Horse and Man

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

A reader sent in this photo of her dog and I had to pass it on…

 

THE 4TH OF JULY…

Last year on the 4th of July, I wrote about Parade Horses.   I had much fun researching and writing that article!  If you’d like to read it, here is the link.

This year on 4th of July, the only idea I had was to write about parade horses…

Hmmmm.  I seem to be a one-trick pony around the 4th of July.

Speaking of tricks…

TRICKS

When I started to think about parade horses and trick ponies, I thought that maybe it would be fun to learn how to teach a trick or two.

(My horses already know many tricks… but most of those are for making ME do something that they want, not the other way around.)

And, I’m not saying that I’m totally into teaching tricks but I have to admit that I love a little girl who has taught her pony tricks.  So, I decided to go hunting to find a simple trick that we could all learn and teach if the mood struck.

TRICK TEACHING BOOKS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After doing a google search, I found several books on the subject.  The one that caught my eye was called, TRICKONOMETRY.  You can purchase it on Amazon (linked here) where you can also find it’s newest version ADVANCED TRICKONOMETRY.

Now, there are many books and many trick trainers… the only reason I picked excerpts from this particular book was because there were excerpts from this particular book.  The others were a bit stingy with the information.

And, I liked this book because it is spiral bound which makes total sense for any horse work.

OK, so, here we go!

A FEW TRICKS

I decided to post this first trick because it seems like a good way to get your horse to put his head down to be haltered.  It is called Teach your horse to act “Ashamed” but I don’t really like that idea.  So, I’m going to call it, “Teach your horse how to be haltered”.

Teaching Your Horse to Act Ashamed (an exact excerpt from Carole Fletcher, the author of TRICKONOMETRY) OR as I like to call it:

TEACHING YOUR HORSE HOW TO BE HALTERED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1:

Have a halter and lead rope on your horse, standing him in an aisle, stall or next to a fence. Stand in front of him, and with a small piece of carrot in your left hand, reach behind your back and under your right arm, turning your body slightly so he can see it. At the same time, raise your right arm level with your shoulder, and in a scolding tone of voice, say, Shame on you!

Step 2:

Make him lower his head, reaching under your right arm for the carrot. You can encourage him by gently pushing his head down with your right hand on his poll, if necessary. Let him eat the carrot, and while doing so, drop your right arm around his head, pet him and reassure him he is good, in a soothing tome of voice. Repeat this several times in one session, say, over a five to ten minute period, but no longer, so that he doesn’t tire of it.

Step 3:

Repeat Steps 1 and 2, until your horse immediately drops his head under your right arm, upon hearing the words, Shame on you! and the raising of your right arm. Remember–your tone of voice in important here, so be sure to sound like you are scolding him.

Your horse is learning that the cues he should respond to are body position, your tone of voice and voice command. Be consistent in those cues, and reward him when he gives you a right answer. With his head hiding under your arm, it will appear as if your horse is ashamed. I like to use this trick when he hasn’t gotten something right.

IF YOU ARE INTO TRICKS, HERE ARE A FEW MORE:

– Teach your horse to shake his head “No”

– Teach your horse to nod his head “Yes”

– Teach your horse to “Smile”

 

ANOTHER KIND OF DISAPPEARING ACT – ANYONE NEED A 4TH OF JULY ADDITION?

Because 4th of July is such a holiday of Independence, I wanted to showcase a few horses that are available for adoption.

The first three are in Northern CA… (Here is the website to check out all of their donkeys and mules.)  I know how easy and wonderful donkeys are so I think anyone who has space/the wherewithall should have a set.  Also, this mini-mule sounds adorable!

“If anyone is interested, we’ve got donkeys here, at our rescue.  Some are BLM freezebranded ones.  We actually have a “bookend” matched set right now, too.  They’re small.  One’s a jenny and the other is a gelding.

Braydon is a titled BLM burro gelding.  He is about 11 hands tall.  He is in his early teens.  Braydon has had a bit in his mouth, and a saddle on his back, plus he stands tied.  He has NOT been ridden.  He leads, is great with his feet, and readily loads into a trailer.  Adoption fee plus processing fee will be $200.

Kate is a titled, BLM jenny, in her mid teens.  She stands about 11 hands, is friendly, enjoys stratches, massages and ear rubs on a daily basis.  Kate is very good with her feet, is halter-able and leads.  She loads fairly easily into a trailer.  She is on a diet and has lost a few pounds, and is looking good.  Kate is UTD with 4 way and WNV. Adoption fee plus processing fee for Kate: $150.

 

 

Oh, and if anyone is interested, we’ve got a very smart, willing mini mule.  Lil Red is only 2 years old, and is VERY – VERY much a people person.  He’s been clicker trained to roll a ball back, been ground driven and had an extremely light pack on his back.

Anyway, I thought that I’d update you on the available ones for adoption, that reside here.  My email:  vfreeman@digitalpath.net”

Lil Red is a 2 year old mini mule.  He stands 36 inches tall.  Red has had beginning target training, has been taught to ground driving, plus pack (an exceptionally light load).  He crosses foot bridges,and will go through ditches.  Red readily jumps into a trailer.  Lil Red is a total sweetheart, a bit of a pistol, that will do well with a mule savvy owner.

Red is UTD with 4 way, WNV. This smart, smart mule needs a job!  While here, he has become a lovable puppy, er…lil mule!

 

 

AND ANOTHER…

Available for Adoption at Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue – Birte, born 2007, Virginia Range Mustang Mare. Birte is available for someone with horse knowledge. This little mare is responsive, light and very sensitive. She is incredibly athletic and would be perfect for jumping or possibly endurance. She loves to play with anything she can find to pick up or jump over. She is a gorgeous bay roan color that seems to change every week. If you want a mare that can take you anywhere or do anything then this is the one. She is ready to begin saddle starting.

IN CONCLUSION

If any of you can adopt an equine, please do.  Independence is so taken for granted as a human…

 

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.

I had no idea that I was the glue.

I mean, half the time I look around and wonder when I’m ever going to have enough time to finish or fix the dozens of “honey-do” items around the place.  My feedroom could use a few once-overs and my 3-year old is going to grow up to be a mannerless cur.

Or at least that is what I thought until I was gone for a couple of weeks.  Little did I know all the crapola that could/would happen in my absence.  Yeesh.  It seems that the little I do is far more effective than the alternatives!

MAYHEM AND FOOLISHNESS

First off, let me set the scene…

Hubby offered to feed while I was gone.  On the days the girls were with us, they would feed.  And, when no one was available, our horse-feeder would feed.

Hmmm.  That seemed like a pretty good plan on the surface.  But, let me expand here.

SPEEDY GONZALEZ

Hubby has it in his mind that the horses are my duty and my duty only.  He has his responsibilities and I have mine.  Never the twain shall meet.  So, when I ask him to feed, he knows he has to – but he doesn’t like it.  The upshot is that the horses will be fed.  The downside is that the only way feeding is acceptable to Hubby is to break his own time record while doing it.

He races himself.  How fast can he feed and water all 12?…  Once he sets out the door, the buzzer sounds and he’s off!  Lickety Split!

Well, you can imagine the bruhaha in the wake of his relay.  One of the horses could be missing a leg or have grown another head and he wouldn’t slow down long enough to notice.

I call Hubby the SpeedyGonzalez Feeder.

EXACTLY AND PRECISELY FED

I call the girls the ‘exactly and precisely’ feeders because they do exactly what I tell them (ie: feed and water the horses) and nothing more.

For example, if there was a fallen branch in the way of the wheelbarrow, a bird nesting in a mane, or a toad infestation in a waterer, nothing would be done.  “You didn’t say that I should move the log that was blocking my path so I stepped over it 57 times while I was feeding and watering like you told me.”

Sigh.

And, we have to add in there the “I’m just a kid so you cannot expect me to do the job like an adult” factor.  When the girls feed, I can track their exact movements by the hay trail left behind.  Usually at least one door/gate is left unlatched and for sure the barn lights will be burning.

But, they do “feed and water” all the horses so even though the barn could burn down at any moment, at least I can rest assured that the horses will be fed and watered.

PERILS OF PAULINE

Then there is my horse feeder.  She is so cute and sweet that I cannot believe they haven’t created a sitcom around her.  This girl is lovely and she loves animals.

What cracks me up about her is that she is incredible when there is a problem but she’s a bit forgetful on the easy stuff.

I mean, no matter what, she will handle it.  But, the simple job of feeding and watering sometimes goes awry.

The odd part is that stuff always happens during her watch.  It is as if the horses wait until they see her and then wreck something.  I swear, bad stuff never happens to anyone else but HER.

Once, a water spigot had broken and was spurting water everywhere.  We were out of town so she shut off the main, went to the plumbing store, bought all the necessary supplies, came back, fixed everything and then told me about it after the crisis was totally over.  Love that.

Another time, I got an email telling me how she had to extract Gwen from the fenceline.  Either her hair or her foot got caught… I was never sure.  But anyway, suffice it to say if this had happened while Speedy or Precisely had been feeding, Gwen would still be there…

But, as observant of disaster as the ‘Perils of Pauline’ has become, invariably, when she has fed, I will discover that something didn’t happen in the feeding/watering department.  Once I noticed that a hose had been kicked out so the waterer was bone dry even though the ground has been watered quite well.  One time she left the gate open and Dex trotted off (she was mortified – she found him).   Or for example this time… one pasture of horses had lost some weight.  I don’t think she forgot to feed them but I do think that maybe they got the smaller flakes.  Dunno.

Anyway, I think she gets caught up in her hyper-vigilance and maybe forgets the basics.

But, the good outweighs the bad on Pauline so I keep calling her when I need help.

THIS TIME

OK, so this time, I was gone for 2 weeks and all of them fed at one time or another.

You can imagine the state of the barn right now… Lights blazing, tack room door open, mice running amok, hay bales askew, barn cats mewing, hay trails running every which way, twine strung about, fly masks in every phase of removal, trout swimming in the troughs, broken fenceboards, thigh high thistle, the mare pasture has endured several coups, Wrigley got taller, some horses are fat, some lean and all of my wayward equines are now clamoring for individual attention.

“Where have you been?!  We need everything.  NOW!”

Sigh.

But I love it.  Secretly.  You know I do…  Now I get to put it all back together again – and bring peace to the barndom.  <smile>

 

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

 

JUNE mid-month BUCKET FUND

ITSUKO and BHFER

Please help rehab Itsuko, a great granddaughter of Native Dancer who had 99 starts, won 100K, had several foals and then was … forgotten and starved.  Click here to learn more.

 

 

 

Copyright

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

IT IS A HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!!   And many of you will be away from your computers, or if you are at your computers, it is just for fun.

So today, Let’s have some fun!

I decided to get into the Holiday Spirit by revealing my new found secret… Shiva, Hubby’s dog, is a photobomber!  Do you know what I mean?  Have you heard the term “photobombing”?

 

PHOTOBOMBING

Photobombing became a popular term recently when this photo below appeared on the internet.

Now, if one was to forget that they have ever heard of Photoshop, they might believe that this squirrel really did just happen to appear in this family photo.

 

But, pretty much we all know that camera trickery is very easy via the computer… but most of us suspend disbelief because it is fun to just go with it, right?!   And actually, photobombing does happen by accident.  Many vacation photos have been ruined by what the unsuspecting foreground people didn’t know was happening in the background…  And, sometimes it is really funny…

ANIMAL PHOTOBOMBING

Then people started to mock-up animal photobombs.  I like those a lot!  Of course, the real animal photobombs are the cherry on top, but since there are few of those, these mock-ups keep me happy.  Here are two of my favs.

 

HUBBY’S DOG, SHIVA

Now, back to Hubby’s dog, Shiva.  Shiva has a girl’s name but he is a boy.  Hubby is very learned and he happens to know that the God Shiva was a male.  And, the God Shiva was the God of destruction, so he felt that was a fitting title for his dog.  I don’t.  Shiva doesn’t destroy much unless we leave the garbage can lid off.  Otherwise, he is pretty sweet.

In fact, he is so sweet that he has given himself the job of accompanying me outside whenever I go.  Shiva can be in a sound sleep, but if he hears me go for the front door, he’ll jump up, stumble over and ask to go wherever I am going.  I find this adorable.  No matter what, where, when or how, he wants to go outside with me.  This duty is so important to him that he will pop up and scamper over even if I am just going to the laundry room or any other location within 20 square feet of the front door.  He gets faked-out probably 60% of the time.  Yet, he keeps on jumping into duty if I go anywhere in the vicinity of ‘outside’.  Cute cute.

NATURALLY…

So, naturally, he goes outside with me whenever I am taking photos of the horses for this blog.  In fact, often I have to put him inside because he gets in the way…  And, as much as I love him, the horses don’t have the same sentiment.  He is kinda frenetic and his collar jingles.  They don’t like that.  In fact, he gets chased out of pastures more than he doesn’t.  Good thing he is a fast little bugger!  He can tucknrun like a rabbit!

SHIVA THE PHOTOBOMBER

OK, well, back to the photobombing thing.  You see, often I will have taken photos for my blog and it won’t be until I come back inside, go upstairs to download them that I will notice Shiva is in the photos I need to use.  Aaargh!  So, I have to lock him up and go back out and take the photos again.  He just slips in there and I don’t even notice!  He’s right there.  Right there. RIGHT IN THE LENS!

YESTERDAY

 

Yesterday was the day the photobombing thing really clicked for me.  I saw this photo and gasped that I didn’t even realize he was staring right at me when I took the photo.  I had already cleaned everything up everythink that was in the photo before I went to my computer to write the story; so I had to use it since I couldn’t go back and recreate that image.  And, I laughed.  I laughed to myself and finally decided to see how many times he has photobombed my blog pictures.

I WONDER WHY

I wonder why he photobombs me all the time…?  Does he have any idea what I’m doing.  Probably not.  But, I surmise that when I walk outside with that thing in my hand, I usually go to the horses.  And, I think he gets protective and jealous.  I think he feels his job is to protect me.  So, he goes with me.   If I’m snapping photos and all looks OK, he gets absorbed in some other activity and trots about – always circling back to make sure I am safe.  In doing so, I forget about him.  But, he’s always there…   I also think he wants some of whatever I am giving to the horses.  So, if I’m taking pictures of them, he wants that love, too.

HERE THEY ARE

I have tons of pics where he is halfway in or halfway out of the shot.  I have many where he’s a blur.  I have a few where he is so far back in the photo that you wouldn’t be able to see him but I know he’s there…  So, I culled my massive library of photos and here are a few of his classic photobombs.  Do you have a dog like this?

 

 

I could go on all day but that would ruin you holiday, so this concludes my Shiva as photobomber (or maybe “Where’s Waldo?” is more appropriate…) journal. I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday weekend!

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT! – I’ve added my fav pics of Shiva…

 

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

The September Bucket Fund will benefit Grace, the skinniest horse still alive.  To learn all about the Bucket Fund and to donate to this incredible horse,  please click on the photo (photo credit, Trish Lowe)

I’m writing this with the Glory Window open (on Marestare) on my desktop where I can write and watch at the same time.

This is quite frustrating because I want to show you her baby and write about that… but there is no baby yet and I have a deadline.  And, truth to tell, I was kinda bummed that Faith’s baby took all the thunder yesterday (It was pretty great!).   But most of you didn’t even notice the original blog I had written about one of the Nurse Mare Foal Heartbreak Kids adoption (linked here)!

So, I hesitate to write a blogpost and then do the same thing tomorrow – where Glory’s baby will supercede whatever I write.  And, I’m pretty sure that Glory will have her baby tonight.  (Of course, we’ve been saying that for a few days now.)  It would be kinda fun if both the Junkyard 4 pregnant mares had their foals on the same day, eh?!

OK, so I’m going to write about something not very important but interesting – just in case I have to interject Glory’s new foal on top of it.

FIRST, RED AND TUCKER

Theresa sent out this photo of her ‘goodbye’ with Red and Tucker.  Bittersweet.

 

PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE WATCHING FAITH, GRACE AND THE NURSE MARE FOALS!

Since I was at my computer all day (working and watching Marestare with Glory), I was able to look at HORSE AND MAN’S website statistics whenever I wanted.

Today, the visitor numbers quadrupled because everyone was passing around the news of Faith’s baby.  So, I decided to watch the countries of the viewers.  Every so often, I’d click the stats page and take a photo of all the readers in that instant.  Of course, I missed lots of people, but I think you get the idea here.

To me, this was very, very interesting.  I wonder who all these people are?  I wonder how they found out about the blog.  I wish I could meet them all.  And, who is reading in The Republic of Moldovia?!

The fact that the map of the world – which shows the people who have clicked on my site – has almost no places untouched, I’m kind of in awe.  I’m TOTALLY in awe of the Internet.  This little blog has traveled all over the world… wow.

Anyway, here are some of my screen shots of the stats.

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

PLEASE DON’T FORGET ABOUT OUR APRIL BUCKET FUND – THE NURSE MARE FOALS!

 

Copyright

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