Spring water crossing

This is the only time of year I have water nearby so I like to spend some time playing around with water crossing with my horses.
I brought Moon out so she could graze on the yard and I worked on our friendly game with the bag. It's not bad but she's still flinchy now and then. I drove her from zone 2 until we made our way to our "water crossing", the front ditch. She's been hesitant to go in water before so I wasn't sure how it would go this year, but she went when I asked and was calm about it. That was a nice relief. I took her for a walk down the road a short distance and we crossed back and forth occassionally. She even did pretty well with a couple vehicles going by. We returned to the yard and played a couple figure 8's at a walk on the 22ft around some small evergreens. Making our way past our fire pit which has 2 bigger logs for sitting, (or jumping horses over!) I thought I'd try another thing I've been working on a little. I stood on one and asked her to line herself up as if I was going to mount. It worked well, she came over nicely and the best part for her was I rubbed her then walked away, and didn't get on. Now I need to remember to get it good on the right side as well.
I played with Copper for a little bit too. We moseyed around the yard, him doing some nice touch it's at my cones and barrels, and made our way to the water. He also crossed a couple times for me. That felt good, at least I know I can ask two horses to go through on line for me. :)

Muck...

The weather is so nice in spring but I always forget how mucky and wet it gets until it's here and that makes it hard to play! The water has gone down since my last post but it will take a while for all the snow to melt and the ground to dry up. Because of this I almost didn't play today. But I'm happy I did because I had a good time with Copper!
I gave him a good grooming, he's shedding a lot and seemed to like it, rocking back and forth against the brush strokes! I found a grassy area that wasn't as mucky and set up a few cones. I wanted to see if we're anywhere near level 1. I haven't put a lot of time in with him and would really like to change that and see how much progress we can make. I checked out all 7 games, except sideways, forgot that one, and played touch it with the cones. We found a few places that could use some practice but it wasn't horrible. Now I know we have some basics and can go from there. My friendly game with the plastic bag felt good. I was happy to get a few steps in our yo-yo's at phase 1. Circling needs improvement, but we really haven't done much of that up to this point. After the circling I noticed we were really tearing up the grass so I moved onto the driveway. I need all the grass I can get on my small yard so turning it to mud in spring isn't a good idea.
I switched to my 22 ft., brought some cones with and played with circles on the gravel. He stayed out longer this time, I think he was having fun exploring in the snow piles on the end of the longer line.
He wasn't worried about being away from the horses or pen so I took him for a walk to the front of the yard. We even made it to the ditch which is full of water now. I really like that he's interested in checking everything out. We played some squeeze games near the water and he went in and crossed through a few times nice and calm, which made me happy! At least I can make some use of all the extra water! :)
I really like this horse and hope to gain enough savvy for him, he's a nice horse just looking for leadership, but then again aren't they all?! :)

Dwell time in the Sun

I haven't taken time recently to just be with the horses and that's something I think that would really help, especially with Moon. I went out today and decided to stay in the pen with her for 1/2 an hr before haltering. It usually seems like she's thinking what's up, but in a skeptical way not curious or interested. Today I did see her look at me a few times out of the corner of my eye. Everytime she looked I looked away. We eventually got together, her checking for treats I assume and headed to the round pen. I had our "toys", barrels and the green ball out today. We spent a minute checking things out. I had the bag on the stick again but found her a little worried so I played with that until she was alright. I moved it around and swung it over our heads with it ending up on her withers. She did pretty good, even lowering her head nicely at one point. I got a lot of licking/chewing and felt that was a good place to stop. Then we played with driving from zone 3 with the stick in the harmony spot as Pat calls it in the new Level 1. From there we walked around the driveway and yard for a while, finally stopping at a patch of grass. I sat down while she grazed around me. We spent a while there just hanging out in the sun, it was nice. :)
I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow...after our grazing time we went to go back to the round pen and found the whole yard, pen included, flooded and under a foot of water! My green ball had floated right out of the pen! That was the only bad part of my day. I hope the water leaves soon or I might have to play with watercrossing with the horses for the next few days!

Vet visit

I finished a long night shift yesterday. Normally I would sleep then, but it was so nice that after going out to feed the horses I stayed out!
I spent some time with my paints. They both got a good grooming and checked out the yard again. They're also doing very well with the bag. I managed to rub it all over Shadow again and everywhere on Copper except his head and lower legs. I also flagged it a bit harder and swung it around overhead. I'm very happy with both horses reactions, or lack of! Now to get the same results with the other 2.
Shadow banged up her knee a while ago, she's not lame but I wasn't sure what might have been damaged so I had the vet come see her today. Turns out she should be just fine, so that's a relief. She was also very good for us and the vet commented on her being a nice little horse. She asked me if she came that way :) I got her as an unhandled weanling that was unloaded by backing the trailer to the barn door. I'd like to think that I've at least played a small part in helping her confidence in people. But the vet's right, she is definitely a lovely filly. It's always nice to have a successful vet visit for all involved. I'm glad today went as good as it did. Now as long as she recovers fast then everything is good!

Good days with the boys

I spent some time with Buddy yesterday and Copper today. We checked things out in areas of the yard that aren't snowed in. Copper kept checking in with me, that was nice. They both chose to have a snack at the bales in the back and I used that time to play with my stick/bag. They did well with me moving it around and then eventually rubbing it on them. Buddy wasn't sure at first but did good, even allowing me to touch his belly a few times. I thought Copper might react more but he was great. I rubbed his withers, back and rump both sides. Now I can say I've been able to rub all 4 horses with it. One tiny step foward!

Good day with the girls

It was nice out today, nice enough that the cleared area in front of the barn wasn't slippery.
I spent some time with Shadow, took her blanket off and groomed her which she really seemed to enjoy. Because of the better footing, we left the pen and wandered around checking things out in front of the barn for a while. Found some thresholds but just kept retreating and coming back until she was ready to go further. It didn't take her long to want to check things out, snow banks, the trailer, burning barrel, and the bales in the back. She really spent some time poking around the trailer hitch. I had my carrot stick with me and it still had the plastic bag attached. After she finished exploring I walked backwards away from her while waving it softly back and forth. She followed fine with that, even coming right up to me. Then she stood very nicely while I rubbed her all over with it!! Even her belly, chest, legs, nose and forehead! She was willing to reach out and touch it herself too. What a lovely little horse:)
After putting Shadow back I took Moon out. I removed her blanket and groomed her too. She wasn't as worried about leaving and headed straight down the driveway. We walked all over anywhere it was cleared. I was the one to ask her to turn around. She checked a few things out then found the bales in the back and decided she wanted to eat. So I used that time to play with the bag, waving it around while she stood there. I even got to where I could move it past her side very close without touching her and without having her flinch. Once she was relaxed with that I rubbed it on her. She was ok enough to continue eating while I approached and retreated to the point of rubbing it on her withers, back, butt and under the belly. She wasn't sure of the belly but didn't take long to be ok with that too. Then I did the same with the other side and got the same results there. I was actually surprised and happy to have even gone that far with her today.
I'm very happy with how both girls did, they surprised me again! Making progress is fun!

Blankets

It's supposed to get real cold and windy tonight and tomorrow. The horses have started to shed and the pen their hay is in isn't very sheltered from wind if it gets bad. Because of this I decided to put their winter blankets on this evening. I was worried about Moon and Copper's reaction since they both haven't worn one yet, but they proved my worry unnecessary. I brought in 2 at a time to feed, groom and blanket. Everyone did great, standing nicely for me, and Moon and Copper didn't get bothered at all the way I thought they might. Moon wasn't completely sure but I'm happy with how she did. I love when my horses surprise me in a good way! Plus now I can sleep tonight knowing they won't be standing huddled up shivering against the bad weather.
Other than that I haven't done much with the horses the past few days. They do seem to be getting slightly better when I'm out there with my stick and bag at feeding time though. Friday I was able to rub Moon and Buddy on one side of the withers at liberty again. What I liked about that was that Moon wasn't standing frozen, she had a better look about her and was blinking. It just felt more relaxed. This horse is a challenge for me but in a good way, she's teaching me to be a much better horseperson!