Wood fence done!

It took three days, but we put the finishing touches on the fence -- only to find that the 1" cedar rails are too flimsy! The horses can push and bend the boards and the first thing they did was gnaw on them. Next time, the wood will be 2" white oak boards. Someone told us horses don't like to eat white oak, but the cedar was inexpensive.

Now we just have to paint it.

Not a bad boy, just no treats!

I finally called Dawna, another Tennessee Walker owner and trainer, and she agreed to come by today to evaluate Red. Much to my relief, she says he’s not a bad boy. He just needs to be taught who’s boss. She suggested that I stop by her place sometime and work with her horses a bit just so I can practice with a well-behaved animal before dealing with one that’s not. I am so happy to have someone to share my trouble with.

Dawna says what might be causing the biting problem is the treats we've been giving the horses. They are looking for food in our pockets and in our hands. It's better NOT to use treats as rewards. Petting and words of encouragement are better tools to use.

I’m going to need to give the next worm medication soon and I don’t know where to start. Dawna is going to share her schedule with me. She gives her horses their doses mixed in with applesauce. That sounds much easier than trying to get a syringe down their throats. I think I’ll give it a try.

The wood fencing is progressing, though much slower that we'd like. Going through gravel is not fun. We found that adding water to the hole helps the auger grab better. The auger tends to get out of your hands when you hit a dense spot and you can go for a spin if you're not careful.

More fencing

Wood fencing construction starts for phase two of our pasture. We’re using used cedar posts we got at an auction two years ago. There's going to be a 16-foot gate using two 8-foot gate panels so our renter can easily get his equipment into the pole shed. For the gate supports, we’re using the old telephone pole our yard light used to be on. Thrifty hunh?

Sally and Randy lent us their power auger. We didn’t get as far as we’d like.

Shopping again

After work, I stopped at Farm and Fleet to buy 15 more plastic posts. I found the triangle shaped apple treats that they like so well.

Like most women, I love shopping. I find it interesting that my favorites used to be Kohl's, Younker's and TJ Maxx but now it's Stockman's, Farm and Fleet and Fleet Farm.

Progress

This last week has been frustrating. Red won’t let me handle his feet. It is difficult to work independently with each horse. When I get close to Sugar, Red will try to bite. He lays back his ears, raises his head and looks at me with the whites of his eyes showing. Is this typical herd boss behavior? Both horses will bite if given a chance.

But I'm making progress on other fronts. I made a space for grooming inside the loafing shed. I used an eye bolt on a post to attach a tie down. It wasn't easy, but Bob helped me steal a couple rubber mats from the barn where the cow stantions are. They had to be detached from the cement and dragged to the loafing shed. They are heavy!

We put four rubber mats just inside the loafing shed where Red and Sugar stand most of the time so they aren't on concrete.

Bit swap

I bought a sweet iron D-Ring snaffle bit from horsefriendly.com. Vicki and I noticed that Sugar had a pronounced head toss when we rode her in Kentucky. What I've read about bits online leads me to believe the bit might be causing this. She needs something a little kinder than the Tom Thumb bit we bought in Kentucky. Not only because she is young, but because I am not the most experienced rider and I can unintentionally cause her pain. It wasn't very expensive so I don't have much to lose. We can move back to the Tom Thumb later if we need it for trail riding.

First week behind us

Our daughter, Lisa, came out and went with me to Stockman’s. We bought fly spray, more 1 1/2" fence tape and T-post gate connectors. She loves horses, too and wants to help out on weekends when she can.

I'm getting more comfortable in the pasture with the horses. I now have a small four foot whip (Farm and Fleet) that I'm using to move them around. Getting their halters on is still a bit of a struggle. It takes me time to figure out top from bottom and which way it goes on. I panic because I'm not quick and they get antsy waiting for me, but I finally get it done and it feels great. Dare I say I've never saddled a horse or put a bridle on a horse myself? I'll cross those bridges when I get there.

You can’t do anything in the field when both horses are together. We put Sugar in the east section of the field where we can close it off to keep Red out. I let Lisa work with Sugar and I worked with Red in the other section. They don’t get their apple treats until we’re done.

I have no place set up to groom them, so we just do it out in the field. We brought out the ice cream buckets with the grooming tools--rubber curry combs, stiff brushes, hoof picks and mane and tail combs. I still have trouble picking the hooves. Art said we don’t need to worry too much about that with pasture horses, but it is nagging at me.

A contact

I went to our former neighbor’s daughter’s graduation party. I proudly shared photos of my new babies and chatted with a lady who lives near a woman who owns Tennessee Walkers and also happens to have recently earned a Richard Shrake training certificate. She gave me Dawna’s name and phone number. I’m looking forward to talking with someone else with Walking Horses.

Don't scare us like that!

It's Friday and I took a half day vacation. Taking care of the horses aren’t the only things I have to do. There’s the garden to get in and a long list of remodeling projects.

I’m worried about Red. Our neighbors Art and Vicki stopped by with their young daughter, Alexis, to meet the horses. When we got near the area where we feed them, he charged the fence going straight for Alexis. Vicki panicked –it’s just two thin lines of flexible tape. I’m pretty sure Red’s reaction is due to the fact that we were near his feeding space, but what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped?

Stories to tell

It's back to work today. I enjoyed talking with co-workers about my new hobby.

Red can be a stinker. We feed the horses their pellet food at night outside in the small area just outside the loafing shed and he gets really hostile. He lays his ears back and turns his rear to us. I started out setting the food in round, black food dishes, but they just tip them over so I don’t bother any more. I just put it on the ground.

Summer storm

This is my last vacation day. We got going at 7 a.m. since the clouds were already gathering and we stretched the tape and finished phase one of our fencing plan just before the storm hit. We didn’t have time to leisurely introduce Red and Sugar to their new space so we just let them loose. I really wish I’d had my camera. It was a stunning sight. They did their own tour, respecting the fence really well. When they both began running I could have cried. Sugar looked like she was floating, head and tail held high. Storms hit again later in the day.

I have not had time to work with the horses, except to brush them out in the field. I have tried cleaning their hooves, but I am still intimidated by their size and weight.

More pasture, please

Today we marked the area for our first large section of pasture and put in the fence posts. We’re using a combination of plastic poles and T-posts. The plastic posts are short, but very easy to use and will fill in nicely between the T-posts. We thought we’d have a few more days, but they’re eating down the small patch of grass outside the loafing shed too quickly. Our son, Sam, was a big help. He loves the horses but scares me with his “I’m invulnerable” attitude.

There wasn’t enough time to finish running the tape, so I’ll get up early tomorrow.

The horses don’t like the new horse treats I got as much as the triangle shaped ones William gave us.

A long night

All night long, I worried that my new babies wouldn’t get along together in the loafing shed where we'd kept them penned up. I was sure when the sun came up that they’d both have broken legs. It was just like the day we brought our oldest son, Dan, home from the hospital. Will they get hurt? How do I take care of them? They are so big! Bob and I have a lot to learn. Luckily, when I went down to visit them, they were fine. They are loving the apple/carrot treats William gave us. I’ll have to get more.

Today was spent shopping for more fencing and other stuff (I keep finding more thing I need to buy). We needed more fence tape, got a jolly ball, 15 plastic fence posts, an arab size halter (the medium size one I bought before the trip is too big for Sugar), tie downs, screw eyes, horse treats and tape insulators for connecting the tape to the T-posts.

We gave them half a scoop each of sweet 16 pellet food in the evening. Red doesn’t really like it – he reacted like a dog you’ve given peanut butter to– he smacked his lips and did goofy lippy things.

They load easy you say?

We made it back to Jimar Farm at 7:45 am and William was there to load our horses. It wasn’t until 9:15 that we were able to head out. Li'l Red was a handful. He did not want to load. He reared and scraped his head on the ceiling of the trailer (in my mind it was a gaping wound) then ran off down the road. But he came back and we eventually convinced him in. Sugar Baby loaded much more easily.

The trip back was white-knuckled. Vickie’s rig handled very well, but we worried. It was 95 degrees by the time we got to Illinois and they didn’t want to eat the treats we had. (At the Illinois toll booth, we asked the lady, "What would happen if someone theoretically went through a toll without paying?". Without batting an eyelash, she whipped out an envelope and said, "Send your payment in with this or the fine is (something like) $80." We arrived home shortly before the last rays of light disappeared and unloading the horses was anticlimactic.

On to Louisville

After getting lost (don’t trust Mapquest-I should have followed Mary’s map), we got to Jimar Farm in Pleasureville, KY about 8:00 in the morning and toured the facility on Jim’s golf cart in the rain. I’m sorry I didn’t get a good photo of Power Sparkles (Sugar Baby's sire) because he is really a beautiful stallion. The trainer, William Carter (if you're in the area and need a trainer, call 321-6035), saddled each horse and warmed them up in the indoor arena. Then both Vickie and I rode. Red is a little like driving a tank and Sugar is a sportster (see video of William on Sugar). I have my work cut out for me. After the tour, the test drive and signing the papers it was noon so Jim agreed to let us come back tomorrow to load them for an earlier start – otherwise we wouldn’t get back home until the wee hours of the morning.

So we stopped in Shelbyville to get our travel papers (Coggins) from the Shelbyville Vet (their sign gave us a chuckle-read the names). Then we found a great tack shop where I bought a 15" Abetta saddle and 2 bits. We had a great chat with Charlie, the sales clerk and veteran cowgirl. She and Vicki shared trail stories and got me a ‘starting out’ discount.

Next, we headed to downtown Louisville. With Vicki's foot in a cast, we weren't about to do a lot of walking, so we drove around and saw the big bat (Slugger), the decorated horse statues, and stopped at the river walk to walk Gauge, our bodyguard.

When we'd had our fill of downtown, we started back toward Pleasureville. On the way we spotted an open house sign for a new housing development and decided to tour one of the homes. Back in Pleasureville, we found a Tractor Supply store. What fun! I bought a Navajo blanket, a black, nylon bridle and reins for Sugar and a leather bridle and reins for Red. It’s not everything but it’s a start.

Lil and Vicki’s big adventure

Our trip began with an early 6 a.m. start (actually it all started when Bob and I first bought our farm and dreamed of gracing the property with the figure of horses. No, it started when my favorite passtime as a youngster was drawing horses. No, it started when I read each and every Walter Farley book in grade school and saw National Velvet. No, there was no beginning, it just always was).

Our husbands really shouldn’t have let 2 blondes go out on the road with a diesel truck and a horse trailer. It was a 13 hour trip filled with misadventures – like going through the Illinois tollbooth without paying...

Off the hook

I ordered a Troxel Spirit riding helmet today. This is cutting it a little short, since I'm leaving for Kentucky tomorrow! Sally, a coworker, brought some of her helmets in to work so that I could try them on for size and style. This one is adjustable so it will work for either me or my daughter. If I were younger, I probably wouldn’t think this was important.

Whew! The rest of the court cases for the week have been cancelled, so I'm off the hook. I'm glad, although I hope I get an opportunity some other time.