Horse and Man

Archive for the ‘Handy Tips’ Category

Obstacle Courses – Great Ride Idea and you can Make Your Own!

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

This is a repost.

I wanted to tell you about homemade Obstacle Courses again because I was reminded yesterday about how much fun one can have by using imagination. You see, at the Prisoner Gentled Mustang Auction, they had a very rudimentary obstacle course made up of whatever they had. And, to be honest, it was GREAT!

They used swimming pool worms hanging from above and the sides like a car wash brush. They had hundreds of plastic water bottles strewn into a wood frame for the horses to walk through, there were plastic flag banners – used to mark garage sales or lemonade stands – flapping everywhere, they had quarter-barrels hollowed out for stepping contests, there were old torn-out wood fence posts as intricate turning pattern and cavalettis… It was amazing the use of ‘found objects’ for this course.

So, I was inspired to repost this so that all of us could look around our houses with a new found perspective! I hope you enjoy…

ORIGINALLY POSTED 9/30/2010

I received an email last week which showed the results of an Obstacle Course Fund Raiser for BHFER.

Lots of people showed up for the Obstacle Course Fundraiser!

OBSTACLE COURSE AS A FUND RAISER

What a terrific idea! OMGolly! If someone around here had the gumption to create an obstacle course, I’d pay to ride it! If you build it, they will come! I love this idea! So, I voraciously read the email. Actually, I skimmed it and looked at all the photos. I’ve attached several here.

Eager Participants!

Evidently, as a fund raiser, it was a huge success. There were 70 participants and everyone looked very happy. I’d pay to do that. For sure. Especially if there were raffle prizes or booby prizes or goofy prizes. Best fall. Best jump into the water. Best balk. Best refusal. Best equine expression caught on film…

Water Crossing

I kinda get the impression that this place had some ready-made obstacles. The bridges and underpasses look fairly high-tech. So, I’m guessing that it might have been fairly easy to set up since most of it looked to be already there.

Balloons hang off of this lovely structure

So, perhaps that is part of it. Find a venue that either already has that stuff available, or has good structure to make obstacles out of what they already have.

But the bottom line is that everyone has to be safe and have fun… oh, and you have to have a good map!

A good Map!

HOME MADE OBSTACLE COURSES

I got to thinking… I think VB might really have a good time doing obstacles. After all, she destroys enough things that her pasture IS an obstacle course. And, it might give her something to think about instead of her juvenile delinquent ideas she forms daily.

This is not VB but whoever it is, their ears are UP!

So, I started to do research.

SERIOUS OBSTACLE COURSE

I found one person who had a great article on making your own obstacles. However, it was a bit too serious for me. I don’t have anyone around here who is handy and available, so the thought of me picking up a power tool or a bag of concrete made me search some more. However, if you want to know about serious obstacle building, click here. They speak about the below but they have way more involved descriptions. So, if you want permanent structure, click on that link. It was really helpful. For us today, I just inserted photos I liked under the types of obstacles the article mentions…

Water crossing

Ribbon ride through curtains

Log crossing

Log Crossing (Beanie Barbaro is trying his best...)

Debris field

Not really a debris field but scary...

Tire course

Bridges

Barrels

Of course, if those above photos inspired you to create your own course just by their name and the image that pops into your head, Yay! Go for it!

For me, I have a water crossing outside my barn aisle every winter. The horses are pretty good at sloshing through that. But, for me to dig something larger would be a bit much.

I have thought about getting that restaurant refrigerator clear plastic vertical strips they have draped in front of the open doors of the walk-in to keep the flies out. Do you know what I mean? Well, if you hung that across your barn doors in the Summer to keep the flies out, the horses would be trained by Fall, me thinks…

Kinda like my walk-in idea!

It’s funny. My horses jump over logs all the time in their pastures. I have no idea why this is such a novel idea on the trail.

I really like the idea of a debris field. Easy to create… ;)

And, the local Waste Management facility has Tire Thursdays… so I could just stop people on the way in and probably get as many tires as I wanted.

Bridges, well, I’m scared of bridges. Always have been. My poor horses don’t stand a chance having me on their back while crossing a bridge.

I think if I had barrels, I’d have to do something special like have a fake clown popping out of one. Or maybe I’d create a STOMP like drum machine on one. Dunno. Barrels are a plenty around here so the sky is the limit!

SIMPLE, EASY CONSTRUCTION OF HOME-MADE OBSTACLES.

OK, well, someone actually thought about this and created a do it yourself for obstacles. Her name is Mary Hamilton and she is a Mounted Police woman. If you go to her website, she spends much time desensitizing horses. You can purchase her CD as well.

Here is a link to her article and I’ll simplify it here.

SAFE AND SIMPLE

The first thing is to find a safe area… preferably an arena. It is also a good idea to find a safe place within that arena to retreat if your horse becomes overwhelmed.

Hopefully, your arena has few distractions, the footing is safe and has good traction.

POOL NOODLES AND BALLOONS

You can see by this photo, Mary has put together some pool noodles and balloons on 4×4 posts. Or, if you are creative, you could make a PVC arch or square and attach these noodles so you could walk through them.

TIRES and MISC WOOD PIECES

She made a tire crossing by just laying out tires and poles at uneven distances (shown above). This is great for the horse to learn to watch where he is going.

Tires are also good as a base to put a plywood board on top. It could act as a bridge, especially if you painted it wild colors.

BARRELS, CONES, BOARDS AND ANYTHING YOU CAN FIND

Mary was able to create this large obstacle with barrels (shown above). I’m sure it is easy but I wouldn’t know how to do it. Maybe show this photo to your Hubby…

For me, I like this photo where you can’t even discern how many things are there because there are so many! I see everything but the kitchen sink in this one. Bravo!

BIG BALL

Now, this big ball is not a household item but it does look like fun!

And a good time was had by all!

I’m sure you have some idea of your own?!

THIS JUST IN FROM A READER: My hubby glued several sheets of plywood together for our bridge, which we just laid on the ground (same sound and effect), string gate between two old jump standards, a dozen or so swim noodles hanging in a row from a tree branch, several highway cones, and an old garden flag duct taped to a broom handle- you had to pick it up from sticking out of the top of one of the cones, race down to the end of the line and stick it in the top of the last cone. Oh yeah, and a plastic garbage bag full of empty diet (sugar- free means no bees) soda cans that we either dragged behind our horse or had someone shake while we walked by. We’d break off huge branches and have the horses drag those around, too. We had SO much fun with that playground

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

August Bucket Fund is for the NEW AND FINAL GROUP JUST DROPPED OFF IN THE KILLPEN ON SATURDAY - THEY ARE NOT SAFE: 32 weanlings/orphans, 3 yearlings and 6 mare pairs who are still in the killpen in Fallon.

Tags: equine obstacle, home made horse obstacle course, horse obstacle course
Posted in Handy Tips | 5 Comments »

Lotsa Knots.

Monday, August 15th, 2011

I never went to camp.

Besides missing out on canoeing, potato sack races and ping-pong tournaments (sigh), I also never wove any keychains or necklaces that would have given me the skills later in life to tie certain knots.

You all are probably going to think I’m completely daft, but I don’t know how to tie saddle strings onto a D-ring.

I had to look it up.

It actually took me quite a while to find both written and pictorial demonstrations.

And, unbeknownst to me, I had a variety of knots from which to choose.

Who knew? Certainly not moi.

So, I figured since I didn’t know, there have to be more of us out there.

But, just in case I’m the very last soul who was deprived of saddle string knot education, I’ve included a few other knots that I found along the way…

How to get these onto my saddle... seems easy enough. Why can't I do it?

SADDLE STRING KNOTS

I have a new saddle and it didn’t come with saddle strings. So, I bought some.

The strings I purchased didn’t come with instructions. I didn’t think this would be a problem until I tried to figure out how my other saddle’s saddle strings were installed.

I guess I needed to lubricate them a few years back because there was no way I could have undone those suckers in order to understand the knotting process.

Here is the type of knot I had on my other saddle... This is what you all learned at camp.

Hmmmm.

Well, there have to be instructions on Google.

I went hunting.

Lo and behold, there were a zillion knots for mariners and anglers. Horsemen must think knot-making is genetic because there wasn’t much information.

However, I did find this. It is a photo that gave me the AHA! moment I needed. So simple.

Aha! This I could do!

And then there was this (below) diagram which brought me back to the camp analogy.

You see, I know that everyone learns this stuff at camp. I’ve seen the keychains. Yet, I didn’t have the power… until now. Now I know how to do this tricky knot (not really) via these handy-dandy steps.

In case any of you need the same helping hand, I’m glad to provide the instructions for a “bleed knot” or “split braid” – that is the official name for the camp knot.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Leather saddle string

• Utility knife

• Pencil

• Ruler

• Needle-nose pliers

1 Fold the saddle string in half and mark the center with a pencil. Cut two longitudinal slits in the saddle string, each 1/2-inch from the center mark. The slits should be the same length as the width of the saddle string. Cut the ends of the saddle strings at 45 degree angles.

2 Thread the saddle string through the “D” ring on the saddle so the center of the string rests on the ring. For descriptive purposes, you now have a front string and a back string.

3 Push the tip of the needle-nosed pliers through the slit in the back string, from back to front. Grip the end of the front string and pull it through the slit. Pull it firmly to pass the slit in the front string through the slit in the back string. Now, the string positioned in the back has the only remaining unused slit.

4 Pass the string, now in the front, through the slit in the back string. Pull the strings firmly to secure.

You all learned this at camp, right?

THE WILD RAG OR NECKERCHIEF KNOT

OK, so I’m always wanting to be Ms. Western Attire although I ride more in English clothes. Still, I have a thing for jangly bits, flashy silver and bright neck scarves.

(I look fairly confused when I ride, I’m sure… <smile>)

Anyway, I ran across an article on “How to tie a Wild Rag”.

Simple directions?

I had no idea there was a ‘way’ to tie a wild rag. I mean, can’t you just tie it?

I suspect the knots I’ve tied have given me away as not being a real cowgirl. So, I decided to learn how to tie an official Wild Rag knot.

Here are the instructions. Thank Gawd they used two different colored materials or I would have been completely lost. I think once you get the hang of it, the tie is fairly simple.

(Oh, and if you want to peruse pretty Wild Rags, here is a link to California.)

Click to browse some pretty Wild Rags

So, here are the instructions:

The first steps...

Voila!

I love it when big, tough cowboys wear these beautiful scarves!

I also found this video (linked here) that shows a simpler knot for when you are working cattle and need something that can quickly tuck into your shirt or slide up over your mouth.

Click to watch the video with simpler Wild Rag knots. (I love the expression on the horse's face...!)

DAISY CHAIN QUICK RELEASE KNOT

This is the knot I use to tie all of my horses.

I am surprised at how often people will ask me to show them how a daisy chain knot is created.

I really cannot explain it. I just do it several times and hope they understand what I’ve done.

However, while searching around for saddle string knots, I found this diagram from the University of Vermont. I was thrilled that they had drawn this because I liked it the best and, of course, University of Vermont loves their Morgans, and so do I.

In case any of you want to know how to create a daisy chain quick release knot, here you go!

INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT:

Daisy Chain knot quick release

This knot will not tighten to the point that it cannot be jerked free, no matter how hard the pull goes in the other direction. It also seems to have less of a tendency to grab fingers in the process of tying.
The “daisy-chain” knot can be identified from a distance making it is easy to see if it is being tied correctly. This knot also has the advantage of being able to be tied with almost no time spent with the fingers in precarious positions. Extreme care must be used when allowing students to tie their own horses in order to make sure they are doing so correctly. It’s always wise to supervise this part of a lesson as closely as the rest to make sure that instructions are followed exactly rather than finding out too late that a horse could not be freed or someone received an injury.

The Daisy Chain quick-release knot

OTHER KNOTS

Many articles described a ‘scaffold knot’ to tie up your strings or leathers (dangling items that you don’t want to curl badly).

So, I’m adding this for those of you who would like to learn this knot:

Click to go to this page of knots.

THE 7 BASIC KNOTS!

I stumbled upon this website “How to tie the 7 basic knots every man should know”.

Hubby, who is at this moment hovering over my shoulder, says he knows them ALL.

Anyway, if you feel like brushing up on your knot expertise, this site might tickle your fancy.

Click to test your knot knowledge!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

Click to learn about the Feedlot Yearlings, our August Bucket Fund

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Posted in Handy Tips | 4 Comments »

Duct Tape Booties and Quick and Easy to Fit Ice Packs!

Friday, August 12th, 2011

UPDATE:

Yes, this post is an older post… but many of you have asked to see it again (and take better notes). So, here it is.

How to make duct tape booties that STAY ON!… Also, the simple ice pack at the bottom is a very efficient item! I use it all the time. I just keep a few in my freezer in the barn. Easy and always ready.

Enjoy!

I wanted to pass onto you some techniques I’ve learned from my vet.

You may already know these tricks… but I didn’t, so maybe there are some of you out there who make lousy booties and never have the correct size ice pack when you need it – just like me!

DUCT TAPE BOOTIES

When wrapping hooves, I tended to use duct tape as a wrapping tape. First you put on the vet wrap and then you follow those same circular motions when adding the duct tape over the top.

And, if you are like me, you will have leakage, the booties deteriorate quickly and you find shavings INSIDE when you thought the booties were sealed tight.

Well, never fear. I have watched a Master duct-tape-bootie maker at work — My vet, Dr. Mario.

MAKING A PERFECT BOOTIE

It all started because we were wrapping Norma’s feet the other day. In preparation, I had made a duct tape bootie according to how I thought Dr. Mario made them. Feeling smug, I handed him my creation.

He looked at it, eyeing it curiously. After about two ‘monkey with an odd object’ perplexed looks, he walked into the tack room and started to make his own.

I decided to not be hurt and instead to study what he was doing… I made mental notes of his commentary as he whipped out a new bootie.

MY VERSION FOR YOU… Please know that I made the booties in these photos, not Mario.

I wasn’t quick enough to get my camera while he was in genius mode. So, I’m recreating this from my mental notes.

1) Don’t try to make the bootie with the sticky side up. Place it sticky side down onto a surface — any surface. (He said he does this on his truck or bumper often.) Figure you need a square about double the hoof size on all four sides. Lay out your strips vertically. If you need a really strong bootie, you can also add strips horizontally at this phase.

Start with vertical strips, sticky side down

2) Put on diagonal strips

Apply diagonal strips in the shape of an "X"

3) Make a frame – all four sides.

Make a frame - strips on all four sides

4) Cut the sides so they are even

Trim all the edges so it is even

5) Snip diagonally on all four corners (this give you your overlap tabs)

Snip each corner diagonally to create tabs

6) Voila! You can apply this on the sole, then paste the sides and then the front and back – or do it anyway you want. Since the corners are cut, you will be able to overlap it any way that is easiest for you. It goes on fast and easy! You can do it with the hoof up, or if the horse is really sore, just pick the hoof up long enough to cover the sole and then let him put his foot down while you adhere all four sides.

When the booties is pre-made, it is quicker to apply to a finiky or sore horse. This is Norma's foot. She was not cooperative yet it still went on.

7) Add a strip of duct tape around the top to secure all the tabs – or not. That’s it! The booties pictured below on Norma were 4 days old!

Here are the booties a few days later... still going strong!

QUICK ICE PACKS

This is so easy, I laughed when I saw Mario do this.

Basically, all you have to remember is to get some surgical LOOOOOONG gloves. The kind vets use for rectal exams. Keep those in your trailer or in your barn or your tack box. If you have any way to freeze something, you are golden.

I keep some of these ice packs pre-made in my freezer. So if anyone is hurt while at home, I can run and get a pre-made frozen ice-pack!

ICE PACK sized for a hoof.

These are great when you need to ice a hoof or hose it down with cold water. You can just apply one or two of these and walk away!

1) Take one surgical glove and tie off the hand part with the fingers.

Can you see what I've done? I tied off the hand part.

2) Open the other end and add a bit of water. You only want to add enough to make an oblong ball. Tie that ball of water off loosely. Allow the water to slosh a bit so it isn’t tight. Make sure your tie-off knot is long. Or, make a few knots. You want some space between ice packs.

The left side is correct. You want the water loose so it forms in an oblong shape. The right side is wrong. A ball shape doesn't work well.

3) Make sure to add a few knots in the middle so that you have space between ice packs. If they are too close together, they won’t wrap around the ankle well.

4) Make the shapes only as large as you need. Too big and it won’t wrap well. Practice a few times to get the hang of it.

5) Put this in the freezer

6) After it freezes, you have two ice packs tied together and all you have to do is wrap it around the area and tie it off!

Cheap, Modifiable and Easy!

It works on Hubby's sore ankle, too!!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

AUGUST BUCKET FUND: The dumped foals, weanlings, yearling, nursing mares in the Fallon Kill pen. All from one breeder.

To learn all about the Bucket Fund and to donate the the ‘Feed and Bail’, please click here.

This is Lucy. She is newly orphaned. Her mother shipped. While Mom was being dragged from Lucy, this little one tried to jump the gate - and missed. She was pulled and cared for, but she still needs a home and help. They all do. There are 12 in the killpen. Help us help them. Click on the image to help.

Tags: duct tape booties, duct tape boots, equine ice packs
Posted in Handy Tips | 4 Comments »

OMG. To Die For Human and Horse Tags! She Finally did it! Affordable and Faboo! Sweetbird Studio, I love you!

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

OK, I know I shouldn’t get so excited over a ‘thing’. It doesn’t cure cancer or save all the unlucky horses in the world.

But, it makes me happy and making me happy makes me more tolerable to my horses. So, it kinda works.

Besides, every horse needs some bling to give to its rider to provide divine protection in an amuletpagen sort of way.

I give to you SWEETBIRD STUDIO “Protect this Rider – and the horse she rode in on” tags! Love ‘em!

Click on image to go to site

SWEETBIRD STUDIO ‘PROTECT THIS RIDER’ TAGS

OK, previously, I gave to you a blog on Sweetbird Studio PROTECT THIS HORSE tags which I bought for Finn. I love mine. It is sterling with turquoise.

But, it was slightly out of ‘buy it right now‘ range.

However, today, Sweetbird Studio came up with a way to lessen the cost but still give a great product with her Pewter and smaller turquoise stoned (who cares, right?) Rider tags.

Love them! Only $35!!! (click here)

You could get one for you and one for your friends for Xmas or whatever!

(I am not affiliated and I don’t get any kickbacks, in case you are wondering… although I wish I did! <smile>)

This is mine that I purchased for Finn's saddle. It is the sterling one.

FOR HORSES AND DOGS!

She makes the inexpensive pewter tags for horses and dogs, too!!

Wahoo! Click here to go to the pet section of her site to browse.

This is the wonderful, less expensive, pewter version of my horse tag! Click image to go to pewter horse tags.

Here is the darling dog tag! Click image to go to dogtags.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST…

This is how you order the tag I bought for Finn. You can personalize it. I see that she only has 15 left at this price – probably due to the rising cost of silver… Click here to order one.

Sterling version. This is what I got for Finn. You can personalize it! Click here.

I AM RE-POSTING THIS BECAUSE THE DAY IT RAN, MY SITE WENT DOWN FOR HALF THE DAY AND MANY OF YOU MISSED IT. SO… HERE YOU GO, AGAIN!

FROM AUGUST 4TH.

Yesterday I wrote about how for several reasons (excuses), I quit giving my horses their supplements for the past few months. Because I hadn’t given supplements, Sam’s hooves had degenerated. I stated that I was going to try Omega Alpha’s MINEREQ as a test to see if it rebuilds her hooves.

Well, all of that got me thinking…

THE MYSTERY OF SUPPLEMENTS

Y’know, there a zillions out there. I am always amazed at the pages and pages and pages of supplements in every equine catalog.

How could one possibly understand it all?

Well, you kinda have to be a chemist, really. And, honestly, WHO really reads all the labels and then actually understands how all the compounds work together?

Very few.

I’ve had chemists and nutritionists take me through a lot of this and what they say about some manufacturers would make your blood boil. Did you know that some ingredients won’t digest at all unless there is another specific ingredient to compliment it? Did you know that only certain forms of many ingredients are digestible or strong enough to do any good?

I’m sure we’ve all wasted money on a product that seemed to not make any difference at all – or that the animal wouldn’t eat.

Most of us rely on luck, chance and the success of others when choosing a supplement.

And, sometimes the petri dish is in your own backyard…

EQUION

I started using Equion 20 years ago. I forget who turned me onto it but at that time, I was breeding my mare and needed something to help correct her cycles and get her ready. I was told to purchase Equion.

I did. It came in a no-frills bucket. I used it for all of my horses because it also creates a fine hair coat and strengthens feet as well as balancing hormones. It isn’t specific to mares. Everyone got it.

Over time, the changes were subtle but dramatic. All of them had very solid feet – or as solid as their particular conformation would allow -. All of them were dappled and all of them had fabulous manes and tails.

I actually didn’t notice the changes until I would send a horse into training and the trainer would ask me what I was feeding him because he looked incredible. Wow. Trainers rarely tell a person that their homegrown horse looks fabulous. But, they did.

I would tell them to use Equion.

Great product, no frills...

: No frills, just a bucket of good. Click on image to go to site.

And, I have to say… the past couple of months, I haven’t had any Equion and I really see the lack. Their dappling is almost gone. Their coats don’t look as nice, the mares aren’t as happy and we’ve already seen Sam’s hooves from yesterday.

So, I ordered a huge pail of it today. (Click here to go to their website and learn about Equion.)

While I was on the site, I also saw that they have a 40% OFF (Wahoo!) Special during August on their Hoof Supplement. I’ve never used it but I bought it just because of the sale. I will use it on BG, I think, since I am already using the MINEREQ on Sam.

Anyway, I am endorsing (no affiliation) this product because it has worked for me for years and I know the compounding is correct.

And, the same guy has been in charge of shipping from the website for years and he is really good. He ships on time and always remembers you.

EQUINE CHIA

OK, well, I haven’t been using this for a long time. I’ve used it every day for about 4 months on the ponies. After about one month, I saw a big difference in their topline. Their coats looks shiny and they seemed to be slightly less potbellied and more alert. After the 4th month, I thought they had shaved a few years off of their 20 year old selves.

I wrote about it here.

Anyway, they don’t look as good right now. Their spines are starting to show again and they don’t look as perky and shiny overall. So, I have to say that the Equine Chia was helping them.

Many of you who have tried Equine Chia have written to me to say that it is quite remarkable! So, I think we should all try it and see… It is fairly inexpensive. Click here to review.

I ordered more. I got the bag without the scoop (because I only used half of the scoop on the ponies anyway) and it is a really good deal. Actually, it is all relatively inexpensive.

Here is the link to order it in several sizes.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, EQUI-SPA’S AUGUST SPECIAL SALE!

Since we are chatting about ordering, I wanted to bring to your attention the Equi-Spa August Special. BUY ONE COOL MUSCLE WASH AT $18.00 and GET THE SECOND ONE 1/2 OFF! STOCK UP… Get Two bottles for $27.00

What is Cool Muscle Wash anyway? I wondered that, too.

My horses are just trail horses so they don’t really work that hard to need a muscle wash… So I asked Equi-Spa why I should use it and she wrote back to me saying that it is a great way to cool yourself and your horse down after a ride.

Really? OK, I’ll try it.

So, I did.

It was 95+ today. I poured a little into my wash bucket and added water. It smelled great! Finn wanted to drink it. Anyway, I got it on my sponge and it rolled down my arm. Usually I hate that. But today, it felt really good! So, I took the sponge and applied it to my neck.

Ahhhhhh. OMG. I was really surprised that this worked so well so fast!

Finn was a bit miffed so I used the rest on him. (Having him cooled down in this way made me feel less guilty about putting him in the trailer for the ride home.)

So, I think it does work in several ways, not just the intended use of a muscle aid.

Here is what the Equi-Spa website says about the Cool Muscle Wash:

Did you know that it is also a fabulous all over cooling body brace in hot weather? Yes! You just add a couple of ounces to a bucket of cool water and sponge on. Helps the horse stop sweating and lowers the body temp faster. I use it on my shoulders when I get sunburned. Takes the burn out! The botanical extracts and essential oils in Cool Muscle Wash soothe and cool inflammed muscles and joints after a ride on a hot summer day right out of the bottle too. Just spray on and brush in.

•   I use it before a ride sprayed on large muscles to enhance and allow for more range of motion.
•   It also works well with Peppermint summer Protection to keep the flies and mosquitoes away while you ride.
•   Some massage therapists who use this on their human clients to help relieve and relax pain and inflammation .
•   shortens cool down time used after a work out
•   Minty fresh aroma
•   Safe and non toxic botanical ingredients including Witch Hazel, known as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent for centuries

If you’d like to order it, you can click here! There is a lot of wonderful stuff on her website. I love the Peppermint Summer Protection Spray (fly spray that I use on myself…) and THE BALM (cannot say enough about this – I use it on everything practically).

Also, I should mention that I put the Equi-Spa Show Thyme drops into Norma’s grazing muzzle. It helps her. She also likes me to use the Equi-Spa Lavender Cleansing Spray in there, too. For some reason, she prefers the fragrances of the Show Thyme and the Lavender instead of the nasty plasticy rubber muzzle. Go figure!

If she is gonna make me wear this, it better smell good.

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Posted in Handy Tips, Western & Equine Artists | 2 Comments »

The Wrigley Chronicles. Part 1

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

On July 11th, I saw the movie, BUCK and immediately wrote about it.

The whole movie motivated me… but one part in particular really moved me. It was the sad part about the wayward 3 year-0ld colt. I won’t go into the details because those of you who have seen the movie know EXACTLY what part I’m speaking about… and those of you who haven’t seen the movie need to go see it so I won’t tell you about it.

Anyway, after seeing that part of the movie, I wrote on July 12th that it was my responsibility to make the best citizen possible of all of my horses. Especially the ones I bring into this world… which right now, is my Wrigley.

(You can read the original post here.)

Wrigley was born here... Big, red and bold...

MY PROMISE

Wrigley isn’t my favorite horse and I’ve certainly been avoiding training him for a long time… Avoiding him wasn’t making our relationship any better, if you know what I mean.

I didn’t train him, he became more unruly, I liked him less and less so I didn’t want to train him.

It was a vicious cycle.

But, I made a promise to myself after seeing the movie, that I would step up and do this thing.

Yikes. So, to motivate me to do this, I promised to all of you in my blog of July 12th, that I would work with him daily.

And, surprise surprise, I have….

THE REALITY – To Heck in a handbasket…

OK, so I rummaged through all the bookshelves to retrieve my training bibles which I skip-read through bits and pieces of the pertinent chapters. Oy. I had forgotten so much of the basics stuff. It’s true, if you don’t use it, you lose it.

My gear looked like it had been living with the Munsters. All my ropes and special training devices had so much dust and webs covering them that I had to pull out the pressure washer.

And, I came to realize, on my first day in the round pen, that my coordination SUCKS.

I had that Parelli rope twisted around my legs more than I had it swinging at himself. Oh, and the carrot stick with the long rope… ahem, I may as well have been wrapping myself up as a present… I was horrible at working the magic with those devices! Thank Gawd no one was watching.

Wrigley didn’t know any better but I saw Gwen sniggering in the background…

"Can I help you with that?" Wrig watches closely as I try to unwind myself...

DAY 2

Day 2 was a bit better (I dispensed with the long ropes and carrot sticks until I could practice with one of my better trained volunteers).

I decided to keep it simple and just do some bonding and trust stuff.

This was a good idea with hilarious results. Well, hilarious to some…

My grand idea was to sit with him while he ate. I did this with most of my other horses and it created a food bond or something. We’d just hang out and I’d pick through the hay to find the best bits and feed it to them. It was sweet and peaceful and lovely.

Except not with Wrigley… He just thought I was some sort of food vending machine and kept bumping me to give him more – faster.

Yup, that wasn’t working. Fail.

This is him bowling me over to get treats. Fail. My bad.

DAY 3

I thought about how much I didn’t like his pushy behavior so I decided to create boundaries. On this day, we went to the arena (me having to make him follow me – oh joy – one step forward, two steps back, dosey-doe and swing your partner…) Once I finally circly-walked him up to the arena, I decided to do boundary exercises.

We did the ‘do what I do’ drill.

After about 30 horse-sized head bashes straight into my back, I got a little more loud in my corrections. And, to be frank, he heard me. We actually started to communicate about stopping and starting and … backing, which he hates.

Wrigley hates to back because it is so clearly a dominance thing when I ask him to back. He didn’t want to yield to that.

So, I switched it up. I had him follow me around while I scooped the remnant poops out of the arena. I had the rope over my shoulder and he just had to watch where I was moving or he’d get stepped on – by me – as I was scooping and distributing.

After about 2 times of me scraping my boot along his leg, he figured out that I was moving and he’d better watch.

It worked.

Hmmmmm.

DAY 4-7

We worked on him ‘doing what I do’ for a few days. We went over rails and between rails, around barrels and we turned the water on and off – scooped more poop – basically, I did whatever I could to keep him learning how to watch me - and for him to listen and pair the voice commands associated with each move.

We worked on me standing in front of him and asking for a ‘back’ or a ‘walk up’.

He did pretty well. And, he was kinda cute. Hmmmmmm.

I was beginning to like him.

"OK, this is weird but whatever..." He was beginning to trust.

DAY 8 – STOOPID DAY

Whatever gave me the idea to hide treats and go find them with Wrigley ought to be erased from my brain forever.

You see, previously, my other babies loved the game of finding the hidden treats! They would follow me anywhere and then sniff out the goodie and then follow me to the next one. It was fun and they loved the instant rewards.

Not Wrig.

He went treat-frenzied psychotic on me. OMG. It was like I was handing out horsey crack!

After the first hidden treat, he thought treats were behind every rock. He thought treats grew out of thin air. He wanted to plow over me to find the next one. He didn’t understand any of that ‘follow the leader’ association with me leading him to the treats.

Nope.

He was just going to FIND TREATS like a crazy, 1000 lb cookie addict.

My bad.

I put him away and thought we’d start fresh the next day.

This is his flymask against the lens of my camera as he assaulted me for treats. Another Fail.

WEEK 2

We were progressing rather slowly but well. He was consistently giving up some of his dominance and I was being more consistent with my calm repetition and praise. I didn’t get upset. I reassured him often.

He was starting to grow on me – in a good way.

For example, he no longer barged forward when I was going into his pasture to get him. He respected my space and he seemed happy to go do something with me.

Hmmmm.

Except he hated going around in a circle at the end of a rope. He thinks this is ridiculous and I don’t really blame him.

I swear he has the perfect horsey look for, “Really? Are you actually going to make me go around you in stoopid circles?”

We are still working on this.

I don't want to go in stoopid circles!

FAMILY VACATION

Right after that incident, we left for our family vacation. So, Wrig had a week off to heal his wounded pride.

I did the same.

WEEK 3

After a refreshing week, I was all motivated to start in again.

Wrig seemed happy to see me and not angry or upset about anything. That was good.

We started in and … he had forgotten everything, almost. Or else he was faking it well. I’m not sure.

Anyway, we started all over and he did seem to suddenly remember once I brought out the long rope again – I had been practicing my rope/carrot stick mojo and I was becoming a Ninja.

I have forgotten everything you taught me...

LESLIE ANNE

Well, my good friend, Leslie Anne Webb, is an artist of renown.

But, what people don’t know is that she can sweet talk the rank out of a horse. Not only that, she can get 18 hand draft horses to melt into a puddle when she whispers to them.

So, I called her in.

Sure! She was very willing to help with “little” (compared to her big ol’ horses) Wrigley.

Leslie came and studied Wrig. Wrig studied Leslie. And then they started their dance. One step forward, two steps back… da da dun dun dun, dadada daaa, dun dun dun da

I sat and watched.

I watched how he tried to size her up and challenge her. I watched as she didn’t flinch and stood her ground. I watched him test her without malice. I watched her correct him without malice.

It was great for me to watch this. I could see him from a different perspective. Watching Leslie made me think about myself from another angle.

This was excellent!

Leslie said she’d come back every week to check up on our progress and to work with Wrig. Gulp. Another person to make sure I’m doing what I said I would do…

But do you know the best part?! Wrigley thought her asking him to go in circles was equally as ridiculous as me asking him.

Ha!

Alright already... OKOK...

MORE BONDING

So this week I have decided to work on the good cop/bad cop thing. Leslie can be the bad cop. Tee hee.

I have decided to go slowly and to play more fun games and oddball stuff with him. I gave him a bath. I brought him down the driveway to meet the Fed Ex guy. I made him carry the mail back on his back. I cleaned out the tack room with him in there so he had to move all around to get out of my way. I taught him how to walk through the barn backwards. I taught him how to go through the barn wheelbarrows backwards. We sniffed the cat together (much to kitty’s chagrin) We continued to scoop poop together. And, he is starting to really relax when we are in a training session.

This is Buff the Barnkitty. He was a good sport so I gave him extra rubs.

TODAY

Today was the last day before this post, obviously.

We went to the arena and to warm up, I had him follow me around as I watered the plants and scooped the ever present youknowwhat.

As we began the regular training, I was a bit effusive with the compliments. I had just watched the movie SECRETARIAT (it was playing in the background while I was working today) so I think I was overly emotional about big, red horses…

Anyway, we did the stop, back, follow. We went backwards through poles. I wrapped the rope around him and he turned when the rope tugged his halter. He moved his hindquarters when I pointed to them. His second to least favorite thing to do is move his shoulders over upon command… but he did it – both sides.

And yes, he did walk those stoopid circles around me. Wrig made the “this is the stoopidest thing ever” face as he was going around. And, he did try to stop every 3rd step, but he did it.

Atta boy, Wrig, atta boy.

And, for me, Atta Girl Momma, Atta Girl.

I cannot believe that I’m doing this and I cannot believe how my opinion of Wrigley has so vastly changed.

Hmmmmm.

Lots of food for thought here. As they say, train a horse and learn about yourself.

Indeed.