Stirrups

Who would think that something so simple as stirrups can have so much ellect on the way we ride and the horse's comfort and correctness. Give this video a watch:

Side note: I was taught that "heels down" didn't mean actually shoving your heels down but rather lengthening your leg by pushing down from the thigh, which has the same effect as recommended in this video.

After watching it, I googled angled stirrups and there are a lot of them out there. Here is a link to a blog post about checking the level of your foot: https://murdochmethod.com/level-your-stirrups-for-a-solid-foundation/

So my question to you is, do you ride with the angled stirrups and has it improved your equitation and your horse's performance? I an going to try shimming my stirrups to see how it works for me before I go and buy a pair. Also, if you do ride them, what brand do you use and is one brand better than another? Here is what I found on google images, the variety is overwhelming!

He has arrived

Here is Booncat with his new family! Note that one of the children is in charge of the leadrope, that says a lot about the gentleness of this colt!

Here is what they said: "He is perfect. He has such an amazing personality. We are thrilled. He loaded and hauled like a champ."

They also promised to send updates on him which I will share with you.

Saddle trial and Booncat leaves

I am trying out a Billy Cook trail saddle on Gussie (model 1777). It seems to fit her well so far, but I don't find it very comfortable for me. The seat is fully padded and has enough rise that the padding pushes against me enough to cause chafing (*ahem*, ladies will know what I mean!).
 I went for a short ride with the lady who owns the saddle.

She was riding her 23 year old Morgan gelding.

I plan to ride it a few more times before I decide if it is "the one".

I tried it with my SPH saddle pad

Either the bars are too steep at the rear of the saddle, or it's just the leather that will end up flexing and laying flatter.

It was a lovely day to ride. The grass is still green despite the week of sub zero temperatures we had a couple of weeks ago. 

 I like to pause at this spot near the river to enjoy the bright green of the moss.

We wound our way through brush and trees watching for wildlife as there was a lot of deer sign as you will see in this video:

But other than the antler rubs and a lot of tracks, we didn't see anything.  We made our way back  and just enjoyed the peaceful beauty of the day.

That's our driveway, and the neighbour's house. Gussie is listening to the calls from Belle and Drifter, who had spotted her.

So the saddle did ok, it didn't move or slide back and seemed not to have any pressure points that I could find.  I'm just not sold on buying a factory saddle after all these years of riding custom built saddles! If I could afford it, I would have my cousin (first cousin, once removed!) Shane Pittman make me a saddle. He custom builds his own trees after careful measurements of the horse's back and boy he does nice work. Here are some photos of his work.

His starting price is 4 grand though and I don't think I can swing that! It's so tough for me to look at those saddles and then settle for a Billy Cook..... 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

Today, I loaded up Booncat and hauled him to the first stop on the way to his new owners. He will be there for a couple of days before heading to Alberta; the buyers are hauling a horse they started for the lady who will be meeting them halfway with Booncat. He loaded well and hauled well, only a bit of calling and a couple of times he stuck his li'l nose out the window slots. But when we put him in the big box stall he was like "what the heck!" Not a happy little Booncat! All by his little self! Hopefully she will put a horse next to him so he can have some company. I bet he will whinny himself hoarse though. 

Riding day 68 and 69

My apologies....

I have had to turn on comment moderation as I am being hit with spam comments. I check my blog every day so your comments should get published the same day. Thanks for your understanding!

Well that was quick

I made the decision to put Booncat up for sale a few days ago.

 I was hoping that Shayla would be able to take him but things changed for her and it wasn't going to happen. So I advertised him on Northern Horse .com, an Alberta website that has worked well for me in the past.

My ad: https://www.northernhorse.com/classifieds/AdDetails_Horse.asp?ID=24205

2 days later, he is sold!

 He will be going to a home in Duchess Alberta. The folks seem really nice, a couple with 3 children who train performance horses. He calf ropes, she barrel races and they think Booncat will be a nice versatile horse for them and have plans to show him. And I will be able to keep in touch through Facebook.

They will be coming for him next week. I had his feet done today, so he is ready to go. He will be company for another weanling they have for this winter. I'm happy that they are really excited to get him!

Saddle fit and sorting

This wonderful fall weather continues, this is the nicest first half of November I've seen in a while.

Last post I mentioned that I may have found a temporary solution to my saddle fitting woes (other than riding bareback!). I have one of those thin neoprene pads that has a bit of extra padding where the bars of the saddle sit, so I put that under my Diamond Wool pad and went for a trail ride. Just down to the river, and looking at all the plants that have winterized themselves.

It seemed to work, the saddle didn't slip at all . The true test would be a longer and more active ride though.

So Saturday I went sorting again. 

5 hours later and after 7 runs the saddle stayed put and I think it may work for now.

Lots of standing around in between runs, so I rode down to the other end of the arena a few times and worked Gussie at the trot to keep her warmed up. The first 3 runs were practice runs and my partner and I did it perfectly, all 10 cattle in order and none of the trash got through the gate. Then it was time for the jackpot runs, I had a different partner, and the time allotted was 30 seconds shorter- and we trashed out every one of the 4 runs! Oh well, we had fun! Next one is December 14, and barring a super cold snap or major storm we'll be going again. Gussie really seems to enjoy it as much as I do.

I also found another trail riding partner, hopefully I'll get to go somewhere new soon.

Riding day 66 and 67

Wordless Wednesday

Come along now Booncat

I'm thankful that November is reasonably warm so far! Warm enough to get me in the saddle today. I rode Gussie down for the mail, it's about a mile each way. I was noticing all the bare trees and ditches full of leaves; all the colour is laying on the ground now. The berry bushes that have the white berries that we used to love to pop when we were kids are heavily laden; the elderberry trees have been stripped by local folks with only a few berries at the top for the birds, and the wild rosehips are a nice pop of colour.
Once we got back I decided that Gussie had a little more work to do, so it was time to pony Booncat around the yard.
Well, at least, that was the plan....

Apparently, Booncat has a bit of a stubborn streak! He wasn't about to move and though he be but little he be strong!

The trick was to make him circle by bringing Gussie around him; around and around and then line out.... rinse and repeat.... he'd come a little ways and then it was Nuh-uh again. 

Gussie is so good for this, When she feels that he stops and hits the end of the rope it locks my position in the saddle and she stops and waits to see what I want her to do next- circle, back up, or pull. She can pull him but I would rather he moved his feet willingly hence all the circling. He always does better if he thinks it was his idea!

After we were done he earned his li'l self some time standing tied at the hitching rail to think about things. He's actually standing tied really well now. 

He didn't fuss or pull, just stood there quietly mulling things over.

Once I get him ponying better- I think maybe 2 more sessions should do it- I will have some fun taking him through the bush and down to the river.

Oh- and I may have a solution to my saddle fit problem. I'll be checking it out with more rides this week before I post about it.

Riding day 65

November already....

It seems that winter hit early this year. Normally it's late November / early December before I have to start plugging in the water heaters for the horses, but it was the last week of October this year. No snow down here in the valley to speak of; we had a little blast on the 28th of October but it's mostly gone, but with the clear skies come the cold temperatures; -10 to -12 Celsius at night lately.
I have taken to blanketing Beamer at night to keep his old bones warm and I think he appreciates it.
I found something interesting in my essential oils book:

so I started using it on his knee mixed with sticky bud oil a couple of times a day. He seems to be moving better; combined with the Streamz bands and the camelina oil (2 oz. a day) I think I am doing all I can to make him comfortable as he can be with a big knotty knee.

Drifter is doing well, I work him a couple of times a week for about 20 to 30 minutes which is plenty for a long yearling.



I also took the longe line off and free longed him for the first time; he did hunt the gate but it was easy to persuade him to just go on as if I had the line on. A few more times of this and I'll put the reins on and get him to give to the bit from the ground in preparation for ground driving.

Booncat is also making progress; I have ponied him 3 times now and he is better every time; I should be able to take him out of the pen for a ponying session soon.

I did lead him around the yard and he thoroughly enjoyed it, interested in everything and not spooky or silly at all - so ponying around the property should go well. I had him stand tied yesterday as I picked up all his feet and used the hoof pick on them; not too bad; I'd give him a C+. I do that every day before I put him in the foaling pen for his special feed. I also started adding camelina oil to his feed.

The search for a new saddle for Gussie goes on. I tried adding extra padding in the hollows of her shoulders but all it did was make the saddle tippy and probably added extra pressure to the back of the bars.

Riding day 64 

All together

So I reorganized my organizing. Is that even a thing? 

After putting Belle in with Gussie and Booncat- O how happy Gussie was!-  and giving Booncat a couple of days to figure out where he stood with mama Belle, I kept watching Drifter and I could see that he was bored and frustrated. So, knowing that Gussie isn't in heat and in fact is most likely in diestrus I decided to put him in with the rest of the horses. It's so good for him as far as having good equine social skills and learning that his role is not to dominate but to get along. 

The only thing I was cautious about is how he would react to Booncat. They hadn't been together before but know each other from being across the fence. 

Sure enough he did think that he could push the little guy around at first but he got educated pretty quickly!

While Belle and Booncat were living together, and after Sassy left and then Eli left, Booncat ended up bonding with Gussie. She takes pretty good care of the littles!

Drifter had a tear around before settling down to eat hay with the ladies.

I kept an eye on them for a while but Drifter didn't try it on with Booncat again. He's that kind of horse that only needs to be told once and he gets it and learns from it. I hope that eventually he will be the kind of stallion that will be a good babysitter for the babies. Some are good at it and some aren't.

Drifter's training is continuing, I'm taking it slow. He gets saddled at the trailer, and now I put a snaffle bridle on him (without the reins) while I longe him just to get him used to the bit. He really didn't mouth it much compared to some other horses. He is doing very well at longeing at the walk, trot and lope both directions on the line, next step will be to take his halter off and free longe him. 

Meanwhile, Booncat is getting some extra attention. He's so cute, he greets me when he sees me coming. I think he loves the extra attention and he really loves his kibble! I've been turning him into the foaling pen to eat it the last couple of days. It gives him the chance to have some space to himself and if the weather gets really bad I"ll put him in there in case the other horses push him out of their shelter. 

Eli leaves

Today was the day for Eli's departure. Mel and her husband arrived early and after doing the paperwork over a cuppa coffee, we headed to the barnyard .

I made Eli a new halter as he had nearly outgrown his. It's always nice to send them off with a new one!

His mane was all over the place!
He loaded up well, and Mel said he travelled well too.

I'll be sure to post updates on him as I get them! He will be living in a large paddock with an elderly gelding for company for the winter, with plenty of other horses across the fence from him. 

Fall colours ride

I borrowed a saddle to try out on Gussie. It was a Circle Y reiner. It did seem to fit her better than my 2 saddles but it didn't fit me.But it gives me the idea that a reiner type saddle might be where to start looking.
To try it out we went down along the dyke to look at the fall colours.

It was such a peaceful ride with the leaves tinkling as they fluttered and fell to the ground.

Some of the colours were a good match for Gussie!

Riding day 63

The young 'uns and a happy Gussie

The 2 colts are sharing a bucket of foal ration now... finally got Booncat eating it. I hung a bucket on the fence and of course he just had to see what his big bro was eating, so that solved that problem!

That style of bucket is perfect for sharing. Booncat is actually doing well with the weaning process. He hasn't lost any weight and he isn't stressed out at all. All the horses were dewormed after the last full moon and I didn't see any worms expelled so it looks like my pasture management program is working. It helps that we didn't have any bot flies this year.
Eli will be leaving within a few days so Belle will get to go back in the herd and will be there as company for Booncat when I take Gussie out to ride. I have decided to leave Drifter in his separate pen until February to avoid any risk of a late heat with Gussie. I haven't yet decided if Booncat will live with him.
I turned Belle and Gussie out in the hotwire pen the other day- happy mares to be reunited and have room to zoom!

Does my heart good to see them enjoying each other's company. Having a happy herd is so important to me. Look at all the horses I have sold because they didn't have the right attitude- Poco, Delia, Coulee, Loretta, Sparkle and some yearlings back in the day when I bought weanlings and sold them as long yearlings. Even Rosalee- she was lovely in the herd but didn't have the right attitude under saddle to suit me. The only one I sold that was a nice mare was Clancy- but she wasn't athletic enough for me. (Which is odd to say about a High Brow Cat granddaughter!)

Drifter is making progress, I can now tie him to the trailer and saddle him up. He has had a couple of moments though, I call them learning curves. I was grooming him and something startled him- maybe a cat jumping out of the tack room, I'm not sure- and he pulled back hard. I stepped behind him and hollered and made noise and he stood up. So the lesson that day was all about standing tied, and of course he didn't try it again. I think he is a little reactive because of being in with the mares and having to skeddadle when they get after him for being too pesky.
His next learning moment was when I took him into the round pen saddled up, the first time I had saddled him at the trailer and then led him to the round pen as opposed to saddling him in the pen. He dropped his head to graze and I got after him and he jumped, realized that he had a saddle on and bucked about 4 jumps until he got to the fence and then just stood there, thinking about it. After that he was good as gold and we even got his first lope saddled up. Not even a hint of a buck after that. I really think he's the kind of horse that processes things like that and learns from them.

 I am quite pleased with him! He is a sensible horse and so far deserving of being kept a stallion.

We have a local cattle sorting series and I finally decided to go. The person who brings the cattle and organizes it is the guy who has Tillie and I promised him I would go- so yesterday I loaded up Gussie and off we went.
This is a really good bunch of people- there were 24 horses and their people there, everything from ponies to Tennessee Walkers, Rocky Mountain horses and of course a plethora of Quarter horses. Everyone cheered everyone else on and it was a lot of fun.



Because I had never worked cattle with Gussie I wasn't sure how she would do. I know she was used to cows having lived right next to them at our last residence and I think she was exposed to working them with her last owner. However, she was a rock star!



We got 3 practice runs and 3 jackpot runs. There was a lunch break with potluck (I didn't know so next time I will bring something!) Yes there will be a next time, every 2 weeks . Gussie loved it and was so well behaved both standing around waiting our turn and in the sorting pen. I also got lots of compliments on the way she moves. She does carry herself well!

Love my big red mare.

Riding day 61 (rode down for the mail) and day 62

Filling holes

It's funny how things happen. One minute all is the same and the next thing you know it isn't.
On Wednesday last week I was messing with the colts in the main pen, and Tay was hanging out watching  as she usually does. Next thing I knew she made a rapid dash into the pen and went for Eli's back legs- she didn't grip but she scared him. She has been doing this business of thinking she is helping even though she knows she is NOT allowed in the horse pens. A bit of a back story, last time Shayla was here, we were looking at the colts and her little dog Goose came into the pen and Eli reflexively kicked out and nailed her- you can be sure this is because of what Tay had been doing behind my back.
So... I had enough and decided then and there that Tay needed to move on to someone who doesn't have livestock. (or cats!)
Ted has a friend in Alberta who lost a border collie to cancer during the summer, and they were heartbroke about it and  looking for a replacement but not a puppy. So he called them and they were very interested and said they would take her, providing she got along with their other border collie who just happens to be Tess's littermate , and Tess and Luke are turning 13 at the end of this month. So a dog like Tay was perfect for them. They spent the weekend here and got along great!

She is going to get all the love her li'l heart desires! And in doing so she will fill the hole in Keith's heart left by the passing of his other dog. 

But wait....

That's not all.....

The day after I decided to rehome Tay I get a knock on my door and it's the guy who owns Tillie's dad. I was happy to see him because I had just been thinking of taking her down to see him that coming weekend after I had her to the vet's for her puppy shots. I wanted to show off my beautiful smart puppy. 

He just stood there and looked at her as I brought her out. We made a little small talk, then he said.... "I want her". Well, my jaw dropped and I must have had a deer in the headlights look! Then he told me the rest of the story: her sire had been hit and killed by a car, and he was heartbroken at his loss. So of course, I told him he could have Tillie, the only pup from the bloodline; we agreed that he would pay for her shots and I'd deliver her the next day. 

I am sure going to miss this little ankle biter! But once again, she was needed to fill the hole in someone's heart, and I know she will have a good life as he needs a dog to help with his sheep and cattle. He said she has a lot of her daddy's mannerisms.

So both Tay and her daughter are part of a bigger plan than what I had for them and I think they are both where they need to be.

As for me, I have my beautiful Tess who has always had all of my heart. No holes there!

Weaning day and howtheheckdoIorganizeeverything?

Sunday was a frosty morning. The horses went on a romp when I went down to feed.



Sassy was just full of herself.... good thing she didn't know that her world was about to change.
Yup, Booncat weaning day because Sassy was headed to Alberta to her new owner.
Normally I wean during the waning of the moon, but I didn't have that choice this time as this was the only day that Sassy could be hauled. And a good thing they didn't wait another day, because Alberta got hit with another early snowstorm.

As she left, Booncat was calling and followed the fence line as the trailer pulled out, calling for his mama. But he had his buddy Eli and lovely calm Gussie to help him through the day.
He called sporadically throughout the day, but by the next day, not at all. Life goes on as normal. I do prefer the over the fence method as I did with Eli and Belle though, less mental stress on both mama and baby.

Drifter got saddled and longed , he took well to being saddled and there was no silliness to him at all. I will continue his training weather permitting, and once I get all the weaning sorted out. I still need one more pen! Not quite ready to turn Drifter in with an unbred mare (Gussie) but I would like to have a place to put Booncat separately- the li'l rascal still won't eat the foal ration so I am supplementing him with alfalfa- which the mares don't need.  Eli will be leaving in a couple of weeks.  I guess it'll all sort itself out soon! I may be able to put Booncat and Drifter together once Eli is gone, then I can put Belle and Gussie together and my 3 pens with shelters will work.

I'm trying to ride more often, yesterday I rode and was wondering how the 2 babies would do without an adult in the pen with them, but they had their hay to keep them busy and didn't seem too worried as I rode away.

Beamer has been getting turnout in the bottom hotwire pen. To do that I have to lock Drifter in the top foaling pen, even though Beamer is good I don't want to push his limit by having another stallion across the fence, even if it is a juvenile. The fenceline of this pen borders both the mare pen and the bottom paddock that adjoins the foaling pen,so you see my dilemma in turnout and weaning. I have logistics problems! But it will all sort out, especially if I can get Booncat eating the foal ration, which I can either pop him in the horse trailer or the barn for the 15 minutes it takes to eat that. Or if I can have Booncat and Drifter together and can just lock them up while Beamer is out. Either way, it will help once Eli is gone and Belle can go back in the main pen.

Riding day 60

The roans

I am so happy with Gussie. Every time I ride her I count my blessings that she is such a good minded albeit quirky mare. I always have a good ride on her. Yesterday a bay horse came trotting up to the fence as we rode by its pasture, and Gussie came to life and started strutting her stuff to show off for him, she made me laugh! When we got back I spied the little neighbour girl watching us, so I asked her if she wanted to ride... BIG smile and "Yes! I love horses!" so she got to ride by herself with me walking beside her and she got to do the steering. (Actually Gussie was just doing what I asked but Holly didn't know that).

Thumper wanted a ride too....

Gussie is getting her winter coat in, she always looks redder in the winter. Booncat is also getting darker as his winter hair comes in.

He has a funny light patch on his shoulder and his mane is still an outrageous mohawk. I hope it grows in thicker than it looks!
I was comparing him to the few baby pics I have of Beamer.

They are quite similar. They both have that low tailset and fine head and good legs.

I am pretty excited to keep this colt for a while! I love his nature, a nice combo of smart and 'tude with calm and friendly as well as athletic as all get out.

Riding day 59

Oh Drifter....

Young horses can be pretty entertaining. Drifter was being so very helpful yesterday.
(Or not.)

 What do we have here?

Lemme see.... how does this thing work....

Hang on, I'll get it....

Hmmm.... Lemme regroup.....

Like this?

What could possibly go wrong here! Wish I had left the video running!

As it tipped he made a hard right turn, jumped one step then walked over to investigate.

Whaaaaaat?