Rienzi and Shae

Brynlee Anne Perry

2011-12-12T21:40:00.001-05:00

Well, this is a totally non-horse related post... unless you count the fact that the day I went into labor I popped up on Shae just to "see how it felt." Here's little Brynlee Anne. Born on Oct. 23, 2011 at 5:53 AM. The time stamp on our phone is a bit off. Remember, you can click on a photo to view full size.

Brand spankin' new...

Brynlee's first bath a couple hours later. George said that she screamed bloody murder the whole time!

Here's a great picture of Brynlee's poor little crooked mushed up ears and cone head... good thing that straightened up in a couple days. Merryn called them "orc ears"... not the most flattering description!

All wrapped up and happy!

One Day Old...

Brynlee's little cone head is already better!

Time to go home!!

These next pictures are from November 4 when Jenna, Gabi and Doug came to visit. Doug did a fantastic job taking all sorts of cute baby pictures! Notice how nicely shaped her head and ears are now!

And now, I can't believe that she's already 7 weeks old!! She's really changed a lot more since the Nov. 4th pictures. I will have to post more later!

1 week before delivery...

2011-12-12T17:19:00.001-05:00

... we didn't know it at the time, but these pictures were all taken exactly one week before our little girl Brynlee decided to make her debut!! These pictures were all taken by our friend Doug DeMark on Oct. 16.

Click on a picture to view full size.

Winter Boredom...

2011-02-24T07:54:00.000-05:00

It's been ages since my last post. My life has been a whirl of work, work, bad icky weather, work, and more icky windy cold weather. Hasn't motivated me to do much with the ladies when I go outside and am greeted by wind gusts in the 40 - 55 mph range.

Anyway, my friend Jenna came out last weekend and we rode Sunday and Monday. First time doing anything with Ren and Shae in quite a while. George called and without me knowing it, Jenna shot a couple pictures. I had no idea she even took her camera out!!

Yes, pictures of the back of me and my horse. Although, they do remind me that riding a draft really makes your own butt look small! Ren's rump on the other hand... well... let's not say anything. I'm sure any criticism would only hurt her feelings. LOL.

Anyway, that's my Feb. 2011 update! Hopefully the weather will clear up, warm up, and dry up so that I can start getting out and working with Ren and Shae on a daily basis.

Harvest Day 2010

2010-11-03T07:10:00.003-04:00

For the second year in a row, the school I teach at welcomed our horses to participate in Harvest Day, a day to celebrate and learn about Maryland agriculture in the school. We had many presenters, from apple sauce making, to a farmer with his equipment, to a Chesapeake Bay waterman, a Native American museum, pie making, and of course, the horses.

My friend Steve once again trekked up to the farm with his truck to help haul our rather large horses to the school. And, since my husband couldn't take off work this year, my friend Rori offered to come out and help present as well. Scroll down for the pictures - and remember, click on each on to view full sized.

First, we arrived and set up. Rienzi and Shae enjoyed some peace and quite prior to the student rotations.

Each class did a great job staying behind the cavalettis.

We discussed a little bit about a horse's hooves.

We talked about the fact that my horses are barefoot and don't have shoes.

We talked about a horse's tack.

We talked about how to ask your horse to move. Here, I'm asking Shae to go sideways (and exaggerating what the rider does).

And here I'm exaggerating how to ask Shae to collect herself and back up.

I demonstrated some simulations of horse training techniques. Here, I'm trying to teach my "horse" without using words. He picked up on his job pretty quickly!

Communication through tools, not voices.

This "horse" even learned a trick! The main point of this exercise was to show how people and horses have to communicate to each other without words. It also showed how people need to stay calm and not get frustrated when your horse takes a little time to figure things out.

Of course, Shae couldn't be outdone by another "horse" doing HER tricks. It was funny, she would get up on the pedestal and then try to also do something with the cones (which were just randomly sitting there).

Of course, Shae wasn't the only one at Harvest Day. Rienzi got the chance to be an artist's model. Here, Steve talks about horse safety.

She then (quite contently) stood around so students could sketch her.

Rori came in her competition hunter jumper clothes and showed students how to draw a horse based on geometric shapes.

Ren was quite happy not to be running all around. Standing is one of her favorite gaits.

Students sketched away. I haven't had a chance to see any of their artwork yet. Perhaps they'll bring me some later this week.

Ren thinks her mane side is her "better side."

Shae on the other hand had to demonstrate how we warm up.

Here I'm asking her to step her right hind leg really underneath herself without allowing her to push into me with her shoulder. I was asking for some pretty small trot and canter circles from her.

And some of the teacher's got a chance to hang with Shae while I was doing simulations with student volunteers.

Shae is also one for getting lots of attention.

Asking for a hug? Or checking pockets for treats? You decide!

Of course, some teachers had loftier plans....

Getting my ropes squared away.

Shae is so funny... she's totally trying to figure out who to listen to... the person on her back, or me. It's a good thing she's so good natured.

Another successful ride.

The fourth graders were also very respectful during the presentation.

Shae was fabulous the entire time. Not one single spook from anything that was going on.

And we had to stick around to present to the first graders.

They wanted to see all of Shae's tricks. Although, in this picture she's only giving me about 70%.... that opposite knee is supposed to be on the ground! Of course, after doing things so repetitively for so many groups, she was getting a bit tired by everything at this point.

All in all, a successful Harvest Day!

Posing for these pictures were interesting. Basically, I asked the students to set up and then side stepped Shae up behind them and kept her a little distance away from them. Student safety first!

And finally, we headed back home. Fall is definitely here!

A special thanks to Steve (for driving for St. Mary's Co. to Anne Arundel Co. to haul my girls down to the school) and Jenna for being the best school nurse/horse washer in the world. Without yours and Gabbi's help, it would have taken me twice as long to bath and get the girls ready for their day out. Also, thank you Rori for coming out and presenting as well. I wish you weren't moving down to South Carolina at the end of the month! Who else is going to give Shae some exercise while I'm busy at work? Give us a call and we'll do a 3 hour weekend trail ride - George has been itching to get out and take the girls for a RUN, and I think (knock on wood) that Ren's feeling up to it.

Cantering 101 for Lex

2010-10-10T17:26:00.003-04:00

While George was trimming, I let Lexi ride Ren today. She was intent on cantering for the first time bareback so of course, Ren was happy to oblige. Gotta say, for such a giant horse (remember, Ren is 16.3) Ren is a great confidence builder! Click to view pictures full size.

Time to mount up!

Starting out with some yields at the walk.

Then time for some trotting.

And they're off at the canter!! Whoo hoo! Go Lex!

They cantered this way....

... and they cantered that way...

... They cantered towards us...

... and they cantered away from us!

She even cantered some alongside George and Shae!

And all the time Lex did a great job keeping her balance bareback!

Now, Rienzi wasn't the only one who got to do some cantering... Shae did some too. George was asking for lots of go and doing some desensitization work with ropes as well.

Personally, these pictures don't really show how fast Shae was going.

It was fairly fast.

Phew Shae, what's that smell? Oh wait... that's George changing his shoes.

Course, Lexi's not done yet!

She asked Ren to get up on the pedestal.

Posed for photos.

And then zonked out for a little nap. (I think at that point, Ren was ready for a nap too!)

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon!

No ride would be complete without giving your mount a hug! (And, more importantly to Ren, some horsey cookies!)

Not too shabby Lex, not too shabby at all!

Believe it or not, I rode as well today. One day, George will PICK UP THE CAMERA! ;P

Did I mention that Lex also rode Shae today as well?

She walked and did a lot of posting trotting as well. Most of the time I was on Ren with her, so I didn't get as many pictures of Lex and Shae. If she can ride Shae's trot, she can ride pretty much ANY horses trot! Shae's got a lot of Friesian bounce to her movement.

Lexi and Admiral

2010-10-03T23:30:00.003-04:00

George decided to test out his new Droid phone yesterday when Lexi had a chance to ride her horse Admiral for the very first time! For those of you that don't know, Lex has taken lessons with Susan (on Othello), and played with and ridden both Shae and Ren. Still, it's exciting to get a chance to ride your very own horse! (click to view full size.)

Hmmm.... he's a tad bit smaller than her usual mounts!

Yup, he has LOTS of hair! :)

Maybe George will use his Droid to take pictures of his wife.... we'll see.... So far we've gotten LOTS and LOTS of pictures of George lately! Here's one more...

More Weekend Pictures

2010-09-20T20:23:00.004-04:00

(As always, click the picture to view full sized.)

Hmmm.... is George show off? Or should this be the first picture in his modeling portfolio?

(Imaginary magazine add: "Inspired by the rugged lifestyle of the classic American sportsman with an exclusive faded plaid pattern, this George Perry Signature Twill shirt is constructed for durability and relaxed comfort, with a soft finish. Button-down collar and cuffs. Back pleat. Rounded hem. Imported. Perfect for those Saturday romps through the country side when you're just not in the mood for donning your hunt club best.")

Ren doesn't look too shabby either.... I haven't decided what the equine counterpoint to George's ad would say....

Jenna and Gabi Come Visit!

2010-09-20T06:38:00.001-04:00

One of my friends from work has been bringing her daughter to come ride Shae and Ren. Saturday, we decided to try out bareback riding! Jenna offered to take some pictures, and truth be told, she's much better at taking pictures then me. Next time they come out, I'll try to take some better pictures of them, I promise!

Anyway, let's see how things went! (As always, click on a picture to enlarge to full size.)

Ren & Gabi are ready to go!

We recently dug up Ren's bridle. We have a clinic in October and would like the option of riding with or without a bit. Usually Ren goes in her halter, but Gabi's more familiar with flat reins, so I wanted to see how it went. Riding Ren bareback is a bit like riding a couch - very cushy and not a lot of upward bounce.

Looking good!

I think Ren was a fan of the slower pace. We've been doing a bit of canter work with her lately.

Another example of my fine photography skills. All over exposed and washed out. I promise to take better pictures next time! (Or at least not take a picture pointed directly at the sun!) Anyway, this is Jenna riding Shae.

I didn't realize that the trees are starting to change here on the farm. The weather's been so gorgeous and warm that it doesn't feel like fall yet!

Trotting away! Jenna and Shae even did some cantering - not bad for being new to riding bareback!

Ren is SOOO enjoying the slower pace!

Shae, what ARE you doing with that head of yours? In reality, this is probably just another example of my horrendous photography skills.

Sigh. Subject is angled away from the photographer with rump (of the horse) being showcased.

(I'm just bringing this to your attention now so that you can compare to Jenna's lovely photos later.)

Now, in contrast, here are some of the pictures that Jenna took.

Gabi and Cali - so cute.

Here, Cali wants to know why we aren't playing with her. She was in the round pen and not thrilled about not being in the arena with us. She is such an awesome little horse!

Adorable.

In focus. Action. Subject's posteriors are not the focus of the picture. Maybe I should learn how to use that camera we have...

All in all, a fun day!

And next time, I will take better pictures! It should have been easy seeing as Jenna and Gabi both did a great job with the girls!

A LONG Overdue Post....

2010-07-25T15:11:00.001-04:00

So, it's summer time and you'd THINK I have all sorts of things to post. Well... George has been working a lot and whenever I'm with the horses, I never seem to have the camera with me. The other day, George and I went by my parents to take pictures of their incredibly cute boerboel puppies for their website: www.butterfly-fields.com and George decided to hop up on Spring. Spring was the mare that we started last summer. She has about three months of riding on her now and is a super little trail horse. George didn't have any tack (or halter) handy, so he decided to go free styling. I will try to get some pictures of OUR horses up over the next couple days... it's just hard to get motivated to take pictures when I head out to see them and they're covered in sweaty streaks! With the Maryland heat in the 90 - 100 degree range, all I feel like I'm doing is hosing them down!

Anyway, the pictures I DO have to share....

Yes, we're here to take pictures of dogs, but Spring is always ready to say hi and go somewhere!

George does have an apple tree twig to tap on Spring's shoulder, etc.. to help guide her and let her know what yields George was asking for. Everything else is off the seat. Spring hasn't really had too many sessions on freestyle riding, so it was interesting to see her and George communicate.

She picked up on things really quickly. George was in the confines of her pasture. I wouldn't recommend trying this for the first time out on a trail!

The other horses were very interested in what Spring and George was doing.

Whiskey HAD to investigate.

Course, no ride would be complete with out cantering!

Spring's baby is nearly 10 months old now! She's weaned, but was still very interested in following George and Spring around the field.

Okay, we're really here to take those dog pictures!

Boerboel puppies are CUTE! My folks have some pups still available! Visit www.butterfly-fields.com for more pictures and information on their boerboels!

The quest continues...

2010-04-25T00:15:00.000-04:00

... so we've been trying to teach Rienzi how to lay down. This is a difficult quest - as Ren is BIG and hard to manuver around. Last summer we wrestled and wrangled her and it was partially successful. It just wasn't a very postive experience. So this time around I went the complete opposite direction - we did a lot of walking around thinking "downward" thoughts.

This resulted in Ren digging lots of holes in the arena...

.. lots of looking at me with her "I don't think so" face...

Notice the carrot I have hiding to try and convience her otherwise. And Ren earns lots of treats if she offers downward thoughts - which includes kneeling.

Nom Nom Nom!

Now if only I could figure out how to get that big ol' rump of hers to go down, we'll be all set!

Here's Ren offering a kneel without a halter, and minimal use of the rope.

So... all of this is a lot for Ren to process, so she sits around and yawns quite a bit during these sessions which is pretty funny.

Any bets on when she'll finally figure out how to go all the way down when I ask?

George and Shae did a little session as well...

Finding the perfect spot to lie down.

It's so easy to mount your 16+ hand horse when they lay down for you!

Time to get up!

Hmmm.... interesting action shot. It's hard to capture a horse hauling themselves to their feet!

Shamelessly begging for treats....

Shae thinks these sessions are the best ever - lots of treats, back rubs, and very little effort on her part.

Finally - some pictures that don't feature snow!

2010-04-18T14:53:00.000-04:00

But instead, feature two very dusty dirty horses. Not filthy, but definitely dusty!

Today was much windier and cooler than George and I anticipated. Ren's sidebones were also acting up, so instead of a trail ride we worked Shae in the arena and then played a bit with lying down.

George bringing the girls in from the field.

We both rode Shae quite a bit - I've been riding her bareback so much, that it's time I got back into riding with a saddle! We didn't really take any riding pictures - like I said, it was windy and we weren't sure how long we were going to stay out. Ren and I just did lots and lots of walking to try and stretch out her legs.

Time to lay down!

First a good roll.... get that sand really rubbed in.

Gotta scratch that itchy nose!

Ren explored her downward thoughts by pawing at the arena sand... alot.

She also showed off her curly bangs.

Then, it's back out in the field for everyone's favorite pastime - eating.

And now it's April....

2010-04-18T09:18:00.002-04:00

Mid April to be precise... and I haven't posted any new pictures! Mostly because we haven't had much play time where George and I want to be snapping pictures. We'd rather be out riding or doing our groundwork instead. And speaking of snapping pictures, I tend to be the one that is always doing that, so we end up with many pictures of George and few pictures of me. That's okay though - George is so busy that when he comes out to play with horses, I'd rather he just enjoy himself anyway.

I did finally get a chance to design my hubby some business cards! Ren looks so cute up on the pedestal - and she even wore her hoof boots!

February Snow Storms

2010-02-11T14:03:00.003-05:00

So.... you might have heard that Maryland got a bit of snow over the last 5 days.... After the first wave of snow earlier this week, George and I went on a trail ride. Took tons of pictures in the woods, of the horses, of each other... so many pictures. However, when I got back to the house, I discovered that I had failed to put the memory stick in the camera. What a bummer! So, this morning we tried to capture some photos of the second storm that came through last night.

(Remember, to view full sized, click on each image.)

Okay... Make that a heck of a lot of snow!

We brought the girls in to spend the night in the barn - and this morning they were ANTSY to get back out. Ren has this lovely idea that she can dig, paw, or chew her way out of any confinement. When she's left tied at the arena, she works on the ropes until she's free (at which point she stands there and possibly grazes - cause where is she planning on going?) In the barn, she will sometimes do the same with the door when she feels she's been left in too long. She doesn't chew at it, but she definitely lets us know she wants out!

The caged beast lurks and waits... plotting ways of gaining her freedom.

What a big shaggy horse she is in the winter!

Ren is very good about getting her halter on in times like this. No disrespecting the stall door space!

Shae tolerates being stalled a bit better - she just begs shamelessly for treats when we show up.

Give me treats!

Then there's my husband....

So cute.

Anyway... we had the job of getting them back out to their pasture this morning.... No shoveled paths. BIG horse feet... us tripping over our OWN feet... not the best combination. So, we decided to make life easier and ride them down to their field.

Who knows where the mounting block is under all that snow. Where's that picnic table?

Getting ready to tie up her reins.

Wow... what an action shot. Me... in mid jump!

You aren't allowed to laugh. I have two pairs of winter pants on and am so bundled up I feel like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. I can barely get my leg over her back.

To the field!

Now here's where George missed capturing Ren wanting to run straight down the hill. I decided to take her in a round about way to her field. Even cooped up over night, she's still got to show some manners.

These include gate manners... which she is very good about.

This picture does NOT capture how fierce that wind is!! Ren's hair gives you a little bit of an idea of how crazy the wind gusts were.

One last treat for the road.

Of course, making it back up the hill was more of a challenge. Luckily, I this path wasn't too bad.

Now, it's Shae's turn.

No Shae, don't climb onto the picnic table.

That is some DEEP snow.

My funny camera angle makes this a horrible picture of Shae. She looks like she has no rump!

There. A little cropping should help with that!

A man and his horse.

Is Shae looking for some scratches from George? Or some treats? Hard to tell...

New Year's Resolutions....

2009-12-30T13:33:00.000-05:00

Well... it's nearly the new year, and with it comes the setting of resolutions....

I think my horses have some resolutions as well. First and foremost, don't stress yourself. Being a big draft horse in and of itself is HARD WORK!

Poor Ren! Did I wake you?

Number two, eat so much food that your owners are constantly having to muzzle you most of the year to keep you from turning into a whale.

"NOM NOM NOM!"

Number three, distract your owners from cleaning the house/being productive (cough cough *George*!) because you need someone to come play with you and take you for a ride.

(No picture... George did this yesterday with Shae while I was visiting my sister's family!)

Yup, all in all... three very achievable horsey resolutions.

SNOW!!!

2009-12-24T16:11:00.002-05:00

Just in time for Christmas, it managed to snow in Maryland. Not just a little snow, but a whole lot of snow - around 22 inches in all. This is a rare occurrence in Maryland.

Ren and Shae seemed to really like the snow, so we left them out for about 1/2 the day. In the morning, George went out to check on them, and ended up playing with them in the field. By around 1 pm though, I figured it was time to bring them in to the barn.

Just as eager as ever, they both came running!

Ren is wondering why we think she needs to come in. I think she would have happily stayed out all day.

"What?! No treats??" (Ren's face says it all.)

Icicles in the mane - just lovely. Needless to say, I let the girls warm up in the barn before brushing!

With dreadlocks and icicles, Ren sports quite the look.

Ren also was quite taken with the camera... either that or she was looking for treats. It's sometimes hard to tell.

"Seriously? No food?"

The next morning, we managed to catch the other horses on the farm being let out. They were excited and raced all around before settling down to eat.

Everything was just covered in snow.

We decided to take a little ride out and about the fields. Here, I am wearing about 6 layers of clothing. It was COLD! Shae didn't seem to mind in the least.

Looking back at our house.

George LIKES the cold. Can you tell?

After our ride our girls had fun romping all around in the field at a full gallop.

Then, they settled down to their most favorite pastime - eating.

... and eating some more.

Beached whale? Or Shae wallowing in the snow? You decide.

Harvest Day 2009

2009-11-07T11:24:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, we borrowed a trailer and headed of to the elementary school I teach at to do horse demos for Harvest Day 2009. Basically, instead of doing a Halloween parade, my school celebrates the Maryland harvest - we bring in local experts and teach the students about Maryland agriculture, etc... It's such a productive use of time on a day that usually is filled with chaos since all the kids can think about is Halloween, costumes, and (of course) candy!

Over the years we had farmers, watermen, pie makers, demos on vegetable canning, representatives from Native American museums, and this year, they asked me to bring my horses! Apparently, it's been a couple years since they've last had horses at farm day.

George did barefoot trimming demos for the students and I did horsemanship demos with whatever horse wasn't working with. Unfortunately, George didn't take any pictures of me... but I managed to grab some shots of him. Remind me to have a stern talking to my husband about that!

Here, Shae demonstrates how far she can stretch her neck to eat while George trims and talks to the students.

We had 8 rotations of students come through, each between 1 to 2 classes. All the classes were wonderful about behaving themselves, and the horses seemed to enjoy the extra attention.

Here, Ren waits patiently for her turn. The kids loved the horses, and my girls could have cared less that we left the farm to go to a busy school! George fielded all sorts of questions from the students such as, "How do horses defend themselves?" "Why don't wild horses need trims?" and, "Does it hurt the horse to trim their feet?"

Maybe SOMEONE took some pictures of the demos I did... grumble. Shae enjoyed showing off her bow for the students and shamlessly begged for treats every chance she got by offering to stand on the pedestal. I did a combination of ground work and riding for the students. We discussed the role that drafts had in Maryland agriculture and early economy, as well as their role today. Next year I would like to differentiate what I present to each grade group and maybe do some simulations in reading body language. We'll see! Right now I'm just thankful we found a trailer toborrow to haul our girls to the school and a friend willing to come all the way up from St. Mary's County to trailer them! Thanks so much Steve!

I'll post any pictures if I track any down!

It's Fall....

2009-10-17T11:49:00.010-04:00

... and it's raining and miserable outside.

So, I figured I would update the blog with some pictures I took of George warming Ren up last weekend before our ride. Her sidebones still make her feel stiff and short right out of the field, but through warming her up, she loosens up and starts to feel better. I really, really, really HATE Blogger's new picture interface. It's so hard to try to align pictures and add captions now!! ARGH! Most of the pictures look a lot better if you click to view them full sized.

Ren likes to act all flashy.

Here she is showing us how she can stomp on any enemy we meet out on our trail rides.

Her winter coat is just starting to come in. I'm going to miss her dapples over the winter.

The leaves are starting to turn here in Maryland. Ren's really changed how she's using her body these days. She's starting to bring in some natural collection to her movement as you can see below as she trots towards George.This is a great picture to click on and view full sized.

Here's just a close up of her trotting towards George. I love how she's more toned!! Yay! Click to view.

"Where's my treat?"

She's also working really hard on staying connected with her person during her warm ups. She's willing to consider that it's really easier to just hang out. Again, click to view full sized.

Of course, everyone likes to kick up their heels once in a while...

The leaves are just starting to turn! I love the change of seasons, but HATE the cold!

For some reason, Shae's pictures didn't turn out quite as nicely as Ren's. She's working on finding/developing that stretch down at the trot and even a little at the canter. Unfortunately, the farm is putting out round bales to feed now that the grass is starting to die off, so Shae has a VERY BIG hay belly in this picture (grumble). We've ordered her a brand new muzzle - I'm sure she's going to be thrilled.

And in case you wanted to see that first picture full sized, here's a version of it that you can click to enlarge (did I mention that I really don't get Blogger's new interface? Not nearly as user friendly as it used to be).

A slightly early surprise...

2009-08-09T05:40:00.003-04:00

Spring (my mom's little mare I've been training this summer) decided to have her baby a little early... I was hoping she would wait until she returned to her home in September, but apparently yesterday afternoon was the appointed time for this little filly to grace the world with her presence!

When we got to the barn, Spring had already given birth. However, the baby was VERY new (just minutes old). We helped the baby stand (she couldn't get any traction on the rubber mats in the stall) and moved her outside where she met with more success. In this video the little filly is about an hour old. Now we just need to figure out a name!!

Shae's on the Mend...

2009-07-16T12:04:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been an interesting week. We had the vet out on Monday to look at Shae's hind right hock - it was very swollen and she was really hurting (didn't want to put weight on it, etc...). The diagnosis was pastern dermatitis (scratches) that allowed an infection called lymphangitis to set in. Luckily, we caught it VERY early and she's on a course of antibiotics which really seem to be helping. Swellings pretty much gone - and we clipped her feathers off the affected foot. Still doing the topical treatment, but I'm really glad I had the vet come out. I went online and researched the conditions. Boy, they can turn into some nasty looking infections! Nothing Shae has even comes close to the online examples I found. Luckily, she's in a nice, clean field without any standing water. However, the Maryland humidity, high temperatures, and night-time dew make it easy for mild cases of scratches to be a summertime problem for feathered horses and their owners. I'll have to take the camera out and take some pictures of her.

Ren's sidebones are flaring up a bit as well.... luckily, I have a little gaited horse that we moved over to the farm for me to start, so I've had a horse to play with despite my girls' limitations at the moment.

Back to Working with the Girls...

2009-07-09T19:28:00.000-04:00

A gal with an arab gelding came by the farm yesterday. He just had to say hi to the big beautiful Ren. Ren pinned her ears and let him know that being fresh is NOT tolerated.

Since it's been pretty warm here, Ren sports ever so fashionable braids. Not only does this help with keeping her cooler, but it also assists me with not getting my hands tangled all up in her massive amounts of hair. I guess I COULD cut off most of her mane, but her long curls really are cute. It's taken forever for her to grow out a chunk of mane that was missing that I'd hate to see it all cut off.

Ren really does have a massively large head.

I realized that Ren is really toning up. Just look at this before/after picture of her. The picture on the right is her the day after she came off the trailer from auction, while the second picture was taken yesterday. I'll have to get a picture of her standing in a similar position to the first one to really get a feel for how she's changed.

You know, I just realized that most of the pictures are of Shae lately. I'll have to make sure we give Ren equal time.

Today Shae worked on change of direction...

...her very distinct and separate trots...
... extending out...

... and high steppin' Friesian style!

... trying to find some relaxation at the trot (not always easy for a breed that typically carries their head high...)

... and bending WITHOUT collapsing the shoulder in! (Susan, that picture's just for you!)

Then we did a couple canter circles at the end of the arena that Shae was acting goofy about two days ago. Apparently there was some kind of monster at this end of the arena that Shae wanted to turn and bolt away from. We spent quite a bit of time approaching and retreating from this end of the arena yesterday. (Note: I am still trying to figure out where this horse eating monster is hiding... perhaps it is behind the car? Lurking somewhere in the sand? Behind one of the posts?) Whatever it was, obviously it wasn't there today. Shae was great!

The only thing I can think of is that two days ago I was doing a bit of isolation exercises with Shae. For example, we did some one rein riding, then riding with me just giving her a leg cue I wanted her to respond with lightness from (no rein). During these exercises I really didn't care what direction she wanted to go in, I was just asking for forward (either walk or trot). However, when I applied the leg cue - I wanted her to respond with lightness to it without needing a rein to support. Transitioning from this exercise to a more collected style where I was using all of Shae's leg and rein cues to tell her where we were going might have given Shae the idea that she could be dominant. In any case, two days ago we spent a good 20 minutes down at the far end of the arena schooling through Shae's issue. It involved a lot of approach/retreat backing up, sideways, and (finally) relaxation on Shae's part. Yesterday, I started off riding more collected and Shae didn't seem to have any issues. Silly horse.

What did we do today?

Well, George and I did some groundwork and then hit the trails early this morning. He rode Shae and I rode Ren. Ren and I did a lot of canter work out on the trails today. Ren is SO much slower then Shae that anytime Shae breaks into a trot, Ren can work on her canter. It's really hilarious. Ren tries so hard! At one point, we startled some deer out of the corn field. Shae and the deer were running beside each other while Ren and I brought up the rear. No way were we ever going to catch them! As an aside, neither of our horses spooked at all when the deer came out running. I was very impressed with both of our girls. Ren just cast an eye in the deers' direction and kept cantering.

A case of the Scratches....

2009-07-09T18:56:00.004-04:00

While we were away over the Fourth of July weekend, Maryland humidity, nighttime dew, and the heat took a toll on Shae's rear right foot. I came back to find a nasty case of scratches right below her pastern and above the back of her hoof. Very icky. This time of year is always a challenge to keep scratches away 100% - both my girls have feathering and in Maryland it rarely dries out in July and August. When I left, both Shae and Ren had some small itchy areas on their rear feet. I just didn't realize how effective my once a day spraying of anti-microbial spray was being at keeping fungal skin infections at bay. Well, 4 days of not having their back feet sprayed certainly showed me how bad fungus can take hold! Ren's feet looked fine - just a little scab here and there (actually, her feet looked better then when I left, go figure), but Shae's one foot was NOT a happy sight.

Shae was definitely bothered by it - she wanted my foot as far away from me as possible and was contorting herself in all sorts of bizarre ways to keep her foot from being prodded at (she's too well behaved to jerk her feet away from you, but she stretched this way and that. It was a real challenge to clean it up.)

That's one shaved hock. Poor Shae! In this picture, the swelling is almost gone. Thank goodness!

After giving Shae's back foot a soak, a betadine scrub, and then a thorough drying, I figured the topical anti-fungal spray I was using last week just wasn't going to clear this up quickly enough for my liking. So.... I headed out to the friendly CVS where I proceeded to purchase Monistat cream, Desitin, Lotrimin (Clotrimazole) cream, and one other anti-fungal athlete's foot cream that I can't remember off the top of my head. As I was purchasing it at the counter, I really did wonder what the cashier thought of my anti-fungal purchases!! Bet he didn't think it was to treat a horse!

Anyway, I mixed up the creams together and smeared it on. The back of her foot looked 70% better the very next morning and is 90% better today. No more oozing icky-ness. Just some scabs that are flaking off to show happy healthy skin underneath. Shae is no longer trying to keep me from poking and prodding at the back of her hoof. I figure three days of treatment should be enough. I think I can go back to the Eqyss Micro-Tek Anti-Microbial Spray to clear up the last bit of it. I'm not going to keep using the creams as I've heard that some fungus's develop a resistance to them. Hmmm.... Something to ask my doctor sister when I see her...

Fourth of July Weekend In WV

2009-07-09T18:53:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, we left our girls at home to go visit our friends on their farm out in West Virginia. I don't think Ren or Shae minded the break, and I KNOW George didn't mind taking a break from studying for the bar.

Click on any picture to view full size.

We spent the weekend riding my friend's 3 horses through the mountains (their farm butts up against a huge 17000 acre state park), relaxing, and catching up with Susan and Frank.

Here are some pictures we took of the land we traversed by horseback.

Yup, we rode up to the top of that mountain...

Someone on the river caught one BIG catfish.

The weather was lovely - in the 70s and (best of all) few bugs!

I was actually really surprised at how much ground you can cover on horseback. I'm sorry we didn't take the camera with us on the trail rides, but it was big & bulky. We need to take a digital pocket camera with us.

Here are Susan's horses parked under a gigantic tree in their pasture.

Up close and personal! Meet (left to right) Susan's three geldings: Gabe, Boogie (my mount for the weekend) and Othello (George's mount for the weekend).

This is the VERY SCARY HAY BALER. When we put the boys away this machine (which was obviously something that eats innocent horses for lunch) produced some interesting antics from our three steeds.

They went from one end of their pasture to the other.

For Othello, that's a LOT of effort. His favorite gate is the "mosey."

Boogie also felt the need to investigate the tractor.

... and of course, after investigation, they all felt the need to run away to the other end of their pasture again.

Like me and George, Susan leans towards drafts. Both Boogie and Othello are 1/2 Shire.

Here is the barn and Susan's trailer which we tacked out of. Susan and Frank are splitting time between Maryland and West Virgina, and are in the process of getting their WV farm up and running.

George and I had a blast and are planning to visit again after George takes the bar. Now if we could only get our two horses down there... I think Ren would just love some "hill therapy" in the form of WV mountains, don't you?

Summertime is finally here!!

2009-06-30T10:48:00.000-04:00

Boy oh boy, does it feel GOOD to be on summer break! George was home this morning, so we decided to grab the cameras and get some pictures of our girls! Today, I'll post the pictures and video of Shae. You can click on a picture to view full size. Here we are warming up in the morning:

We've been working a bit on bending in on the circle. Shae's really starting to get it - and it's improved our liberty work (when I work with Shae without a halter and line) immensely.

Here's some footage of me and Shae as I warmed up on her back. Today, I decided to ride her bareback. After the warm up, the video skips forward to after the trail ride when I asked Shae to lay down and then bow. George and I were out from around 11am till 7pm with the girls today (with a break for lunch) - so when I was asking Shae to lay down and bow she was TIRED and not quite as focused as she usually is when I play with her at liberty.

I'll post all of Ren's pictures and updates in another post!

Rienzi

2009-06-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

George had a break from studying for the bar yesterday, so we headed out to take some pictures and work with our girls. Rienzi isn't camera shy and aims to please.

Here, George poses for a statue of him and Ren that he would like commissioned one day.

Life sized, of course.

You'll notice she's sporting her ever-so-fashionable hoof boots. The boots promote a heel first impact, which encourages healthy hoof growth.

Working on bending towards George.

So dainty.

The manufacturer of this pedestal told us that, while it would easily support Ren's weight, she would be too big to fit on it. Well... I think Ren proved him wrong.

So when we aren't working with the horses...

2009-06-29T17:04:00.000-04:00

When George and I aren't working with our horses or out and about on the farm, we clean up pretty decently...

Whether it be at family weddings...

Our own....

Or back in the day when George had his concerts.

Isn't it sad that I have more pictures of Rienzii and Shae on my computer then pictures of us?

Fall Foxhunt

2009-06-11T21:19:00.003-04:00

This post has nothing to do with my two mares... but is LONG overdue!

You can click on any picture to view full sized. Most are quite big and it's hard to see them shrunk down on the blog. So just click on them, and they will pop up full sized!

This past fall my friend Woody invited me to go fox hunting. A friend of mine happened to be there taking pictures of the hunt! Here we are before the start of the hunt. I'm riding Woody's mare Amber and he's riding his gelding Charm. My two girls stayed at home as they have never been out on a hunt before. Notice my sunglasses - in the rest of the pictures just search for them to find me. In some pictures finding me is a lot like finding Waldo from a page in a Where's Waldo? book!

Yes, you're right, it WOULD have been useful for Woody to look at the camera!
And yes, helmets do not make for a good fashion accessory. However, they do protect one's noggin.

The hounds were very excited to start. The experienced hounds wore different colored collars from the hounds in training.

The only participants allowed to wear red on a hunt are the hunt masters. Everyone else is required to wear navy or black dress coats, tall black riding boots, tan britches, gloves, tie, and a black helmet.

It really was a gorgeous fall day!
See me? I'm right in the middle. Yup, there's Woody's back (again).

These are about 1/2 of all the horses out on the hunt. My friend was taking pictures mostly of the first field of horses. The horses are divided into three "fields" - the first field is the most challenging (goes the fastest and goes over jumps), the second field is less strenuous but still does some cantering, and the third field is for the elderly horses or riders who mostly just walk and maybe do some light trotting. Each field is led by a hunt master who communicates to the other fields via radio. They know the trails and figure out the best way to follow the hound master and hounds. You'll notice in the picture below the horses are divided up into two distinct rows. The row in the back is part of the second field and the row in the front is part of the first field of horses.

These pictures just don't do justice with how much cantering and galloping we did that day. Woody convinced me to ride with the first field which is the fastest and hardest paced group. I agreed since the farms we were hunting on did NOT have jumps. I don't mind galloping all over, but I am not an experienced jumper. I felt that jumping on a fox hunt is NOT the place to learn! I can jump over logs and small things, but haven't ever had any lessons. Amber, the mare I'm riding, is very experienced, which made up for my inexperience when it came to maneuvering through the hunt while following all the hunt rules (such as don't step on the dogs (that's really frowned upon), yielding to hunt masters and all dogs (they have the right of way), and staying away from any rider that doesn't have their horse under control (actually, that's more of a self preservation guideline then anything else).

Here's three pictures where you can have fun spotting me...

Here you'll notice that the hound master has a horn which he uses to communicate with the 40+ hounds with us.

Most people rode Thoroughbred horses. However, there were a few draft crosses and other types of horses thrown in as well. The pair of spotted draft crosses I thought were quite pretty. Rienzi and Shae would have towered over these horses as my mares are quite a bit bigger then any of these horses. At the very least, Ren's butt is twice the size of most of these horses! :)
Notice the gentleman behind us in the pictures below. That was NOT water in that flask! I was surprised at how much social drinking happens on a early morning fox hunt. I think (and luckily Woody agrees) it's best to leave the drinking to AFTER one gets off one's horse. Galloping and cantering through fields (where there could be holes in the ground to trip your horse and send you flying off) and through woods (where there are trees and branches that could whack you and send you flying off) seem plenty dangerous enough without being impaired by alcohol!

I'm in these next two pictures also.

This was towards the end of the hunt. The hounds found an old trash pile that the less experienced hounds decided to go dig through. The hound master had to get off his horse to collect some of the hounds who felt that finding dinner in a trash heap was oodles more interesting then listening to their master. All in all, we picked up a trail or two of some foxes and had a blast.
Just as an aside, I learned that fox hunting today doesn't actually include catching foxes anymore. The hounds pick up the scent and have a grand time running a fox to ground (when the fox runs into a den, etc...). The hunt club I was with actually puts out meat for the local foxes and embeds items like wormers and other medicines in the food to keep the fox population healthy.

Time to Join the Circus!

2009-05-10T21:38:00.000-04:00

Ren and I are totally joining the circus. Just you see! :)

More Adventures in Hoof Trimming

2009-04-21T19:45:00.000-04:00

Pictures from George's first rehab case - Brek is due for a trim and I will try to post picture of what his feet look like now after 1 year of George trimming him.

Keep in mind, these are pictures after just ONE trim. Alleviating Brek's pain and starting him on a path of rehabilitation was our goal. This weekend will mark nearly a year of working with Brek - once I get the pictures up, you'll see what changes he's made over the last 12 months.

Just for comparison - one of our draft cross's (Shae's) hooves - successfully transitioned from full pads and shoes to barefoot and able to run over anything. This mare is a percheron/friesian who stands 17 hands tall and weighs 1400+ lbs.

Need to Update....

2009-03-27T16:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates... busy, busy, busy...

Some of my students visited us on the farm....

Shae Meets Rienzi

2009-01-24T11:20:00.000-05:00

After a day or two of settling in (and pulling off Shae's shoes), we decided that Ren and Shae should have a chance to get to know each other. It was the most uneventful meeting. Ren is 9 and Shae is only 4, so after a couple stomps...They both settled down to their most favorite past-time - stuffing their tummies full of food.
Both Shae and Ren are easy keepers and wear grazing muzzles to help moderate their diet. They don't seem to mind, and it allows them to stay outdoors instead of being cooped up in a stall. Ren actually has seen us coming to take off the grazing muzzle and popped it off herself, so I'm very happy she opts to keep it on during the summer months voluntarily!

Shae's First Day on the Farm

2009-01-24T11:19:00.000-05:00

Shae's transport from Wyoming all the way to Maryland was arranged through Horse Jitney Inc. Athena did a wonderful job keeping us posted on Shae's progress through the week as they traveled across the country. Folks on the farm were particularly impressed with the finesse that she pulled into our driveway with her gigantic trailer (no easy feat at all!).

I see a giant horse back there...

Shae and I meet for the first time... of course she wants to know what my friend's dogs are doing...

After raining for days it was a soppy mess, but we first let Shae explore the arena.

Then we took her to the jump field and let her play at liberty.
She sniffed around some....
Poked her head in one of the boarding stall windows....
And then finally decided to stretch out and play after her long cross country trip.Shae came with shoes and full pads. Appropriate for rocky Wyoming perhaps, but not a good combination for Maryland's wet and rainy weather. We pulled her shoes shortly after she arrived. Shae's feet are huge. She reminds me of a puppy that hasn't quite grown into her feet yet. Shae's such a sweetie that I keep forgetting she' only turned 4 in May 2008.

Shae in Wyoming Prior to Purchase

2009-01-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

Trail Riding in the Mountains

Driving as a Two (or Three?) Year Old

Mounted Patrol Work

Shae's Younger Days

2009-01-24T11:17:00.000-05:00

July 26, 2004

September 27, 2004

December 13, 2005

Shae's Heritage

2009-01-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

Sire's Father: Gerloff (Friesian)

Sire: Celtic Roi Des Blues (Friesian)

Sire: Celtic Roi Des Blues

Dam: May (Percheron Mare - unknown breeding)
Not the most attractive picture, but it's the only one I could track down!

Deciding to Buy a Second Horse

2009-01-24T11:15:00.001-05:00

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X-Rays of Rienzi's Feet - Summer 2008

2009-01-24T11:15:00.000-05:00

When we first got Ren, she refused to even lift up her feet. Our farrier at the time was able to do a basic trim on her, but man oh man, did she ever put her weight on him. To clean out her feet I would try to get her to prop them up resting on the ground. What a mess!

Picking up all four feet from one side is a basic Level One Parelli task. I didn't think we'd ever get there! George and I persisted, and today, she lifts her feet lightly when asked, and pretty much holds her feet up on her own for my husband to trim her.

We have her on a 3 week trim cycle, and follow Pete Ramey's natural hoofcare techniques. Because it was costing us over $75 for a trim that was not addressing her flared and unbalanced feet, my husband studied trimming and a friend with farrier experience helped us start working on Ren ourselves. After addressing the obvious problems with her feet, we felt x-rays would give us a clearer picture of what was happening to cause her lameness.

You can see the extensive sidebone growth in the x-rays above (x-rays are of front feet only). Vet thought her feet looked excellent (at the time, we didn't tell her George was trimming her until AFTER we had her assess the feet - wanted an unbiased opinion of the trim job.) and attributed Ren's sporadic (but persistent) lameness to the sidebones.

Not a great prognosis - I was hoping for something that has a proven treatment method associated with it. Not too much out there on sidebones.... and nothing out there on ways of treating lameness attributed to sidebones. So... George and I decided to treat the sidebones with daily supplements & anti-inflamatory (Ren gets a daily vitamin from Dynamite, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Vitamin C, and a Bute substitute daily mixed into about 2 cups of plain whole oats and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of corn oil), a strict trim cycle that promotes a heel first impact (every three weeks), turnout 24/7 (unless the weather turns really nasty), and we just purchased new hoof boots for her. I'm hoping that the hoof boots will allow her to exercise and move correctly.

Our vet is interested in seeing what happens. We plan on doing x-rays again this coming summer to see if what we are doing is impacting Ren's feet. Our vet says that she's diagnosed lameness attributed to sidebones before, but no one ever follows up regarding rehabbing the horse. Most times, she says, the owner (if they keep the horse) keeps the horse as a pasture ornament.

My research online makes me tend to agree with her. Sidebones (different sources say) rarely cause lameness, but when they do there isn't a treatment method that we could find. There was some information alluding to sidebones being reabsorbed if the hoof mechanics are working properly (heel first impact, etc...) so this is where we are starting. We don't have much other choice. Ren's really changed our lives, no one else is going to want a draft horse with chronic lameness issues. My personal goal for Ren is to be a general purpose trail riding horse so that she can lead a productive life as more then just a pasture ornament.

Ren at Liberty Round Pen Work

2009-01-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

Our good friend Susan ordered two 75 foot round pens for the farm. Finally, something "Ren-Sized" to play in! The larger circle is easier for her to maneuver with her physical limitations (feet rehab and side bones).

This was one of the first times our girl tried to stretch out into her stride. This was early summer of 2008.

How We Ended Up With a Very Large Lame Horse....

2009-01-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

I think it's best my husband tell the story of how we came to own Rienzi. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the auction that we bought Ren at, but I do have a couple pictures shortly after she arrived at my parent's farm.

These are pictures taken right after Ren arrived on the farm. Please excuse the ill fitting halter - it was what she came with from auction.

Horrible picture, I know, but the only picture we have of her feet at the time of purchase. Notice the extreme flare on the front hoof showing.
Ren has an absolutely monstrously giant head - even for a draft!

Does this picture say "Percheron x Quarter Horse Cross" to you?
This information and a negative Coggins test was the only information we had about this 8 year old horse we purchased.