Recently I put a saddle on 2 yr. old Glendale in his stall for the first time, and second time was in the barn aisle. Thanks to all the handling he has had, as well as to wearing a surcingle, he could have cared less about having a saddle on his back when he was standing around.
Glen first saddled in his stall, eating hay.
Add in a saddle-wearing session at liberty, and I felt he should be OK to pony out on the trail WITH his saddle on.
Liberty session, desensitizing Glendale to feel, sights and sounds of having a foreign object stuck on his back. He reaches his head around once to itch at it.
Just before this video he had gotten a little spooked by the saddle when he started running with it on and the sounds startled him. Here I let him move around by himself so he can hear and feel it. I flap the stirrups so he can hear the sounds in a non-threatening way.
For ponying, I had him wear his training bridle and an eggbutt snaffle bit. The halter-bridle makes it convenient to teach him to accept the bit…
Bridling and bitting Glen in his halter-bridle. Mouthing the bit is a way of dealing with it, checking it out, learning that he can’t get it out. Gilford did the same thing in the beginning.
Before we left the barn, I ponied him bridled and saddled in the paddock and trotted a couple of times to be sure he wasn’t going to get worried any more about the saddle. His lead rope was attached to a halter ring under his chin, and NO ropes or reins were attached to the bit.
All I really wanted to achieve was to put some mileage on Glendale with the saddle on. We rode out locally for nearly 2 hours on streets and woods trails, with Hubby riding big brother Gilford.
Glendale ready to start out ponying with me and mom Willy. I tied up the stirrups so they couldn’t slip down and flop around. Next time I will leave them down.
He didn’t seem obviously concerned about the saddle, however he WAS balky about trotting… he would either refuse or he would trot a few steps then stop dead, which I had to be cautious about to keep from losing hold of his lead rope. Whenever he stopped I was forced to stop his mom, then I would put very firm pressure on his leadline until he yielded and walked up to me.
He continued this behavior during our rideout and it was pretty puzzling to me, because he had always ponied like a dream previously (bare, with a halter) and had been very willing to trot and was light in hand. He got somewhat better as we went along, I practiced a lot of walk to trot to walk transitions and did not trot very far before walking again because I didn’t like him learning that he could just stop by himself.
However, he never did just keep trotting freely for very long spells at a time. I found myself anticipating when he was about to slow down and I would start walking before he did in attempt to keep him walking instead of dead-stopping from the trot.
Why did he do this?? If only he could talk… since he had never been balky when being ponied wearing just a halter, I had to conclude either the saddle or the bit was bothering him. I know the girth was pretty tight, perhaps it was pinching him. The leading ring of the halter-bridle because of its construction did not allow my lead rope to apply the same poll pressure that a halter applies, rather it put more pressure on his noseband. Whatever the reason, Glendale was either confused or uncomfortable or both. He walked fine but would only trot for short spells, whether on streets or in the woods.
I did not get after him about it, I don’t want to sour him to any of his training. I will give him the benefit of a doubt even though I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. If I get to pony him again soon, I will try a simple halter again with no saddle and see what happens.
Glendale will be mounted soon and start under-saddle training with Joann Gelinas Snow, Gelinas Farm in Pembroke NH, who trained his mother all those years ago (16!) and started Gilford 2 years ago.
While he is with Joann, we hope to get Glendale hitched to a training cart as well. His ground driving has gone well, though he will need some more mileage with that before we hitch him. As she did with Gilford, Joann will most likely get Glen dragging logs and things while working with him under saddle, as prep work for getting him used to pulling things along beside and behind him.
This is Joann on Gilford 2 years ago when he was first being ridden; she’s lassoed a log and has him backing away from it.
Joann is such a marvelous natural horsemanship trainer– she always has been. She is the type of trainer who will immediately see what areas a horse needs work in and will refine everything Glen knows, plus teach him any more basics he needs to know. She has an innate sensitivity to horses and can tune into how to communicate with each one. It will be a very interesting time now to see how he compares to what his brother did in this stage of training… at two Glendale is ready to start becoming a REAL horse!!
For RELATED stories, search Blog on:
ponying
saddle training
colt starting
ground driving
Inspired by the Contest offered by EasyCare Inc., I delved into I-Movie on my Macintosh G-4 and lo and behold, put together a few of my videos with music and effects– and VOILA!! Willy and Gilford (and even Peaches!) videoed from horseback and carriage, in the mountains of Tamworth and Gilford N.H. and Danville, Vermont.
ENJOY!! Gil and Wil look forward to your comments!!
It was not so hard once I got started, I-Movie makes it straightforward. Years back I had watched someone making a digital movie so I had an inkling of what the interface would be like. My computer’s processing speed is not the greatest but tolerable.
First I picked the video clips I liked most and figured out how to edit them down, plus several stills I wanted to mix in. Then I had to concept the order I wanted things to appear, keeping pacing and overall length in mind. The tranisitions and effects (built into I-Movie) were tons of fun to blend between clips and get a flow to the images.
Lastly, adding the music was the most fun of all. I pulled music files from some of my personal favorites (mostly modern folk and blues guitar,) then arranged them to emphasize the pacing I wanted. I have requested permissions from the musical artists and hopefully they won’t mind… the music is by:
Harry Manx (Hector’s Song from ALBUM West Eats Meet) Kaki King (Ingots and Solopsist from ALBUM Legs to Make Us Longer) David Jacobs-Strain (Yelapa Breakdown from ALBUM Ocean or a Teardrop)
plus clips from National Park Series “The Great Smoky Mountains”
and “Acadia” by Orange Tree Productions.
After using peastone gravel since last November, I believe it IS helping to maintain our barefoot horses’ hooves (PEASTONE GRAVEL for Barefoot Horses.) Over the winter they went three months without a trim and then didn’t need much taken off. Since spring they have been getting trimmed every two months. We do a small amount of shaping with a rasp in between trims. The two youngsters, who have never worn shoes, have outstanding wide triangular frogs over about one-third of their foot bottoms.
Arabian mare Momma Willy on track… perimeter fence can also be seen next to trees on upper end. The center is reserved for limited controlled grazing.
Two-year-old Glendale, who shows more of the Arabian characteristics of his mother, has hoof walls that are really strong and hard like hers. Brother Gilford at four, who physically looks more like their percheron sire, tends to get hoof flaring and shallow vertical surface cracks. He has also had ongoing issues with splits starting in center toes of his front hooves, which the side flaring perpetuates. We try to keep his breakover rounded aggressively and we also use protective hoof boots (EasyCare Boas) on his front feet when we work him. We have this summer begun a serious diet with him (GRAZING MUZZLE); by keeping his weight down we hope to ease his hoof flaring and splitting issues.
Picking pea gravel frequently is a bit of a challenge, but it needs to be kept clean to remain effective longer. I tried to clean it by hosing it down but that was marginally effective; if I had a high-pressure hose it might be much more useful. As it was, hosing does hugely reduce the urine smell, but it does not really wash out debris, though it does wash it down into the base of the gravel a bit. I found I needed to add a couple inches more new peastone on top of my base in mid-summer.
The peastone has proved VERY useful in gateways which are seasonally muddy; by throwing gravel into the gateways on top of the mud, AND ditching below them for runoff, my gateways now have fairly decent footing instead of becoming sloppy soup whenever it rains a lot. This has helped quite a lot to slow down my mare’s Scratches outbreaks this summer.
All three on track, Willy, Gil (black) and Glendale in the distance. They tend to keep moving along track and often it is clockwise.
The track I made a la Jaime Jackson’s Paddock Paradise (PADDOCK PARADISE POST) has proved a very convenient way to manage the pasture AND give our horse family a bit more exercise. I have the center partitioned into halves which I can rotate the horses through as needed, and the perimeter track is now a hard-packed and useful place for them to self-exercise. There is still enough grass on the track for them to think they are getting something to eat, meanwhile traveling around it at a healthy pace. Frequently they even gallop around it for various reasons of their own, such as getting themselves separated from each other, trying to escape a swarm of bugs, or running back to the barn.
The nature of the perimeter track is such that once they are on it, they HAVE to travel further to get somewhere else OR to get back off of it, such as to get to water or to return to the barn. So if they want to go somewhere in a hurry, they sort of turn into race horses! This is a cool thing to watch!
Willy gallops off track back to barn, followed by Glendale, with Gilford bringing up the rear! Peaches then comes to me after escorting horses to barn.
At least, Glendale and his mom Willy turn into race horses; older brother Gilford has moved to the bottom of their pecking order, being the least energetic and strong-willed of the three, and he always brings up the rear when they take off, usually trotting while Glen and Will gallop off ahead. It is amusing that younger brother Glendale, by the time he was a year and a half, had discovered he could push his big brother around. Now Glen even toys with trying to push his mother around, but mom Willy mare is still his boss when she wants to be, although she will let him gallop in front of her at times– and he can out-gallop her too!
So I will continue to recommend you try out peastone gravel AND a paddock paradise track for your own horses– they have been worth the effort for me, and are paying off in healthier and very happy horses living a more natural lifestyle.
See all the updated blog info on using peastone gravel for horsekeeping… and be sure to look for other folks’ COMMENTS at the end of these posts.
Spotted Water Hemlock (cicuta maculata aka. Cowbane,) a plant highly toxic to livestock and people if ingested, is still a growing threat in areas of Gilford. As reported last summer, owners of grazing animals should beware, especially if Cowbane is found near drinking water sources. The roots if trampled can poison a small pond with a deadly neurotoxin which can kill animals drinking it.
Toxic effects
Identified three and five years ago on Schoolhouse Hill Road and Watson Road by county and state agents, and verified last summer by the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, this season’s stands of Cowbane are not as lush as last summer which saw an excess of rain. Nevertheless, it is still present and spreading. It is considered one of the most poisonous plants in the U.S., containing a deadly toxin which affects the central nervous system when ingested. The roots of the Water Hemlock have a high concentration of cicutoxin, lethal even in small amounts. One gram of Water Hemlock per kilogram of body weight will kill a sheep, and eight ounces (approximately 230 grams) is enough to kill a horse.
Fresh leaves and stems can also be deadly when browsed in the spring. Roots getting into a haycrop are a real danger, since drying does NOT reduce the toxicity of the roots. Animals have been poisoned by drinking water contaminated by trampled Water Hemlock roots. Humans have died after only one or two bites of root, mistaken for wild parsnip or artichoke.
How to identify
Related to the parsnip, carrot and parsley family, Cowbane can grow up to 6 feet tall when flowering, with stems up to two inches thick at base; it produces white blooms similar in appearance to Queen Anne’s lace in late summer, and is easiest to spot right now while in bloom. It has leafy lower foliage and thick, often purplish-striped or mottled, hollow jointed stems somewhat like bamboo; broken stems may exude yellowish oily or watery liquid smelling like parsnip. Cowbane is biannual– first-year plants will be lower to the ground and leafy; they bloom in their second year, when the tall thick flowering stem spikes are sent up.
Known locations in Gilford
Cowbane grows in damp, marshy areas, and recent rainy summers have helped its spread locally, often along stream banks and roadside drainage ditches. Stands of Water Hemlock/Cowbane have been identified in the following locations in Gilford (and may be in other areas as well):
Schoolhouse Hill Road
Gunstock Hill Road
Watson Road
Gilman Road
Old Lake Shore Road
Cherry Valley Road at 11B junction and along Gunstock stream
Henderson Road in the stream under the bridge
How to control
In controlling the Cowbane’s spread, precautions should be taken, according to Doug Cygan, N.H. Dept. of Agriculture (contact info below):
Wear rubber gloves, and avoid skin contact with sap, especially to face or eyes– when it’s flowering, there is also chance of a dermal (skin) reaction to the pollen or even an asthmatic response;
Use spade or tined fork to uproot the plant and remove its branching root system;
Place plants in black plastic trash bags, out of reach of pets;
Place bags in the sun to “cook” for a few days to dry out the plants;
They may then be disposed of in regular trash.
As concerned horse owners, my husband and I, along with several of our neighbors, have for two years mowed down large patches of Water Hemlock and also pulled up individual plants. Because it is a biannual, frequent mowing every year is effective; mowing just as it starts to flower would limit new outbreaks. Spraying with an herbicide suitable for woody-stemmed plants such as poison ivy should kill it. We urge other area residents to help curtail the spread of this dangerous species immediately, while it is easiest to identify and before full bloom has seeded new plants.
To find more information and photographs of poisonous Spotted Water Hemlock online:
Friendly Granite State members welcome drivers and riders at hospitality table.
Hubby chats with friend Bob.
Our camping field had a glorious view of Mt. Chocorua.
Overnight horse campers often use temporary electric fencing with step-in plastic posts to make pens for the horses, as we do here with Willy and Gilford. The charger may be solar-powered or battery-operated. Some people carry sections of round pens.
Momma Wil and Gilford heard a noise in the woods! Our truck is parked next to fence using the truck battery to power the fence charger.
We sleep and cook in our 20-ft. gooseneck stock horse trailer, which we have customized to a large extent to suit our needs. In our case, we need to be able to transport the Meadowbrook cart and one or two horses. The cart goes in the front of the trailer with the shafts going up into the goosenect part. With a bit more rigging and a lot more trouble (hanging the cart off the back of the trailer using comealongs) we could haul up to 4 horses AND the cart. Folks get very clever in making customizations to their horse trailers, and we have seen many variations on this theme.
These sorta funky shots can give you an idea of the inside of our trailer while we’re camping…
Front of trailer, showing mattress/bed in gooseneck, shelf dropped on left for cooking space, bridle and harness hooks on right hanging clothing etc. The plywood along the right side is another drop-down shelf which we are not using; this is how it is secured up when we’re hauling. Simple nylon curtains are used as mosquito/fly netting for the bed area. Two plastic storage drawer units (seen on either side of the bed) live in the trailer, stocked with non-perishable supplies. The red curtain/mosquito net at left covers the entry/escape door of the trailer. All this netting requires clever use of collapsible tent poles as curtain rods, velcro and various type of hooks.
Looking towards rear of trailer, space is approx. 8×10 ft. The center divider gate of trailer is closed and mosquito netting covers that ceiling to floor. On really cold nights we hang a tarp where the netting is, which cuts down on drafts and lets the space get pretty warm from the cookstove and lantern. In this front half of the trailer there are plexiglas inserts closing off the side air vents, and styrofoam insulation in the roof stops condensation and helps in warming and cooling.
View from the bedroom window!
Neighbor riders saddling up…
A Gypsy Vanner horse put to a four-wheeled cart, and some riders preparing for their excursion.
Gilford and Hubby start out on our 10-mile drive/ride. We did a 5-miler the first day.
Double-checking the map… both horses are wearing fly masks, some small help against the deer flies.
Per Science@NASA
Got a calendar? Circle this date: Sunday, August 12th. Next to the circle write “all night” and “Meteors!” Attach the above to your refrigerator in plain view so you won’t miss the 2007 Perseid meteor shower.
“It’s going to be a great show,” says Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. “The Moon is new on August 12th–which means no moonlight, dark skies and plenty of meteors.” How many? Cooke estimates one or two Perseids per minute at the shower’s peak.
The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is nowhere near Earth, the comet’s tail does intersect Earth’s orbit. We glide through it every year in August. Tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth’s atmosphere traveling 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light–a meteor–when it disintegrates. Because Swift-Tuttle’s meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, they are called “Perseids.”
Note: In the narrative that follows, all times are local. For instance, 9:00 pm means 9:00 pm in your time zone, where you live.
The show begins between 9:00 and 10:00 pm on Sunday, August 12th, when Perseus rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers–meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping the surface of a pond.
“Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors,” says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these–”at most”–but seeing even one makes the long night worthwhile.
As the night unfolds, Perseus climbs higher and the meteor rate will increase many-fold. “By 2 am on Monday morning, August 13th, dozens of Perseids may be flitting across the sky every hour.” The crescendo comes before dawn when rates could exceed a meteor a minute.
For maximum effect, Cooke advises, “get away from city lights.” The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.
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Thanks to horse-friend Kim for passing this along!!
Don’t forget to check back to my Ground Driving Horse Training Step by Step post of July 16 if you haven’t recently… ongoing updates of Glendale’s training sessions have been added as recently as Aug. 6. This week HorseGal is visiting with me for some shared horse fun, and with any luck I can get her to take some more pix and videos of Glen’s progress!!
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM EasyCare—
Wanted to make sure you were aware of EasyCare’s Summer Video Contest. We are currently accepting video submissions showing horses in EasyCare Boots. This fun contest gives people the opportunity to submit their own booting tips or commercials to EasyCare via YouTube.com that depicts or illustrates how to use EasyCare Hoof Boots, or showing EasyCare Hoof Boots in action. The contest has been running all summer and ends on August 31st.
The contest has lots of great prizes and we’d love to have you entered in it too. All you have to do is make a video and post it to Youtube. Use this link EasyCare Videos to view some of the videos we have already received for the contest.
Use this link EasyCare Hoof Boot Video Contest to learn more about the contest. There it will direct you to our official rules as well as give you the opportunity to check out the cool prizes we have lined up.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. Have a great day!
Best,
Tara Kelly
Tara Kelly
EasyCare, Inc.
2300 E. Vistoso Commerce Loop
Tucson, AZ 85755
520-297-1900 x 2233
tkelly@easycareinc.com
www.easycareinc.com
