Update

Both horses are doing fine, and I think I am vastly improved in the worry department, compared to what I was like even 6 months ago! :-) I did keep watching both horses all week, especially Anatolian, to see any possible abnormalities, and felt their legs a lot, but, while I did several times start to convince myself that Andolu was really favoring his right hind, (oh no!) I was able to get a grip and look again. Sure enough, I was over-reacting... If he was sore after the fence incident, he must be all over it by now, and I didn't ever really panic. I guess I am improving, slowly, and learning what to watch for, and what is actually normal... :-)

The fence literally took me 15 minutes to fix once the weather dried a bit - without needing tools. I do like that brand.

The English saddle I borrowed seems to fit quite well, so I guess I'll buy it from the lady who owns it. :-) He has plenty of shoulder freedom in it, and all the other aspects look correct. So, now I get to learn to ride in an English saddle!

I am still trying to convince him to try a banana. It's kind of hard, because he turns up his nose at it, and Mira is only too happy to snatch any pieces I put in front of him! I plan to start training the bow with him soon, using a handful of pellets as an occasional treat. I probably won't have very much time to work under saddle with him until February, though, due to changing job situation. It is going to be a hectic time, so I apologize in advance for probable long absences from here. I will be too tired to achieve even this amount of coherency a lot of the time! I do intend to at least get on the Dude every day, and to try to go on short rides 3-4 times a week, but it won't really be serious riding until things get into a routine again. Hopefully the time goes by quickly!


Over and out. See you later!



L

Some cool links...

I was going to write a deep and profound post, but I have writer's block. I just cannot figure out how to say it. Arrgh. I'm too tired to think right now, so, instead, here are some links; I really enjoyed them all, whether funny, thought-provoking, or serious. Good links for wasting several minutes...


Horsey Stuff:

Body Pilates

Spinal Alignment


Food Stuff:

Grocery Store Wars - "May the Farm be with You!" ROTFLOL

The Meatrix


Goofy Stuff:

Laurel & Hardy #1

Laurel & Hardy #2



L

Drenched by Downpours!

Although, we didn't have nearly as much as the Northwest did! Please click here for more info on how to help the animals who were affected by the flooding up there. There usually isn't as much publicity about animals in need in a situation like this as there is about the humans, but they need help desperately right now too, with their owners displaced.

I would guess we probably got about 3 inches here. The rain started on Thursday night, and it poured down. Then, it started to hail. The thunder and lightning was also really loud. I think this is the loudest storm I can remember in several years. I didn't really get any sleep that night because I kept listening for any noises from the horses... Plus, I kept worrying that I had left my car windows open. I knew I had closed them, but it kept drifting through my head - what if I forgot after all? You know how irritating that is, when you are too sleepy to make yourself STOP worrying, but you are too awake to forget about it? Things finally calmed down and it was only misting rain when I got up before dawn to go to work. Both horses were standing under the shelter looking bored with the rain, and I was glad they seemed to have tolerated the noise well.

Well, later that day, sometime between them getting fed in the morning and my coming home from work, one of them must have slipped into my HorseGuard electric tape fence. A lot of my fencing is welded wire fencing, with electric tape, but I don't have the welded wire fencing everywhere yet. Anyway, whichever horse it was, seems to have panicked at feeling the shock, and somehow pulled about 4 fiberglass fence posts over, and pulled the tape with conductors off the posts onto the ground before getting free! Yikes....

Upon discovering the fencing, I looked both horses over several times very carefully, and breathed a major sigh of relief that I have such a safe kind of fencing! I still don't know how a horse could have gotten tangled in it, because there weren't any loose parts, but oh well! I have a feeling that it was Anatolian, and I think it was his right rear leg, because he's been resting that leg a bit more than usual. Neither of them has any marks or rubs or limps at all, though. No swellings, nothing. So I am very grateful, and I'm praying that nothing shows up in the next few days, either! I am also very glad that neither horse tried to go over the downed fencing, and that they just stayed where they belong 'till I got home and repaired it!!!

So, I am very glad for the much-needed rain, and I hope we get more in a week or so, but I'd like some sunny weather for a few days now! :-) I hope you all had a great weekend!


L

Er, yes

I do realize how long it's been since I last posted - sorry! I am super busy right now with work-related stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to start posting again on the weekend!


L

Good Rides

First, another photo... I am feeding the horses in a Paddock Paradise fashion - that is, grass hay as the basis for the diet, with about 40% of the diet being alfalfa, to balance out protein ratios. I feed 3 times a day. First, I feed both horses a bucket of "Senior Soup," i.e. 1/2 beet pulp and 1/2 Equine Senior, soaked so it is about the consistency of oatmeal. Anatolian only gets some because he is convinced that he needs it, and I have to give him some so he'll let Mira alone! It is also handy to give him "Senior Soup" because it makes feeding supplements like Thorvin kelp, super easy.

While they are eating in separate pens, I go to the hay pile and get at least 1 flake of alfalfa, and a lot of grass hay. I scatter the hay in about 8 or 9 piles around the pasture. That is supposed to encourage them to eat more naturally, moving a lot more during the process. It does encourage more movement, for sure, but not as much as I was hoping. The horse will stand there and eat one whole pile, and then move a little bit to the next pile, and eat all of that before moving on. Oh well!

Anyway, the photo is of them eating. Because there is always hay around, both horses have a pretty blase attitude about it. Most of the time when I look out the window they are eating, but slowly and in a bored way. However, as soon as I go over to feed, both horses are suddenly starving to death! ;-D

Anyway, to update you guys on the nickname, I "tried out" all the different possibilities, and the names that have stuck are Andolu/Andoly, and Dude!

So, the last time I told you guys about riding The Dude, he was reluctant to leave Mira behind and go up the road. I was planning to use my "Carrot stick" whip to encourage him to move, as he wouldn't respect my leg aids. Well, I actually ended up using the string that came with the "Carrot stick," as it has a little popper on the end, which would be more effective, and it is a lot less clumsy to carry around. That has worked perfectly!

When he starts trying to turn around and head home, I only have to shake it at him and he immediately straightens out and moves out again. He is also getting used to the snaffle bit and actually starting to obey it quite nicely. The first couple times I was frustrated because he wouldn't pay attention to small cues and I had to practically yank on the reins, but he is now obeying light, gentle cues. Such a good boy!

Our riding time has been limited, though, because I haven't gotten any Simple Boots for him yet, and he has very soft hooves which wear noticeably in one ride on hard dirt/gravel, not to mention asphalt. He also has flat feet. He has been barefoot for about a year already, but did not have ANY trimming done during that time (Yikes!) which means the next 6 months or so will be a transition time for him to grow out good, tough feet. So I have to be careful until I can get some boots.

Until next time, look at something in nature for just a minute and think about what a marvel it is!

L

Ancient Words video

Wow. This is one of those songs that has good words, but never gets me all that excited when singing it. But this video put things together in my head in an amazing way - very moving, somehow....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GVfs4qLISw&feature=related

Lyrics:
"Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world,
They resound with God's own heart.
Oh let the ancient words impart

Words of Life, words of Hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e'er we roam
Ancient words will guide us Home.

CHORUS: Ancient words ever true
Changing me and changing you,
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart"

etc.

Let me know if you like it!


L

2 Weeks today!

My, how time flies! ;-)

I can hardly believe Anatolian Star has already been here for 2 weeks - I just now realized it. AND, Christmas is less than a month away. Yikes!

L

A little at a time...

Well, I am still working on getting more good shots, (due to my work schedule making it very hard for me to take photos before dusk!) but for now here is a cute head picture. I like his neck :-)

Little by little I am getting the knot in his tail less tangled. Not at the point yet where I can say with confidence that I'll be able to get it all out, but I really hope I don't have to cut any out...

He is getting more and more respectful of my personal space, so that is good. It seems like at first he was testing a lot to see who was more determined/stubborn, and I think he's figured out that I definitely intend to be in charge. So for the last couple of days he has been trying subtlety - will she notice this? Can I get away with this much? He's a quick learner, though! But, I have to admit, I'm still waiting for him to have a fit or throw a tantrum or something. I don't expect him to be perfect - but I guess I shouldn't set him up for being a brat either, by subtly expecting bad behavior due to his age and breed.

I am currently trying out an English saddle for fit. The only problem is that the girth that came with it is too short! Tomorrow I will use a 52" or 54" girth. Hopefully that will be enough.

On a different topic, here is an absolutely gorgeous Lusitano doing an incredible piaffe, or trot in place. Beautiful, and VERY correct. Aahhh....

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Z6F0LN9sA


L

Actual Picture!

Here you go! Hopefully tomorrow I'll actually have time to sit down and organize photos, and post about how the rides are going. Until now, here is a (casual) picture of Anatolian Star to look at! As soon as I learn my way around this camera better I intend to post some conformation shots and "fancy" pictures. Hope you're all having a great evening!


L

First Rides!

I have now been on Anatolian twice, and he has a very comfortable back, not too bony! I also measured him, and he is 15.3 HH, or 61 inches. So that was a good guess, this time :-)

He's actually a little bit sluggish so far, in that he is unwilling to leave Mira and the pasture - certainly not leave them at a trot! I have been taking him and her out, sometimes together, sometimes separately, ever since I got him, but he still is doing his best to be herd bound! I will start up the hill and he'll meander slowly up, but around the time that he would lose sight of Mira, (who always calls a lot) he would stop. 'Till now, I have just had my sis pull on his halter to get him started again when he wouldn't respond to being turned to one side or to increasing amounts of leg. I didn't want to get in a fight with him, especially at such an early stage!

I think tomorrow on our ride, though, I might take along my purple "carrot stick" whip, just to see if waving it might convince him I'm serious. If he doesn't respond to that, I will tap his hindquarters with it. I think that will be less likely to make him "blow up" than progressively using harder and harder leg aids would. I have rubbed the stick all over him and he was not as reactive as Mira still is with it, so that is good. (She is a lot better now, but still tends to get wide-eyed and jumpy)

One funny thing is, remember how I said Mira was squealing a lot when he first came, as if to say that SHE would be the boss here? And how he never got aggressive back? Well, despite that, he is most definitely the boss! If he moves toward her pile of hay, she will leave it immediately. Sometimes she gets ticked off, and squeals, but she always gets out of his way. I've only seen him show teeth a couple times - he is still pretty calm most of the time - but he most definitely is the top horse! I have to feed him a little of Mira's Senior Soup every time I feed her, so that I can get a chance to put her into the round pen to eat in peace - he thinks her soaked feed is divino!!! One part about having him around cracks me up, and that is that I'm realizing just how much of a drama queen Mira really is. In a totally nice way, though!

He is also making me remember the early days with Mira, when I did a lot of ground work with her to build respect. He is somewhat more pushy than she was, so I am working on teaching him the same thing I taught her - if he's within 20 feet of the fence, he has to be facing me when I come over to feed or whatever. That was a major help with her, for some reason! So far he still tests me at every opportunity, just to see how much I am going to notice. Like, yesterday he purposely moved his foot to where it was almost stepping on mine, trying to put his head over mine at the same time. I was like, "Sorry dude, not allowed. Scoot." I am spoiled now with Mira - If you tap her gently anywhere on her body, she will move for you immediately, and she is not only respectful, but she's happy about it, too. I know I'll get there with him soon, and it'll be fascinating to see the differences in their personalities in the process!

Hopefully I'll have enough time to update tomorrow evening after my ride and let you know how the third one goes!

Thanks again to everyone for your nickname suggestions! I have been trying each one out on him, to see which one fits best. I will let you know soon!


L

Ladder needed :-)

So, I had to wait until I got Anatolian's hooves trimmed before riding him. He came with a western saddle, and I already own a western saddle. Both of them are too wide for him though, I believe. He has a couple white spots on his withers and I would bet they were caused by being ridden in the western saddle, as a saddle that is too wide will press on the withers. Thoroughbreds are usually much narrower in proportion than the Quarter Horses that western saddles are designed for. Fortunately, he doesn't have huge "shark" withers like a lot of TBs, so I don't think he'll be too hard to fit. Until I get a saddle that fits him well, though, I plan to just ride him in the bareback pad. I adore that thing anyway, it's SOO comfortable and secure! A lady I know is going to loan me her English saddle so I can see if it fits him. I continue to be amazed and grateful at how helpful so many horse people are. It's so cool :-)

Anyway, we tacked him up with the bareback pad today, putting my snaffle bit on him. Then I led him over to the "mounting block" that I always used with Mira, and surprise, surprise! I can't quite reach! He's just a bit too tall for me to climb on. (I cannot just put my foot in the stirrup to get on when using the bareback pad, as it would slide too much even though I use a breastcollar. I have to start out high enough to slide on.) So, I settled for just getting him used to me leaning over him and talking to him and petting him from up there. As usual, he was a good boy. Tomorrow I'll have someone give me a hand up, and while I'm out there tomorrow I plan to measure and see exactly how many hands high he is. I'm guessing just under 16 HH, so we'll see how accurate I am!

Oh! I also found a record of one particular race he ran in at Del Mar on August 9th last year! He didn't win, but oh well. :-) The people I bought him from did not have his registration papers, but I do know the name of the people they got him from, so I am looking online to try to find a way to contact them. No hurry, but it would be nice if I could get them eventually...

That's it for tonight! Please do vote for your favorite name on this thread. Thanks!


L