Another Horse

I was grooming Molly the other day when another horse began hanging her head over the fence. Not wanting her to spook Molly, I went over to the visitor and "pushed" her off the fence with sweeping arm motions.

This horse is young and not always cooperative. She reared up at me. I jumped back and shouted at her. Then she turned around and kicked at me with both of her back feet. That was very bad behavior and I have standing instructions from C. to respond to these kinds of incidents. So I jumped through the fence to shoo her away. When she turned to face me, I stopped and looked steadily at her. Then I approached her steadily and stood next to her. Then I had her back up a few steps and at that point, I  praised her.

I am getting used to reacting to this horse. Because I'm usually on my guard around her, I never expected to like her. And yet I sometimes do. Sometimes, when  she's  calm and letting herself be scratched, you can almost sense her lack of connection. It's as though she doesn't quite feel the ground under her feet, doesn't quite have a sense that she has a place in the world. We feel for her, as vexing as she can be.

A Goodbye

One of my friends at work is retiring. The news came as a surprise to me, and I will miss her.

B. is an accomplished rider. I have been surprised and delighted at the genuine interest she shows in Molly and me and our adventures. It would be far more likely, I think, for a rider at that level to look down upon a mule and her rider.

It has always been a pleasure to see B. at my door. She is a generous and enthusiastic sportswoman from whom I have learned a great deal about horsemanship.

Time management 1

I don't know how people manage to have any time at all with their equines. When I took lessons at various barns, I would often hear people say that by the time they got done with their chores, they had no time and/or energy left to ride.

Boy, is that ever true! Once you commute to and from a full time job, manage your household chores (with your spouse's help - crucial!), make 2 meals a week (with your spouse making the majority of meals, also crucial!), and commute to your barn, you probably have enough time to groom your horse, pick up one day's worth of manure, tack up the horse, warm her up, and ride for a half hour to an hour, and then put her and her tack safely away, two or three days a week.

Tacking up Sweet Pea in about 2010

I read somewhere that we typically invest two or three hours of maintenance for every hour of riding. If you grew up with horses, you already knew that. If on the other hand you started in midlife with riding lessons, as I did, then it dawned upon you slowly and fearsomely.

My admiration increases many times over for people who have children and still manage to ride.

As I've noted in a previous post, having spare disposable income means that some of the schedule components can be outsourced. However this post is for those of us who can't buy extra time. The schedule becomes so snug that neglecting any component of it squeezes the rest. If you have to work overtime, take the car for servicing, or get anything in the house repaired, then that week's riding time can dwindle rapidly. And this is true for me, even though my spouse shares household chores.

This feeling isn't mine alone. And it isn't experienced only by horse people. I'm going to try to read "Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time", by Brigid Schulte.

Winter trimming

I took Molly's blanket off the other day and she rolled almost immediately. She wears a Jammie (c) under the blanket to keep her from getting the shoulder rubs she developed last year. It looks strange, but I hope it helps her.

This winter many nights have been below 0 F. All winter long everyone's conversation has been about the weather. For me, taking care of Molly at the barn has actually helped me enjoy being outdoors. But for her, although she has a run in shelter, she has no choice but to spend her days and nights outdoors in subzero temperatures.

Molly's farrier, N., trimmed her feet recently. Molly's behavior was bad! I haven't worked her much this winter, so that is largely to blame. I wonder if she might also be more achy because of the cold. N. observed that Molly may have hock issues, because she doesn't easily lift her back feet even in good weather. She thinks this could be the result of Molly having strained against heavy loads she had to pull for many years earlier in her life. It may have presented as lameness, which may have led to her being sold.

As much as I am discouraged over my own lack of experience, I'm glad Molly is with me now.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

The cold and snow have continued, but there are some breaks in sight and in a week or two we may be out of the teens for the most part. So hopefully this will be the last time I focus on coping with subzero temperatures.

I try to take care of my hands in winter. Here are my most important accessories.

25 degrees and up:

Notice one has gone AWOL even though I was watching them very carefully. I'm hoping it will turn up when the snow melts.

Below 25 degrees:

My first shearling product. Very warm even though worn. I'm going to patch these with an old fleece insole I've been saving.

Mittens from childhood. Used when the above get wet.

My second shearling product. Mended many times. Still very warm, nearly as warm as mittens. Used when both of the above get wet.

Any temperature, any time of year, the best barn footwear ever:

These are about 5 years old. They are so great though they could probably stand to be boiled clean. Good in mud, poop, rain, flooding, and snow. Attached to them here, for icy conditions, are YakTrax (c). This way I can move freely and safely around the barnyard. Frankly, sometimes I need these to navigate the premises at home.

Winter Wear

Crane Mountain Valley Horse Rescue is a reputable rescue that helped me greatly a few years ago. Their Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crane-Mountain-Valley-Horse-Rescue-Inc/281343055215433 usually has news, about the owners and the residents. But their most recent post was about What They Wore:

"Chore gear: tank top, thermals (shirt & pants), wool turtleneck, hoodie, Carhart pants, Carhart and thinsulate lined jacket, wool socks, fleece neck warmer, wool cap, Carhart baseball hat (with fleece liner and ear flaps), fleece lined mittens, insulated muck boots, hand warmers, toe warmers. It's 50 extra pounds of clothes! Add to that, walking through 6 inches of snow pulling a sled with 65 pounds of hay on it, 30 pound water buckets, and about 15 pounds of grain. Now, that's a workout!
Anyone want to sign up at Crane Mountain Valley fitness farm? No gym fees and tons of fresh air.....and great rewards with happy horses."

I can relate. And illustrate. Here's my chore gear, arranged by outdoor temperature.

25 to 35 degrees:

Old fleece pants

Spouse's old running pants

Fleece zip top

Old formerly waterproof jacket

Newish Ariat socks

15 to 25 degrees:

Really old Damart thermals

Old insulated ski pants

Newish ALPACA socks

Fleece zip top

Down vest, gift from sister

Down jacket from mother and husband

5 to 15 degrees:

Fleece long johns

Old insulated ski pants

Blessed ALPACA socks

NEW fleece zip top

Down vest

Down jacket, supplemented by the down vest

Old jacket now functioning as windbreaker

 
After mucking out a couple of stalls, I do usually need to unzip a couple of layers. But all this stuff does help me get out to the car and up to the farm.

I had more fun than I expected putting this post together. Next time: Headgear, gloves, mittens, and boots.

Behavior

It has been very cold lately, and the grounds at the farm are covered with ice. We have not even been hand walking, let alone riding.

So I am surprised that Molly has been letting me pick up her feet. I've been doing this even though they are quite clean, to keep her mind ready for her next farrier visit.

One of my colleagues at work had looked up the term "muleskinner" and discovered it involves the ability to cope with mules' intelligence. She asked with some surprise if mules are really smart. I said that that was the general impression, but that opinions vary.

Molly in her former pasture at Duane's. He supplied the "Attack Mule" sign.

I should have added that equines vary, too. There's such a great range of personalities from horse to horse, but also a range of moods within one creature. I sometimes find Molly's behavior just awful, but I usually end up wondering if I've somehow contributed to it (see my earlier post called "Grass").

Her farrier and I have tried several methods of getting her to let her feet be held for longer periods. Our worst idea was to use treats, because she immediately focused on those and lurched around looking for more. So far our best idea is to wait until the farrier arrives to give her her morning hay.

Her farrier is always confident, patient, and consistent. I learn a lot just by watching her.