Green Mountain Curlies

2009-05-31T06:41:00.003-04:00

Almost 4 months since I last posted. I know that I have readers who follow my blog, and I'm sure you'd want to know why it has been so long.

It all began back in 2007. We had been learning to drive, and had *Beau trained. Both of us really enjoy driving, but the arena we had built in 2004 while lovely, is a bit narrow for turning the cart. It is amazing what an extra 12 feet can do for your turning radius. We decided to have another built. Our original building is 60 ft X 120 ft; we decided to go for 72ft X 150 and having actually 140 ft to use and 10 ft for storing the carts.

Additionally, we thought we would like to expand our business by offering lessons. I began studying with a local Centered Riding (c) instructor, planning to work towards my certifications with them. I chose CR because it had helped *me* so much. What my overall goal was to be able to offer instruction to those people allergic to horses.

Because we had so enjoyed working with the company that built the first arena, we chose to contract with them for the second one.

Less than six months from the day the company arrived to erect the building, on the morning of February 14, 2008 we awoke to mangled steel and ripped tarp. The entire building was gone; unuseable; demolished.

Although I am not free to talk about the WHY of the building falling, nor will I mention the WHO of the company that built it, because we have had to enter litigation concerning this; I am free to talk about what this has done to me.

I have trouble looking at the ruin (we had to leave it until all "parties" involved decided they really should visit the site); each time I see it, I don't see it. I have built walls around my heart so that I don't feel anything. But the truth is, I do feel. I feel pain, I feel the dissolution of dreams, I feel the lethargy, the inability to carry-on. Finally, about 2 weeks ago, I was able to admit that I really do have some depression over this...to the point that I have trouble working with my horses at all. This inner voice asks constantly, "What is the point?"

And because there are expenses involved, and we have horses to feed too, I have had to go to work away from the farm. This pulls me away from the horses even more, so I find myself in the cycle of "I don't want to work with the horses....I do want to but don't have the time....I feel guilty I'm not working with the horses.....I don't want to work with..." etc., etc., etc.

I found that this cycle is touching other parts of my life as well. I love photography, I love taking pictures of those beings I am blessed to share life with, but I have a listlessness to get out and take pictures. Without new pictures, why keep the website updated? I have to be careful when I take the pictures and try NOT to let the fallen arena be in them, so.... I always loved working on the website...now, I don't.

To make matters worse, even though I am feeling depressed, that aspect can in no way be used in the litigation. Why? Because most likely it will be settled out of court, and not be in front of a jury. Although the falling arena has had life changing implications for me; has mangled my dreams; no one will be held accountable for that.

This hole that I am in, I have to find my own way out of. I'm sure I will, but after almost a year and half of living with this, I decided I had to write about it.

My mother always said that every black cloud had a silver lining; I've typically found her to be correct. Yet this black cloud is immense, thick, and dark. I've yet to find that lining; I'm hopeful that I will eventually.

2009-02-15T13:44:00.005-05:00

12:55 a.m. - I had been asleep for a couple of hours, but *Babe's restless walking woke me. She was also pawing which is typical *Babe reaction to anxiety of some sort. I stayed covered, but peeked out from time to time, as it was cold. She would circle the double stall, and stop; sometimes pawing, sometimes taking a hay snack; then circle again. I felt she was most likely in beginning labor.

2:25 a.m. - I must have drifted off for a bit, because the silence woke me right up. I peered out of my sleeping bag and couldn't see her standing, so I shoved back the covers and realized she was laying down. I hopped off the bale and slipped on my shoes. Her head bobbed in my direction, acknowledging my movement. Using only the Christmas mini-lights we have up, I walked until I could observe her rump. Her tail was out, and her peritoneum was bulged, with her vulva lips beginning to separate. I continued to walk past her and turned on the 100W bulb at the end of the arena. As she laid there, her water broke. Not with a rush, just with a hefty dribble.

A moment later she stood up, and sniffed the amniotic fluid, swishing her upper lip in it and then flemining. She laid down and pushed some more. At that point I saw some of the sac pushing out in a small bubble shape. With the next push, there was a bit of hoof. Again, she stood up, and turned in a circle, then laid back down. At the next push, more leg came out, and I chose to turn on the big lights. I also had brought over some towels...I didn't know the temperature, but the prediction has been 8-10 F, so I wanted to begin drying off the foal as soon as possible. I also put on rubber gloves.

As the lights came up, I saw a second hoof, slightly behind the first. More pushing, but little progress. Slowly the legs got longer, and longer, but still no nose. I decided I should break the sac from around the hooves, and by the time I got in and knelt behind *Babe there was about 12 inches of the first hoof showing, still no nose. That worried me. As with the end of each contraction the foal would slip back up some, I chose to grasp the legs and prevent that. As she would push, I helped with a steady pull out and "down", and the nose appeared!!

Once half of the head was out, I removed the sac from around the head area exposed. At that point, the foal's mouth was partially open and the tongue, slightly purple, was hanging out. I'll be the first to admit that I have never seen a foal's tongue prior to it breathing, so I was somewhat concerned. After the next push, with some helpful pulling from me, the head got delivered. I completely removed the sac from its head, and the nostril quivered! Phew!

By this time I could see that *Babe was tiring. It is unusual for a horse to labor so long. As prey animals their labors are fast so that they do not make an easy meal for a predator. My experiences with *Walker and *Glory also told me this was unusual, as typically when the head is delivered, the rest tends to slip right out. I grabbed a towel and began rubbing the legs and head dry. Again, with the next contraction I helped, and we got the shoulders delivered; THEN the rest slid out onto the ground. I began vigorous toweling and marveled at the darkness of this Curly foal. I didn't not check for its sex, as drying it was paramount for me.

When I had gone through 3-4 towels and dried what I could. I quickly ran up to the house and got Chuck and Guin. Guin, my ever faithful helper, had fallen asleep in the house before coming down. Guin and I got back down and we toweled some more. She is the one that discovered it was a filly. The last filly we had, *GMC Sierra Verde, was born in October of 2002. Six and half years with only boys. After we dried her as much as we could, we put on her foal blanket.

Two weeks before Guin had dreamt of the foal being born. In the dream the foal was black, and had jumped up and started talking to her, introducing itself as 'Valentino'. This foal just missed being born on Valentine's Day, but is black, active, and VERY talkative.

Her name is *GMC Acadia Valentine, and we are calling her *Love. Without further ado, here she is:

Thanks for sticking with this blog during the process. I hope you enjoyed it.

2009-02-14T08:44:00.002-05:00

No mini-me's as of 8: 30 am, 2/14/09........

But, last night was cold. Not just uncomfortably cold, but deep into your bones where it takes hours next to another human body to warm up cold. 6F when I came up to the house at 4:30 a.m. because my bladder wouldn't wait any longer. Guin and I both had our egg-crate pads on top of the hay bales (we have the 800 lb square variety), with two sleeping bags, and several layers of clothing (including our snow pants and jackets) on. Spot decided he needed to keep us company all night long as well.....funny cat. With two equine bodies, two humans, and one cat breathing into the 60 X 120 foot building, we had enough condensation to leave a bit of frosting on us all. *Babe still has some in her mane....so no wonder she held off labor.

At 12:15 I said to *Babe, "Okay, it's Valentine's Day. Anytime now." At first, she seemed to take this to heart (excuse the pun). Guin noted that she was standing oddly, she would slightly tuck her back legs under her, tail out, and strain. I missed this as I was buried under my sleeping bags, and it only happened a few times. You know how you have to see something happen 3 or 4 times before you figure out what is happening, only to have the occurance stop? Yep that was it. Then around 1:30 she became restless. She'd circle her double stall and stop; circle again, stop; tail out the whole time. There were a few grunts but sometimes it was *Glory, lol. She laid down; she rolled; she got up, she circled. She laid down but not completely recumbant. She was down 10-15 minutes and then she got up again for the remainer of the night. The last time I remember was 1:30 and the next was 2:45, so I slept for a bit. Checked her and went back to sleep; woke again about 3:30 and vowed to stay as long as possible.

As mentioned earlier my bladder finally said enough. If you don't live in a wickedly cold environment, then you have no idea of how feeling the cold causes your bladder to think "Time to empty NOW"; so at 4:30 I rolled off my bale, put on my shoes and walked like an old lady on the ice to go back to the house. Did I mention that our driveway is ice right now? Meltoff that refreezes at night is particularly slippery...a world class skater would have trouble negotiating it. But the moon was shining down brightly, the stars shown crisply, and all was going to be right with the world as soon as I was in the house and peeling off my layers. At that point, with Guin and Spot still in the barn, I chose to crawl into my normal bed and use the love of my life to warm up.

About 7:15 I pushed Chuck out of bed, "I need a cup of coffee.". Usually, I get the first one, but not this morning! That's when I spied the note laid across my computer...it said.."NO CLONES AS OF 5 A.M.....As for that vanishing mom act - Spotticus and I shall not fall for it again! It was an evil, evil trick. 8^0 - Sleep deprived, terribly cold daughter and the cat who's licking himself."

So, I knew I needed to go check. After my second cup, Chuck head down to get hay out to everyone, and I got some beet pulp soaking. I like to give them the extra carbs that pulp affords after a cold night. Then I headed down, and sure enough, no mini-me's. I told her that it was supposed to warm up to about 25F today and it was a GOOD day to give birth.

Then as Chuck fed her a few treats, I observed the following: Belly has a point at the bottom (the V I'd mentioned a few days ago is quite pronounced); her vulva is more swollen and the lips slightly parted (I was able to pull them apart without her objection and she is quite red inside rather than the regular pink of mucous membranes); her udder has become ponderous. I pulled some milk from her and brought it up for testing. The pH has dropped completely off the scale, as in below 6.8; there is NO doubt that the ppm is at, or above, 1000. If I thought the milk looked like condensed last night, it is more so this morning. Immediate butterfat, very sticky, but still bland to my tastebuds.

Okay, everyone, let's chant "It's a good time to give birth!"

2009-02-13T18:20:00.003-05:00

No little foal yet. *Babe did spend a few minutes touching both of her sides. This is often a way that you can tell they are going into labor; however, in this instance I suspect it was what we call "Braxton-Hicks" contractions in humans. They are contractions that tone the uterus and get it ready for the job ahead. This was about 11:30 last night and afterwards she stood quietly sleeping. Guin was the one who noticed it. Then toward early morning (2ish?) she dropped and rolled, well only on one side, lol, as she is a bit unbalanced. Then around 4:30 she laid down to sleep a bit. When I tested the fluid this morning it was slightly sticky, no real butterfat, and bland not salty. It measured about 400ppm.

This evening it was looking more like condensed milk! It tasted bland, perhaps with a hint of sweetness, was very sticky and formed butterfat quickly. 1000 ppm

Valentine's baby?

Guess where I'm sleeping tonight? Single digits too.

2009-02-12T21:16:00.003-05:00

There was no visible change in appearance this morning. The fluid was more opaque, sticky, bland tasting and did produce a bit of butterfat when I rubbed my fingers together. pH is still hovering between 7.2 & 7.5. ppm above 200 but not really 400 by the color.

This evening the fluid was definitely opaque but not really condensed milk looking. Sticky, butterfat producing, but not sweet. pH hanging around 7.2, but the ppm, according to three sets of eyes (mine, Chuck's, and Guin's) looked above 400 but not quite 1000.

I don't think she'll give birth tonight however, the weather here is awful....intermingling rain and snow; temperatures dropping from mid-30's F today down into the low teens overnight. So, we've decided to move her and *Glory in (for company) and Guin and I will sleep down there "just in case".

The birth of a foal happens so quickly, compared to a human birth, and so if something goes wrong it goes wrong very quickly too. This is not something I'm willing to risk.

2009-02-11T18:26:00.003-05:00

I noticed this morning that her udder has almost lost the center "crease" between the two halves and that her tail is being held loosely, and canting a bit towards the left side. As the muscles of the pertineal area relax in preparation for birth, the tail looses some of its mobility. Her vulva is quite swollen. Measurements are the same as yesterday - 7.5 pH and 120 ppm, or slightly above. The fluid is a bit sticky, no butterfat formed this morning, and it is still salty.

Tonight, as last night, it was too dark to make any visual observations. I got the same measurements as this morning.

I'm sure that many of you reading are thinking, "Hurry up *Babe!". It is so easy to get anxious in waiting for a foal to be born. I thought I would check back on *Glory's last foaling. I looked at how many days from the first fluid measurement, until the fluid had turned to looking like condensed milk and having an off the chart ppm measurement. It took 12 days. If *Babe runs similarly, we're looking at around the 16th of February.

So sit back, relax, and be glad that YOU aren't the one who will have to sleep in the cold, lol!

2009-02-10T18:16:00.003-05:00

I missed posting last night, so I'll post two days in one.

2/9/09 - AM - udder is more evenly filled, teats further engorged. VERY easy to milk, I got about 1/2 teaspoon this morning. The pH has dropped this morning down to 7.2, but remember that this is not a particularly accurate measurement. I am using pool strips with the little colored squares, so sometimes the measurements "bob" up and down for a bit. The hardness was between 120 & 200 ppm. When I dabbed my fingers in the fluid, and rubbed them together, they became slightly sticky, and no "butterfat" formed. Fluid tasted salty - AND yes! I do taste it. If you drink cow or goat milk, it is no different.
PM - Fluid was a bit cloudier this evening and a few flakes were to be seen. Measurements were the same as this morning.

2/10/09 - AM - There was a bit of "wax" on the teat ends this morning, most likely from the previous evening's milking. Definitely looked more cloudy, it looks as if there are tiny particles floating in the fluid. More viscous too. 7.5 pH and 120-200 ppm.
PM - The fluid had about the same appearance and viscosity as this morning. The udder felt more enlarged, but it was dark when I milked her so I could not see if there was a difference from this morning in how it looked. Same measurements as this morning. When I rubbed a bit between my fingers it formed "butterfat", but it is still salty.

2009-02-08T19:06:00.002-05:00

This morning, all was the same as yesterday evening; 120 ppm and 7.5 pH. This evening when we went out, there was a different "aire" about her. She whickered to Chuck like a mare to a foal (which *Walker does all the time, but *Babe never has). Her teats were more engorged, and she never threatened me with a hoof as I had my hand approach her teats to rub them.

The pre-milk was much easier to express and I got a bit more than 1/8 teaspoon, so progress is being made although the testing was the same as in the morning.

She also seemed, while willing to speak to Chuck that way, more wary of the mares and two geldings in the paddocks next to her. She was flashing a lot of "mare ears" their way.

2009-02-07T21:01:00.003-05:00

This morning I was happy to get 1/16 of a teaspoon instead of a couple of drops, lol! She tested out at about 120 ppm, with no changes in either alkalinity or pH. This evening I got about the same amount, with the same hardness factor, but the pH had definitely dropped, down to about 7.5. Now, I'm not sure what the significance of the pH dropping has, but I have noted before that as the birth approaches the pH drops. This happened in *Leo's and *Bill's births, and most like with the others, but my notes were less detailed then. Each birth I learn more.

Perhaps we'll have a Valentine's baby?

2009-02-06T22:34:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a small mis-hap due to my beloved cat, Spot, this morning. I had only collected a few drops of pre-milk, and he decided to knock my film canister off the table! I still managed to get a bit into my bowl to mix with the water and test. This morning the hardness was between 50-120 ppm.

This evening, *Babe's udder was definitely a bit larger and very, very firm. I also notice she is shedding out her hair around her udder, but not anywhere else. Tonight the hardness was between 120-200 ppm.

Moving along...

2009-02-05T17:54:00.002-05:00

This morning I noted that *Babe's backside is jellied all the way down to the bottom of her thigh (top of the gaskin) on both sides. Her udder did not look that much bigger but the filling of her teats was more pronounced. I was able to strip some pre-milk out, but only got a drop to come out of the container, lol. Never the less I did test it.

In order to do the testing you mix 1 part fluid with 6 parts distilled water, swirl and then dip in a pool test strip. Primarily you are watching the hardness factor, which is given in parts per million (ppm).

This morning the fluid was clear amber in color, and tested at 50 ppm. This evening, Guin stripped the fluid. She got about 1/16th of a teaspoon, and it tested at 120 ppm.

Progression.

2009-02-04T18:53:00.003-05:00

Accouchement: the confinement of child-birth; lying-in

We are quickly approaching *UB Raggae Babe's accouchment. I thought that, since I tend to take a more scientific approach, toward this lovely event, I would share some of it with my readers.

The estimated due date was January 28th, 2009. We are now some 7 days past that date, but I'm not surprised. I've never had a mare birth during the winter, but I have heard that many of them will "hold" the birth off until the weather is right.

I have been assessing her each day checking: her profile for the shape of her belly, her tailhead for "jelly"ness, her udder development.

Two weeks back I noted that she had less of a round underline to her belly and more "V" shaped. This indicates that the foal should be in the correct diving position and typically occurs about 2 weeks before birth. I also noted that her vulva was beginning to swell some, and sag a bit. Last week I noted that she appeared to have been rubbing her butt against a hard surface, most likely the board fence. Until yesterday, her teats had been "kissing" (the nipples touching each other), but then yesterday they were pointed straight down. Advancement!

I have been daily rubbing her nipples using approach and retreat as she takes HIGH offense to having this done. But yesterday she was much easier going about it and my fingers game a way with a bit of dampness, which once dried made them sticky. PRE-MILK!!

Last night, this morning, and this evening we tried to milk a bit of fluid from her so I could test it, but could only get a drop or two. Enough to see that the fluid is a pale amber color, not enough to do the hardness test.

By refering back to my notes on *Glory and *Walker, I'm guessing that birth will take place in 15 days or less.

I guess we'll see! Check back for updates!

2009-01-01T12:16:00.004-05:00

When Chuck and I woke this morning, I looked out of our french doors to see this deer huddled in front of *Beau and *Red's paddock gate. The pictures, of course, aren't very good as I had to take them through the window. However, they are good enough for you to see that she/he has a bit of blood at the left corner of her mouth.

We were first concerned that she could have been hit by a car and that the blood was a sign of internal bleeding; but as the time progressed and she got up to move on, we weren't sure what had happened.

Chuck went out to hay and afterwards watched her browsing around the apple tree behind our arena (where the old pond used to be). He said she was limping a small bit, but seemed fine otherwise. He checked the gate area and found just a wee bit of blood, and then he tracked her movements. He found that she had come down from Route 2, and that some predator's tracks followed her, but that when she went through the rope fence we put up this year, the predator stopped and turned around. The fence was most assuredly not what stopped the predator (which most likely was a coydog), but the close proximity of the much larger herbivores did. The deer must have felt save among them even though she startled them!

One could take this for what it was; a happenstance. I, though, always look for a deeper meaning. The deer symbolizes compassion and love; gentleness and closeness to the Great Spirit. As she arrived here on the first day of the new year, I will take this as a sign that this is where I need to concentrate my efforts this year. To share compassion with those around me who need it; love my family and friends as much as I can; to keep my soul and spirit quiet and gentle so that I may hear the Spirit around me and allow it to influence all that I do.

May this year bring all of you love and good fortune.

2008-12-24T17:47:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

I haven't posted much since September because that is when I began working off of the farm. In this economy, my getting a full-time paying job, in addition to running the farm, became a necessity.

It has been 11 years since I worked full time, and then it was only for 6 weeks, and occasional days as I was a substitute teacher. Now I am the office manager for an Orthodontic and Dental office. A vast difference, but I'm quite glad to be working. It is a very pleasant and busy place to work, but it does mean that I have far less time with my horses. A definite downside.

This means, I am definitely looking to down-size, so if any of our horses are interesting to you, contact us.

In the meanwhile, we do wish everyone a joyous winter season, and a positive, healthy 2009!

2008-09-13T16:51:00.004-04:00

Two weeks ago we were supposed to take *Jack and *Leo to the Champlain Valley Expo for the last weekend of August. On the Friday night before our old faithful truck died. Deader than a doornail type of died. We were vastly disappointed, as I'm sure you can imagine.

We ended up buying a new truck, a GMC Sierra 1500 and today it got it's inaugural pull. Early this morning we loaded up *Jondra DMC Suncatcher, a 5 year old gelding from John and Andrea Schaap's farm in the far north of Ontario, and *GMC Yukon Jack, our 3 year old. It was their first trip to a show.

Arriving about 20 minutes before the show was to start. The Mad River Riding and Driving Club has had a horse show for many years, and they are known for putting on a fun, relaxed, casual show perfect for "first timers". *Jack and *Sun got to look around, gazing at the other horses, trailers, people, and dogs.

The first two classes were for Lead-line and then it was Fitting and Showmanship which is what I had signed *Jack up to participate in. It was actually my second time, but the last time had been five years ago with *GMC Sierra Verde (Ra). Guin brought *Sun along to stand outside the ring and keep *Jack company. In we went and began walking around the outside. This F&S was a bit different than the ones I'm used to watching. Typically one horse goes in and is judged for Fitting (cleanless of horse, presenter, and tack), then on to the next judge for the Showmanship portion. This time we all went into the ring and walked around as if it were a typical riding class. He then had us line up, one behind the other. He came up to us one at a time and checked for Fitting, spoke with us, etc.; then asked us to trot to the gate, slow to a walk, and turn right. *Jack was superb!!!! He was polite to the judge, lifted his hoof when asked, and trotted immediately. He then came to a walk when I asked. When we were first in the ring, he was quite the Looky-Loo, but he listened well to me the whole time. And....

We got a second place!!!!!!!!!!

He really deserved it and made quite an impression on the crowd.

After *Jack's class we went back to the trailer to get *Sun ready for his first two classes. As Guin is 18 now, she is classified an adult in the classes. She chose to take him in Walk-Trot as they didn't have any "green horse" classes. The first class was W/T equitation. There were nine in the class and *Sun was very, very distracted. Guin rode him quite well, keeping him listening despite his lightbulb not being on full brightness . He was not the only distracted horse, but with 9 in the class she did not get a ribbon; however, the judge did speak to her and said that he was impressed with how well she handled him and felt she was a good rider, but that he couldn't judge her fairly when *Sun wasn't moving forward consistently.

The second class immediately followed the first, so everyone stayed in the ring. I think this was a good thing for *Sun has he then settled nicely and really tuned into Guin. This time, in the W/T Pleasure *Sun gained a second place!! Guin was well pleased with that.

We then had quite a hold before getting ready for the costume class. Guin had never done a costume class and decided to give it a try. We didn't know how many folks take this class so seriously! There was a cute Icelandic dressed up as a Rhinocerus with a "zebra" and a "cheeta" on his back (two little humans dressed up); a "rainy day pony" complete with their own rain coat and a HUGE umbrella being carried over its back; a Pumpkin patch horse, a Minnie-mouse horse, and two fab costumes. One was a spaceship horse complete with a Princess Leia riding her. The spaceship was made from cardboard and had "May the Horse be with you" on it. Then two adults came in with their two icelandic done up as tow trucks complete with a gas cannister, jumper cables and twirling lights on the helmets! Really funny!

Guin did take second place adult in this class as *Sun was dressed as a Unicorn and she has a fairy with flapping wings! The funniest part was the judge commented positively about *Sun tolerating the flapping wings and yet when the ringmaster went to hand Guin the ribbon, *Sun shied and danced away!! It was funny.

After that, it was time to clean-up and go home. The boys boarded the trailer easily and we got underway. They were glad to be home again, and so were we!

2008-08-17T16:02:00.004-04:00

Trail Walk!!

Today, *Jack and *Leo got on the trailer for their first ever trailer ride. We had Guin's BF, Chellis, ride in the back with them. This is, of course, not really recommended; however we were going only about 3 miles and it is very reassuring for a couple of youngsters on their first ride to have someone along that they know.

We took them up to Groton State Forest. Here's a link to just one of their camp grounds: http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/newdiscovery.cfm The Forest is quite horse friendly and has many miles of multi-use trails. Because we were only going to be there a short while, the Forester I spoke with a few days before recommended that we actually park up the road from that spot at a parking lot used for day hikers, and in the winter, snowmobilers. We were the only ones there today (and it was a lovely day, weather-wise!). Here we are after off-loading the boys and before heading out on the trail.

Because we have a large camera we decided not to take it with us this first time, so we don't have shots of them on the trail with us; however I'll do my best to describe what we saw and how the boys reacted.

The trail we took followed the roadway for a bit, always with trees and bushes between the trail and road. Come Autumn, you would be able to see the cars, but today we just heard them. The trail was wide enough to comfortably walk by the horses' sides. It wound up and down, strewn with small rocks and branches. Sun dappled the trail between the overhead leaves, while ferns, tall grass, brambles, and other horses' manure were underfoot. The manure was of particular interest to young *Leo; although *Jack had to have a sniff once in a while too. There were large boulders occasionally to the side of the trail, and sometimes you could spy an old rock wall in the nearby trees.

Everything was worthy of investigation, and we took our time to stop and taste-test or just bury our noses in and SNIFF! *Leo and Chuck led the way. *Leo is a very forward horse, and did not like being behind *Jack who was happy to amble along checking things out. The only item that evoked a startle on the trail, was when *Leo spied a boulder with, OMG, branches on it!!!! The startle response? He stopped and stared at it and wanted Chuck to lead him by. *Jack thought it needed thorough investigation, so we "touched the monster" and received a treat. Once *Leo saw *Jack getting a treat, he needed to return to "touch that monster" too.

Before long we found a place that was open enough for us to turn them around and head back. Our goal was just to get them out and about, with that trailer ride to and from, so we didn't feel we needed to walk a long way.

On the way back *Leo, still in the lead, slowed down and wanted to really check things out, as did *Jack. *Jack was particularly curious about the various trees. Chuck feels that *Leo demonstrated curiosity and braveness, while at the same time needing to have that quiet competent leader next to him. He particularly enjoys it when Chuck drapes an arm across his back and walks beside him in that position. *Jack was unsure. He wants to be brave, but he also wants to be careful. So watching his feet was important to him (*Leo was too busy gawking, Chuck said and tripped over rocks constantly, lol) *Jack gained a lot of confidence because *I* was there to tell him how great and wonderful it all was. I could see by the wrinkles over his nostrils that there was some worry, and when it got too much for him, he would reach over with his nose and touch my hand. I spent some time rubbing his neck and reassuring him that he was a lovely, smart, brave boy as we walked along.

Here we are as we returned from the walk, having gone a bit over a mile, out and back.

The only other spook occurred here as we investigated the perimeter of the parking lot. Suddenly *Jack leaped toward me, although only going perhaps a foot, and not running into me. I had no clue what had startled him, because it certainly didn't startle *Leo. Then Chellis mentioned he had seen a toad over in that area. Perhaps that was it.

The boys then very easily loaded back up into the trailer, and away we went home again.

A highly successful first trip!!

2008-08-08T14:00:00.003-04:00

Last year we received an invitation to bring Curlies to the Champlain Valley Exposition (www.cvexpo.org ); however, as one of our daughters was being married, we really couldn't break-away from preparations to attend.

We received an invitation this year, and have decided to take *Jack and *Leo! Because they are young and this will be their first outing, we will only be there for two days, the 30th and 31st of August. Do try to make plans to come meet these two awesome young horses in "real time"!

In the meanwhile, we are busy teaching them things that they will need, such as trailer loading. This week we have concentrated on just going into, and hanging out in, the trailer; both alone and together. They have done fabulously!! And once again, the fact of just how different each horse is, has been driven home in my mind.

*Jack has a solid belief in me. If I tell him I think he can, he will strive to do whatever I ask of him; yet he is a bit more tentative in his approach. *Leo also needs to be reassured that he can, but he is more bold about his tasks; more willing to "get it wrong" than *Jack is. The differences just amaze me.

This weekend we hope to take them for their first "spin" in the trailer. We won't go anywhere to off-load, just drive them a bit and return home. Check back in to see how it went!

2008-08-02T19:14:00.005-04:00

The show at Towne-Ayr Farm; August 2

Guinevive decided that she wanted to give the Open show at a local farm a go. So, this morning Chuck, Chellis (Guin’s BF), and I put on our Curly t-shirts, and loaded everything that we needed into the truck, trailer, and jeep. Guin dressed up in her English show gear, and loaded UB Raggae Babe up (like a champ I might add).

At this point, I would love to be able to say, “We had a great time; wowed everyone with our Curly; and won lots of ribbons.” But the truth is, Chuck and I were, once again, disappointed at the inability of the Judge to be unbiased. It had nothing to do with the fact that Babe is a Curly. It had everything to do with the fact that Guin is no longer in 4H and not a “show regular”.

It would be very easy to say that we were suffering from sour grapes, but that isn’t it. It would also be easy to say that the Judge can’t see *everything* that goes wrong with all the riders in the ring. But that isn’t it either. It was the third class that showed the blatant disregard the Judge had for reality.

Guin chose 5 classes: Fitting and Showmanship; Equitation; Pleasure; Command; and Equitation over fences. She ended up scratching the jumping because both she and Babe were tired (and it was so hot and HUMID), plus the whole show was held inside an undersized and too dark arena.

She came out of the F&S with a 4th place. Completely respectable considering it has been 4 years since she has tried her hand at this. In Equitation they combined the Adult and Senior classes. There were five total entrants. During the class, one pair had real problems; the horse reared, wouldn’t accept cues, and when waiting on the sidelines for others to canter, was threatening to other horses. Two of the other horses broke at the canter; two did not. Guin and Babe were one of those. Considering this, we expected she would place 3rd, or perhaps even 2nd. No, she placed 4th putting the two horses above her who had not stayed in gait. We simply shook our heads and figured the Judge had not seen it.

Her next class was Pleasure. Now for those of you unused to shows like this, the Pleasure class is supposed to judge the horse whereas the Equitation is to judge the rider. Basically the horse needs to demonstrate that they are a pleasure to ride: easy to cue, easy to change directions, easy to change gaits, easy to stay in gait, easy to halt and easy to back. In this class there were only 4 entrants. The troubled pair from above had scratched the rest of the show. Again, two of the horses broke at the canter (same two as above in fact), and two did not. And this time both Chuck and I were watching the judge watch the horses. She looked straight at BOTH horses when each of them broke their canters; there was no way she could have missed it. Yet, once again, one of those horses placed above Guin and Babe, giving Guin a 3rd place. The comment the Judge made to Guin was, “This horse likes to go, doesn't it?”

It was obvious that there was no way Guin was going to place higher, and in fact in Command class, she again placed 4th.

Again, it would be easy to say “Well, Guin must be out of ‘shape’ as a rider,” or “At least she GOT a ribbon.” But in all honesty, Guin is a sweet rider. She can handle anything a horse puts out; she knows how to coax, how to teach, how to reward, and how to gently correct what a horse offers. I watched her closely and she made no glaring errors today. It is disheartening to have to deal with such bias. She has reworked Babe from the rushing, rooting, unbalanced mare we got, into a more balanced and confident mare. From Babe, Guin has learned to be subtle with her cues, and Babe rewards that with more relaxed movement. Babe did well today at the show, and so did Guin.

Will Guin show again? It is hard to say, but at this point I suspect not. I believe that Guin may have learned that she doesn’t need an outsider to tell her she is a good rider; all she needs is the willingness of the horse to show her.

ps....on a side note, we did talk with several folks about what kind of horse Babe is. One, who was actually there with a team of oxen, said that she used to have a horse that folks told her was half Curly because he would curl up in the winter. I can't begin to say how many folks up here have told me about "a horse they used to have that got all curly"; but it's been many a one over the years.

2008-08-01T19:41:00.003-04:00

So, two blog posts in one day, from me? Simply amazing! However, I have discovered that I have been "tagged" in a game of Blog-tag. Apparently, in blog-tag, one must share some things about oneself (in this case, 6 things) and then "tag" other bloggers. My problem may be, that I only have a few folks whose blog I read, and Michelle, from the Bottom of Chestnut Hill who tagged me, also tagged the ones I read! I'll have to poke around on the net to find some that I can tag too!

On to the six things you may or may not know about me.

1) I was born in Maryland, daughter of two Rebels. In case you didn't realize it, Maryland is below the Mason-Dixon line; so although it did NOT secede from the Union back before the Civil War, it IS a Rebel state. I may live in Vermont, but I am most certainly not a Yankee. I'm proud of my Rebel heritage, and especially proud that most of my forebearers came from Virginia.

2) I grew up on the grounds of a Tuberculous hospital, called Glenn Dale Hospital. I spent the first ten years of my life there. My father began as a steam-fitter, slowly went through business school and then became the business manager of the hospital. We left there when my father changed jobs in 1964. The hospital closed in the early 80's. Primarily it closed because TB was on the decline (thanks to Penicillian) but it was full of asbestos and would have cost mega-dollars to clean up. The hospital actually belonged to Washington, D.C. but they had no use for it. It still stands, empty, and a wreck from vandels. A shame too, because the brick buildings were gorgeous when the hospital was in full swing.

3)I am a certified open-water diver. I learned to dive when I was stationed on Guam. Typically you learn to dive in a pool, but because I arrived on Guam hours before it was struck by SuperTyphoon Pamela in 1976, the pools had not been fixed when I took the course. So, I literarily learned to dive in open water. I loved it, and went as often as I could. I continued to dive until I was about 5 months pregnant with Bethany. By then the weight belt would no longer fit around my waist, so I just snorkled. I only dove once after returning to the states, down in Key West. I competely gave it up when I moved to Vermont.

4) I am interested in genealogy. I used to do a lot of research, and will return to it at some point I'm sure. I have been able to connect our family, on my father's side back to a Swedish immigrant who came over on the SS Swan in 1643 into New Delaware. On my mother's side, we go back to English immigrants in 1610 into Virginia. Also, on my mother's side we are Cherokee (Tsa la gi)

5) I "fell in love" with Vermont when I lived in Massachusetts in 1969. I determined that one day I would move here to live. Why? There was something wild about what I had seen in our drives; so country. My years at Glenn Dale had affirmed the country of my soul and I knew I would need to return to it at some point. I did in 1982.

and finally

6) I volunteer with a group called "Good Beginnings". It's basis is to pair an older, experienced mom with new moms for the first three months of their motherhood. Primarily, it is to offer emotional support, but we also help them to make community connections, as well as, connect them with needed physical support (clothing, food, etc.) should the need be there.

Well, I'm down to the "who should I tag" portion.

I'll tag: Cara's Blog and Top 'O the Hill's Blog

2008-08-01T17:30:00.002-04:00

The first of August! Today, on the trip to take Sophie to the airport we saw the first Sugar Maple turning to orange! Yes, for some Maples, Autumn comes a wee bit *too* early.

We thoroughly enjoyed having Sophie with us. It was a great experience for all of us. She was a hard worker, with a quick intellect and avid curiousity. We wish her huge success in her life to come!

Now is the time to think toward fall and winter. We've redone some paddock fencing and electrical wiring for them, and have a few more to go. Then we want to get a bit cleaned up around the farm and build a couple of winter run-ins.

Here is a picture I took today, of Dude and *Suncatcher with Sophie, before she left. Double Trouble!! Enjoy.

2008-07-07T13:28:00.002-04:00

High summer in Vermont. So many people equate Vermont with winter, or with the beautiful fall colors of autumn. They just think that Vermont is always cool. But it is NOT! Come July we have many very hot days. What does that mean for us who work with horses? It means we work early in the day, and later in the evening; leaving the hot mid-day for drowsing and grazing.

With our exchange student, Sophie, here from France, we have been working with a lot of horses. Sophie's primary "job" is to ride Silken and *Suncatcher. Guin rides *Red and *Babe. I work with *Jack and *Beau and *Glory, and they help me with *Walker, Dude, and *Leo.

I am also taking an on-line photography course and learning to use my camera better, so processing the pictures I get to take is also good to do in the heat of the day.

And in my "off" time, I am serving as Navigator for Marcy Baer and her stallion, Dykedale Duke (an English Dales pony). We went to our first 3-day event in Bromont, Quebec over the last weekend of June and Marcy & Duke came in FIRST PLACE in single-pony Training Level and Reserve Champion of Training level!! We were all so proud!

So, please forgive me for not writing as often as I should. I'll make sure to post a few pictures here as I prefect my "shooting" techniques.

Enjoy your summer!

2008-05-31T16:57:00.005-04:00

Spring has continued here in central Vermont, but we have had some days where we thought winter had returned! Brrrrr!

Now that our ground has dried out we have begun working with the horses again. We are changing around our pasture set-up; mowing, bathing horses, and all the general spring type activities on a ranch.

One of the other things that is changing is that soon it will just be the two of us. Our youngest daughter is graduating from high school and plans to move out on her own. After much thinking we have decided to reduce our herd. We are not in any rush to do so, as we want to make sure that the horses we want to sell our partnered with the right human in their life.

The first horse offered is Z Silken. She is a lovely 9 year old mare, very well trained, and smooth-coated (so if you are sensitive to being 'different' then you can have your hypo-allergenic horse and smooth hair too!!).

The second horse being offered was a very hard choice. We have decided to offer *Leo for sale. *Leo is one of TWO champagne colored American Curly horses in the WORLD! That's right, one of TWO IN THE WORLD. Rare among rare. He's just a year, and still has a lot of growing to do. At this time we are offering him intact as a stallion.

We may choose to offer another horse for sale later in the season; we have not decided yet.

So many things have changed in the last year, and decisions have had to be made that were not easy. But like the old saying goes: When life hands you lemons, you should make lemonade (and not be a sour-puss!!).

2008-04-15T15:49:00.001-04:00

Another day of Calmer, Braver, Smarter tasks. This time only 2: bobbing for apples in a water vat and pin-wheel alley. To make pin-wheel alley, I purchased 6 $1 brightly colored pin-wheels that have wooden stakes, that I simply pushed into the ground. Today I placed them about 3 feet apart, three pin-wheels on each side.

I worked with 5 horses total, but to me, if a horse is non-reactive then they are already de-spooked. Not that this is a bad thing at all! But to gain points I can only count three on any particular task. So today, I will count *Jack, *Walker, and Silken.

Silken was first out and I’ve learned that she is sensitive, yet intelligent and she does have a lot of training behind her, which has given her exposure to different things. We approached pin-wheel alley and I let her look and then asked her through. She thought about it, and walked through, but kept her eyes on the twirling pin-wheels the whole time. You could see she was ready to move out if they decided to eat her, but since they did NOT, going through the second time was an easy task. She remained relaxed and happy to follow my lead. I admit I had expected more worry out of her, but I’m glad all was okay with those pin-wheels. Now bobbing for apples was a loss on her. She sniffed the apples once, tried to bite, found they floated away and completely lost interest. So, we went for a walk around the drive and yard and then I put her away.

*Jack was next and like last time, I noticed that he was more up than in previous months. I believe I may have figured out why. He is now the lead horse in his paddock and he is rising 3. He has to be serious and aware; it is his job now! Gone is the carefree boy. So, to help him get his mind on me rather than potential monsters, we took a walk up by the house. He was particularly worried about the traffic going by, so we stood and watched it for a while, from a distance, until he relaxed. I will work on getting him closer and closer until he realizes it is safe as long as I’m there. Then we returned to pin-wheel alley. He brought his nose down to one of the twirling pin-wheels and touched it. I clicked and treated him, from that point on he had no trouble going through the alley! We walked through several times, from different directions, and he just walked through as if they were not there. Next up to the apple bob, and he reacted just like Silken had. Tried for a bite, couldn’t get one, and completely lost interest. Sigh.

Last was *Walker. As herd leader she is ultra aware of her surroundings, and can be quite the worry-wart. Again, I began with a walk up and down the drive and then over to pin-wheel alley. “WHOA!! You expect me to go near those things???” she seemed to say. I just stood while she decided if she would check them out or not. Because I stood relaxed, she felt they must be okay, even if they warranted keeping her eyes on them. When she seemed relaxed enough I asked her though. Have you ever seen a horse teleport? One moment she was at one end, and the next she was on the other side. Obviously we needed to try this again. Next time through I asked her to ‘step-up’ rather than walk all the way. We stood and dwelt; then another ‘step-up’, and dwell time. It only takes about three steps to get through my little alley, so once we were out I turned her and asked her through again, and this time it was as easy as pie. So off we went bobbing for apples! Now *Walker loved this!! She would not stop going after them even though they kept scooting away from her mouth. She shoved her face into the water, completely covering her nostrils, blowing bubbles the whole time, and still kept going after them. Within one minute she had one and happily crunched it up. But wait! There was another apple to be eaten, and off she dove again, searching until she got that one too.

I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures from today, but it sure was fun.

2008-04-08T16:29:00.006-04:00

It has been two months since I last wrote in the blog. There is a very good reason for that and it is not a happy one. On the morning of February 14th we woke up to discover that the brand new arena we had built in the summer had collapsed. Unfortunately, for many reasons, we have to go through litigation to make any recovery so I cannot talk much about it.

Because we had only been working with the horses inside and Vermont experienced snowfall about 40 inches above the average, we had no place to work with them outside. Even the driveway was icy! Finally, though, late last week and this week the warmer temperatures have arrived and the driveway is real again, not ice and snow covered.

I took advantage of today’s weather to do some fun de-spooking activities with the horses. As I’m participating in the Ride A Curly contest I’ve already mentioned, I was happy to learn about a “mini-contest” in the month of April. We are to choose obstacles from the CSB course located on the website and introduce as many as three horses to any one of them to gain points.

The course I set up for today included: the Big Ball, a penguin ‘decoy’, a tarp, a plastic bag filled with noisy cans and plastic bottles, a backpack with goodies and more plastic bottles, and a old tire.

*Jack was the first one I took down and I learned that I, indeed, had a 7th obstacle. We cannot clean up the arena yet and the torn tarp flaps in the breeze. It was a good de-spooking exercise for sure! *Jack has seen the ball before, but not blowing in the wind! It took him quite some time to come up to it as it rocked back and forth, but he did. I then decided to move it inside because it was getting all the other horses going as well. Next up was the tarp I had laid down. He had no trouble walking across it (first time!) and then I picked it up and waved it around and dragged it next to him. He just would look at it, then at me, until I clicked and treated him. We investigated the tire (ho-hum!) and then the back pack. That was a favorite! “Hmmm,” he said, “I can smell goodies. Let me stick my nose in as far as possible to find them.” The plastic can bag also caused a reaction. Every time I would shake it those ears came forward, but eventually he crept closer and closer, and touched it. “Good boy *Jack!” Click and Treat.

The last item to play with was the penguin and it too was “Ho-hum”. Next time I’ll try to add a couple of items but keep the ones that bothered him the most (plus the yummy backpack)

Next up, Guin took *Leo for a walk. He was just weaned this weekend and this was his first day out. *Walker has been fine with him in the paddock next to him, but once he was out, she really put up a stink. *Leo, on the other hand, was far too interested in Guin and the walk. She took him all the way down to the barn and they investigated the tire. He walked back up just fine but then he decided that the stream of water he had already crossed going out of the paddock would eat him! She very patiently worked with him while I entertained *Jack and *Bill. It took about 15 minutes but eventually he felt he could take one small step at a time and come across. Never did he get upset, sweat, or show any nervousness. He just stood and contemplated until he was ready. I was very proud of the both of them.

I then took *Glory down to do the obstacles. She was not spooked by any of the items, and in fact, not particularly interested. She was FAR more interested in the collapsed arena’s tarp flapping though. However, it is too dangerous to take a horse near it. I worry about nails and such. However, we were able to get a nice photo of her with the tarp draped over her showing just how easy going she is. (Please excuse the mud, the snow is melting here!)

2008-02-03T15:05:00.000-05:00

Finally! Finally, finally, we drove *Beau again.

This time of year is difficult for us, because as Chuck is an accountant, it is year end and tax time, so his hours tend to be long. Finding time on an evening to work with horses is next to impossible, so we only get to work with them on the week-ends. We have concentrated on *Beau because he enjoys the work and we love being with him.

The past few week-ends have been in-hand work, getting him primed for the cart again. Today, he went between the shafts and I tell you, it is as if he hadn't had any time off at all. He is so brilliant!

The one thing that we could feel though is that he is not in shape. So, I ground drove him first for about 10 minutes and then we limited his time between the shafts to 20 minutes. Each weekend we will raise the amount to increase his fitness again. If we get time during the week, you can bet we'll be bringing him down for more driving.

He is just incredibly responsive and so obviously proud of the work he does. Of course, it helps that we tell him how wonderful he is all the time. Stallions love that!

So, *Beau got 20 minutes pull the cart, and I got 10 minutes toward my RAC points. Not much, but it is a beginning.

It is also so very different driving in the arena compared to driving in the old one (now our barn) due to the base. You go much faster in the new one and it is much easier for him to turn and pull the cart as the drag is much less than the sand of the other base. Wahoo!!

I hope you enjoy the pictures from today.