New Blog

I have switched over to myhorsejourney.tumblr.com

I don't know if I will still update this one because I like tumblr better. I reblog cute pictures of horses while also continuing my journaling and posting some of my photography of horses.

Abraham the Baby Mini Horse

The other day when I went to see my grandma, she told me that her friend's mini horse had given birth. She showed me some pictures and I told her that I would love to meet the little guy. So, she called up her friend and yesterday she took me to the farm. I haven't been around horses since October, so it was really nice to go to a horse farm.

First, I got to meet Madily, the mother mini horse, and her baby Abraham. He's five days old and the adorable little guy is already half his mother's size. He was super energetic and I was told he is really friendly, but the mom kept running from me and he would run after her. She's a rescue and she gets pretty spooked around strangers.

I also got to meet their other horses and feed them treats. They were really sweet. 

Leaving Trinity and Phoenix

Well, it sure has been a long time since I've updated this... A lot has happened since then. For personal reasons, I am no longer part of Trinity Rescue. But, I'll update you on a couple of things that happened before I made the decision to leave.

On 9/15/13, Phoenix was cross-tied for the first time in her life. I might have explained this in a previous post, but cross-ties are basically leashes connected to the wall that connect to a horse's halter. We cross-tied her in one of the washracks and I groomed her. She was pretty confused, but she did well. Sometimes she would step forward and then get a bit stressed because she couldn't understand why she couldn't go anywhere. But she settled down and did just fine.

I continued going once a week and spending time with her until 10/5/13. My last day at Trinity was spent completely with Phoenix. I cross-tied her, groomed her, free-lunged her, and then let her run around the arena with another horse while I got some pictures.

Due to a conflict of interests with the owner, the best decision for myself was to leave Trinity. I've been able to focus more on school, and that's great, but I really miss Phoenix. I can still text the friends I made there and ask if they want to hang out, but I can't do that with a horse. I miss her, but at least I know that I got her to a point where she no longer needs me. She trusts people and she's no longer frightened by the tiniest of things. She seeks out attention from humans, she's an indoors horse, and she can be cross-tied. I'm proud of her and knowing that she can do those things gives me comfort when I think about how I can no longer be a part of her life. I'm also comforted by the fact that though my time with her was short, it was definitely worth it. When I was bit by Rascal, I gained a fear of horses. Cleo began the process of rebuilding my confidence with horses and Phoenix finished that process.

When the semester ends, I have plans to start at a new barn. This barn uses horses to do therapy with special needs kids. I'm excited to start there and be around horses again.

 Phoenix's first time being cross-tied

Phoenix having a nice run in the arena

Pregnancy and Foals

We knew from the beginning that it was very possible that Phoenix could be pregnant. We knew that the place where Phoenix and Raven had come from, the stallions had gotten to all the mares. Recently both Phoenix and Raven's bellies have been getting bigger and we were quite convinced they were pregnant. Someone even claimed to have seen Phoenix's belly shift a lot and they had believed they might have seen a leg. Well, the vet visited the barn today and did an ultrasound on Phoenix. There is NO baby growing inside of her. We don't yet know about Raven because the vet was unable to check her.

I'm actually glad that she's not pregnant. When Adira birthed Trinity's first foal, she took some steps back with the progress that she had started to make with humans. I was afraid that something like that might happen with Phoenix. I put a lot of time in her and I would hate to see her be set back. Another concern of mine was how malnourished she was when she first came to us and if that would negatively affect the baby. Also, school has started and I can now only make it to the barn once or twice a week, which is why I haven't been posting on this blog lately. Knowing she is not pregnant is a relief. With school being in, I already miss a lot of time with Phoenix. I wouldn't want to miss something as big as her having a baby.

Speaking of babies, Mira has been weaned from her mother Adira. Since Phoenix grew up in a large breeding herd, she's been a good babysitter to Mira. Also, this past weekend we welcomed two and a half new rescues: a pregnant mare and her foal. The mare is an appaloosa named Monet and the vet says she is 5-6 months pregnant. The foal that she already has is jokingly being called a paintaloosa and his name is Picasso. I've already taken lots of pictures of them, and I can't wait to photograph them even more.

 Picasso introducing himself to some of the herd.

 Monet, the pregnant mare.

 Mira, Trinity's first foal.

 We affectionately call her our Twonkey (Tennessee Walking Horse/Donkey).

 

Phoenix looks better every day! 

Phoenix Made New Friends

Phoenix is doing incredibly well! She has been integrated into the herd. She no longer is in the small pasture with only her sister, Raven. Last week, she was integrated into what we call the Preschool Pasture. We call it that because so many of the horses in the pasture are pretty young. The first friend she made was Dreamer, a Clydesdale. She took to him really quickly. Then she made friends with another Tennessee Walker, Cleo. The very same Cleo that I mentioned in my first post. It's pretty convenient to have my two favorites in the same pasture.

The first time that I walked out into the pasture to see her, she kept walking away. She would let me get close and then she would just turn around and walk away. I was a little offended, but I also knew that she might have been overwhelmed by the change of scenery. However, soon some other horses were put into the pasture. One of them decided to establish dominance and tried to kick Phoenix. When I went out into the pasture after that, Phoenix came right to me. I almost felt like the poor girl wanted me to save her from the lead mare.

I spent some time out there with her, petting her and hugging her. None of the other horses bothered her while I was with her. When I stopped petting her and began to walk away, she followed me. I petted her some more and then walked away again to go inside. Phoenix then circled around me as if she was trying to herd me back to where we were before.

I realized that my hands were black from petting her, so I grabbed my grooming kit. I groomed her in the pasture. She was really good about it. She moved a little to get some grass, but she stayed close to me and the grooming kit.

Now, Phoenix is fully integrated into the herd. Not only is she in the pasture with them, she also comes inside at the same time that they do. She now spends all day inside a stall. She is also pretty good about letting her halter be put on and taken off. And today, I free lunged her again. It was for longer time than the last time. I worked her pretty hard, and she did well. I also walked her into the wash rack. It shouldn't be too long before she can take baths.

Free Lunging

Yesterday, we started lunging Phoenix. For those of you that don't know, lunging is a way to exercise a horse. You put them on a long rope called a "lunge line", use a carrot stick to direct them, and basically have them run in circles around you. I was very hesitant to do this with Phoenix. I was afraid that she would be scared of the carrot stick and I didn't want her to associate that with me. We took her into the round pen and did some free lunging, meaning we lunged her without a lunge line. I didn't really know how to start. Jonathan, an experienced volunteer, took the carrot stick and showed me how to start her. He lightly swung it at her back legs to get her going. She seemed confused, but she did pretty well. He stopped for a little bit and told me to go pet her and reward her for doing well. After that, I took the carrot stick and it my turn to lunge her. She did well yesterday considering it was her first time being lunged. Raven freaked out in the pasture more than Phoenix did in the round pen.

I really didn't want to scare her and I was very hesitant. But I guess this is something I need to get over. I love her, but I need to stop acting like an overprotective mother...

Yesterday was a pretty good day.

Grooming Inside a Stall

Well, it's been over week since I've updated. Some interesting things have happened since then. This past Monday, I had another riding lesson. I'm getting better at posting and I was able to post without holding on to saddle for a little bit. At one point, I believe I momentarily cantered. However, that was not intentional. I had been trotting for a while and then I was walking to cool her down. Seren, the horse I was riding, suddenly freaked out and started going really fast. I don't really know what happened, I think she might have been bit by a bug. Whatever caused that freak out, it was scary. But, hey, at least I didn't fall off from the sudden change of pace.

Earlier in the week, Tuesday I think, I took Phoenix for a walk in the big pasture. She did pretty well, but she need to work on getting out of my space. At one point, I stopped walking and sort of walked into me because she did not stop. But for the most part, she did great. I then led her into the arena and walked her around in the for a little bit. There was a cavaletti in the middle of the pasture and I decided to walk her over it. It didn't take much to get her to walk over it and she barely clunked her hooves against it.

Yesterday was an exciting day for me. When I arrived at the barn, Phoenix was having her lunch in her stall. I was allowed to go inside the stall and groom her! Now with a lot of horses, that's normal and not that exciting. However, Phoenix has only been in her stall a few times and only during meal time. She did very well and seemed to enjoy it. When she was done eating, she was put back out in the pasture. We brought her back inside for dinner. This time, I got to lead her in the stall. And when she was finished, I was the one to take her back outside. She has quickly adjusted to going inside for meals. As always, she is improving nicely.

Phoenix Went Inside a Stall

For the first time, Phoenix went inside! She has spent her entire life outside. I let her into the outside arena and caught her on a lead line. It was a little more difficult than usual to catch her because a storm was coming and it was making her a bit jumpy. But I caught her and lead her into another pasture. Through that pasture I tried to walk her into the barn. She hesitated at the doorway. She then pulled away and I had to let go of the rope. Sam, Cynthia, and I followed her into the pasture and caught her again. This time, Cynthia walked her. I'm not very big and a full sized adult can certainly handle a struggling horse better than I can. She told Sam to place Phoenix's food bucket directly in the back of the stall, where Phoenix can see it. Cynthia walked Phoe in and let her get a few bites of food. She then told me to grab the bucket and pour it into the feed bucket on the wall. I'm not very tall, so Sam had to help me. It scared Phoe when we first started pouring the food in, but then she realized what it was and she was happy. She happily ate her food in the stall, away from the rain, flies, and Raven. She loves her sister, but I'm sure she appreciated the fact that she didn't have to worry about Raven stealing her food. She could also paw the ground as much as she wanted, without spilling her food in the dirt. She did very well and seemed quite content with being in a stall. I'm very proud of well she handled the new environment.

When she was finished eating, Cynthia walked her back outside. When Phoenix was only about ten feet away from the doorway, she pooped. Cynthia said, "Aw, Phoenix's first indoor poop!" She then turned to me and said, "Your horse. Grab the shovel." At Trinity we have an unwritten rule. If a horse is yours and/or you were working with a horse when they pooped inside, you are the one that cleans it up. Lucky me.

Yesterday and the previous day, I did some more grooming and groundwork. I'm still getting her used to the friendly game. I've been playing it with the exercise balls and the carrot stick. She hardly reacts to the these things, which is good. I can't wait until I can do more with her!

Phoenix inside a stall

Catch and Release

Today I got very frustrated with myself. Sam and I went into the pasture to work with Raven and Phoenix. I put Phoenix on a lead line and I groomed her. When I was done grooming her, I released her so that I go inside to get the MTG to put on her rain rot. She and Raven are outside horses and we've been getting days and days of rain, which unfortunately has given the girls a bit of rain rot. Anyway, I went inside to get the MTG, a sponge to apply it, and a carrot stick to play the friendly game. I went back into the pasture, expecting her to be easy to catch again. She was not. She would get close to me, but as soon as I would move my hands towards her halter, she would walk away. I was frustrated with myself because I wished that I had asked Sam to hold Phoenix while I went inside. I knew Phoenix didn't want to be caught more than once in a day. I would have liked to have to caught her again, but she didn't allow it. I was very frustrated that I had to wait until feeding time to put the MTG on her back. I never did get to play the friendly game today. But, there's always tomorrow.

Groundwork and Riding Lessons

Monday, I did some groundwork with Phoenix in our new round pen. I played the friendly game with her again, using the balls and a carrot stick. I put the red ball on her back and she didn't care. She got a little jumpy when I put the yellow ball on her back. But after a few times, she was fine with it being there.

Phoenix was afraid of the carrot stick. She kept walking away from it with a frightened look in her eyes. She didn't mind the carrot stick as much when I held the string. When it was just the stick that was touching her, she didn't seem scared. After awhile, even with the string, she stopped being afraid of the carrot stick. She did really well.

Tuesday, I did groundwork with Sunny, one of our mustangs. She was stubborn at first, but then she did well for me. I'm still learning the Parelli games and so is she. We learned together. She didn't want to back up and she kept walking away from the carrot stick. She did do well with the Circle game. It was pretty easy to get her running in circles, but sometimes she would go the opposite way than where I wanted her to go.

Yesterday, I had my third riding lesson. My first lesson (well, first riding lesson since childhood)  was on Tuesday 6/11/13. I was supposed to have it the Monday before, but it had been raining. I'm supposed to have a riding lesson every Monday, but after my first lesson it was raining so much that I couldn't have another lesson until 7/1/13.

On my first lesson, I learned some groundwork to do to warm up the horse before riding. I rode Rocket, a lazy and sweet horse that did not want to move. I weaved through a few barrels and then trotted while my instructor had Rocket on a lead line. Trotting is bouncy and makes me feel like I'm going to fall off. However, when I get a hang of posting, it shouldn't really be a problem.

In my next two lessons, I rode Seren, a lazy Mustang. When I'm on her, I like that she goes slow, but I'm leading her it would be nice if she would keep up with my pace. So far at my lessons I've only done groundwork, weaving through objects (at a walking pace, of course), and trotting on line as I try to post. However, there was something unexpected occurring during my lesson on Monday. A horse there was desensitized to gunshots. They were shooting off a gun right next to this horse. It was a little scary when I was Seren and the sound of the gun was spooking her. She trembled and moved around, but she didn't buck or rear up. Still, it made me nervous and my trainer kept Seren on a lead line for safety reasons. I was glad when they stopped shooting it.

I like riding, but I'm an impatient person. I've only had three lessons and I'm already wishing I was improving faster.

Here's some pictures: