Today was uncharacteristically cool for July (the high was only 90F and humidity was around 67%) so I asked hubby to go ride with me. Chrome and Rocky were both spooky as heck at first (more on that in tomorrow's post), but settled quickly once we got on the road. We went 1.48 mile and rode for 38 minutes. It was a quiet, walk only ride with only one big spook on Rocky's part and eyeballing from both of them. I finally bought me a new riding bat (the kind with the loop on the end to go over the saddle horn or around my wrist, that has a popper) because I'm so sick of Chrome's balking, but I don't want to carry my dressage whip all the time, since I only need it a couple of times. It took maybe two gentle taps to get his attention. It was so funny though because when I had it in my hand he had his head cocked to the side and that ear back, eyeballing it. It was hilarious. I promise I wasn't hurting him though, just using it as a gentle aid to get his attention so I don't have to keep kicking him. Anyway, here are the pictures.
Sorry they are unedited cell phones pictures... I was being lazy so I didn't even crop them.
Where did my horse's head go??
He was sniffing the pavement.
Rocky and Hubby went off the road for some fun since our neighbor recently mowed the ditches.
Chrome and I walked in the grass for a while, but his stifles kept giving out on the uneven ground so I got him back on the road. Even this short of a break is enough to mess up his stifles again ugh!
Their reward for being good boys.
I also noticed Chrome was rubbing his tail like mad, so I decided to do some investigating. There are three things that I've heard can cause tail rubbing.... worms, needing to have the sheath cleaned or ticks. I knew it wasn't worms because they were done recently (and that might be a myth, not sure). So I decided to check the other two. This might be gross to some people, but I have to brag because this is one of the reasons I love this horse! I brushed his belly until he dropped (he almost always drops when I'm grooming him because he likes his itchy belly brushed). Then I cleaned him up. He wasn't dirty at all and I was able to wipe or peel off the dry, crusty stuff that was there. I'm so glad he stays fairly clean in that area. There are a LOT of horses who won't let you touch their sheath at all, so the fact that I can completely clean him without drugs (or even a halter.. yes he was loose in the pasture) is so awesome!
So the last thing to check (because as soon as I finished that he started frantically rubbing his butt on the fence again) was his tail bone. Found the culprit!! There were four ticks in his tail. Hubby pulled them off for me because they gross me out, then I washed his tail with my anti-itch shampoo. He LOVED having me rub his tail because it was so itchy. After his tail dried I sprayed and rubbed my fly spray (that kills ticks) all through it and into the dock as best I could. What do you guys use for keeping ticks out of their tails? It's difficult getting fly spray all the way to the skin...
Well that's all I have for this post I guess. After cleaning his tail I put medicine on his sweet itch sores and covered him in his neem oil. Oh we did go to the store and I got them a sulphur block just to see if it makes a difference at all. It's mostly salt so even if it doesn't, I don't care. It's worth a shot. Chrome seemed to like it. I guess that's all. Check this blog and my other one for exciting news tomorrow!
I have to fix his other halter... it is sooo much cuter!
I had such a great ride on Chrome! Hubby went with us, but he rode his bike. The western saddle hurts his back and we still haven't bought a blanket for the treeless saddle. We went 3.81 miles on the road and then I rode around the yard and did some cantering when we got back. My total ride was an hour and twenty three minutes.
Want some cute pictures of your horse?
Put apples on the ground in front of them and then hook the reins over the saddle horn.....
So cruel, but cute!! Don't worry I gave him a bite of the apple after I got the pictures.
Headed up the driveway.
Chrome doesn't mind the bike at all, even when hubby circles him and goes behind him.
He had to wear his bonnet because the flies are awful.
Chrome was being balky and acting terrified of everything at first......
... but he eventually got over it and was walking out so eagerly his reins were swinging.
He did really great passing a bunch of galloping horses in fields right next to the road. He tried neighing a couple of times (he doesn't know how to with a bit lol) and was alert, but he didn't try to take off or jog or anything. He only spooked hard twice. Both times were in place. The first time was so hard he actually tripped over his front feet and I thought he was going to face plant. I'm glad he didn't. I can't really blame him though because a dog came around a blind corner when they were about five feet apart. They both saw each other at the same time. Chrome spooked and almost fell and the dog turned and bolted back to the house. It was hilarious!!! The second time wasn't as bad and it was because of rabbits.
When we got home I had to do some cantering. I'm going to try to do some during every ride so that it continues to get so commonplace that it doesn't bother either of us. I had SO much fun!!! He was very forward and faster than we've ever gone before. Check it out, I even got pictures of all four hooves off the ground...
So fun!!! It won't be long before I'm comfortable galloping him. I can't wait. I miss galloping.
The funny thing is he was on his right lead. He almost always canters on his left lead, but I guess he was tired from the ride and chose his right lead this time for all three canters (up the driveway once and down it twice).
We were hauling butt for us hehe. It felt so weird though because he has me so used to the left lead (I was the opposite with my previous horse because she always cantered on the right).
We had a blast. :D He likes going fast!
He's so cute in all his gear.
Look! He actually sweated haha! It was sooooo humid.
I feel like I'm forgetting something... that's the problem with posting the next day.... the only other thing I can remember is that we were trotting up a hill and hubby was riding his bike right alongside Chrome. That is so fun, but probably really dangerous...
I guess that's all. I'm back posting this to the day I actually rode.
Head in the clouds because he saw dad and hubby up ahead.
I rode Chrome up and down the road while dad and hubby mowed ditches. I ended up riding 2.27 miles because I went one way up the road, then turned around and went the other way and then turned and came back. The ride was fifty one minutes because the green headed flies were out (super painful bite) and Chrome was being absolutely awful because of them. He was being really balky and tried to turn back home a lot. I can't really blame him because those things do hurt and fly spray doesn't stop them, but it was so annoying and frustrating that he was acting so bad. The weird thing is that it was at 8:15 this morning that we were riding. I never would have guessed the flies would be out so bad that early.
Walking up the driveway.
I eventually got so irritated with the flies and balking that I had him trot. I've "out run" flies before. It actually works. The first time it went great. When we went the other way he did not want to go! He was so good during the first part of the ride that I almost wished I hadn't gone the second direction, but he has to learn that passing up home isn't an excuse to balk. We were also riding alongside the neighbor's pasture where the horses used to be so he was balking because of that too. I can't wait for him to realize they are gone.....
I continued smacking flies off of him when they were within reach and I guess I eventually managed to kill enough of them that he started calmly walking away from home. Since he was acting so good after all of our fighting I turned him around and we walked home.
We did quite a bit of trotting, but we definitely weren't breaking the speed limit since he was going sideways half the time....
This is actually once we'd gotten back home. You can see hubby at the top left where Chrome is staring. Yep after fifteen years of living out here they finally put up a speed limit sign haha. When I first started driving these roads were gravel and there were no stop signs anywhere lol. Totally freaked my city friends out!
So I'm not going to be upset with him... he had a good excuse. He was a good boy in the beginning and the end and that's all the matters. When we got home I pulled his saddle off, held it on my hip with one hand, then undid his bridle with my left hand and let him trot off into the yard to graze hehe. He's so easy to untack and I love that our whole property is fenced so I don't have to worry about him running off. I doused him with some more fly spray before I put him up.
A selfie of both of us during one of our calmer moments..
I may be obsessed with my new phone lol.
I love his shadow.
There is one other story I have to tell you about the ride. We were on our way home at the end of the ride, approaching a ninety degree turn. We have to turn left to go home, but in the middle of the curve to the left is a dead end road that goes off back into the trees (there are a bunch of horses down there too, including a stallion, so we don't go down that road). Right before this turn is the junk lady's house I've told you about before and there is a lot to stare at. There was a loud rattle (sounded like a trailer going through a pot hole) and Chrome jumped. We stopped halfway in the curve on the inside of the road and stared at the dead end road. (ETA: He did spook one other time earlier in the ride. It was an "in place/drop the shoulder" kind of spook at who knows what in the trees by the road.)
What finally came into view was a HUGE boat on a trailer!! This was not a normal bass boat or ski boat like you see in our neck of the woods. It was a big cabin cruiser type of boat that was well over my head even from Chrome's back. They were backing it into the 90 degree curve!! So we stood there and watched him backing the boat up. When the truck finally came into view (bunch of brush and trees blocked our view so it was appearing out of nowhere to Chrome) the driver slammed on the brakes when he saw us. He had no idea there was someone on a horse behind him.
I didn't want to turn Chrome away because he was staring at it really hard. I was afraid if I turned him away he would think I wanted to escape. So I held my ground and waved at the guy to keep backing up. He kept backing, turning it hard to the left toward us since he was wanting to go the same way we were going. Chrome held his ground as this enormous boat loomed over us. It to within ten feet of us before he drove forward and turned down the road. A kid rolled down the window and waved very excitedly at me and gave me the thumbs up (probably thanking me for waving them back). I was so proud of Chrome! As soon as it started to drive away he started following it and even tried to trot hehe. Love my brave boy!
NuzMuz, Jackal was posing with Chrome just for you. :D
Chrome, Rocky, Hubby and I went for a fun ride today! We started out on the road and then when we got back home I did some cantering on him again. It was awesome! He moves so much better at the canter after a really long warm up. There is video further down in the post, plus screenshots for those of you who can't watch videos.
I thought Rocky was walking weird, so I had hubby trot him out and Chrome was watching, so alert, but with his hoof resting lol.
When they got out of sight up the driveway he started pawing lol.
Luckily he only did it once or twice and then he stood still again...
well after trying to use the tree to pull his halter over his ear...
he's getting really good at that...........
Rocky was fine so we tacked up and headed off down the road. We went a total of 3.20 miles and the part of the ride on the road was an hour and ten minutes. My total ride on Chrome was an hour and twenty eight minutes. There was a bit of trying to turn around and balking going on at first. Ugh! We also stopped to talk to a neighbor who drove by.
Chrome started out being really annoying. Part of the problem is that he was looking for the neighbor horses, but they aren't there anymore.... I don't remember if I mentioned it, but neighbor girl B had to move her horses so my riding buddy is gone. :( Chrome doesn't know they are gone though. It was so funny because when we passed the open gate he tried to turn in. He really wanted to go in and look for them.
Taking pictures of hubby taking pictures hehe.
Rocky is soooo black and shiny right now! Love it!
Eventually they stopped being so annoying and started walking out. Rocky always starts out trying to turn around because he's barn sour, but he really wasn't as bad as he used to be. Chrome being a butt was causing Rocky to try to turn more than he would have if Chrome hadn't been weaving back and forth across the road. Chrome's problem was looking for the horses. I'm hoping once he realizes they are gone he will chill out! We actually only saw a couple of horses today even though we rode around the block and they were at a distance so he didn't act stupid. It was so nice! I kind of wish more people would move their horses away or that they would always be in the backs of their pastures lol.
His neck looks so thick because he had it arched.
When we cut across the field at the halfway point they both were a lot more eager and happily moving along. Sometimes I wonder if the pavement bothers them both a little.... maybe I should get boots. I just don't know if boots will fit Rocky's weird twisted pigeon toed hoof.... Part of it was probably because the field is novel to them both. They so rarely get to go there. I LOVED it!! It is so much more fun to ride out across a field than it is to be on a paved road.
Oh I almost forgot to mention. I opened and closed the gate from Chrome's back both when we left and when we got home!!!! Hubby and Rocky had to help though because Chrome doesn't neck rein or sidepass. Opening it was easy, but closing it isn't because it swings away, so I positioned him where I could reach the latch and hubby swung the gate to us. It worked well. Such good teamwork!
He arched his neck again looking down at the tall stuff we walked through.
It makes his neck look weird lol.
Both horses in the field.
I have to get pictures of Rocky.
He is SO black and SO shiny!
Yay hubby got a picture of me riding Chrome through the field.
He took others but they were really blurry (worse than this one) for some reason.
Hoses on a tupperware tub! Scary!!
There were several things that spooked the horses a bit. One was the hose up above. There was two other tubs several feet over back in the brush that he couldn't see very well so it had him freaked out. He would not approach it at first until Rocky walked toward it. Then he walked right up to it, as you can see above. He was so puffed up though. Once he was satisfied it wasn't a monster he turned away and pooped next to it haha.
The other things were deer in the woods (they didn't spook, just paused and stared up the hill) and geese! The geese were a totally different story. We were walking down the road on the way home and on our left side was a fence absolutely covered in brush, so they couldn't see anything on that side. Up ahead there is a driveway and pasture on the left and two Canada geese with their babies came out onto the road. Rocky spooked, but Chrome didn't notice them at first.
They turned back, but then finally crossed the road. Chrome finally saw them and stared at them, walking forward eagerly until they disappeared in the tall grass on the other side of the road. It's like once they were in the grass and all he could see was their little heads it flipped him out! It felt like he was going to turn and bolt. It took forever to convince them both to walk forward again.
When Chrome got to the driveway where they were originally before crossing, he was staring around the corner and when he drew even with it he tried to bolt. He didn't make it more than a stride at a trot before I got him stopped. I was laughing so hard I can't believe I didn't fall out of the saddle. He did some prancing, but eventually got over it. I'm so happy that his spookiness and prancing don't scare me anymore! It's such a huge breakthrough for me with the whole stupid fear crap.
Like hubby said earlier Chrome has a lot of potential and the only thing holding him back is me. He's right. It's always been me that's held him back. I don't care though. You can't just rush through fear. I had to have good experiences with him and learn what his reactions to fear are before I could be comfortable. Now that I know the worst he is going to do is bolt (and that I can stop them easily) I can be more confident about riding him through his shenanigans. :)
It's really funny though what bothers him and what doesn't. They were eating hay in the pasture yesterday and I was mowing the fence rows and around the barn with my push mower where hubby can't get to with the bush hog. I was mowing right behind Chrome and he didn't care! In fact when I got too close to Rocky he left, but Chrome didn't. :D
Hubby selfie with me in the background with my wrist looking broken haha.
Love Rocky's thick neck and shiny mane!
Anyway sorry for all the rambling. When we got home hubby got off, but I spent another eighteen minutes riding. Around ten minutes of that was spent trotting and cantering! That's probably the longest I've trotted and definitely the longest I've cantered him at one time. :D
Here is the video. It shows a bunch of canter clips and some trot and walk ones. I LOVE how he can canter around and then immediately walk around on the buckle. :D There's a surprise at the end....
Don't worry I have screenshots for people who can't watch videos. They actually didn't turn out as good as the last ones, which surprised me. I think there were several reasons for that. One is that the sun was shining and where it came through the trees it made Chrome really bright. Another is that hubby was further back. The last thing is that I told him to just hold the phone still instead of following me with it because I thought that would make them less blurry. It made the background less blurry, but not us! Oops! I got it all mixed up in my head haha. Anyway here are the screenshots. Please ignore my slouching and crappy riding. I wasn't paying any attention to my posture at all.
Look how stretched out he was! I wish the sun hadn't been so bright on him in this one.
Then he walks on the buckle. :D
No hands! My arms were out straight. This was right before he started cantering.
Cantering with no hands!!!!!! So exciting!
I've come a long way from the person who was terrified to canter. :D
Just ignore my crouching forward. Apparently I think having no hands on the reins is going to mess up my balance haha. I seriously need a longe line lesson to work on my seat with no hands.... bad!
That's all for today! Sorry it was so long. I hope you enjoyed all of the pictures.
