The girls are continuing to make great progress in their training. In fact, LT loped today under saddle for the first time!

Like most of the training milestones with these horses, this was remarkably drama-free. We did some ground work first, asking the horses to move forward. When this was happening smoothly on the ground, we asked for the transition under saddle. And off she went!

Let me just take a moment to talk about what a great little horse LT is turning into. First of all, she is cute as a button. She’s a truly lovely shade of sorrel with an adorable face, and a mane and tail that look like they’ve had salon highlights. She is pony sized, sturdy without being stocky, and has a nice amount of energy and go. She does move like a pony, but her gaits are surprisingly smooth and her transitions are coming along beautifully.

Although ponies are often considered as mounts for kids, they are gaining popularity as casual trail horses for smaller adults, especially women who might find larger horses intimidating. And mounting a pony from the ground is a breeze! They fit in smaller trailers! They are easier to groom and tack up because you can reach everywhere, and don’t have to hoist your saddle over your head. Ponies are usually easy keepers, and this one promises to be all-around fun. I am so excited about what a nice little mount LT is going to make for some lucky purchaser!

Dolly has been showing a bit of hesitation in picking up her trot in the last few training sessions, so we have been encouraging her confidence at a walk and on the ground. Today, it paid off! She picked up her trot beautifully with a level head and smooth forward movement. She did very well, and it’s not going to be long before she’ll be loping as well.

One of the challenges of this project has definitely been getting good quality photos and video given the short daylight hours and c-c-cold conditions, hostile to unmittened hands holding battery-operated cameras.

However, here is some footage of Dolly’s first trots under saddle. She had a few days off due to a sore leg (one of those unexplained equine mystery injuries), but she’s back to full soundness and is doing great.

In this video you can see (sort of…) how Megan had us set up Dolly for success and safety. I am riding Tank, the princess of sturdy lesson horses, as a demonstration horse. Selene, on Dolly, is right behind me.

Bonus mule video! Megan on Happy the Mule.

Sunday’s training session consisted of bareback time with each of the two mares. Both are learning to move forward nicely and are very cool about having a rider aboard. Several of the photos below show that the horses are starting to drop their heads in a relaxed position when moving forward, and the trainers are starting to use leg pressure in addition to simply shifting their weight and steering with the rope halters.

I’m away enjoying some sun and recreation in Tucson, AZ. So, I don’t have much to say horse-wise, except that Arizona Feeds is very fun to shop at, and that hay is pretty expensive here. The price of an 80-100 pound bale of alfalfa/grass mix is $12. However, Megan and Cec sent me this video of Miss Dolly in action, so I thought I should post it ASAP. Enjoy!

dolly-riding

This was a dark day, and not because of any shopping-related shenanigans.

As we have mentioned, there has been little improvement in Sally Ann’s lameness, despite farrier care, lots of rest, good footing, and excellent nutrition. If this were just a question of an injury needing time to heal, we would have expected to see some improvement by now.

So, Sally Ann went to the vet today.

The good folks at Central Veterinary Services took their time with her exam. A number of x-rays were taken, and we were treated to a wide range of views of the bone structure of the equine foot. I was fascinated – it is truly amazing that such a relatively small array of bones and ligaments and tissue can support and propel such a large animal.

That structure, however, is not working for Sally Ann, who was diagnosed with Navicular Disease.

Tragically, there’s no real positive outcome to this situation. She will always be lame, and, worse, in chronic debilitating pain. Her condition will continue to deteriorate over time. Even when sedated in order to help us get her into the range of positions needed for the x-rays, she was still clearly very sore when moving.

Long term, this is unacceptable for her. So, the difficult decision was made to euthanize her. I am very sad. She was a sweet girl, and I became very fond of her in the short time I knew her.

Given her gentle nature, I am sure she forgives the people who dumped her at the auction – even if I never will.

Sometimes, you have to step back to move forward. At least, that’s what I took away from Tuesday’s (November 23rd’s) training session. That, and a reminder that even if you’re a beginner, and would prefer to see things neatly aligned in straight lines, boldly coloured in black or white – well, most of the time you’re stuck with shades of grey. Or, as Megan put it, “The only thing I can tell you for sure is that nothing’s going to work all of the time.”

(On reflection, that’s a piece of wisdom that applies in lots of situations… maybe we should get that stitched on a pillow.)

Anyway, today was the day where we read the horses’ body language and responses, and made a decision that we wouldn’t throw a bunch of new stuff at them. Our session started with our usual routine of grooming, tacking up, a bit of ground handling, and mounting up. Then, we waited for them to settle – to relax fully, stand still, and wait for instructions. And just as we were planning our next steps, LT yawned hugely three times in a row. Which was enough to tell Megan, and therefore us by extension, that she’d had enough. Dolly soon followed.

Some days, it takes almost everything you have just to get out of bed and get moving. I guess horses have those days too! Better to be aware of that and end on a positive note, with happy horses, hot chocolate, and raisin-bran muffins. So we did.

(Thanks, Nadine, those muffins were great!)