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.

Camp Grandma and Grandpa + Gundam!

Monday, we drove Shane to Grandma and Grandpa's. We left and he stayed for three nights! 

We had hoped he would have a cousin spend some time with him, but he had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa instead.

Shane brought his school computer with him, so that he could do his typing and Japanese practice each day. Grandma and Grandpa were intrigued by the language practice. Shane said it was awkward working with them watching and cheering over his shoulder, but I'm sure he loved the attention.

The work was only for an hour each day. I'm sure he watched TV, played games, and helped cook, too. They sent Carrie some good pictures of other activities.

No visit with Grandpa is complete without Shane asking to fish. Grandpa took him fishing multiple days this time!

They only caught a total of two fish. You can see half the catch in one picture! Shane said the bass ignored their bait, but he liked hanging out at the pond with Grandpa.

It looked like there was a lot of Grandfather-Grandson bonding going on from the photos. They worked on a Lego project together (with some starts and stops!)....

...and played with model trains! Shane told me he, "helped Grandpa make water."

"You mean, like the modeling kind?"

"Yeah! We used glue and..."

Grandparents are great. Shane had a blast, they had a blast, and Carrie and I had couples time.

Carrie wanted to stop on the way home just to do something. We went into a Pier 1 Imports that was closing. They even had their shelves for sale!

We didn't really need anything, but she wanted to look. There were some odds and ends I could have seen buying....if they slashed their prices by a whole lot more.

There was a Barnes and Nobles next door that was more my style. Carrie bought a cookbook and I noticed something for Shane.

What you may not know is that Carrie likes anime. I introduced her to some series and she used that as permission to run deeper into the pool! There's one goofy anime she watched with Shane where a character really likes Gundam models. They're giant robots and B&N happened to have a few cheaper kits...

I showed Carrie and she immediately wanted to get one for Shane.

It was a surprise, of course!

We gave it to him when Carrie picked him back up on Thursday.

Gundam models are labelled as 15+. They're snap-fit, so no tools are required. The instructions were on the box.

Shane brought it over to show me mid-Zoom meeting.

Then he sat and played with it next to me while I tried to focus on work!

While not complicated, the model did require finger dexterity. I noticed Shane had "leftover parts," and took it into my own hands to fix it.

Note - I've tried to show Carrie a Gundam series or two, but she's not a fan. If there's not a dose of silly, it's not her style!

Shane's too young to watch anything Gundam, but he's enjoying the toy. How long do you think it will last?

I'd like to do more camps during the school year. The advantage of being virtual is that school can be done anywhere there's signal, so why not take advantage of it?

Archery - One Month Later

It's been a month. How have I progressed?

Qualitatively, I've learned a lot. I know more buzz words, understand more concepts, made my own PVC bow, and feel more satisfied with my skill level.

Quantitatively, I shot only Mediterranean grip and here's how my numbers fare.

Baseline points: 55 pts (0.625 per shot)

1 Month points: 108 pts (1.2 pts per shot)

Baseline accuracy: 52%

1 Month accuracy: 91%

My test was different from my baseline in that I had a different bow, I had damaged fletchings, a bracer, a glove, and the target was on the chair instead of the ground (which I think helped inflate my baseline originally).

Results: I got a lot better.

My third set showed the biggest change. I hit the target with 20 out of 22 arrows (91%) and I was frustrated. 

Why? Because none of the arrows hit close enough to center. 

In one month, I went from happy with hitting the target to expecting to hit the target (52% to 91%). My normal had shifted from trying to hit the target to hitting the multi-point rings.

I was really happy with the results. 

I might have made more accuracy progress if I didn't fiddle with new concepts like a thumb ring, khatra, and shooting left handed. However, I enjoyed broadening my knowledge base. I sometimes have trouble with straight repetition for skill-sharpening, because I enjoy experimenting. 

Some things I've learned:

I've learned a lot about how arrows fly. Fletching matters!

I didn't know much about different styles of archery other than that they existed. I improved the most and was the most consistent with a Mediterranean grip (1 finger over, 2 under the arrow).

I experimented with a thumb ring and my results were highly variable. I was thrilled after my first three shots with the ring looked like this.

Maybe I'm best with the thumb ring! I thought.

Then I totally whiffed the target on the next 2 out of 3. The one that hit was maybe an inch from missing entirely.

I also learned that brass can tint skin green. I thought it could be bruising at first, but Carrie clued me in. My thumb was weaker from my injury and could be sore, but the "bruise" disappeared regularly, too (Maybe after hand washing?).

Some of my side gear is showing signs of wear and tear. I'm losing arrow fetching and the fingertips of my glove are wearing away. I used duct tape to fix the bracer, too. The string kept glancing my forearm without it (I may tweak the brace height).

Before I made any adjustments to the bow, there was something I wanted to measure: The draw weight.

To do that, I needed to make a tool to help measure. It took some lumber, a few screws, and a lot of sweat (because the garage is sweltering).

I measured to see how far I normally draw to my focus point and it was 29". Standard draw weight is measured at 28".

I decided to measure at 28". I figured out the weight of my bow and apparatus. Then I pulled the string down and measured what the scale said.

The first measure was for 43 lbs and the second was for 41.6 lbs. That's not highly accurate, but I was only looking for a ballpark number. The bow and measuring stick weighed about 5.2 lbs together, so I'm looking at perhaps a 37 lbs draw or a little more if I'm really pulling back 29" instead of 28".

For curiosity's sake, I pulled out the fiberglass core and measured the draw weight of just the PVC bow. It dropped about 10 lbs. 

Eventually, I'd like to working with at least a 60 lbs draw weight. Anything over that would be purely for exercise purposes. Most states with a requirement want a 35-40 lb draw weight for hunting. Only one state requires more more: Nebraska...at a whopping 125 lbs!!! Do they want you to be able to kill a bison at the minimum!? That's a medieval war bow!***(See bottom of post)

I may modify the brace height and see how that changes the draw weight. When I didn't have the bracer the string kept glancing my forearm.

The only other modification I've done lately is mark a nocking point. I used some dental floss. At first, I eschewed the idea of any modifications, but it turns out to be pretty convenient (it's like people had a good reason for inventing the idea...). 

I ended up taking a week off after my 1-month check. There was a ton of rain, chores, and it seemed a good time to rest my draw hand. But I'll get back to it! This started as a quarantine hobby, but it may stick around for a bit longer.

***Update on NE
So I did a little more research. It seemed crazy that NE would require such a crazy draw!

The initial site and google search I did seemed to confirm it.

However, I kept digging. Multiple sites quoted the 125 pound minimum, but none of them were what I would call primary or even good secondary sources.

I downloaded the Big Game Guide 2016 for my final answer (2020 would've been better!).

The 125 pound minimum is for a crossbow. There is no minimum weight required for longbows, recurve bows, and compound bows.

I kept my initial reaction, because it's funny. 

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!