Adventures with Shyloh

no stirrups, right?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 18:46:00 +0000

Technically, I did No Stirrup November, since I didn't ride at all with a saddle. This will continue into January.

Just sitting, and trying to keep her from eating grass. So she decided to try to eat the picnic table instead.

I had another "reining" ride on Shyloh this weekend. She was spinning, spinning, spinning. The ride actually started out really well. Me and Terry on Reba walked out back and took a newly cleared path behind a mountain of dirt. Then we went off to the side of the property, where for some unknown reason there is a wagon that is stored in front of some empty stalls. Shy always gives this wagon the hairy eyeball and a wide berth. As if she were to walk close to it, it may just attach itself to her and she would have to pull it.

We stopped to talk to some friends and this is were Shy got silly. She could see her "spot" and wanted to go there. I would turn her around and then around we would go again. Round and round, I was getting dizzy! And each circle brought us closer to her end point, where there was also a drop off of about a foot. So I got off, walked her back to our friends and got back on. Shy was fine with that for maybe 10 minutes, then she got bored and wanted to go back again. This time, it was a head tossing spin session. I was able to get her straightened out and still and not facing the coveted "spot". Then I hopped off and made her stand for a while. After a while, then we went to the spot.

Incredibly smug look because she is happy to be at her spot.

Oh, and I made it through a scoot! And survived!

Chilling out on the pony while she eats

Ugh, her and that spot! But I do realize that it is my fault, it is where she gets tacked and untacked, gets fed, gets treats, gets groomed. And she can survey most of the comings and goings about the barn from that spot. But, being a pasture boarded horse, we do not have many options of places we can use, so it is just something I will have to fight Shy about.

The day before, Beth came up from Ohio to visit. We went out to the barn and Beth got on Shy bareback and rode her for a minute in just her halter. Shy even trotted nicely for her! Of course, Shy decided she had to be extra silly all day, just because she can. It was a fun day.

Beth and Shy

And for a little belated Thanksgiving thanks, I am so thankful for Shyloh. She is just so much fun and has come so far. I can do things with her I never thought possible and she puts up with all of my craziness. I am also incredibly thankful for all my horse friends who have been there and encouraged me through some of our tougher times. I am also thankful for the support of blog land and those who continue to read (sparse at it may be now-a-days). It is reassuring to know there are others out there like me and the kind words and support have been amazing! Thank you!

better rides

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 19:18:00 +0000

This week has given us snow, freezing rain, below zero temps, rain, and now 50 degree weather. Shyloh seems to not be fazed by any of it.

Me and Terry went out to the barn to take advantage of the nice weather before it plummets back down to below freezing later in the week. Shy continues to be a burr magnet and she is getting increasingly irritable at me pulling them out, especially by her ears. I keep telling her to stop sticking her head in burr patches, but it is like she doesn't understand (haha).

Terry talked me into a ride today and I reluctantly agreed. I just wasn't feeling it, but I am glad I did it. I think Terry was regretting it though, since Reba cowkicked her, gave her a hard time with the bridle (tall horse/short person,easy to do), then was a butt for mounting. But, as usual, Reba was great for the actual ride part.

Shy has been doing excellent with her mounting, no issues in forever. I hopped right up and Shy was ready to go. She tried to do her spins like last time, but I think I was a bit more sure of myself and Shy gave up really easily. After that, Shy was a golden pony.

We led the whole ride! Shy was great. Relaxed, sure of herself, walking at a nice place, and listening to me great. All I had to do was turn my head and she went in the direction I wanted. We had such a good time and Shy really seemed to enjoy herself.

After, Reba and Shy got their treats from Terry in the pasture. They are so cute when they mug her for the treats.

I am loving these bareback jaunts on Shy and I think she likes them, too. Maybe it will be time to brave the trails on the property soon. . .

year end awards

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 14:35:00 +0000

A couple weekends ago, we had the Northwest Driving Circuit Year End Awards party. This year we have away some really cool prizes which included harness boxes with engraved plaques, cart stands, belt buckles, NWODC clothing, and a bunch of other stuff. All the kids got sack packs with the logo on it, too.

Me and Shyloh got first place for Trail in Hand! I was super excited for this, it was something that we have worked very hard on. And, I think that is pretty good, since we missed the double judges show. We got a trail kit, which included cones and poles. I am excited about using that to practice more. Plus, Shy really likes doing this stuff and we can also work on it whole riding. Now, I need a bridge. . .

After the awards part, everyone partook in some bowling fun. I love this group of people that we show with. Every one has fun and encourages each other to do their best. I am looking forward to next years shows!

Also, my internet at home is spotty and the weather has plummented to below freezing in a matter of days. Shy's fuzz is keeping her super warm, but I do not have nearly as much fuzz as her, so posting may be sporadic for a while.

spins

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:17:00 +0000

I rode Shyloh again. And she was a brat. Actually, it was all rider error and mixed signals. . .but I will say that Shy took it pretty well, considering.

Me and Terry wanted to take the horses on a bareback jaunt through the property. Shy had completely different plans, which mostly included spinning in circles and watching the racing horses gallop. Maybe she has secret dreams of becoming a Haflinger race horse?

Unfortunately, trolls cannot be race horses.

We started out our ride going in a different direction than last week. Shy got constantly stuck in certain spots. One spot was the gate to the woods. I think she wanted to go in the woods, but I am not ready for that. I would turn her to go in the direction I wanted, to which she would comply, but then continue the turn all the way back around.

Round and round in tight circles we went until I got dizzy and wanted to give up. I will admit, I was afraid that Shy would get scared of potential consequences until she just took off (it has happened before). But she didn't. In fact, she was completely calm and just very matter of factly kept spinning so she could face the direction she wanted.

Terry kept pushing me to fix my self, fix my reins, make Shy listen. Shy was determined to not listen to me. So, Terry got on and of course Shy was perfect. Go to the back of the property without a fight? No problem. Trot the most comfortable, best trot ever? Sure! Although, Terry did almost slide off Shy when Shy performed her wiggle that had her front end turning one way and her back end going the other. But that is Shy's M.O. Perfect rides for new riders and old riders (if she hasn't been ridden in a while). The next ride is the testing ride, to see what she can get away with.

I got back on and Shy was back to her old games. Spin, spin, spin. Fancy sideways moves. Spin. Go forward, slam on brakes, spin. Terry pointed out (correctly, I will add), that all of Shy's behaviors on this ride are my fault and she is totally pushing my buttons. Also, we were in a negative feedback loop. . . Shy spun, I got tense and locked up, she spun more, I got tense, more spinning. I need to loosen up. Shy was waiting for me to give up. And I was ready to, but Terry would not let me.

Eventually, after much convincing on my part, I got Shy to the back of the property. Whew. Walking back to the front, we had such a lovely forward walk. I relaxed. But I did not let Shy go to the spot that she was seeking out, the tack up area. I stopped her way before that and got off, then walked her around a bit before we went there.

After, I was frustrated with my inability to to relax and make her do what I wanted. I was frustrated with Shy for giving me such a hard time. But, I was also grateful that she remained calm and didn't become the ball of tenseness that she has become in situations like this in the past. And for that, I am relieved that she has come so far. Now I need to work on me.

fuzz

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:31:00 +0000

I have no new updates. . .boring, right? More crappy, rainy weather has been happening. And now that it is almost dark by the time I get to the barn, it really sucks.

Shyloh is preparing herself for winter by continuing to grow in fuzz. Lots of fuzz. Fuzz that still finds its way to burrs. Burrs that bury themselves in fuzz. It seems never ending.

But Shy makes a really cute fuzzy pony. And more fuzz is yet to come.

Fuzzy legs

Fuzzy ears

Fuzzy head, sad disappearing forelock

I've been reading about horses already being clipped and blankets being put on. . . and I am just not ready for winter. She does not get clipped or blanketed, she gets to be a hairy beast all winter. We don;t do nearly enough to warrant a clip and I am pretty sure I would be walking 15 acres looking for a torn up blanket if I went that route. Plus, she has plenty of shelter in the woods from the wind and rain and she has always been warm when I touch her in the winters.

So, how fuzzy are your horses?

riding!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:41:00 +0000

Since I have moved barns, I have been getting on Shyloh a lot more. We have been riding around bareback.

First it started out with very short walks to one barn and back. We would go to say hi to the people there and then go back. Then we would go past the barn and go back.

Visiting

Mostly, this was because we were by ourselves and I didn't want to get into something I couldn't get out of and a lot of times it calms me to have another person with me. So short walks back and forth it was.

There was also a lot of sitting on Shy. Sitting while she ate, sitting while she stood and just hopping up and down. This really got Shy used to it and now her head doesn't fly up when someone gets on her. It is just another thing.

While I have been sitting on her, I have been working on balance and doing silly things, like "flying" and moving around a lot.

Stuck at the spot.

There was a time when I wanted Shy to walk around, but she didn't want to leave her spot. I later realized that I was looking at her ears (because I will be able to tell when Shy feels like being stupid by looking at her ears, right?). I corrected my head, which in turn corrected my position, and then Shy walked away from her spot. So easy.

Just yesterday, we walked the big loop around the property and did a little side loop, too. Shy was amazing. I felt comfortable and the complete opposite of stiff. Shy listened beautifully and was perfectly happy following Reba along the paths.

Back of the property!

Terry mentioned how much better my position and seat were when I was not in a saddle. I don't know why, but I feel so much more comfortable that way. Saddle or no saddle, I am thrilled to be out on my pony!

no to wheels

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:52:00 +0000

Shyloh has been doing fantasically well in her open bridle line driving. Seriously, it has been awesome. I have even taught her to side pass from the long lines, not that it would ever be useful in a cart, but we like doing things like that.

We also like taking braids out and having curly hair-do's!

The first couple attempts warranted evil glares back at me. She knew what I was asking, but she also knew her dinner was waiting. Shy gave me some very sad excuses for stepping sideways, which included a lot of forward motion. Eventually, I was able to get some good side stepping out of her and Shy got her dinner. It is so hard to move both the front and back legs sideways at the same time (according to Shy)!

The next few tries went much, much better. I'll have to get some video. But there you have it for another useless skill!

Since she has been doing really great with the line drive again, we decided to give it a try while Terry was driving Reba. We figured, with the open bridle Shy should be much more relaxed.

Well. . .when I pulled her out of the pasture and she saw the cart, from a distance, she locked in on it and wouldn't move. I got her moving again, but she was doing her best to impersonate an Arab with her flared nostrils and short, quick breathing. We didn't even have to walk by the cart to get to our spot!

I helped get Terry and Reba hooked, then tacked Shy in her gear and away we went. Reba and Terry went out ahead of us and we waited for them to pass us near an opening. And Shy tried to turn around and get the hell out of dodge. Fail.

She was able to look at it without spinning around by the fifth attempt.

I started walking behind Terry and Reba, Shy could handle that. But when I had them trot a lap and come up behind us at a walk, Shy wanted to take off again. This was not the light, easy, one handed line driving I had grown accustomed to. . .this was a two hand-er, pulling back to keep my horse from taking off. Fail again.

I tried having Terry and Reba stand on one spot while we passed them. Again, this was a two handed operation while also not letting Shy circle out 20 feet from the cart. Fail.

This was the only acceptable way to be around the cart, even so, she still had one ear on it and one ear on me.

My conclusion is that Shy hates carts and things with wheels. Beth told me not to give up quite yet, so I might give it a few more tries to see if she relaxes at all. I also plan on trying a sled again, since I had much better luck with that the one year. Sleds do not have wheels, so they must be okay, right?

I admit, I was a little disappointed. With as great as Shy had been doing, I thought she should have been able to handle the cart better, especially since she could see it and it was not attached to her. It wasn't totally terrible, but I really thought it could have been much better. Am I expecting too much? Ponies. . .

mgli 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 15:27:00 +0000

Last weekend was the Michigan Great Lakes International Draft Horse Show and Pull. I think I mentioned earlier that it was the first year that the Haflingers were there and they were doing their Haflinger and Hitch Pony Championship Series. The top four hitches that competed at qualifying events and had the highest points were driving against each other. So, of course I had to go watch!

Going to MGLI is always a fun time. We get to see the big hitch horses, all different kinds of hitches, baby horses, pulling horses, and do a little shopping.

Aside from the Haflingers, the coolest part was the farm team obstacle.

I took a couple videos and some photos, so enjoy!

He had "googles" around each eye.

Haflinger line up

My Woody!

Brabants!

rituals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:22:00 +0000

I am realizing that the weather seems to be affecting my moods more and more every year. For the past two weeks, it has been cloudy, damp, rainy, and just crappy out. I have had to drag myself to the barn. Once I am there, I feel better, but getting there is a struggle. I thought I was having a rough September, but it spilled into October and I foresee November not being any better. But such is life.

I went to the barn over the weekend and as soon as I grabbed all my stuff, it started to rain. So I put it all away and went to chill with Shyloh under the trees. Once again, she was covered in burrs, so I de-burred her. She had some on her ears, which she was not happy about. I actually had to put her in a hold to get them out, which resulted in a pissed off pony and me being shook about.

But yesterday, the sun came out! And it was glorious. It was just what I needed. I love the ritual of being with my pony. Pulling up to the barn, getting my grooming supplies out of my locker, putting them in our area, then going to get Shy is so simple, yet so comforting. Once I get her, we walk side by side to our area where I give Shy her food and start the grooming process. I de-burr, brush brush brush, and pick feet. By this time, I have forgotten all my troubles and I feel like a new person. And Shy is just so perfect for me.

Then I tack Shy up. I love that she makes everything so easy for me. She never fights tack and stands beautifully. Yesterday, since it was so nice out, I decided to line drive her through the woods. Maybe we would run into some turkeys to chase.

It was the most wonderful line drive ever. We shuffled through the woods, crunching the leaves under our feet and walking over branches.

Shy had a beautiful forward walk. She was not bothered by the noises of the leaves or the branches touching her. Sometimes, we didn't even see the sticks on the ground until they were stepped on, snapped, or rolled upward to touch legs or belly. Shy didn't bat an eye at this. I think we may have unlocked the key with an open bridle.

I was thinking while we were line driving how awesome it would be if Shy (and myself) were this calm and collected with a cart and how much fun we would have. Maybe one day we can revisit this.

I hope the sun can stay out. It doesn't have to be warm, just not cloudy. Also, my pony is incredibly fat. Ugh!She doesn't even eat that much! I think we need to add more work to our ritual. I like a chunky horse going into winter, but this is getting out of control.

muddin' and lungin'

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 22:02:00 +0000

It has been rainy here. Rainy and muddy and just gross. One day, there was a break in the drizzle, so I went to visit with Shyloh. I got to the barn and bonus!, they had already fed and the horses were finishing the last of the hay. I thought, maybe we would do some fun clicker stuff that we haven't done in a long time or maybe we would line drive.

Shy had other plans. I guess she felt like running because she played a mean game of "catch me if you can". We ran through the mud, we ran through the trees. She would let me get so close, then off she would go. My Air Ariats (named so for the "air vents" in both sides of both boots where the plastic toe piece meets the leather) collected mud as it seeped through the holes. Yuck.

She makes up her own paths

Shy has not played this game in forever, so I was not prepared with a peppermint. The mere crinkle of the wrapper will stop her in her tracks. I tried many methods, even scooping up hay remains and trying to feed them to her. It was a no-go.

The more she evaded, the madder I got. She wanted to run? Run we would. . .as soon as I caught her. Eventually, after chasing her out back and through the woods, she stopped and I caught her. Shy then did her walk of shame back up front where I promptly de-burred her and put on her lunging tack.

Thirsty? From 40 minutes of evasion? No. . .Too thirsty to continue any further? No. . .

Oh yes. . .we were going to run. I was even more pissed because I hate lunging. It is boring. And there is no round pen at the barn, so I couldn't even free lunge.

We trotted and trotted some more. I did spiral circles, big to little to big again. I had her do walk/trot transitions. A little cantering (so hard for her, even harder for me to get her into it!). Then we reversed and repeated.

A few reverses later and I had a slightly sweaty, very huffy puffy, fat pony. Guess who wasn't trying to play that game with me anymore and did perfect ground ties?

I decided that since Shy was warm, I would stretch her out. She loves her stretches! But even those weren't enough to keep her not pissy. I hope she decides it is not worth playing that game next time I go out. Plus, I don't want to lunge again.

Haha. Gotta laugh at pony, still mad after the lunge.

what's in a name blog hop

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:30:00 +0000

Hand Gallop asks us, What's in a name?

Shyloh didn't really come with a name. In fact, she went about a week without one since she was dropped off at the barn.

First day at the barn!

During that time, I got to know her. . . as much as she tried to avoid it. She refused to be caught, taking upwards of two hours and six people, she was head shy, jumpy, and had no real interest in people taking an interest in her. She actually went out of her way to steer clear of human contact.

So I spent some time thinking about a name for her, employed some friends to do the same thing. Then I spent the weekend at my dad's house. While I was there, we were throwing a bunch of names around and one name kept coming back. . .Shiloh or Shyloh or Chyloh.

That hair!

I decided to go with Shyloh, obviously. It fit her. And she completely ignored it. Even to this day, she may look up when I call her name, but usually grass or standing or anything is better than running towards me.

Later, after tracking down the few weeks after she came from the auction and before she came to me, I discovered that she was called Ginger and Pumpkin. Anything before the auction, I cannot find. I have no clue if she is registered, but I highly doubt it. I have no clue what farm she was born on, if she spent her whole life in Michigan or not, who her sire or dam are, siblings, nothing.

Her hair sure holds that curl from braids!

That doesn't really matter to me. Shy is mine. But I think it would be cool to know, to have a history. And if Shy ever got a show or registered name, it would be Miss Sassy Shyloh Templeton.

The name still fits her, even though her goofyness has really surfaced. She is shy around new people. She takes a while to warm up. But when she decides a person is okay, she is hilarious. I love it.

finally friday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:25:00 +0000

This week seemed to have an extra day added in for some reason. It just drug on and on. So it was quite the treat to have an amazingly well behaved pony when we worked today.

But let's back up a little. . .

Last weekend, Whitney Houston was brutally murdered by a raccoon. She went missing in the morning and was found after work. Not going to lie, I am still a little sad about this. She was just getting to be super friendly, laying eggs every day, and being such a talker! Terry decided to give her chicken away so she wouldn't meet the same fate, but overnight she was unfortunately taken as well. We have decided to not get new chickens with winter coming, but to start anew in spring. And work on redesigning the chicken coop.

Oh, then my car broke down on the way home from Ohio and I had to get that fixed, after being stranded on the side of the freeway for hours.

One of the most frustrating things about the place where I board is feeding time. They like to feed right when I get there from work. I have two options, either wait until Shyloh is done eating with the herd before we do any work or take her food, work her, then wait for her to eat it on her own before turning her back out with the herd. Either way, I am waiting.

So, today I waited patiently, while picking burrs off of her. I did these amazing braids earlier in the week. . .

And they actually work! Even if they look worse as each day goes by they still keep the burrs out! I can hold off on the roaching for now (evil grin).

Shy did have a couple burrs on her forelock, but nothing like the previous mess. The hard part is finding and picking the burrs out of her ever growing body hair. And her ears. Shy hates her ears touched. This caused a bit of commotion when I was trying to maximize my time with her as I tried to pick them off her swinging head as she ran and tried to eat at the same time. (And I have the nerve to call others crazy!)

After that fiasco, I tacked Shy up in her line driving gear and went for a spin around the barn. I could not have asked for a better horse (except that she ever be that good with a cart attached!). I was able to line driving using only one hand and a loose line. She responded to the slightest movement. Nothing bothered her today as we went around the property and through the woods. And we even worked on minute movements, stepping "gee" and "haw" one step at a time. It was wondrous! Stopping and standing was great and she did not give me any trouble going past the tack/untack spot, where we usually have a fight.

That was some much needed work time spent with the pony and she got some carrots for her good work. I say this a lot, but maybe there is hope for Shy yet!

Or not. . .

boarding sacrifices

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 15:17:00 +0000

For those of us that board horses, what sacrifices are you willing to make?

What I mean by this is each barn is different and offers different amenities. The first barn I boarded at had a beautiful, large, well lit indoor arena. The pastures were huge with grass and nice fencing. There was a custom feeding program and good hay provided. The stalls were large with nice bedding. The owner did training rides and gave me lessons.

Cooper, my dog, and Shy in the large arena.

But turn out was not a guarantee. . .like, if there was a 10% chance of rain or it was too cold, the horses stayed inside. So sometimes, they would be inside for days and even though I said I wanted Shyloh out pretty much no matter what, she stayed in unless I came to put her out. And sometimes the horses didn't get fed until noon. . .for their morning feed! Or midnight for their evening feed. Things would remain broken for periods of time before being fixed and there was a lot of clutter.

Outside!

So, I left for a place that had more of that I wanted. Pasture board on 15 acres with trees and fields with varied footing in a herd situation. This barn has a large outdoor arena, an indoor arena, and access to trails. It is well maintained, anything that needed work or was broken was fixed immediately. Feeding is consistent. The owner keeps an eye on the pasture horses to make sure no one is dropping weight and if so makes accommodations. And the water troughs are always full and clean.

So much woods for a woodland pony!

But this place has fencing I don't care for, not that it matters to Shy. She doesn't wear a halter in the pasture and it is so big she doesn't stay around the fences. And the fences are tall so Shy can't get hurt on them. Pasture maintenance isn't great (Burrs) and the feeding is not custom. For Shy, this doesn't matter. She is clearly doing fine with what she is getting. And although I would prefer her to be pulled out to be fed her supplements and not barn grain, they will not do that. But it is a sacrifice I am willing to make. I can feed the supplements (which is just a vitamin and mineral pellet) and Shy can get the barn grain, even though I am not a fan of grain. There is also no trainer, which is okay for me, for now. If I could afford lessons, I could bring an insured person in or haul out. We will revisit this in the spring when I am in a better situation.

I am sobbing over that forelock that Shy no longer has. Sobbing!

My friend's private barn that I took Shy to was great for being able to control Shy's food. She was out all day, she had great hay, and was very well taken care of. There was a set of eyes on her all the time and I got photos all the time of things that Shy was doing. But the paddocks were small and has no shelter and there was no riding area (except for a round pen, which got taken down) that I felt safe practicing riding. I also spent more time helping with the barn that with my horse, which was okay sometimes, since I like barn work. The main problem with this barn was the distance from home and work. It got to the point where I was spending much more time driving there and back than with my horse.

She did love her afternoon naps in the plentiful hay and sunshine, though.

In my perfect horse world, I would have acres for Shy to roam on with nice grass (but not too nice), trees, shelter, and nice fencing. I would have an enclosed place to practice, an indoor arena would be great, especially for winter. I would have all the trail equipment to practice on that I could think of along with trail access (for that elusive day when we start trail riding). Shy would get no grain but be fed her supplements every day and have quality grass hay. I would have a barn so if I needed to bring her inside for care, I could. And there would be no crazy. None. Also, more Halfingers. In my perfect horse world.

And now we have this sad excuse for a Haflinger forelock. I am still crying!

Everyone wants and needs something different for their horse. I don't have a competition horse or anything fancy. So for me, the most important things are a big area for Shy to be a horse and good feed. I think for the large area that Shy has, I sacrifice a bit on the feed. Am I thrilled about it? No. Is Shy doing just fine with this arrangement? Yes. So it is okay as long as she continues to do well.

And as long as the draft doesn't run her off her food. . .

In my area, there is not a lot of choice. It is mostly stall boarding with turnout in small paddocks. Getting the acreage I have for Shy can't be found anywhere else in the area. Or at least, I haven't found it yet.

She continues to be a goof. A forelock-less goof.

What type of sacrifices do you make in your situation? Or are there perfect barns actually out there?

burrs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 15:58:00 +0000

Burrs. . . I hate them. But Shyloh seems to love them. She is a burr magnet.

Perhaps this is why. . .

Or this. . .

Ugh! All I know is that I spend the better part of our time together picking out burrs. Big burrs in her tail and little bit of feather. Teeny tiny burrs on her legs, stomach, sides, neck, chest, ears, under her chin, and nose. Clusters of burrs in her mane and forelock. And those tiny burrs, yeah, they are about the same size as ticks.

I think she sleeps in them!

I don't even know how she gets them here.

Not only are the burrs everywhere, but they have become partially hidden by her hair as Shy begins to turn into a woolly mammoth for winter. So I have to untangle and pull the burrs out of her hair. It doesn't look like much, but they are small and have to be pulled one at a time. Luckily, Shy is very tolerant of the constant plucking of the burrs, except for the clumps by her ears.

Shy is totally okay with looking like a feral horse.

Shy's forelock has about three strands of long hair left, the rest is a fluff from being pulled out by the burrs. It is a sad, sad forelock for a Haflinger. Her mane is a twist of nastiness. And the tail. . .the tail that collects the large burrs, which then clump together and intertwine hairs and create a cluster of a mess is just awful. I cannot wait for the bugs to go away so I can put that tail up for winter.

Ugh

More ugh!

So sad!

Why?

So many tiny burrs hidden throughout.

The burrs stick to her halter and to me. I have even found them in my hoodie pocket.

But the mane and forelock. . . I am beginning to think it would be easier to roach and start over. Yes? No? Maybe so?

*All these photos where taken on different days.

ravenous draft

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 23:10:00 +0000

The following photos are very disturbing. . .do not scroll down if you don't think you can handle it. . .

These are the photos of a draft horse at dinner time. It is just awful.

Shyloh looks terrified.

See how she runs the other horses off their food? See how she won't let the other horses eat? No? Me either.

But, I guess because Reba is big, she intimidates people. Especially those who don't know much about herd dynamics or how horses eat.

All Reba does is simply eat some food, then slowly walk to the next pile of food to see if there is anything better there. She does not eat all the food then go on to the next pile. She does not pin her ears or chase other horses off. The other horses could stay (clearly, they sometimes do) or check out another food pile.

But apparently, walking around checking out all the food turns feeding time into a "circus." Ugh. Just let horses be horses! And also, I really need my own horse keeping facility.

/end rant.

fall drive 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 18:17:00 +0000

Yesterday was the annual fall drive. Last year we went and raced the minis. This year, rode with Beth and Art and got to help harness and hook a six horse hitch of Haflingers. It was pretty awesome!

The Haflinger hitches started a Haflinger and Hitch Pony Championship Series this year from all the shows they have been doing. There are four hitches that made it to the finals: Brugger's Other Farm, Second Star Haflingers, Triple F Farms, and Stream-n-Acres. They will be at the Michigan Great Lakes International Draft Horse Show in October, which of course, I will be going.

One of the hitches came to our drive to practice with their six. Which also meant that their gelding that I really liked was there!

Woody!

It was fun and a little bit scary to help with the hitch process. Holding two horses is cool, heading four horses is okay, but six is a bit overwhelming for me! Luckily, these are some well behaved horses.

2. . .Beth got to hold the lines and keep them straight/

4. . .

All 6!

It was a beautiful day for a drive. Beth set out behind the hitch and Art seemed to be having wonderful flashbacks from his days in a hitch. He wanted to be right up there with those horses and was trucking along at a pretty swift pace. Art also likes to be in front.

When we caught up, Art practically wanted to climb in the back of the hitch wagon!

The bridge

When we turned around, the hitch was behind us. Art was happy as could be being out in front. And when he heard that hitch trotting up behind him, he lifted his like he was the lead horse. He definitely remembered being in a hitch!

Woody and Willy. Brothers. One with an itchy face, one with an itchy butt!

It was a good day for us, until I drove home. Then my car decided to act like a jerk and break down on the freeway. It is getting fixed now. So grateful for good friends!

everybody works

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 03:02:00 +0000

Shyloh has gotten hip to the whole Lily riding her thing. She is past the phase of, Oh, I'll just tote Lily around and be cool with that.

Coming in from the pasture

Shy has realized that Lily is practicing on her. To Shy this means that if she is going to work, so is Lily. And Shy is a stickler for her rules (like walking right at her shoulder), so she made Lily ask her correctly to get her to do stuff.

I would not have called Shy bad in any sense of the word. Challenging is more accurate. She remained her calm self, but preferred that Lily use both leg and rein cues to get her out of her sticky spots. Lily is not used to Shy testing her, which caused Lily to be frustrated. But they got through their cones exercises. And all was good. Shy got her apple from the kids and was happy.

Shy still toted Tommy around without an issue. He did want to trot and kept asking. And asking. Both kids always ask to trot. Makes me so glad they know nothing about cantering!

Even if Shy has decided to make Lily work now, she is still so good for the kids. Her patience is just amazing. I watched the kids pick up Shy's hooves to pick them, she held each one up for them as they worked each hoof and talked about seeing the frog. Have I said before that this makes my heart smile?

conversations with shyloh

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:29:00 +0000

Sometimes I wish everyone (anyone?) who reads this could meet Shyloh. She really is quite the character. Her face is quite expressive and it is easy to anthropomorphize how she is feeling by the looks she gives.

Excuse her lack of a forelock. . .burrs are ripping it out.

I have mentioned before how she has thought of certain classes that she shows in, either by giving the judges nasty looks (and them commenting on it) or by outright falling asleep. If she is bored, she yawns, over and over again. If she is annoyed, she has a super irritated side eye look. If she is scared, her eyes get big. If I am having a conversation where I am laughing, she smiles. I do not ask her to do any of this. You can totally tell when she is concentrating on a task. And when she refuses to do something, you can tell the second she decided that if she is asked one more time, she will do it.

She is not herd bound, but when out and she sees her "buddies", she will give them a greeting nicker. She doesn't "talk" much, but the babies did have her calling out at the last show. She is a very independent horse and she is not afraid to let me know it. But at the same time, I can tell when she looks to me for leadership in a scary situation or a new situation that she is unsure of. She is not the horse that will come up to a stranger willingly, she keeps her distance. Or she might flat out run away if a person she didn't know or like approached her, tossing her head the whole time.

Anyway, earlier this week I was told that Shy wasn't going into the front pen for her grain. My stance on grain is that Shy doesn't need it. However, in this pasture situation, there is nothing I can do because they feed the horses as a group. I was told that Shy runs from the feeders and they have to try and catch her to get in her with the other horses. And I guess there was one time when she ran into the Gator, knocked the grain bucket over, and had herself a feast. I let the feeders know that if this is the case, don't try and force her into the front pen for grain. She is clearly not starving and if they leave her alone, she will either figure it out for herself or not. No big deal. The hay is given in the big pasture, so she wold still be getting hay.

So, like any completely sane person, I asked Shy about her behaviors. This was her response:

I asked her about the Gator incident. This was her response:

I mean, really? She has no idea what I am saying, but she does this. How can you not laugh when she gives such silly responses, almost like she knows and is laughing about it? There were no treats present, there was no food, and there was no ask for the smile. She does it all on her own. She is just so funny and exactly what I need after a long day at work. I am very grateful to have her in my life.

Also. . .I did ask the feeding lady to leave Shy's food out if we were working. She agreed. So that piece of drama is cut out, hopefully.

Anyone else have a horse with a lot of expressions?

on their own

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 00:34:00 +0000

Tommy and Lily and Alison came out this weekend to ride the ponies. It was such a nice day out at the barn.

First I wanted to show the kids how to line drive. Let's just say, I am not cut out for instruction. And Shyloh was not being overly cooperative for the kids. Not bad, the kids did have a bit of trouble figuring out how to walk and control Shy and Shy took advantage of it. I set up cones for them to weave through and Shy was like, straight line? Ok!

Looking not too bad here. . .

Maybe they are still a bit too young and maybe I don't have the patience, but we didn't stick with that long.

On to riding! The kids took turns riding Shy. First Tommy, then Lily, then Tommy again, then Lily again. They rode for a few hours and Shy toted them around like a champ.

They can both ride off the lead line now and steer and stop Shy pretty easily. Tommy still needs to stay on the lead in a larger area, but he sure doesn't want to be on it. He even trotted and almost fell off the other side, I had to grab his leg to hold him in the saddle, but he didn't care. He just wants to do whatever Lily does.

Lil' Cowboy!

On their own!

Not sure why this is the lowest the stirrups go on the youth saddle

Lily is doing incredibly well. She is able to steer Shy with ease through cones, around cones, in small circles off the lead line. She did get upset at one point when Shy wasn't doing what she wanted, but she wasn't asking correctly. But Lily overcame that.

Working that cone!

So far away!

On their own

I just love seeing how calm Shy is with the kids. She focuses on them and what they are asking (and a little bit with what she wants to do), but doesn't let anything scare her. Lily's head was brushing on some low hanging branches and Shy did not react at all. That is usually cause for a quick scoot forward. It is so great to watch them together and they are doing it on their own.

obstacles for shyloh and me

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 18:02:00 +0000

After a few more sessions of line driving with Shyloh and she was ready for the kids to try with her.

Mustache tail

Some obstacles Shy encountered:

Shy met Stella, a Jeep with a plow attached, and was instantly suspicious of her. Where did she come from and why was she there? Shy's reaction was to stop and stare, but I eventually got her moving toward Stella and around her in both directions. Shy kept giving her the hairy eyeball but listened to me and kept a slow, steady forward motion.

Oh Stella, why u so scary?

The next obstacle we faced was walking through the barns. There are shadows and horses in stalls and other things that were going to "get" Shy. Again, her response was to stop and look. I let her think about it and decide what she wanted to do before asking her to walk on. She would walk a couple steps, stop, then walk a couple more. But after a few times going through in each direction and Shy was able to walk through without stopping. Shy really seems more calm and comfortable in the open bridle.

So much to look at!

An obstacle I encountered:

I have been doing our line driving after work. It is always a rush to get to the barn, tack up, and get to working before feeding time. With Shy being in a pasture and herd situation, she can't miss feeding time or she won't eat. Normally, this is not an issue. If the feeders see me working with her, they will feed last to give me time. There is also the option of leaving Shy's feed out for her so I can give it to her on her own.

Always a hungry pony

However. . .there is this one lady who feeds who still harbors resentment at Shy and me from the last time we boarded there. Shy kicked her horse square in the vagina and the lady was pissed at us and anyone who thought it was kinda funny. It's not like I can control my horse's actions in the pasture or that I told Shy to do that. And it was over a year ago! Get over it! Anyway, she was us working and fed the pasture horses first and didn't leave Shy's hay out, so we had to cut our session short. Pretty crappy, right?

Totally okay with short work sessions

But, since I am disinclined to participate in barn drama, I just ended our session and put Shy back with the herd. One, it is not like Shy is starving by any means, and two, they have pasture to graze upon all day. Oh boarding again. . .any one else have any silly/dramatic boarding situations?

It's not the lushest grass (which is good for us) but Shy has access to it 24/7.

back at it

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 18:14:00 +0000

Yesterday I started line driving Shyloh again. I want to get her really solid at it so the kids can line drive her at the Plow Days event in November.

Given our past experiences (line driving has never been an issue, just things with wheels), I opted for an open bridle. I had also discussed this with Beth in the past as a possible option for Shy.

So, I grabbed a bridle, a surcingle, and a pair of long lines and got to work. I wanted to use her French link snaffle bit instead of the driving bit to start and I didn't want to change bits out on the bridles I currently use. I had a hunt bridle that I picked up at a tack swap a while ago for no particular reason, so I cleaned it up (I had a spray bottle of Absorbine One Step Spray Leather Cleaner and Conditioner, which I do not recommend, by the way) and used that.

Seriously cute!

Shy was ready to go! It was like we never even stopped any driving practice for a year. She remembered gee and haw, she responded nicely to my cues, and she was calm. I think the open bridle concept may have been a part of the calmness. I did have the ever present issue of her not wanted to stand still, but she had improved on that.

Butt butt

There was one spook, but it was a justified spook. We were going down a pathway between a barn and a pasture. Someone just turned a hose on and Shy was right on top of it when it sputtered with water. She did a small jump. Then it sputtered again and she completely turned around. Not my favorite reaction, but better than bolting. The lady apologized and turned it off, but I told her to keep it on. We would get over this. Once Shy realized it was just water coming out of a hose and not a cobra on the attack, we kept moving and Shy never gave it another thought.

Pony likes this bit, we got a foamy mouth!

We had one more sticky situation, and that is when we walked past the tacking area and Shy wanted to be done because they were feeding. I had to tell her, "If you put one hoof on that cement. . ." Luckily she didn't and we were able to walk past that area a few times without a fight.

Overall, I am very pleased with my pony! I plan on getting a couple more good lines drives with her then having the kids practice. Maybe I will be able to drive her. . .maybe.

baby fever

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 13:52:00 +0000

Shyloh has it. Bad.

Instant obsession

Two of the Gypsy babies and one yearling came to the show yesterday. Shy was enthralled! We were in Halter class and the mom was also in the class. The colt, Moon, came in the class to stay by mom. Shy saw him and stepped out of the line up to inspect him. I pulled her back, but she wanted to go to them. When they went around the line up to get back in line, Shy became very concerned that she could not see the colt. When she got her eyes back on him, she just stared.

She says, he is mine and I shall call him baby. He must have liked her, too, because he kicked out at the other horses and not at her.

And so began the giant distraction of the last show. Shy was very preoccupied with the babies. How could anyone not be? They are so so cute! And so well behaved. They took everything in stride. Even napped.

Babies and Mommas

Most definitely not the reaction I thought Shy would have given with babies. Since she is so independent, I always figured she would be a terrible pony mom. Not that I would breed her. Although, I kinda want to now, but that is just seeing cute babies talking. Logically, not a good idea.

Even though Shy, in her mind adopted Moon, she still had a great show. All of our trail in hand work had paid off, we placed first in the class! It was a well deserved placing, too. Shy really rocked that course and even performed a perfect off side side pass and backing in an L shape. She also placed third in Halter (with Reba getting Grand Champion) and fourth in Showmanship.

Show pony!

Shy also performed as a lead line pony for Lily and Noah, since his pony did not come to the show. The kids had a little trouble keeping her attention (remember, she was trying to keep tabs on her baby), but they worked through it. Lily got a second place in their Showmanship class and a couple fifths. Noah got a fourth and a couple fifths. Not bad, considering Noah has had no practice with Shy and Lily's practice has been limited.

Happy Lily. . .and Shy staring off looking for her baby.

Noah and his ribbons. . .and Sh, again, staring at her baby.

It was a fun and relaxing show. Everyone had a great time. Ponies were all good. Couldn't ask for anything more! More photos here.

Shy and Baby Cuillien. She squealed at her and she jumped up and ran to her mom.

Shy and the yearling Ferdy.

A match made in heaven. . .Shy napping during the line up and Lily doing Yoga?

Lily and Tommy

Reba taking Lily and Tommy for a ride between classes

Becky and Freckles

Regina and Beth with Art

10 classes makes for a tired, droopy lipped pony at the end of the day.

sleezy story

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 02:38:00 +0000

Once upon a time there was a show pony (I use that term loosely). Show pony loved to go to shows, mostly because they were in Ohio, which has the best grass she has ever tasted, and she gets to see other horses of her kind, and she gets to take naps in the sun during halter and showmanship class.

Fall asleep during a class. . .never!

In order to get ready for a show, show pony must get cleaned up and bathed. This was probably the worst part of being a show pony.

Not a giant fan of this

But after the bath, there is usually grass to be eaten while drying off, which is just fine with show pony.

Show pony has always lived outside, except for one year. So keeping her clean is a concern. She doesn't like to particularly get dirty and avoids mud for the most part, but she really enjoys rolling in sand and grinding that sand right into the bottom of her hairs. She also likes to travel the forest and collect burrs. And eat all the berries she can find.

Just a small portion of the burrs in the tail

Berry lips!

In order to help keep her clean overnight, show pony's mom got her a tail bag and a sleezy. If nothing else, at least her tail and mane will be clean, the rest is can be handled by a stiff brush.

Clean pony

Show pony likes her sleezy. It makes her feel like a superhero with a secret alternate identity. She has great fun being goofy in her sleezy.

Sleezy smiles

Sleezy stretches

However, one horse in her herd, who normally really likes her, could not recognize show pony in her sleezy. He thought she was an intruder! And this horse would not let show pony anywhere near the front of the pasture. Every time she came close, he would run her off! She ran through the woods dodging the trees and branches to hide from the mean horse.

Hiding, maybe a camo sleezy would be better suited for this?

But show pony was hungry and usually does not let much get between her and her food. So she would sneak through the woods where she was hiding and try to eat, but the horse would chase her at a full gallop, ears pinned. Over and over this happened. She would kick at the horse, but he would not let up. Not even when she got him good and left a hoof print right on his chest. Finally, show pony just went to the back of the pasture, all by herself. Her beautiful super hero sleezy was all covered in burrs, she was sweating, and breathing heavy from all the running the mean horse made her do.

See all the burrs!!

Her mom came out to rescue her, but even so, the mean horse tried to chase her away. Her mom got a stick to keep him away and took her out of the pasture to safety. She also grabbed some hay to satisfy show pony's rumbly belly. While she was eating, her mom took all the burrs of her sleezy and tail bag and legs. Then she took the sleezy off.

After checking show pony over, her mom found a couple cuts on her, probably from branches in the woods as show pony was running away. One was pretty wide though, but show pony was brave and showed no pain.

Mom doctored it up

The decision was made to keep the sleezy off, but show pony had to promise to stay clean and burr free (even though she has a record of not keeping such promises, but one can dream). Tomorrow is an early day for the last show of the year. And we plan on having lots of fun, even if show pony can't stay clean.

little update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 02:05:00 +0000

Just a quick little update. . .

We got our power back on before the expected day! Yay! I feel bad for Terry as her power is still off because less than a week after the tornado, she had a flood. And once her power gets back on, she still won't have cable and internet because the main part somewhere on her island as fried. So in light of the the things we have been missing since the storm, I present to you Maslow's new hierarchy of needs:

It was no easy task to keep the phone battery charged! And since the phone doubles as my alarm clock, it was super important!

The last county fair was today. Beth didn't take her ponies because they got four inches of rain and there was no way to prepare the horses. So we went to watch and I took a grand total of zero photos. It was a small show and the sky was overcast. But Haley and her Haflingers, Denny and Vella took a bunch of firsts and Becky and her Haflingers, Freckles and Jasi placed, too. It was a fun and relaxing time. Just what I needed after the last couple very stressful weeks at work.

After the show, I went back to Beth's and gave some attention to her ponies. They are so silly! Art was on one end of the paddock flapping his lips against his tongue, Rambo was by the fence sucking on his tongue, and Leah was performing acrobatics trying to get a blade of grass from under the fencing.

She can really get down!

Shyloh has been completely neglected this week. Luckily, I also have tomorrow off of work, so I plan on spending a lot of time with her. I am sure she will be overjoyed. I am hoping to be preparing for our last show for the season, but I am not sure if we have a trailer to borrow or not. If not, I have been putting a lot of thought into getting her harness back out. I kind of want to have fun when the snow comes, like we did two winters ago at that barn. We shall see. . .

This was so much fun!

And, how covered in burrs do you think Shy will be? I haven't been out since Sunday. . .

why weather?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 23:34:00 +0000

What a weekend. It started out with a tornado and massive loss of power. Luckily, my house has no damage and there is no damage to the barn or any horses. My power is not scheduled for service to be restored until Wednesday at 11:30 pm. PM!! I have been charging my phone in the car and walking around the house at night with a candle. Currently, I am borrowing power from a friend's business to internet. Terry had a tree fall on the back of her house during the winds and storms. . In all this mess, I did manage to make it out to the barn for some chill time and just to double check on the horses.

Oh hi there. We are all fine! I got this!

Shyloh is doing fabulous back in her giant pasture. She has managed to find all the burrs, once again. I was told by another boarder that Shy doesn't take the path back to the large opening, she prefers to go through the brush and woods. Of course. . .

Big burrs in the tail. . .

Tiny burrs in the forelock. . .and on the feather, and the belly, and the legs, and the chin. . .

Reba continues to follow Shy and gets upset when I take her away. Poor Reba is getting into scuffles with the other horses and is all beat up. The other ones have marks, too, so Reba is retaliating. Shy. . .well, Shy is mark free.

Eating together

I've been taking Shy for little walks around the property again. This week, I've been by myself when I've been there, so I won't get on her. And when I kidnapped Terry to bring her away from her fallen tree mess, we just loved on the horses.

Walking and grazing. And practicing a little bit of sidepassing and backing up while we are out and about.

Mustache tail says hi

Me and Shy did take Terry and Reba through the woods and Reba was not a fan. She kept trying to pull Terry back. And Shy was not understanding, there is food in the woods! Endless food! Shy even grabbed a branch of leaves and took it with her for the walk.

Woodland pony

When we got back, I just hopped on Shy and laid on her with my eyes closed while she napped. We totally interrupted her nap time and she was not afraid to let me know that.

Golden

While I didn't have quite the weekend I was planning on, I still got to get my pony time in. I think Shy is happy with our new arrangement. And from just one week, her hooves look even better than before. I think it is from the varied footing in the pasture plus more movement and grazing opportunity.

More grazing

Sunsets

Hopefully the power gets restored soon for us!