Mr. Eddy and Me

Carrie made a deal with Heidi. 

Heidi was thinking about retiring Eddy to cut personal costs. Carrie, the bleeding heart, said, "I'll give you a discount if you let Mike learn to ride on Eddy."

The deal made both women happy.

Eddy wasn't asked what he thought. He can be a grumpy, old gus when tacking up!

Carrie did ask me, and I okayed the deal. It's been a while since I've been on a horse. Maybe it was time.

I view the barn less as an economic adventure and more as a way to pay for Carrie's horse addiction and make her be social. Anytime we can be a blessing to someone else is from the calling higher than that.

So I got my first lesson on Eddy. 

I learned a couple of valuable lessons: 1) When Carrie says something over and over again, it's a cue about timing when to do it and not a criticism, and 2) Eddy doesn't like to step in his own poop (He always poops within 5 minutes of being ridden).

So we're committed now. There's money on the table and an excited German woman asking about how I'm learning.

The Barn Update

Where to start? The barn is part of the daily routine here.

Samwise has moved on to California. You can see the arid hills behind him. His new owners "Fed-Exed" him by air. I didn't realize there was a demand for flying horses!

It was a bit of a shock when he sold, because the first buyer fell through. It was nearly a done deal when it evaporated based on the opinion of a new vet who'd never actually seen Sam after the couple paid a well-known vet to inspect him.

A couple of weeks later he sold for real. Carrie misses him. 

However, she has "my" mule to keep her busy now. Pockets and Abby are quiet the bonded pair. They go everywhere and groom each other. Abby's even backed up towards him while in heat, but he had no idea what to do with it (to her chagrin!).

I don't ride the horses, so my view of everything is based on the work. I'm getting better at paying attention to how the horses walk to see how they're feeling. I spotted gash on Eddy's leg one day (the bright red helped attracted the ADHD).

How'd it happen? Not a clue. "Horses do some stupid things," Carrie said. She threw some clotting/first-aid powder on it and when it stopped bleeding when turned him back out. There's nothing but grass and other horses in the field, so it's hard to guess how he got a cut so high inside his leg.

Magic's been the recent high-maintenance case. He was walking lame with Carrie and Ellie suspecting an abscess in his front left hoof. He got multiple duct tape booties.  

He got the occasional epsom salt foot-bath, too. Carrie seriously impressed me. Magic didn't really want his foot in a boot and kept shifting his weight, but she wouldn't let him out of it. She was able to hold his hoof up and turn it this way and that to make him keep it up so she could treat him.

Normally a horse hoof looks something like this (pre-picking out the dirt).

When the abscess finally did start to drain it came out in two different places. You can see one of the gaps on the back left near the frog of Magic's foot here. It was very tender and he'd flinch anytime the area was touched.

The second drain point was under the hoof behind the hoofwall. The hoof looks grosser here since it was in a bath softening up.

Magic has had to stay inside or in the dry lot a couple of nights when it's been raining and he's hated it. He's a huge chicken and can't stand to be alone. He whinnies through the night even though the other horses can usually touch noses with him across the fence lines. 

When the weather dried back up, Carrie let him out and he took off. He was sprinting and squealing the whole way across the field to rejoin the herd!

In the mare's field, fly gear is en vogue. Abby had pink fly boots that didn't fit her right, so now they're further emasculating the mule. Carrie got Pockets and Maddie new fly sheets. 

Technically, Magic has a fly blanket, too, but Huck already chewed off part of the tail. 

Speaking of the little trouble maker, the rescue owner, Sarah, stopped by to check on his progress recently. Carrie groomed out his tail beforehand.

Carrie gave Sarah a full showing of what's he's learned since being with us. He recently master cantering on the lunge. 

Sarah was impressed. Huck's a smart boy and will make someone a good companion.

What impressed me is that Carrie and Gay backed Huck a couple of weeks ago. Gay was visiting and said, "You know what? Let's try it. I think it will go well."

They went for it and it worked!

I came outside when I realized what they were doing. Otherwise it would've been done before I got a picture.

I've been opposed to Carrie taking any big risks. She's thought Huck would do well, but didn't want to do anything without experienced backup, so when Gay offered to help....

It was a happy coup.

Carrie hasn't been riding as much since the hunt season ended.

She and Barbara went on one last weekend ride a couple of weeks back.

Barbara went out of town on vacation afterward. She's one of Carrie's main riding buddies, so Maddie got to take a vacation herself.

Carrie sent Barbara some "postcards" from Maddie. Barbara "wrote" back to apologize for any extra seafood poundage! 

This weekend (9/19) Carrie hopped on Maddie to get her back into work mode (and try out her new poncho!).

Those are the main bits, at least. There's always something going on around here. Even if it's just lots of poop shoveling.

Mother & Son Riding Lesson

Hooray for horse riding lessons! Carrie and Shane rode together Friday morning.

Carrie turned Shane loose in the arena and said, "Walk around on your own while I get Eddy ready."

That surprised me. I don't think Shane realized the magnitude of that statement, either.

Carrie leans heavily toward caution in nearly all things. To say "on your own" to Shane on a horse was a step for her as much as him (It's also a sign of how much she trusts Maddie!).

I kept an eye out from the barn and watched as Shane steered Maddie over every single pole and obstacle he could find.

"Make sure you do some basic laps, too!" I said. "You don't want to frustrate her before you even start!"

Shane's a lot like me in that. I'd have done the same.

It took Carrie longer than I expected to get ready, but she brought Eddy out to join in.

They walked around the arena for a bit together.

The big lesson there seemed to be "Don't let Maddie cut corners." Carrie wanted Shane to follow her with Eddy and occasionally Shane or Maddie would take a shortcut and come right up on Eddy's butt.

Then Carrie had me open the gate and they went for a trail walk.

Again, I was surprised. Carrie didn't ask me to go with them.

In the past, she's wanted me to walk alongside.

So I stayed at the barn, did some work, and then came out to take some long range pictures as they came along the road.

They turned around and went back along the far path.

I stayed near the front of the property with Loki and opened up the gate (Heidi and Micha were en route).

I couldn't hear much of what was going on, but I did hear some raised voices on occasion. Shane seemed to have trouble with Maddie's brakes every now and again.

Carrie would stop and Shane wouldn't. It'd look like he was trying to do something, but he wasn't telling Maddie the right way ("It's always the trainer's fault for whatever the horse does." Carrie training philosophy)

I heard, "Turn her around!" on this pic and that's what Shane did.

I pointed out Eddy on the trail to Heidi and Micha when they arrived. Heidi was happy to see her boy out exercising and helping!

The trail ride finished shortly after Heidi and Micha's arrival. There was a little debriefing in the arena.

Shane came in looking a little down. Carrie's biggest feedback was, "You can't drop the reigns." She thought that would be a good focus for the next lesson.

Shane was frustrated, though. He had told her his hands got sweaty with riding and the reigns were just too slippery, etc. Then whenever she said not to make excuses he'd do the dramatic collapse in the saddle which would set Carrie to saying "You can't do that one a horse!" and he's start whining....

I heard Carrie explicitly tell Shane he was doing much better overall, but it didn't seem like he heard the message right there. Shane prefers a communication style that's overflowing with praise while Carrie is much more technical by nature.

So I reinforced the positive up at the house.

I asked Shane how he felt about the ride and listened for a bit. Then I said something like, "I was really surprised how much Mommy trusted you to ride on your own in the arena. She must think you're getting better."

That made him stop and think. After a little bit I also brought up, "...This is the first time you've gone a trail walk and Mommy didn't ask me to come for safety. With as careful as she is, that's a sign you're definitely doing better."

By the end of it, I said something like, "Make sure you pay attention to what's happening as well as what's being said. Yes, Mommy is going to tell you what you need to fix. It takes time and effort to be a good rider, but she has you doing more each time. That shows she thinks you're getting better."

"AND I heard her say it," I said. "Some people will lie and tell you whatever you want to hear. Mommy's not like that. She's likely to tell you exactly what you need to fix, so if she says 'You're getting better,' you must really be getting better."

And that's one of the reasons parenting is much easier with two. I was objective while Carrie and Shane talked. I saw things she was communicating that he didn't. Then I was able to bring it back up and make him look at it again whereas if Carrie had brought up how much better he was doing his brain might have snapped straight to the reigns. 

Whatever Shane thought at first, Carrie was happy with how he did. She started to talk to me about making sure he had riding gloves next time "because in this heat his hands are sure to get sweaty." Then she went on about how when she was a kid a different kind of reign helped her to keep her grip when she had the same problem. She had one and wanted to swap it in next time.

Carrie's goal in all this is not to turn Shane into an expert level rider. She wants him to know how to play around and be safe, so that we can do a family trail ride and trot around without anyone falling off. Any more than that will depend on him.

I'm her other project. I'm pretty behind schedule, too! Right now, she's focused on trying to bulletproof Pockets so she can dump me on him like she can prop Shane up on Maddie!

Therapy Riding

Heidi came by for a therapy session where she worked on mounting and dismounting. Eddy was a good boy standing still for her.

Carrie has thrown herself into her new therapy role. She demonstrated exercises while Micha filmed.

Heidi and Eddy were both worn out after an hour!

Unfortunately, Heidi's knee has been causing her pain and she's temporarily stopped riding. She's visits us for fun therapy now. Micha and Heidi brought their dog on the last trip!

Loki was thrilled.

There were butts to sniff.

Micha went for a walk with his boy and Loki tagged along! They were halfway across the property before I noticed Loki was gone.

Heidi's not the only one who's in therapy right now. Ernie's been getting regular vet appointments.

He's had ongoing degenerative lameness. A temporary nerve block had him moving like a different animal altogether.

"That's my horse!" Laura said.

One potential procedure would be de-nerving. The vets snip the nerve that goes into the hoof. It's permanent.

The upside is the horse feels no pain anymore.

The downside is the horse feels no pain anymore.

We would need to be checking Ernie's feet daily to make sure he didn't step on something that could cause lasting damage.

Laura didn't decide to do the de-nerving, but Carrie thinks it may need to happen one day. For now, Ernie needed shots to help with some of his issues and the vets recommended bar shoes for more support.

Ernie's an older horse, so none of these issues are going away. It's more about how to make him the most comfortable for the most time and get him to where he can be ridden safely. 

Laura came to us in time to reduce her boarding and hay costs and to replace them with vet costs. Carrie lets her ride Sam since Ernie is still out of commission as a perk of being here, but Laura is hoping to get back to riding Ernie again.

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Therapy Barn

Heidi came out to the barn with Micha, her husband, and Nathan, her physical therapist. 

Heidi's been dealing with some severe health issues, but she's been wanting to get back into the saddle. Today was the day she was going to try it.

Micha was on camera duty.

Carrie held the lead rope. Nathan and I walked alongside in case there were any balance issues.

It went well! We began to fade support and soon it was Heidi and Carrie with Heidi driving.

Heidi's biggest difficulty is dismounting. She can't bring her leg up over the saddle to bring to drop down on her own (That was my contribution).

Heidi gave Carrie a big hug when her feet were done! She doesn't do social distancing, but I can't censure her for being joyful!

There's still a road to recovery going on, but Carrie's committed to helping. She's been riding and training Eddy to keep him healthy and ready to see his 'momma' again.

They came out again a second time the following week. Micha drove, because Heidi's still not cleared for behind the wheel (She had wanted to drive herself, but Nathan got wind of it!).

Carrie actually gave a short lesson. I spent my time being an extra pair of feet. Carrie would order me to move a mounting block, shut a gate, etc.

Micha and I both came over when it was time to dismount. I waited until I was asked to help her clear her leg over the saddle!

So we're now a therapy riding barn! Carrie loves Heidi and she wants to do whatever she can to help. Micha and Heidi's families are in Germany, so the 'barn family' has all been offering to pinch in and help out.