got a lot of loving and a good brushing.

After brushing them out, it seemed like too much work to saddle up, so we opted to ride bareback, and oh well, let's just use their halters.  While I was brushing Copper, Bill had hopped up on Skeeter.

The extra horse is Pearl, who turned into quite a pest because she wanted attention too.  I spent about 15 minutes just leading Copper around with Pearl following us so Bill could work with Skeeter 'unattached'.

We discussed Pearl and decided it was great training to just ride around in the corral with her being a pest so the horses could get used to paying attention to their rider and ignoring a loose horse, so I headed to the fence to get on Copper.

Neither horse thought using the fence as a mounting block was a big deal.  It took me a bit to get Copper to move.  Just sitting up straight on my horses means to move out.  I know neither of these horses like much leg, so I carefully nudged with my calves and he tightened up into a ball.  OK. Let's see.  How about a kiss.  Yep, that worked - we had forward motion.  It's been a really long time since I have been on this green of a horse, so it was a lot of trial and error, but Copper was patient with me.  My last 'green' horse has been extensively ridden for the last 10 years now.

This steering thing in a rope halter was very new to him but he picked it up quickly; much better after I remembered to keep my hands low and wide apart so the signals were clear.  We had a pretty good time trying to avoid the pest and not run into Skeeter and Bill, but it gave him a reason as to why I would want him to turn a certain way.  Our only near mishap was when Pearl kept jabbing him in the flank with her nose;  Bill came to our rescue by riding Skeeter in between us and Pearl.  Copper had given thought to a crow hop when he realized it wasn't me tapping him.

Apparently Copper always has his ears back like this when he is being ridden.  He's not mad or upset; just paying very close attention.  He is such a sensitive horse!  When Jesse has her ears like that it means she is upset with whatever Bill is doing with Ranger.

Bill got much more forward motion with Skeeter, but he has had more 'ride time' on her.   This was my first time on Copper and I was very tentative, which made him more so, too.

 All in all, we had great fun and everything went well, ending on a happy note.

Thanks, GunDiva, for sharing your horses, and Jay, too.
Bionic Cowgirl

Circus Mare

So.

I (GunDiva) hate, hate, *hate* circus tricks. I think they're dumb and not anything that a horse would do on their own.

Hate them.

I know a lot of people think it's fun or cute to teach their horse to sit on command, but I don't so I have no intention of teaching any circus tricks to Skeeter.

One morning, Jay and I unloaded a new 3X4 bale. Skeeter must have had an itchy butt, because she backed right up to the bale and started scratching herself on it. Next thing I know, she was sitting on the bale. Full-on SITTING! Both hind legs off the ground, butt on the bale, front legs supporting her.

So much for me not teaching her circus tricks - apparently, she's going to teach herself.

Stupid mare.

I know, I know. Pics or it didn't happen. Beel illustrated for me.

 (There are useful tricks out there that I don't mind. Mom teaching Jesse to fetch has been amazing. Drop something while riding? "Jesse, pick it up." Perfect.)

Horse Kids Come Home 3/13/16

B-  Hey Ranger!  How's the old horse today?

R-  Good Beel.  Do you have treats?

B-  Yup.  And while you're eating... here's a halter!

R-  Beel that is not how we do it.  You tricked me.  I'm supposed to run away for some many times.

B-  Nope.  You're caught.  Let's get to the trailer.

R-  Beel.  The rolling shed do not smell like me any more.  It smells like others.

B-  Right again.  Juanita will write a blog about that.  I'll read it to you later.

                 **************************

We were called into action this weekend to transport GunDiva's and Jay’s horses to the Rocky Mt. Horse Expo.  They had entered a couple of the Mustang Days competitions, but their horses saw fit to not want to load into a very small trailer in the dark in the wee hours of the morning.  After 1 ½ hrs. of try, the kids opted to leave the horses home and head for the Expo, where they had volunteered to work the US Wild Horse & Burro booth each day.

 We had planned on being there also, so we said we would go get the horses.  We hitched up our trailer – considerably bigger than theirs – and headed to get the horses.  Of course, the horses had time to think things over, knew our trailer, and gave in.  I walked into the corral with two halters and Skeeter walked right up to me, stuck her head in the halter, then followed me to Copper, who also just stuck his head in.  I left both of them standing there while I checked on the repairs Bill was making to the hitch.  Neither had moved when I got back.  They very smartly stepped into the trailer and we were on our way.

We spent the next three days having a great time at the Expo (a different blog) and decided that when we took the horses back, we would just pick ours up on the way home, being as we were already off the mountain.  We left Denver shortly after noon, dropped Skeeter and Copper off at their home and headed for our winter pasture outside Lyons.

We pulled off Hwy 66 at 3:03 p.m., drove the ½ mile to the pasture and pulled into the field.  We saw Washoe in the middle of the 40-acre field and by the time Bill had turned the rig around and I had closed the fence opening, he had trotted most of the way to us. Bill opened the back of the trailer while I collected halters from the truck.  When I turned around I saw Washoe peeking at me from the open doorway; he was ready to load himself!

Now we had not pre-planned on picking up the horses, so had not taken our halters with us.  There was one extra rope halter in the trailer tack area, and my mecate was at GunDiva's house.  She had also said we could use any halter we found there, so Bill had picked up one.  We figured we could make do since both of my horses load on voice command and neither gets tied in the trailer.

When Washoe met us at the trailer, he got the rope halter so I could lead him back across the field to find the other two horses.  They like to stay around behind the neighbor’s house and socialize with the pig; we also suspect they get treats from people in the house. 

When we had crossed to nearly the last area, Jesse finally noticed us and came wandering over – which is about the best she can do right now (read Weight blog).  I put the mecate bit on her, but she felt insulted so I took it off and just looped the lead rein around her neck.  Ranger finally decided to follow along.  Now, Bill had sort of hidden his halter inside his jacket (cheater) and showed Ranger the treat bag.  When Bill put his arm around his neck for a hug, carrying the lead along too, Ranger was caught.  Fastest time ever!  We walked the three back to the trailer and loaded up.  We were back on Hwy 66 at 3:31 p.m.  Less than ½ hour total.

When we got back to the lodge, I went inside and retrieved Jesse’s halter.  She had loaded and ridden with nothing on.  When we opened the door, she stepped out and stood by me while I put her halter on and she gave me lots of horsey hugs while we waited for the others to unload.  

When they got in their corral, Washoe rolled, Jesse checked out the salt block and Ranger headed for the creek.  Zero excitement.  Now we are getting snowed on so everything is normal.  We ALWAYS get snow when we bring them back – even though it was 64* and sunny when we picked them up!

Bionic Cowgirl

                **************************************

B-  So, Ranger, that's why the trailer smelled like other horses.

R-  Beel on this day it is doing the white falling thing.

B-  Sorry buddy.  We're much higher up here, and we got 4 inches of snow today.

R-  I was more happy with the pigs.

Riding My Daughter's Horse

Sunday was a fun horse day for us.  As soon as our guests checked out, we flew out the door to meet our daughter at the trainer's so we could video her rides on her husband's horse.  The trainer felt Copper would benefit from having a different experienced rider on him before going home.  Jay is a very new rider, and Copper, being a very green horse, could use someone with riding confidence on his back.

He is a very sensitive horse and needs to feel a lot of assurance that he is doing right.  He tries really, really hard and it was fun to watch him figure out the feel of someone different.  He did great.

It's been a very anxious week for GunDiva and Jay, getting ready for Colorado Mustang Days at the Rocky Mt. Horse Expo this coming weekend.  They are using CMD as a training time for their horses, to get them used to strange surroundings, noises, camera flashes, and other horses, plus just the traveling to and from somewhere together in a trailer and staying in strange stalls.  Both horses are quiet and laid back, but we all know how difficult it is the first time you travel with your horse companions!  I am really proud of the two of them - and a little jealous - for doing this.  It's something I always thought would be fun, but was never brave enough to actually sign up for.

After the riding session at the trainer's, we headed to our daughter's place to put some time on Skeeter, her horse.  Between the weather and our daughter's work hours, Skeeter has not gotten the optimal amount of training time.  The weather was great so we all took turns riding Skeeter.  First, GunDiva did a bit of groundwork with her, then saddled up and hopped on.  There was a little obstacle practice to keep her thinking.

Skeeter was behaving like the champ she can be, unlike a couple days earlier when she was showing how bratty a young mare can get when something is not just right.

Since she was handling everything so well, I finally hopped on.  I've been around for a lot of the rides, but never felt 'just right' about getting on Skeeter.  This was the day and it was such fun.  I handle the reins quite differently from GunDiva; it took Skeeter a few minutes to decide if she was doing what I wanted, but she quietly figured things out and did great.

This was also the first time the new Wintec saddle had been used.  I didn't get the stirrups adjusted right - shorter than I like - and the fenders are so stiff, it's hard to get your feet forward enough, although Bill seemed to be able to when he rode.
We only had one minor upset.  I like to dismount from the off-side; it's easier on my hips for some reason.  After checking with GunDiva to see if it would bother Skeeter, she said she didn't think so as she had done it a time or two.  Obviously, Skeeter did not agree.  When my foot hit the ground, she swung her head around at me and stomped that right front foot on the ground as if to say,  "that's not right!"  We all laughed because it was so obvious she thought I did not know what I was doing.

Bill then hopped on Skeeter and took a few rounds of the corral, but it was obvious Skeeter was becoming tired and wanting to end things on a good note, we decided to quit.

I will lay odds Skeeter has spent a good deal of time this week thinking over all these things.  We hope it will help at CMD having her know things can be different and still be fine.
Bionic Cowgirl

A Mini Vacation - Julie Goodnight - HorseMaster

We had scheduled two days off this month - very important for us this time of year - so we could get some stuff done, have a night without guests and NOT fix breakfast for a couple of mornings.  We set this up months ago.

Fast forward a couple of months to when the request came in from GunDiva to transport her horse to a TV shoot for the HorseMaster RFD series.  It turned out to be right over our two days off - which by the way, turned into ONE day off because we had inadvertently booked two rooms in for the second night.  Yipes!  It sounded like fun to us: transporting horses to a beautiful ranch in the southern mountains of Colorado could actually be relaxing - to us.  We love to travel with horses, although we would rather it had been our own horses.  But hey, horses are horses and GunDiva's horse is family, too.  We arranged for our other daughter, Nebalee, to 'Lodge sit' for us, meaning come up and hang out to wait for the guests to come in that had gotten booked and stay the night to answer the phone.  We promised we would be back before breakfast so she wouldn't have to do that too.  (This turned into a great deal of work for her, too, as the phone never quit ringing, and I had left her with all the beds to remake.)  She may never volunteer to help us out again.

So Monday finally got here, we got everyone out of the Lodge on time (11:00 a.m.) and set about getting as much done as we could before leaving.  Had hoped to pull out at 11:00 ourselves;  Bill had taken the dog to the kennel in Estes Park, I stripped all the beds in the lodge, sorted laundry, gotten all the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up, and we set about getting our stuff in the truck.  We did manage to finally get underway at 12:10.

We needed to head north 1 1/2 hours to GunDiva's to pick up her horse and our horse trailer, which had been left there when Bill dropped off Ranger.  Bill hooked up the trailer while I haltered Skeeter, and she loaded like a champ.  We then needed to pick up another horse in Longmont that was also hopping a ride to the shoot.  We even found our way there without any problems, met the two people who were going to follow us, loaded that horse and we were on our way.  Our only problem was that it was now 3:45 p.m. and traffic was picking up quickly; we were between two busy cities - Boulder and Denver - and had to decide just how to get on the road we wanted.  Thanks to the help of the girls following us, and their texting me directions as we went, we managed to get onto C470 ... but what a traffic jam!  Once we got onto Hwy 285, it was much better, but now 6:00 p.m.  After going over Kenosha Pass in horrible rain, and stopping for dinner at a cute little bar in Fairplay, we pulled into Julie Goodnight's place near Salida at 8:30 p.m.  Suffice it to say, we were all a tad tired, but happy.  The horses had traveled well.

Skeeter unloaded and was amazed to find five other horses in pens right there!  She behaved like a jewel in her new pen - while the two neighbor horses got all rowdy and nasty.  I don't think she ever figured out what the big deal was with them.  This was the first trip - other than being delivered to GunDiva's in a stock trailer - that she had ever taken, and she was handling it like a champ: no hollering, no fussing, no fighting.

Julie was gracious enough to let us park our rig overnight near their 'bunkhouse', so we could sleep in the trailer.  It was heaven:  we were sound asleep before 10:00 p.m. - and when we woke at 5:30 and realized we didn't have to get up, it was even better.  We finally crawled out about 6:00 to a gorgeous sight of fog rainbows.  The fog had settled in the valley at the base of mountains and two rainbows peaked their heads out.  What a start to the day!  We settled ourselves into a couple of chairs on the patio of the bunkhouse to wait for other living beings, watch the day start, and wait for GunDiva.

GunDiva in her job as crew.

Suddenly there were many people around: all the crew and cast members for the day.  Horses being brushed and shuffled from one spot to another.  It's busy times getting a TV show - or in this case, many shows - taped.  The weather cooperated for the most part and we spent our day watching the goings-on and lounging with Skeeter, who was taking it all in.  Whenever an episode finished up, a cheer would go up with lots of clapping of hands.  I swear that horse thought it was all for her.  She paid attention to every little detail.

We used the time to best advantage by hanging out at the hitchrail, otherwise known as the patience post.  Skeeter doesn't have one at home and has never had to stand tied to anything for any length of time.  One time we tried tying her to her horse trailer but discovered the tie bar was not nearly strong enough; just one pull bent it.  Not good.  She did stand tied to our truck for about an hour with a saddle on one time, but that's just not the same as having to patiently stay put for long periods of time (an important tool for every horse).

Notice the brush - labeled "horse brush"

When it was getting close to time for Skeeter's turn, GunDiva had gone off to get her 'show clothes' on and I brushed Skeeter 'til she shone.  Bill helped get the dreads out of her tail while I did her mane; I was even able to spray fly spray on her legs (even though GunDiva said she hated fly spray).  She was quiet and calm the whole time we worked on her, resting her chin on my shoulder as we watched the final prep for her.  Julie had talked to GunDiva about how they would do the shoot:  show some of the ground work that they normally did, introduce her to a bit for the first time, hop on her back bareback, and maybe even saddle her up for a quick shot.  Now remember, we had done all of that at home - except the bit part - and it seemed a dream to get it all on tape.

Being a good horse.

Waiting to enter the round pen - good horse.

It was decided to use Julie's newly refurbished round pen - just in case.

Watching the camera crew.

The clapper board comes in - and things start getting exciting.

Imagine everyone's surprise when GunDiva led her quiet, sedate horse in - and she went ballistic!  She couldn't stand still, didn't listen to direction, was just basically obnoxious.  When GunDiva leaned across her back, you would have thought she had never felt weight there before.  It was pretty quickly decided that Julie would take over.  In came the flag and the master.  We had a pretty exciting 20 minutes or so...and the cameras never quit rolling.  One of Julie's most common comments is not being able to actually get pictures of a horse being, well a horse that had problems.  Not so that day!!!  Skeeter did a great show of what a wild Mustang can do when it doesn't find any comfort in what's happening - but she was beautiful; all the majestic motion you see in the movies, happening right before our eyes.  Skeeter did finally calm down and 'get her brains back' as GunDiva put it.  She turned into her normal sweet self for the bit part, letting Dale Myler slip the headstall over her head and placing the bit in her mouth for the first time, then teaching how to use the reins at the withers to teach the horse to 'give to the bit'.  We weren't allowed to take pictures during the actual shoot because the big cameras pick up the shutter clicks.  You will have to wait for the episodes.

We are all still laughing at Bill (and Julie) getting drug around the corral by a horse not wanting haltered, or Skeeter trying to chase the dog away from the gate, or any number of other stunts she pulled in a short period of time.  We can hardly wait for the episodes to appear on RFD-TV; the footage was fantastic!

It all ended on a good note, with a hug from Julie and a calm horse!

Skeeter walked quietly back to her pen and spent the rest of the afternoon eating her hay.  We watched the last of the filming for the day, a horse getting adjusted by a chiropractor, and decided to head for home.  Skeeter did give us a bit of attitude about loading in the trailer; she was just DONE.  It's amazing what a granola bar will do, though.  As soon as GunDiva walked off, I showed Skeeter the bar and on the trailer she went.  Pam loaded her horse up and we started down the road.  We stopped and ate at a cute little bar in Buena Vista and felt quite content.

That contentment ended rather abruptly, though, when Bill commented on the brakes acting 'mushy' on one of the long downhills.  He decided we had better stop at the next station on the way to check it out.  Oops - no brakes!  Fortunately the trailer brakes held and we got stopped safely.  Turns out we had a blown brake cyclinder on the truck and all the brake fluid had leaked out.  Bill was able to do a temporary fix and we were back on the road.  We pulled into GunDiva's place at 12:30 a.m.  Skeeter was pretty excited to get out of that trailer, but she still unloaded like a lady.  Ranger hopped on the trailer about as fast as Skeeter exited.  He was ready to go home.  We pulled into the Lodge at 2:30 a.m. to the hollering of all three of our horses greeting each other.

We had traveled over 600 miles towing horses.

And at 5:30 a.m. we were cooking breakfast for our guests.  Back to business as usual.  Our 24 hours went fast and we had a great time!
Bionic Cowgirl

'Grandparent' Training

We spent some time with the kid's horses this week; it's an ongoing process - but they are learning so much so fast.  We introduce some new ideas to the horses once a week and the kids reinforce that and add to it.

This week's goals were:  hard tie Copper for the 1st time; saddle Skeeter while tied (always had her at liberty or on a loose lead before), more Copper leading practice, put a bit in Skeeter's mouth; more ride time on Skeeter; ... and anything else we could come up with, depending on their mental  attitudes.

We arrived shortly after GunDiva and needed to get some hay off the truck.  After unloading her 30 bales, she thought the truck would be a really good practice 'patience post', as it has good steel side rails and would be pretty hard for the horses to get loose from. 

Since Copper had not had any tying practice, we opted to 'soft tie' him to the horse trailer inside the pen first.  However, on the way to the trailer, Bill decided a little trailer loading would also be good, so .....

Is this a chin scratcher?

Skeeter thought she knew how to do this.  She has been half in and out several times, but ...

 

... to everyone's surprise, she stepped all the way in!  Just like that!  Even AliBird was amazed.  Well, let's see if Copper was paying attention.

 Copper:  "So what is so interesting in here?"  Maybe not yet.

Well, if you won't go IN the trailer, we will just have to tie you TO it.

 He was pretty cute.  When he realized he couldn't just walk away when he wanted, he tried all kinds of evasive techniques to go away - everything short of panicking and yanking on the rope.  He never once got scared or snorty.  However, he did get in trouble for pawing at the wheelwells and the hitch.  Soon, he was standing still enough, we thought he could go to the truck.


Parking the truck in a central location close to the tack room, both horses were brought out.  They sure do like getting outside the pen.  After this day, they might not be quite so anxious - as it does involve work!

 

Copper doesn't think this is too bad; sometimes there is hay leftover to nibble on.  Skeeter isn't too sure about this not being able to move around.  Both of their ears tell the story.

Well, since you are just standing here, let's try this bareback pad on you.  Hey, this one has a belly strap!  What do you think, Copper?

 

Look, there's a breast collar that goes on here.  Well, the front strap is way too long; that will get taken care of this week.   Something else is missing.  Braids!

After they got all pretty, they each got to go for a walk - Skeeter discovering the breast collar was not going to eat her - and Copper learning that he could stand next to a tree, also.  Amazing the things you can get tied to.  Next came the bit.  Just for a minute to get the feel in Skeeter's mouth.  She wasn't quite sure what to think of it, pushing on her tongue.  This week she will be getting to wear it around for awhile.

In fact, the horses were having so much fun, they didn't want to go back in the pen.  I had laid my camera down on a concrete block near the corral alleyway, and Copper stepped on it when he objected to going back.  I know better than to put it down, but even we 'forget' the kinds of things that can happen around horses.  End of pictures for the day.

However, it was not the end of work.  The gear came off of Skeeter and GunDiva got on;  a little more bareback practice.  It just keeps getting better, with a short walk around the area and successful dismount.

After Skeeter's ride, Copper got introduced to clicker training.  He 'charged up' pretty quickly and had fun looking for a silly little wood block we were playing with.  I bet he spent plenty of time that night wondering why he wasn't getting a treat for touching it.

 

It was a great day with both horses.

Bionic Cowgirl

Skeeter's First Ride

I've been lax in keeping up with the blog.  We've been pretty busy here at the lodge, and when we do get away, we have way too much fun playing with the 'grandhorses'.

Last week we spent about 1 1/2 hours at GunDiva's place, continuing with 'training'.  She was delayed at a funeral, so Bill and I just entertained ourselves -at her horses' expense, of course.  After spending time grooming, I started re-braiding Copper's mane.

Copper likes to sleep while I braid.

Bill was leading Skeeter around and somehow ended up on the tub/mounting block.  I turned around in time to see him sitting on Skeeter.  When I asked him why he decided to get on her, he said she made the decision.  As he swung his leg up to rest on her back, she took a step sideways and he could either fall between her and the tub, or just slide on - obvious choice there.

She took five or six steps backwards and stopped.

Bill only had the lead rope so he just sat there waiting to see what she would do; she just stayed calm and thought things through, so Bill stayed put.  He had just about decided to get down when Skeeter relaxed so he tied up the other end of the lead rope to use as reins, and did some flexion exercises with her head, getting her to turn her head from side to side until she actually turned around in a circle in both directions.

 Finally he sort of encouraged her to take a couple of forward steps.

Soon she was moving around at a nice walk like this was a normal thing.  Check out the video clip on GunDiva's blog.  The next time she stopped, Bill slid off with a 'job well done' pat.  The only sad part was GunDiva not being there to see it; it was totally unplanned!

When GunDiva did arrive, she tossed the saddle on again, just for practice - and Bill had to give her a new hairdo.

When the saddle came off Skeeter, it seemed only natural to toss the pad on Copper, who had stood patiently by while all this was happening.

Copper was a tad apprehensive when Bill approached with the pad, but after a couple of rubdowns and sliding it on his back, it was no big deal.  Soon he was walking all over the pen - being careful to not let it fall off.

They are such good horses!
Bionic Cowgirl