Horsing Around

The weather made it to around 50 degrees today and brite sun for a change. Brother

Ethan has a 103 degree fever again, so Justine and Dad headed to the farm to spend some time with the big girl. Groomed her, got some of the winter hair off and then to the indoor for some

free and line longing. She was pretty calm today and not much gallup and bucking. To do left circuits is not her favorite since she can't see me on the blind eye, so sometimes we use the longe line. We both are perfecting our technique. You'll see in later pictures below, she was cuddly today and had to be where the fun was. Now back home and Ethan's fever is worse. This winter has been horrible on our family. Someone if not two sick every weekend. Come on spring!!!!

Who's Training Whom?

We thought this was pretty funny since it looked like I was receiving guidance from Winnie (ok, I was). I'm holding a dressage whip, however we've never touched her with it, but if you just hold it in hand she free longes better especially to the left (blind side). As an experiment here I held it very still to see if she was afraid of it, and she's not. She walked up to the whip and even played with it in her mouth. I'm glad Justine didn't get video the America's Funniest Home Video skit we did. Winnie wiggled the whip and I ran in circles. Ok, you had to be there, but Winnie and Justine thought it was pretty funny. As long as we were laughing, Winnie was up for anything and wanted to be a part of it.

Feels So Good!!!

After our festivities we let her walk around and chill out. Of course Winnie had to take our grooming job and mess it up. She so enjoys a good roll and the dirtier the better. She moans and groans with pleasure as she rolls side to side. Then hops back up, shakes and dust flies everywhere.

Mare Dispute

One of the other mares, Berlin (she's beautiful) was not impressed with us giving Winnie attention and the other horses standing by the tack room watching. Ok, I admit it, if they stood by the door I groomed the shedding hair off them and they loved it!!!! This is Berlin chasing Winnie into a corner of the barn. Berlin got her trapped and turned her hind to her to buck/kick Winnie, but Winnie hit high gear, spun and ran around Berlin, then out to the back pasture with Berlin in full chase. From back pasture to paddock and then back again, she went for all she was worth, sometimes charging Berlin head on. Berlin finally gave up and Winnie did too. Winnie does not like to fight back, her defense is to go fast and turn a lot. Justine's theory on the matter....? "She likes to make them think she's crazy".

Barn Diva

Once the Berlin thing was settled, Winnie returned to the paddock to eat some hay and enjoy the sun. Her boy Target here is welcoming her back as well as letting the other gelding, PC know his participation is not appreciated. Target used to be much more pushy and Win would try to get away or get nervous around him. Now they are like a relaxed married too many years couple.

Good Bye

After we cleaned our boots near the paddock fence, Winnie watched from the middle of the paddock with three horses keeping her close. Justine leaned for a second and said her good bye and thank you to Winnie. Unusual for Win, she circled around the other horse and walked up to Justine and gave some affection back. Since being at the Skoog Farm this is becoming more frequent. I think Justine doing some chores has something to do with it, as well as improvement in Justine's confidence and positive attitude around the horses.

Life's a Parade

One of the many activities that the Clarkson Horseman's Association (CHA) does is several parades each year, including the Brockport Mardi Gras, Rochester Lilac Festival, and some town fireman's parades. To participate, horse and rider must qualify in indoor and outdoor practices. Feb 22nd was the first indoor practice. It ended up being a special day. Winnie loaded on the trailer without hesitation. On the way to Church Hills Stables, we stopped to get coffee to go. The clerk working the counter asked if he could give the horse an apple, so he bought some and went out to take pictures to share with his daughter. Within moments several people in the parking lot came over to see the friendly horse sticking her head out the traler door to get apples and give some love.

The drill for practice is to basically do everything you're not supposed to around a horse. Make noise, chaos, throw things, movement, run up on them like a crowd or child might, run chain saws you name it. After a few minutes I was ready to tell Justine to get down we're going home. My little girl that does not like chaos and is easily nervous said, "please not yet daddy, I think we can do this I just need to stay calm so Winnie doesn't think she has to protect me. She's not scared, she's trying to figure out what I'm nervous about". Ok, so I brought our horse but no clue who this kid is. Justine did some relaxation techniques she learned on Winnie and Winnie went to work on Justine. This vid is their first run. You can see both are calm. Winnie doesn't pay attention to the streamers or noise (sorry I missed the ball they rolled at her feet). Her ears are not pointed and forward as if scared, but relaxed and back toward Justine paying attention to her for ques. Most of the other horses, unfortunately not the same story, a few were all over the place as Winnie went to sleep. In the background you see blue tarps on the ground to get them to walk on. Many horses won't step on what they are unsure of. Winnie will walk on it but think jumping them or dragging them around is much more fun. Then two people pick up the tarp and make a tunnel of sorts with the crinkle sound go over the horses head and rider is supposed to send them through. Winnie became alert and unsure, but a gentle pat on the neck and assuring voice from Justine and Win's ears softened and she walked through without complaint, then decided that backing through and side pass would be fun too. Everyone laughed, Winnie was turning the scary stuff into fun. The words of the coordinator, "might as well load her back up and take her home, it don't get any better than that".

What's the Big Deal?

This video will give you some examples of the antics of the other horses. One horse spins and goes backward the entire street. Winnie patiently stops and just watches as if to say "what's the problem?" Then goes about her business not paying attention to the sounds, balls rolling etc.

The Worst of It

This is the closest Winnie came to being spooked. This was the first run with the crowd and noise is now on her non blind side. Also the other horse, Nate and rider, Kim had both been very nervous in previous runs. Kim's mom requested Nate and Winnie be paired together because Winnie's calmnes helped Nate and Kim. However, Nate would side pass right up against Winnie and lean on her, which she was ok with. Justine thinks Winnie thought she was supposed to again be close to Nate and protect him, but a little leg and encouragement from Justine brought her back on track. Of course Winnie wanted to socialize with her buddy Mr. Tooley, and see if I had any treats or lovin for her.