Susie and I decided to ride today. I was going to be cold but we just had to get out. There was a bit of discussion on where to ride. We didn't want to go where there would be water to cross as it is all starting to freeze now. And when I rode the other day at Upper Pond Stable, the frozen grassy trails were slippery for Luke who still have regular shoes on. We decided on West Bowdoin. But then at the last minute I thought of riding in Topsham. I have not been there in a long time but remember the trails as being quite sandy. Susie thought it was a good idea so I picked her up and that is where we went.
Luke was a bit keyed up as I was tacking him up. But, stood like a good boy for me to mount. We headed down Murder Rd. and Luke was walking out like he was on a mission making poor Bayzen trot to keep up. Not far down the road, a truck came up behind us and stopped. We turned and looked and to our delight it was Andrea, who bought Louie from me. We invited her to ride with us and she was able to for a little while. So, we rode down to her place and she was quickly saddled up and ready to go. It was great to see Louie. He looks great. He and Luke were very excited to see each other.
Andrea and Louie quickly took the lead and led us around on some trails that were new to Susie and I. Andrea was only able to ride with us for about an hour. We dropped her off at her house then Susie and I went back out and rode another loop for another hour or so. By the time we got back to the trailer, we both had chilly toes but it was such a nice ride it was WELL worth the chilly toes!
Now, to get ready for the Bowdoinham Festival Christmas Pony Parade tomorrow!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Luke's First Day at Work
I got home from work this morning at 12:30 am. I quickly fed the equines and grabbed a snack and was in bed by 1:30 am. I set my alarm clock for 6:00 as I had to be at work at Upper Pond Stable by 7:00 am. My alarm went off and I looked at the clock feeling way to tired to get up. I lay there for a bit, looked at my clock again and it said 6:09 am. I was taking Luke to work with me so I had to get going so I'd have time to hitch up the trailer. I crawled out of bed, made some coffee which I felt I was going to desperately need, dressed, fed the dog and was loading the dishwasher when I looked at the kitchen clock. ????? It said 3:15 am! WHAT! I looked at my watch......3:15 am. I went into the bedroom and looked at my alarm clock. 6:20 am. I looked at Fred's alarm clock.....3:15 am! NO WONDER I felt like I hadn't gotten any sleep! And certainly the dog had not mentioned it was not time to feed him when I was filling his bowl. Thanks Zephyr! I quickly reset my alarm clock to the right time and jumped back into bed for a few more hours of much needed sleep.
I was back up at 6:00 am. And it really was 6:00 am this time! I had a quick bite to eat and some of the coffee I made at 3:15 am.... and went out to get Luke. I tossed a little hay to Marie and Dolly to keep them quiet. Luke came right to me when he saw me with his halter, he's such a sweetie. I loaded him up at 6:45 am and he seemed eager to be on an adventure. When I got to Upper Pond I put him out in the outdoor arena with some hay and a snack of hay stretcher pellets. He, of course, thought the sandy arena was mule rolling paradise. He was quiet, relaxed and curious. He thoroughly investigated every inch of the arena and then when the 2 horses were turned out in the cross country field adjacent to the arena Luke had fun visiting over the fence with them. And they quietly and curiously checked him out but there was no concern on any ones part.
After I was done with work, I got Luke, who looked quite content but was very willing to be caught, and groomed him. I think he had 1/2 of the sand footing of the entire arena on his body! I rode him in the outdoor arena. It was too nice a day to ride in the indoor arena. I put down some ground poles and we practiced both English, with contact on the reins and a more head up position for Luke and more forward movement, and western with little rein contact and the slower gaits. Luke has had good training both English and Western. Luke's owner, Kyle, trained him western. Luke will very willingly go right into a very low western headset. Such a low headset feels weird to me but it's what he's been trained to do. So, I neither encourage nor discourage it and just let him carry his head as he has been trained and he is very willing to do it. Luke can really collect himself and move at any speed you ask. His walk, trot and canter transitions are nearly faultless. His lateral work is quite good but could use some work. He did quite well with his half pass when going English. He will sidepass to the left quite well but he is a little sticky to the right. And he had a little trouble with turning on the forehand and haunches. He backs very well but I have a little trouble with direction. He goes back nice and straight. But trying to back... say an "L" I can't get quite right. I don't know for sure if it's me or him. Well, of course it's me... but I mean I don't know if he's had much training backing in any patterns or if I'm just not cuing him correctly for how he's trained. I've already discovered he backs best with leg cues and no rein contact from his western pleasure training. I'm not used to that. Mostly I just have to remember to keep my cues, when he is not sure what I want, as light as possible. Like all the mules I've ridden, when he is confused, he will brace up hard. So I have to soften, soften, soften! When I soften up and break down what I'm asking into smaller steps, then Luke will soften also and try very hard to figure out what I want. I can't wait for my first lesson with Mary O'Rourke next Thursday. Hhaving someone watching me helps me with my response times a lot. Timing is everything! There was a lot going on at the stable this morning and Luke was a little distracted by it but mostly he did fabulous at keeping his mind on his work. He's such a pleasure to ride as he is such a willing boy. And when he understands what you want of him, he is so light and responsive.
After riding in the arena, I went out of the arena and rode Luke around the stable grounds just to let him relax and unwind. I rode over to the paddock where the horse is that is scared of mules. As soon as he spotted me and Luke, his head popped up and he started blowing. But, when I rode over to the paddock gate, he came over to check Luke out. He stood at the gate a moment sniffing hard but not looking too freaked out. So, I let Luke go right up to the gate. The horse stretched out his head over the gate, so I let Luke stretch his head out also........ their noses touched.......... and WOW, apparently Luke's nose is the equivalent of a cattle prod! As soon as their noses touched, the horse completely freaked out! He lept backwards, spun and ran back and forth across his paddock, blowing and snorting. He even fell down once when he tried to make a turn at the fence line. And he would NOT come back near the gate. Luke just stood there quietly looking at him like he was saying, "What a dork..."
And, there has been an unfortunate consequence to me from letting Luke play going in and out of the gate by the manure pile. Luke has always pooped right in front of this gate. This is nice for me as I don't have to pick it up with the wheelbarrow. I just open the gate and pitch the manure right onto the pile. Well, now that Luke has discovered that this is a magic portal into the land of good foot (grass) and play (room to run) he will no longer make his deposits in front of the gate. He has moved his manure pile down the fence line towards the barn where I now have to pick it up with the wheelbarrow. I should have known Luke, being a mule, would think about the whole gate episode.........Silly mule!
I was back up at 6:00 am. And it really was 6:00 am this time! I had a quick bite to eat and some of the coffee I made at 3:15 am.... and went out to get Luke. I tossed a little hay to Marie and Dolly to keep them quiet. Luke came right to me when he saw me with his halter, he's such a sweetie. I loaded him up at 6:45 am and he seemed eager to be on an adventure. When I got to Upper Pond I put him out in the outdoor arena with some hay and a snack of hay stretcher pellets. He, of course, thought the sandy arena was mule rolling paradise. He was quiet, relaxed and curious. He thoroughly investigated every inch of the arena and then when the 2 horses were turned out in the cross country field adjacent to the arena Luke had fun visiting over the fence with them. And they quietly and curiously checked him out but there was no concern on any ones part.
After I was done with work, I got Luke, who looked quite content but was very willing to be caught, and groomed him. I think he had 1/2 of the sand footing of the entire arena on his body! I rode him in the outdoor arena. It was too nice a day to ride in the indoor arena. I put down some ground poles and we practiced both English, with contact on the reins and a more head up position for Luke and more forward movement, and western with little rein contact and the slower gaits. Luke has had good training both English and Western. Luke's owner, Kyle, trained him western. Luke will very willingly go right into a very low western headset. Such a low headset feels weird to me but it's what he's been trained to do. So, I neither encourage nor discourage it and just let him carry his head as he has been trained and he is very willing to do it. Luke can really collect himself and move at any speed you ask. His walk, trot and canter transitions are nearly faultless. His lateral work is quite good but could use some work. He did quite well with his half pass when going English. He will sidepass to the left quite well but he is a little sticky to the right. And he had a little trouble with turning on the forehand and haunches. He backs very well but I have a little trouble with direction. He goes back nice and straight. But trying to back... say an "L" I can't get quite right. I don't know for sure if it's me or him. Well, of course it's me... but I mean I don't know if he's had much training backing in any patterns or if I'm just not cuing him correctly for how he's trained. I've already discovered he backs best with leg cues and no rein contact from his western pleasure training. I'm not used to that. Mostly I just have to remember to keep my cues, when he is not sure what I want, as light as possible. Like all the mules I've ridden, when he is confused, he will brace up hard. So I have to soften, soften, soften! When I soften up and break down what I'm asking into smaller steps, then Luke will soften also and try very hard to figure out what I want. I can't wait for my first lesson with Mary O'Rourke next Thursday. Hhaving someone watching me helps me with my response times a lot. Timing is everything! There was a lot going on at the stable this morning and Luke was a little distracted by it but mostly he did fabulous at keeping his mind on his work. He's such a pleasure to ride as he is such a willing boy. And when he understands what you want of him, he is so light and responsive.
After riding in the arena, I went out of the arena and rode Luke around the stable grounds just to let him relax and unwind. I rode over to the paddock where the horse is that is scared of mules. As soon as he spotted me and Luke, his head popped up and he started blowing. But, when I rode over to the paddock gate, he came over to check Luke out. He stood at the gate a moment sniffing hard but not looking too freaked out. So, I let Luke go right up to the gate. The horse stretched out his head over the gate, so I let Luke stretch his head out also........ their noses touched.......... and WOW, apparently Luke's nose is the equivalent of a cattle prod! As soon as their noses touched, the horse completely freaked out! He lept backwards, spun and ran back and forth across his paddock, blowing and snorting. He even fell down once when he tried to make a turn at the fence line. And he would NOT come back near the gate. Luke just stood there quietly looking at him like he was saying, "What a dork..."
And, there has been an unfortunate consequence to me from letting Luke play going in and out of the gate by the manure pile. Luke has always pooped right in front of this gate. This is nice for me as I don't have to pick it up with the wheelbarrow. I just open the gate and pitch the manure right onto the pile. Well, now that Luke has discovered that this is a magic portal into the land of good foot (grass) and play (room to run) he will no longer make his deposits in front of the gate. He has moved his manure pile down the fence line towards the barn where I now have to pick it up with the wheelbarrow. I should have known Luke, being a mule, would think about the whole gate episode.........Silly mule!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Great Escape
Mules are such a never ending source of entertainment. This afternoon when I was taking care of the animals, after feeding I'd opened up the gate for Luke to go out into the pasture. He wandered out right away. Now Luke, being the polite boy that he is, poops right in front of another gate that goes from his paddock into the same pasture I'd just let him out in but that is near the manure pile. So, I just open the gate and fork the manure right onto the pile. I was over by that gate forking the manure through when I notice that Luke had wandered back into the paddock and was standing watching me. I was so pleased that this sweet boy wanted to spend some time with me! What a nice mule ........ well, it seems I over estimated the power of my charms because though Luke did put up with my attentions, I quickly noticed that his eye was really on the gate. Silly boy! It leads to the same pasture he already had access to. But, apparently the lure of an open gate is hard to resist. I stepped back to see what he would do. He took a quick glance at me to see what I was going to do, then out through the gate he went. He just looked so pleased with himself. he turned and came back into the paddock, turned again and went through the gate yet again into the pasture. All the while looking as happy as a pig in poo. I'm not sure what it was all about but watching him was hysterical. After his final trip out the gate, he then did a victory lap around the pasture alternating between a canter and a moose trot with a few tiny bucks thrown in.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Night Time Play
This evening when I was out in the barn at around 10:00 PM, I was just in a mood to hang out and play with the ponies. Dolly was bopping around looking for something to do so I decided to lunge her. She is easy to catch so I soon had her ready to go. I know she has been taught to lunge but had no idea what her feelings were about doing it. She did great. She was very obedient and quick to respond to my cues. Her mind was not engaged in what we were doing though. Her attention was really focused on something she thought was out in the woods in the direction of the river. I didn't see or hear anything and no one else was reacting but maybe it was her turn for guard duty tonight.
While I was working with Dolly, Luke had wandered over and was hanging out along the fence line near use. He was watching us quite intensely as if to say, "hey, I though I was the #1 mule around here! What are you doing with her?" His expression was quite funny. Marie was hiding in her stall hoping to go unnoticed until feeding time. When I finished with Dolly, I went over and stood at Luke's gate. He came trotting right over. I held out the halter and he stuck his head right in. He was quite determined to not go unnoticed. I lunged him also. The only problem I had with him was that he was being over eager in his efforts to do what I wanted. It seemed he was not going to be out done by that "other" mule! So, I had to keep softening my cues to get quiet, smooth responses. I had all I could do not to laugh at him. One has to be careful about that. Mules know if you are laughing at them and they have sensitive feelings. I swear they do............
While I was working with Dolly, Luke had wandered over and was hanging out along the fence line near use. He was watching us quite intensely as if to say, "hey, I though I was the #1 mule around here! What are you doing with her?" His expression was quite funny. Marie was hiding in her stall hoping to go unnoticed until feeding time. When I finished with Dolly, I went over and stood at Luke's gate. He came trotting right over. I held out the halter and he stuck his head right in. He was quite determined to not go unnoticed. I lunged him also. The only problem I had with him was that he was being over eager in his efforts to do what I wanted. It seemed he was not going to be out done by that "other" mule! So, I had to keep softening my cues to get quiet, smooth responses. I had all I could do not to laugh at him. One has to be careful about that. Mules know if you are laughing at them and they have sensitive feelings. I swear they do............
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Diamonds
Tonight when I went outside there was a crispness to the air. The frost on the lawn in the beam of my lamp looked like a million diamonds had been scattered across the landscape. The half moon was low in the sky hiding yet behind the trees. It seemed to be reluctant to cast it's light as if trying to hide the jewels on the ground. My breath formed a misty wall of fog that embraced my head making it hard to see. So, for a moment I held my breath and it seemed to fit with the stillness of the night.
I looked towards the pasture and there in my light was caught three pairs of shining eyes. Their breath also was coalescing into a band around their bodies like smoke. As if they were three guardian dragons protecting their keep. And it seemed that I must be the master of that keep as when I came among them, they quietly parted to let me though. Each giving me a quick gentle touch with their soft muzzles as if to affirm their allegiance to me.
The lights of the barn partially dispelled the magic feeling of the night. I stood, listened and took a deep breath. The sounds of horses and mules contentedly chewing and the familiar smell of their equine bodies has a magic all of it's own. Something to be savored every time I am with them. I am blessed to have these creatures in my care.
I looked towards the pasture and there in my light was caught three pairs of shining eyes. Their breath also was coalescing into a band around their bodies like smoke. As if they were three guardian dragons protecting their keep. And it seemed that I must be the master of that keep as when I came among them, they quietly parted to let me though. Each giving me a quick gentle touch with their soft muzzles as if to affirm their allegiance to me.
The lights of the barn partially dispelled the magic feeling of the night. I stood, listened and took a deep breath. The sounds of horses and mules contentedly chewing and the familiar smell of their equine bodies has a magic all of it's own. Something to be savored every time I am with them. I am blessed to have these creatures in my care.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Bradbury Mountain
And so hunting season begins. November can be such a good riding month here in Maine but hunting season keeps us mostly out of the woods. Linda and I decided to ride today at Bradbury Mountain State Park. There is no hunting allowed on the west side of the park so offers some measure of safety, along with wearing lots of blaze orange.
Linda picked me up around 9:30 am. Luke, as usual, seemed eager to be off on an adventure. When we arrived at the park, I asked Luke to get off the trailer first. He is more accustomed to a step up trailer so always come off Linda's ramp load trailer very carefully and on his toes just waiting for a drop. It's kind of funny to watch. And as usual, Luke started backing out slowly and carefully. Half way out, he stops, stands for a moment then walks back into the trailer. He's never done that before so I asked him to back out again. And again he starts backing slowly and carefully on his tip toes, stops, and walks back in. Hummmmm. I decided I'd just have to go up front and back him out so I hopped into the front of the trailer and ......... see that he is still tied..... DUH!!! I rarely ever tie him and only did because he and Gus were messing around with each other. Luke was looking at me like I was an idiot. Mules are smart...........I have him a hug and apologized to him. Mules understand apologies. And I sure do appreciate what a calm easy going boy he is.
It took a little bit of work to get Luke cleaned up. I've never know any equine that so delights in being completely covered in mud all the time. All mules like to roll but Luke takes it to a whole new level. Linda was getting out her helmet and grumbling about wearing it. She doesn't like to wear a helmet but she told her that her husband had made a point of asking her to bring her helmet and wear it today. We hoped he had not had a premonition of something bad that was going to happen to Linda.......! ACK! But after some serious grooming, tacking up and quick trips to the ladies rooms we were ready to head out. Though I was having some trouble with Luke's breast collar. Something was just not right about it and it was bugging me. But, I had it on and we were ready to go. Linda does not have a mounting block so I was looking around for a good place to mount. I found a nice rock and hopped on Luke and we were off. But, something was still not right with Luke's breast collar and it was even more obvious from his back. It was making me nuts as I hadn't done anything with it. I have not made any adjustments to it. I kept looking at it and fooling around with it as we were strolling across the parking lot and finally I came to the conclusion that two of the straps were in the wrong place. I have no idea how they could have gotten swapped but they had. We stopped so I could get off and fix it which didn't take me long once I realized what the problem was. Then, the search for another good mounting spot. I found a little ditch along the driveway that looked like it would do.
The slope of the ditch put me a little further from Luke then is ideal but I figured I could manage it. I grabbed the far side of the breast collar to pull up as I ride in an English saddle so there is no horn to grab and Luke has a roached mane so there is nothing there to grab either. I made a launch for his back giving a good pull on the breast collar. This caused Luke to move a few step towards me to keep his balance. And apparently I was a bit over ambitious in my launch as I suddenly found my self hanging over Luke's back and still going... Luke took a couple more steps up onto the pavement as I did a complete somersault over his back landing on my back under his head. My head snapped back and hit the pavement HARD! Well, to say the least I was mortified as Linda is watching me with grave concern and Luke is again looking at me like I'm an idiot. To his credit though, he just stood there quietly waiting to see what my next stupid move was going to be. I quickly jumped up assuring Linda I was fine. And for the most part I was. Linda's husband was right, one of us DID need a helmet today! It had surely saved me from a trip to the emergency room.
I then found a better place to mount up and finally we were off. We rode first to the top of the mountain. It's not that far or that high at only around 450' but there is a wonderful view. I didn't have my camera so only got one poor picture taken with my phone. We headed down and took the perimeter trail. This trail is pretty rugged. I enjoy this kind of riding and so does Linda. There is one spot we got off to lead Luke and Gus down a steep decline. We had to cross multiple bridges and I got off and checked each one out before taking the equines across. The bridges were all in good shape. Once we did the perimeter trail, we headed back around on the tote rode loop. From this trail there is a new trail called Krista's trail. It is a narrow single track trail that is very windy. It was a a little hard to follow in places but really fun riding. This took us back to the Tote Road trail which we took back to the parking lot. We were back to the trailer a little before 2:00 pm. It was a wonderful ride and we decided that Gus deserved to be made an honorary mule for the day for doing so well on the rough trails.
Linda picked me up around 9:30 am. Luke, as usual, seemed eager to be off on an adventure. When we arrived at the park, I asked Luke to get off the trailer first. He is more accustomed to a step up trailer so always come off Linda's ramp load trailer very carefully and on his toes just waiting for a drop. It's kind of funny to watch. And as usual, Luke started backing out slowly and carefully. Half way out, he stops, stands for a moment then walks back into the trailer. He's never done that before so I asked him to back out again. And again he starts backing slowly and carefully on his tip toes, stops, and walks back in. Hummmmm. I decided I'd just have to go up front and back him out so I hopped into the front of the trailer and ......... see that he is still tied..... DUH!!! I rarely ever tie him and only did because he and Gus were messing around with each other. Luke was looking at me like I was an idiot. Mules are smart...........I have him a hug and apologized to him. Mules understand apologies. And I sure do appreciate what a calm easy going boy he is.
It took a little bit of work to get Luke cleaned up. I've never know any equine that so delights in being completely covered in mud all the time. All mules like to roll but Luke takes it to a whole new level. Linda was getting out her helmet and grumbling about wearing it. She doesn't like to wear a helmet but she told her that her husband had made a point of asking her to bring her helmet and wear it today. We hoped he had not had a premonition of something bad that was going to happen to Linda.......! ACK! But after some serious grooming, tacking up and quick trips to the ladies rooms we were ready to head out. Though I was having some trouble with Luke's breast collar. Something was just not right about it and it was bugging me. But, I had it on and we were ready to go. Linda does not have a mounting block so I was looking around for a good place to mount. I found a nice rock and hopped on Luke and we were off. But, something was still not right with Luke's breast collar and it was even more obvious from his back. It was making me nuts as I hadn't done anything with it. I have not made any adjustments to it. I kept looking at it and fooling around with it as we were strolling across the parking lot and finally I came to the conclusion that two of the straps were in the wrong place. I have no idea how they could have gotten swapped but they had. We stopped so I could get off and fix it which didn't take me long once I realized what the problem was. Then, the search for another good mounting spot. I found a little ditch along the driveway that looked like it would do.
The slope of the ditch put me a little further from Luke then is ideal but I figured I could manage it. I grabbed the far side of the breast collar to pull up as I ride in an English saddle so there is no horn to grab and Luke has a roached mane so there is nothing there to grab either. I made a launch for his back giving a good pull on the breast collar. This caused Luke to move a few step towards me to keep his balance. And apparently I was a bit over ambitious in my launch as I suddenly found my self hanging over Luke's back and still going... Luke took a couple more steps up onto the pavement as I did a complete somersault over his back landing on my back under his head. My head snapped back and hit the pavement HARD! Well, to say the least I was mortified as Linda is watching me with grave concern and Luke is again looking at me like I'm an idiot. To his credit though, he just stood there quietly waiting to see what my next stupid move was going to be. I quickly jumped up assuring Linda I was fine. And for the most part I was. Linda's husband was right, one of us DID need a helmet today! It had surely saved me from a trip to the emergency room.
I then found a better place to mount up and finally we were off. We rode first to the top of the mountain. It's not that far or that high at only around 450' but there is a wonderful view. I didn't have my camera so only got one poor picture taken with my phone. We headed down and took the perimeter trail. This trail is pretty rugged. I enjoy this kind of riding and so does Linda. There is one spot we got off to lead Luke and Gus down a steep decline. We had to cross multiple bridges and I got off and checked each one out before taking the equines across. The bridges were all in good shape. Once we did the perimeter trail, we headed back around on the tote rode loop. From this trail there is a new trail called Krista's trail. It is a narrow single track trail that is very windy. It was a a little hard to follow in places but really fun riding. This took us back to the Tote Road trail which we took back to the parking lot. We were back to the trailer a little before 2:00 pm. It was a wonderful ride and we decided that Gus deserved to be made an honorary mule for the day for doing so well on the rough trails.
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