Category: Other “Stuff”

Road Trip #4. What Could Go Wrong???

Sometimes you just have to roll with whatever comes your way….

We arrived at the 14 acre facility by 9am. A peaceful, sunny day. Except for the groundskeeper, we had the place to ourselves. This was the perfect set up for schooling a young green horse and letting  my daughter and her pony school some cross country jumps. So, how did it go so wrong?

OK maybe there were a few strong wind gusts showing up intermittently. And that groundskeeper, he may have pulled out a weedwhacker and decided that the area around our trailer needed immediate attention. I am guessing there was absolutely nothing else on the entire facility that he could work on at that moment.

Of course I didn’t even know he pulled out a weedwhacker. I was at the back of the facility about to longe my Dinosaur of a horse and my daughter was at the front setting jumps.

Dino spooked and bolted on the line.  I looked up to see a cute fat pony galloping straight for us-broken leather halter flapping below his chin. I was certain that this wasn’t going to turn out well.

Dino and pony are good buddies, but they play hard. They kick, rear and try to take each other down. So, you can imagine my fear at that monent. Scared baby Dinosaur say hello to galloping pony….yeah, this isn’t going well.

To my surprise, pony ran up to Dino, stopped and rubbed his head all over the top of Dino’s back and hind end. Poor little pony needed a bit of security! Weedwhackers do occasionally devour ponies I am told.

Feeling better, Pony then took off bucking and did something I don’t think I will ever see again. He ran to the cross country jumps and tried to stand his front legs on a hay bale- just like a circus pony. He was staring right at me too! He then took off and jumped a cross country jump. He was having a great time!

 

Go ahead, try and catch me!

Since there were no other horses at the facility, I opted to just leave pony loose until Kelsey returned-a full 10 minutes later. What was I going to catch him with anyway???Occasionally pony would take off and buck getting Dino all riled up. But, the lure of green grass eventually  won out every time.

 

Dino and Pony calm enough to grab a bite

Needless to say, Dino was pretty freaked out after all of the commotion. It took a looong time and some more longeing before I was willing to get on and ride. Again, he gave me nothing spectacular, but he didn’t do anything dumb either. I consider that a success given how the day started!

 

Pony trying to look innocent in his broken halter

Pony, however, went on to have a solid round of jumping some cross country schooling jumps with my daughter. He normally is the definition of bombproof-but certainly didn’t start the day that way!

 

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Road Trip #3: Dino Discovers His Calling

With the DISASTER of Road Trip #2 a few months behind us, I got up enough courage to  embark on a new adventure. The last trip was so bad, I have no pix, no blog posts…there was nothing about it I wanted to remember. Let’s just say it included the dredging of the adjacent creek with a nifty little tractor that grabs the brush, snaps it out of the ground and pulverizes it all in one swift move….not something that goes over well with a green horse learning to travel.

Today went better. Dino discovered his true calling…Polo. Seriously, the horse was mesmerized by the polo ponies. Most horses would freak hearing the horses gallop up and down the arena, smacking the ball against the wall. Not this 17.1 hand giant. He wanted to play! I don’t know how to break the news to him, that a lumbering horse like Dino is not suited for the fast moving pace of arena polo….I guess I’ll just let him dream.

Dino Dreams of Playing Polo
Dino Dreams of Playing Polo
The rest of the trip just points out how far Dino needs to go before he becomes a show horse. He is still very nervous and tense. It didn’t stop him from dropping in the warm up arena for a good roll, however. How am I going to show this horse if he needs to roll every time he arrives at a new location???

Dino makes himself at home.
Dino makes himself at home.
I was able to get on and ride a bit, but to describe him as unfocused would be an understatement. Dino was so tense and ADHD, he could barely “hear” the aids.  I never got anything really nice out of him, but it will come. I just need patience, and he needs experience.

Dino learning to be a dressage horse-even if he would rather play polo!
Dino learning to be a dressage horse-even if he would rather play polo!
The good news is that Dino trailers like a champ. He stayed tied to the trailer with no issues while I helped Kelsey school pony over some Xcountry fences. (I remember a certain thoroughbred digging holes to China while tied to the trailer…. so happy I don’t have to deal with that again).  Dino really is a good boy, but he did throw a  little fit when I took him away from the polo ponies ;-). Silly dinosaur!

I love this Dinosaur!
I love this Dinosaur!
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Dino’s First Road Trip

 free walk 
My ADHD 4 year old Dinosaur finally went on his first real road trip to PVRA! Here is the good, the bad and the ugly of today’s journey:

The Good: 

Dino is excellent in the trailer. He loads and unloads like a dream- all on command. He is still a bit nervous on the ride, but he is eating, so that is good. 

I am not sure where to classify this next event, but I think it is a positive sign.  While hand walking Dino in the dressage court, we made it up the middle to C when Dino decided to drop and roll. He left me there holding the other end of the lead rope not exactly sure what was happening. Maybe he isn’t too nervous after all!

The Bad

Actually Dino wasn’t bad at all, but let’s just say he needs more travelling experience before I show him. He did what every young horse does- he looked at EVERYTHING! His ADHD was through the roof. When he doesn’t pay attention, he either over-reacts or under-reacts to commands.  I don’t take it personally.  He even does this with the flies. He ignores them for awhile and then kicks out at them in frustration. 

The Ugly:

Maybe this is more sad than ugly….. But Dino thinks that every horse he sees is there soley to come play with him. If a horse even walks near him, he gets so excited. His head goes up. He dances. He calls. And then watches them intently until they are out of sight. (it’s like taking a dog to a dog park and then making them stay on a leash- kind of sad). This is how Dino was around the barn when he was two, and he has mostly grown out of it at home.   I wonder how long it will take until Dino realizes that no one is coming over to play? Poor Dino. 

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I LOVE Halloween!

I’ve always loved Halloween, and sometimes I even get the horses involved. Here are a couple of the costumes that these wonderful animals have tolerated:-).

Of course, I have to carve a “horse” pumpkin every year too. I never though to take pictures of my past pumpkins until the last couple of years…better late than never. I am still looking for inspiration for this year’s pumpkin….ideas anyone?

I had really hoped to dress Dino and Pony up this year. I even have a costume idea where they could enter as a team….I kind of ran out of time though. Maybe next year!

Happy Halloween!

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