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.

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.

New Year's Day Ride

We had a lot of snow a few weeks ago, followed by a thaw and now more cold. I've been working Molly a little at a time so that we can get used to these conditions together.

As soon as we could get around at all, I just hand-walked her around the tack room building. As the snow packed down we walked farther afield, and last weekend we resumed riding in the upper field.

Some of the farm equipment has been moved around for winter. The rows of crops are sheltered with lots of straw and some snow over that. There's still a lot of snow cover elsewhere. So the landscape looks a lot different and I give her plenty of time to look around. There are lots of new tarps covering this and that so we make sure to check those out beforehand.

She has taken just about everything in stride but I still give her lots of time. She snorts a lot and I can feel that she is different. I suppose it could be the cold, or the footing, or the wind, or the way sights  and sounds are different in the snow. I try really hard to sit her well so that she gains confidence in herself and in me. She frequently starts trotting on her own, so I know she is not at all relaxed! Recalling my teachers, I stop her often and back up a few steps, then go forward, so that she has something else to think about.

She spooked at a parked truck and also at one of her reins. She rarely spooks and I'm not scared when she does it but it seemed this time to be a sign that she's not herself. So I dismounted right away and then she walked along just fine. Next time I think I'll stay mounted and walk her back and forth a short distance. If we are able to stay in tune now, then come spring, we can progress!

The deer

A few nights ago, my husband and I were coming home from a party. We saw that a number of cars had pulled over, so we did too.

There was a deer lying in the middle of the road, badly hurt. No one knew what to do.

My husband got out of the car and went over to the deer. He rested his had on her briefly to be sure she wouldn't panic. She raised her head and looked around. Then she let him pull her over to the side of the road, while someone else called the police.

Although no one could have alleviated her suffering, he made her safe from further injury. He will always be a hero to me.

Coming along

Today Molly came to me when I called her. It was amazing.

We worked on this while still at Duane's. She would stand at her gate, gazing out at the grass beyond. I stood about 15 feet away, waiting to groom her. Because I am supposed to be the herd leader, I wanted to see if I could get her to come to me instead of me going to her. So I used consistent hand signals and a consistent voice call, which included her name.

She seemed to figure out pretty quickly what I wanted, but immediately began to look all around, up at the sky, over at the other horses, anywhere but at me. I persisted, and she eventually came over. It probably took three prolonged attempts on separate days. I rewarded her with praise and petting; then again I was also standing near her hay.

Here, Molly is coming toward me as I approach her paddock. But this is because she thinks we may be going to go get some grass. She is wearing her new turnout sheet from JP's North.

This time, I was taking off her (new!) turnout sheet when she just ambled away with it all unfastened but still resting on her. To the gate. With her halter on. I was disappointed but tried not to get emotional. I hadn't called her in many months, but I figured, why not give it a whirl? Imagine my surprise when she obeyed me.

I did use the same motions and voice call as previously - they were simple so they were easy to remember. I tried to keep my energy low but still sound happy at the same time. The sheet slid off (mercifully not into the manure) as she headed back my way. She also stepped on the halter rope a couple of times, but she was moving at no great speed and has had this happen to her a lot, so she knew how to get out of it.

And there she was in front of me! She received much praise, kissing, and patting. I can hardly imagine that that is meaningful to her, but I do it anyway. To me it always feels like her outlook lies  somewhere between an understanding that I won't hurt her, a hope that I will give her food, and the knowledge that I won't shut up. In this I think she may share her ancestors' perspectives.

I am wary of anthropomorphism. She is developing a familiarity with and respect for me - I don't really get the feeling that she has much of an attachment to me personally. Much as I wish she enjoyed our exercises in some way or other, I don't imagine that she ever will. They seem to be meaningless to her. Also, she probably worked hard for many years and she has no desire to please me. But she does, especially when she surprises me.

Coats and Blankets

We’ve had our first snow already this year. I put a turnout sheet on Molly last night because it was  supposed to be a wet snow, with temperatures rising into the 40’s.

Molly grows a heavy coat for winter and keeps it through the summer (it’s unbelievable). Her heavier coat is gorgeous and rich. Connie told me that once you put a winter blanket on a horse, it needs to stay on because it flattens all the winter hair that has grown in and lofted to trap warmth. The blanket can also inhibit further growth.

This is a picture of Molly's coat in October.

Blanketing a horse takes more thought than I would have ever imagined. One of my coworkers once asked why some horses have blankets and some don’t, and I rattled on for probably 5 minutes about weather, weight, work, age, and breeds. She politely murmured that it sounded "complicated" and the conversation turned to another topic.





But horse people will talk about it endlessly, each and every season. What brand did you get, what color is it, how does it fit him/her, can she run in it, did he tear off the straps again, when are you putting it on/taking it off/putting it on? Last year I bought Molly a winter blanket for the coldest months, and this year I got her the turnout sheet, which is a single uninsulated layer, for the warmer months. The work she does is considered to be very light, so I can afford to let her to grow as heavy a coat as possible - there’s no danger of her working up a sweat and then getting a chill. The turnout sheet is mostly to keep wet snow and cold rain off of her. Soon it will be cold enough for the winter blanket, and cold enough for me to savor her warmth when I take the blanket off and press my head to her side.

Shelter

Here's a picture of Molly's new shelter. This was a very generous Christmas gift last year from my sister, S. and her boyfriend, J. (I gave them each...a pair of gloves. *sigh*). Today it happens to be raining steadily, so I went up to the barn to see if Molly had decided yet to use the shelter. She hadn't. 

I put her halter on her and walked her into it, until she got the worried look. We stopped, praised, and petted for a couple of moments and then backed deliberately out.

I've tried this a couple of times in good weather, and she has made it all the way in and also managed to tolerate my tapping on the fabric sides. Then we backed out. As far as backing in goes, she eventually got one foot in and that was good for that day.

Other winters Molly has made do with only a winter weight blanket. We wondered what her previous winters in Pennsylvania were like. We wonder about the rest of her life, too. How she came by all her scars. Why she hates being in a stall. How her feet got to be so bad. Whether any of her 20 years were very good or very bad.

Though I love her and provide for her now, it would really be great if she had an owner who could get her a larger shelter and work her 3 or 4 times a week. Also who could get a full set of x-rays taken. Still, I'm always surprised that she does sometimes learn new things, even when she clearly doesn't want to at first. She's learned some groundwork tasks and has learned that even if she refuses my first request while mounted, she will eventually have to obey. 

I often wonder why she will learn one task and not another. One which I had anticipated would be nearly impossible turned out to be effortless. When I knew she would be moving, I was certain she would not load. At all. So I asked an acquaintance if we could practice with his empty trailer. A few times I just walked Molly up the ramp, paused, and backed her down. One day I asked him to stand by when I walked her all the way in. She walked right in and kept her composure as the trailer creaked and groaned. I literally could not believe it. He said she trusts me. I wonder about that a lot.

Relationships 1

My teacher, Connie, says that Molly is willing and smart. Molly adores Connie and has a healthy respect for her. Since Connie has been working with Molly--almost two months now--Molly has demonstrated noticeably more respect for me as well.

Of course, I think Connie is just great. She is a quiet and kind person, very sure of herself and quick to anticipate whatever the horses are thinking about doing. 

Connie has been giving me riding lessons on the barn's horses for a couple of years, all year round. This winter though, I found I wasn't looking forward to the snow slides off the roof and consequent spooks, nor to the bone chilling tacking up. So, she agreed to teach me some training methods instead.

Because I lack balance and coordination, riding is a challenge for me though it can be terrific fun. There is nothing like it in the world. I am looking forward to riding Molly, whenever it seems to us that she is ready. In the meantime, I'm studying up on Buck Brannaman and Tom Dorrance to learn more about the importance of ground work. You hear this all the time, but rarely see it practiced. 

Here is a picture that pretty much reflects our relationship as of very early spring last year:

At this time, we were doing a lot of grooming. Molly has always been very good about letting me groom her legs. Here she is standing still, which is good, and doesn't seem inclined to kick or bite me, which is also good. But her ears are back and she is not remotely interested in doing what I'm asking, either, which is for her to pick up her foot. This always took a long time while she mulled it over and shifted her weight this way and that before grudgingly lifting a foot and then slamming it down. At this time also, she was very difficult to lead and I was always nervous when bringing her to the barn. We did most of our work in her pasture. I really did not have the knowledge or experience to make much progress.

I hope that in those months, we at least became familiar to each other. She may have begun to see that I would not hurt her, either. So this was the start of our groundwork.