A Tale of Two SUVs

It was our first trail ride of the new year, and our fourth trail ride total. We'd already conquered a 4 1/2 foot long rattlesnake (our second ride), and a scary giant flag at the subdivision behind the barn (our third ride). Nearly all my fear at riding a green horse off the property had evaporated. I was confident in my filly, and I knew a few spooks here and there would be no problem at all. Little did I realize what was in store for us today.

We left the barn at around 1:30 in the afternoon, ambling down the driveway to the front gate. I rode with C and J, two other women from the barn. C's Paso Fino gaited excitedly ahead of us, with J's placid older horse plodding along behind. Halo and I walked briskly in the middle, alert, and happy to be heading out.

We went down the road, the horses occasionally stopping to ogle a horse-eating fence post or drainage pipe. We crossed by the house in front of which was the rattlesnake's former abode (the barn owner shot it the week after we first saw it). We moved aside for cars and talked amiably as we passed by the subdivision and scary flag, occasionally calling to the barn dog that had followed us to get his furry butt out of the street.

Before long we were already near the end of the road where it Ts into a busier street. It was almost time to turn around and head back home. As we paused to turn around, I noticed two red SUVs turning onto the road.

"Cars!" I shouted ahead to C and J. We all obligingly began to turn our horses over to the side of the road, but something had captivated Halo's attention in the fenced pasture across the street. She was far enough to the side of the road that I didn't press the issue, as I could feel her tensing up beneath me. I looked out into the distance to try to see what she was looking at, and realized that the SUVs approaching us were in no way slowing down despite three horses in full view.

I muttered some colorful phrases under my breath as the first SUV passed, Halo dancing in place. And as it passed, I had the misfortune of finally seeing what had Halo's attention in the pasture. It was a cow. Not your typical cow, standing in the pasture, minding its own business of eating and shitting all day. This was 1,000 lbs of hamburger on hooves, ears forward and galloping in our direction, with the occasional leap over brush and logs. Halo's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she drew her neck up toward my face. The second SUV passed altogether too quickly, and C started yelling at the driver to slow down. Meanwhile, the cow continued its charge in slow motion.

I believe "oh, shit" was my last coherent thought as Halo's filly brain finally fried. She whirled around 180 degrees, scrambling forward on the pavement, attempting to evade the gallumphing hunk of tenderloin behind us. I slipped further to the side as she struggled to regain her footing, finally passing beyond the point of recovery. A split second decision was made, and I let go, dropping onto the concrete.

I landed flat on my back, my head connecting the ground last with a resounding crack. Halo bolted about five strides, skidding to a stop when she remembered there was grass to be eaten on the side of the road. I jumped to my feet, probably more quickly than was advisable.

"I'm okay," I said. Then, realizing the foolishness of that statement, I added, "I think I'm going to sit down for a second." I did body inventory, moving each limb in turn. Amazingly nothing seemed to be broken or even particularly sore. Except my head. I decided not to waste time, so I walked up to Halo and grabbed her reins. I was relieved she hadn't bolted clear back to the barn, and even more relieved that she appeared unhurt from her little slip and slide on the pavement.

We did the walk of shame back to the barn, my head aching more with each length of ground we covered. I got Halo untacked and checked her legs. She looked good, so I put her away and headed home. When I finally took a look at my helmet, this is what I saw:







The crack went almost around the entire left side of the helmet. My mother, from 2,000 miles away, insisted I go to the emergency room to get checked out. So, an emergency room visit and a neck brace later I was diagnosed with bruising and a sprained neck (basically whiplash). Can you imagine what my injuries might have been if I hadn't been wearing that helmet? Although I've spent the past few days extremely body sore and with one of the worst headaches of my life, I am grateful that those are my only complaints.

I'll be back in the saddle soon, but not until I replace my helmet. And I may take Miss Halo by the cow on foot to let her get a better look that won't end up with me flat on my back on the concrete.

Playing Catch Up

Wow, two months, no posts! I apologize for my leave of absence. Halo and I have much to report. She's been doing very well in her training. In December I managed to put three "trail rides" on her. I came to the important realization that while we were making progress in the arena, our progress was also being hindered by the arena.

Because Halo is still young and somewhat unbalanced, asking her to carry me around in circles quickly came to a point where it was doing more harm than good. I don't particularly like that it's tougher on her legs, and it is also harder for her to balance herself. It has been an unusually wet winter, so the outdoor has been a mess and we've mostly been restricted to the small indoor round pen. My ah-ha moment came when I got her out in the big arena and asked for a little bit of trot on the long sides of the arena. She was much more balanced and didn't have any of the head tossing that has been a common problem in the indoor. Granted, we've barely trotted at all, so she's still learning how to balance. I think the head tossing may be a side-effect of her trying to balance my weight while bending on a circle. Solution = trotting straight lines to help her balance.

In light of that discovery, I decided to bite the bullet and get her out on some trail rides. There are several other riders that like to hack out around the barn, and most of them take it easy, especially with how muddy it is. Most of the riding is done on the roads, and sometimes we ride out around the fields when it is less wet.

In a way, it was almost a whim that got me out on Halo the first day. I have some old fear issues surrounding trail riding, especially when mud is involved. Not to mention that I still consider Halo barely started under saddle. . . we've trotted maybe a total of six times, and never cantered. So anyway, this first day I got out there when everyone else was tacking up. I tacked Halo up, and decided to just see how I felt when I got on her. I warmed her up a little in the round pen, then got on, and waited for everyone else to get mounted up. Down to the very last second I was battling in my mind about whether or not to go, but finally I decided to fly with it and just give it a shot. The barn would never be far away if something should happen or we needed to turn back.

I'm proud to say that she was wonderful, or at least as wonderful as a very green filly can be. She only spooked a couple of times, and in each case quickly calmed down and settled back into what she was doing. It actually relaxed me to have her spook the first time, because I'd been waiting for her to do something. When she finally did, and I didn't fall off, I felt reassured that I was capable of dealing with whatever she might dish out.

Halo steers quite well with the sidepull now, and I will soon be transitioning her into a loose-ring snaffle bit. I may continue to use the sidepull for trail riding, though, as it is comfortable for her, and also prevents me from accidentally jerking on her mouth in the case of a stumble or spook.

Here is a picture from our very first trail ride:

Back on Track

Finally! Sunny skies, dry pastures, and a pony with four working legs. Our treatment for Halo's leg went quite well. Either the kick wasn't as severe as we feared, or early treatment prevented it from getting worse. I have more pictures from Day 2 of the injury (October 29). Even on this first day, I think the swelling looks much better.





The white goo is just Corona ointment I put on there to protect the hair in case of any drainage. Overall, there didn't seem to be too much drainage. Each time I went out, I hosed the leg, disinfected the wound with iodine, and then applied Corona. The barn owner took care of giving her bute and antibiotics with her feed.

By last weekend, the swelling had sunk into her knee. We did some walking that day to see if it helped with the swelling. It seemed to a little bit, but I didn't want to push her to do too much.

As of yesterday, she's swelling-free, and perfectly sound on the leg. I worked her lightly last night, and she was a very good girl! She's become great about saddling up, and there was no bucking with the saddle on the longe line last night. I think she likes her new saddle better - that or she's just getting used to wearing the saddle.

Speaking of saddles, now that things are looking up, hopefully I'll have some more under saddle reports soon! My dad was kind enough to get me a leather hole punch for my birthday, so I've now adjusted Halo's sidepull to fit much better.

A Little History: Smot

Since Halo is injured and I'm worried about her, I've decided to finally post a blog on a different topic to keep my mind off it. Let me introduce (drumroll please) Mo!




Mo (formerly called Smot) was my second horse, and the first horse I trained myself. I bought him as a wormy, lice-infested, underfed yearling, and trained him from the ground up. He wasn't even halter broke when I bought him.

Now he's a stately middle-aged gentleman at 14 years old and about 16.2 hands. He was foaled in 1995 on a Thoroughbred breeding farm in Estacada, Oregon. His pedigree is viewable on allbreedpedigree here: Mr. Cornell and I was able to get some interesting information about it from a message board I frequent. This is what one of the members said:

"That is a beautiful pedigree! Lots of older names you rarely see anymore, especially up close. Broodmare sire Bupers is a half brother to the mighty Buckpasser, who was one of the best conformed racehorses ever. Sire El Granada was a half to G1 winner Tap Shoes, and his sire Forli is one of the most influential racehorse sires of the 20th century. Basically, your horse has a lovely classic pedigree for a racehorse, although not a particularly fashionable one."

I sold Mo in 2004 after leasing him to the same woman for two years. She has given him a wonderful home, and has been kind enough to let me visit him over the years. Unfortunately, life has taken its toll on his legs as you can see from this conformation shot:



He has always been over at the knee, which hasn't bothered him much, but his hind legs are a little worse for wear. His pasterns are dropped on both sides, which could either be from DSLD or from both of his suspensories being blown out (after I sold him). He's also had some major accidents through his life, including one that hospitalized him for a time (immediately after I sold him). It was a freak accident where he hurt himself in the pasture. The dropped pasterns make him look posty in back, and he's definitely stiffer in back than he was as a youngster. At some point I'll have to scan some photos of him to do a comparison of how he's changed over the years.

Despite his accident proneness, Mo is a horse that will always be very dear to me. I love Halo, but no horse can quite replace where Mo is in my heart. He has a sweet, goofy personality, and has always been willing and eager to please. In the time I owned him, he was always a barn favorite, though a bit of a troublemaker. He used to take off other horses' fly masks and then chase them around with the fly mask in his mouth!

I miss Mo dearly, but enjoy visiting him when I go home to Oregon. The pictures in this post are from September of this year. I put a buyback clause in his sale papers, and I've already told his current owner that I'll gladly take him back if he becomes too old/lame to be ridden any longer.



Until then, he has a wonderful home, and I'm lucky to have known him.

October: Month of Leg Injuries

I got a call from the barn owner today letting me know that Halo managed to get herself another wound. It appears that she got kicked in the forearm. The wound is small, but there is some swelling, surely to become more over the next couple of days. Unfortunately, if it continues to swell, it could easily become infected and essentially turn into a puncture wound.

To head off the likelihood of that happening, I got to drive an extra 20 minutes past the barn to go pick up some antibiotics and bute from the vet. We fed her a load of grain with molasses and applesauce to get the meds down her. She was dubious at first, but cleaned her bucket. Hopefully she doesn't wise up on us over the next week or so.

The wound doesn't look too bad, but the potential for swelling is the main concern. She's quite lame on the leg at the trot. Normally I wouldn't worry much about a wound this size, but the barn owner never calls unless she thinks some kind of action should be taken. Since I don't make it out to the barn every day, I'm glad the owner is so attentive and keeps her boarders informed.

Sigh!

Spunkiness and Setbacks

I worked Halo for the first time in a while last Sunday. We've had a lot of rain since I returned from my trip to Portland, and the barn has been a muddy mess. I saddled her up and took her to the round pen for a short longe lesson. The outdoor arena is so soaked it's impossible to even go out there right now, and about 1/4 of the round pen is also a mucky disaster. Despite the space restrictions, she was raring to go. Unfortunately she decided to have a buck-a-thon with the new saddle, so we got to work through that. I pushed her forward until she gave me a nice canter in each direction without crowhopping or bucking.

Today she was much better behaved, but when I pulled her out of her mud hole of a pasture, I noticed her off hind leg was a bit swollen. There wasn't a lot of heat in the leg, so I decided to take her up and see if she was lame. She wasn't off at all, but I didn't want to push her too much, so she got only the briefest of workouts. Fortunately she was very well behaved, so I did not have to drill her on anything. Here are some pictures from before and after I worked her. The swelling went down a bit after exercise. Unfortunately these are not the best pictures - it was so warm and humid outside that my camera lens kept fogging up, and the fussy filly didn't want to stand still!

Before:

After:

The pictures aren't all that clear, but I think she looks puffy around the fetlock in all the photos. Before I left, I treated her leg with liniment. The barn owner will keep an eye on it, and hopefully I'll be back out soon.

Bareback Odyssey

So far, you may have noticed that I'm always riding Halo bareback. I think I've touched on the reason before - I have three saddles, and not one of them fits her properly. My previous horse was a thoroughbred, so he had a very narrow, high-withered profile as opposed to Halo's mutton-withered roundness.

While I was in Portland, I stopped by Portland Outdoor Store. They usually have massive numbers of saddles on consignment, and this trip was no exception. I fell in love with a Passier close contact saddle and a brown Crosby dressage saddle, but neither was meant to be. They may have fit me, but I was on the lookout for something that would fit Halo.

Amazingly, I came home with a saddle for $25! I doubt it will last me very long, as it's already got a hole in one panel. But the billets and tree are completely sound. It's a no-name all-purpose saddle with a nice wide tree. Despite being hideous, and nothing I can show in, I think it's a good choice for Halo right now. I will be able to trail ride in it with no worries of destroying anything since it's already in such bad shape. Anything she does to it won't matter in the long run. Plus, it's hard to say no to $25 for something that is still sound for work, even in bad condition.

I got the saddle cleaned up last weekend and took it to try out on her. The first two pictures here are of her in the "new" saddle.





It's sitting a little too far forward in these pictures (Halo's downhillness doesn't help), but you can see that she's got plenty of room in the shoulders and clearance over the spine. Below are two similar pictures of Halo in my Crosby close contact saddle (which I dearly love).





You can see that while she still has clearance over the spine, this narrower tree is digging into her shoulders even without the weight of a rider. I also don't like how the channel looks as though it doesn't provide enough room for her spine.

I'll get more pictures of her with the new saddle, girthed up and all, once we've had some more time working with it. I did work her in it last weekend, and for the most part she was good. She's been off work for a couple of weeks, so it took some extra work to get her focused and tuned in to me. After longeing, I decided not to get on her, but to spend some time flapping around with the saddle, leaning weight into the stirrups on both sides, and smacking the panels with the stirrup leathers to accustom her to noise and torque on the saddle. The only thing she didn't take well was me putting my foot in the stirrup and hopping. It caused her some alarm. Of course, since I've only been riding her bareback, I've used the mounting block to get on. Having my foot bump into her elbow was a completely new sensation for her. I'll be spending extra time working on that over the coming weeks until it becomes commonplace. While I prefer to mount with the block in the arena, it's easy to imagine a situation on the trail where I'd need to get on from the ground after falling off. I sure hope that doesn't happen, but I want to be prepared!