Till our feet grow small

Last night, the horses had an appointment with the farrier.

I had planned on leaving work early but ended up talking with my boss for an additional twenty minutes. Such are the best laid plans of mice and men. I knew the farrier would be early. The first time he came when I wasn't there, he tied up Annie and she flipped out. See here for post. Needless to say, she has never tied well. She has broken cross ties so many times that I got used to just throwing the rope over a rail and having her stand quietly. I never thought to mention it to the farrier because I like to hold the horses while their feet get trimmed. Anyway, after that incident, when Annie totally flipped out and fell over, breaking the weld on the pipe rails and cutting her leg, I seriously debated on whether to find a new horseshoer or not. I decided that it wasn't his fault because he had no reason to know that she didn't tie...

Anyway, yesterday, he was at the barn long before I arrived (at the scheduled time).  He had already trimmed Nadia and Scout and was working on Annie when I walked up. I asked him if he'd had any trouble with any of the horses and he said no, not at all. He had Annie haltered and ground tied and he said she was doing fine. When he finished with Annie, I released her and went to halter Yalla! She came right up to me and pushed her head right into the halter the farrier had been using. He was using a rope halter and I joked about how big it was on Yalla! He laughed and said that he'd used it on minis and tied it on for me. Yalla!, as usual, was curious and nosed him while he worked on her front feet. Several times she stretched her head up and out, nose-kissing me as I blew in her nostrils. She can be such a lovey. I decided that if I ever want to show her at halter, I now know the secret to getting her to reach up and out with her nose- just blow at her. lol.

When it came time to do her back feet she got testy. Fortunately, the farrier was strong enough to keep her foot as she struggled to pull it away from him. On the second hind, he pulled it out and forward, keeping her from reclaiming it for several seconds. I was amazed at her suppleness thinking that if it was Nadia she'd probably fall over if her leg were held out at such an angle. Anyway, Yalla! completely relaxed. She dropped her head and gave a huge sigh. It was a great lesson for Yalla! Much better than having the farrier smack her as I've seen some do to misbehaving, restless horses. I was glad to see how level-headed Yalla! seems, not panicky like her mother, and how smart she is, learning to accept rather than fight.

All in all, it was a good day. All the horses have pretty feet again and I had a great time with Yalla!


Till our feet grow small - song: Time Will Crawl, artist: David Bowie, album: Never Let Me Down

A winter's day

This is what I crave most in recent days! Lol. It's cold outside!! I like to hang out by the wood stove and lots of wood is needed to keep it going. This past week we have been seeing the effects of El Niño. We have been getting a little snow almost every day. Look here for an explanation of this particular weather pattern.

Here's Yalla! looking for me to feed her in the morning. It looks dark, doesn't it? I think it was around 7ish, daylight. These trees are the same ones in my header photo but from the opposite direction. Aren't they pretty? We planted them when we first built our house.
I like the snowflakes in this photo. Same tree as above, only it's from a different angle. Notice how half the tree is heavy with snow while the other half has far less? The wind was blowing while it was snowing.
This strange picture is looking out of my bathroom window. I like how the snow collected on the screen.
Here are icicles in the barn. This afternoon the horseshoer came to trim the horses' feet. Yalla! neighed and neighed while he worked on Scout. Then, when it was her turn, she played hard to get. Not too bad, but she is usually much easier to halter than she was today. And then, she was extremely restless and pulled her feet away a few times. The shoer was very patient and said that this time (her third time being trimmed) she didn't have mama telling her it was okay and she was just behaving like 'kids' do. She hasn't been turned out for several days either. I guess to him she was just acting like an Arab. lol. For the first year, he won't be charging me for her trims either. He considers it her training and an investment so he has an easy horse to work with in the future. Annie wasn't really well behaved either. She wigs out when he picks up her off back foot sometimes. She's not awful but she pulls her foot away and won't stand still.

I must say that my farrier is about the most efficient farrier I've ever worked with. Too often he comes early. It takes him an average of 15-20 minutes to trim a horse. I never want to cancel or reschedule appointments because he's booked out for weeks. He marks his calender for the next appointment 8-9 weeks from now and then his wife calls to remind me a day before the appointment. He's definitely a keeper.

Tonight, I went out and visited the horses in the dark. I decided to put a blanket on Annie since the wind chill has been so cold (30, feels like 18, in the evening) and there's a possibility of more snow. She's getting better about blanketing but she's not good yet. I went into her stall carrying the blanket and she wanted to be rubbed on her neck until I pulled the blanket out to put on her. Then she ran out of the stall and stood looking at me. I waited a few minutes and she came back into her stall to me. I rubbed her back and sides and everywhere with my hand but again when I presented the blanket she ran away. We did this again and then she stayed for me to lay the blanket on her back and strap it on. There was a time when she wouldn't ever have come back to me and the blanket so I know I am making progress. She is hypersensitive and flighty but she loves to be scratched and rubbed. Basically, she's a very 'people' horse as long as you take your time with her.

We have a game that we play where I sit on the rails and she'll walk up alongside me. I will slide onto her back and she'll walk around and then back to the same place alongside the rails. She stops there and I get off. I'll scratch her neck and talk to her and then climb back on. She walks around again, veering this way or that, and then again stops by the rail where I climb off.

Her daughter is very much like her. I cannot go to the barn without visiting Yalla! She likes me to rub all over her body, especially between her front legs. Tonight, when I rubbed her belly and between her back legs she turned her head towards me and stuck her nose in the air like she wanted to groom me. Then I hugged her and we shared kisses. She sticks her nose straight out towards my face and breathes. She is such a loveable horse. I am so glad I have her.


A winter's day - song: Sell me a Coat, artist: David Bowie, album: David Bowie

Man in the Middle

The other day I had an appointment with the farrier. I decided to let him do Yalla first. She wasn't so sure about him and gave me a little trouble getting haltered. But then she stood pretty well for him. She tried to pull her hoof away a few times but otherwise she accepted him and his working on her feet.After I let Yalla go, and the farrier went to work on her mama, she showed her curiosity and sniffed him and his tools.

I notice that Yalla's knees are already the size of all my other horses. I asked him if this was normal. I also asked what he thought of her feet and legs and he said she had some good solid bone. He thinks she will be taller than her mama, Annie. Notice that Annie is only wearing a rope on her nose and poll. I created a makeshift halter from the lead rope I used with Yalla. She stands so well for her foot trims if I stand with her. It's a far cry from this day.
Sorry for the poor quality of the photos. I was using my cell phone.


Man in the Middle - song: Man in the Middle, artist: David Bowie

Didn't mean to hurt you

This past weekend I washed tails on my gray mares. I decided it's just too cold for a full body wash, unfortunately. On recommendation from A horse crazy American in Germany I bought the purple stuff- Quic Silver. It does work! I took "before" photos but I want to get them a little cleaner for the "after" shots. So I will post them eventually.

I had a very bad time with Annie however. I wrapped her lead over the cross tie post rather than tying it because she has a terrible habit of sitting back and getting hurt. True to form, she did not disappoint. She pulled back and the rope snugged up rather than falling free. It was terrifying! I was so afraid the post would snap in half. It happened once before when she was cross tied and she got all cut up with the post dangling between her legs.

I tried to calm her and release the rope. I don't know whether she or I was more terrified at this point. Then she settled down and I loosened the rope and rubbed her neck and face, calming her. I then reset the rope against the tie ring, not even wrapped and she pulled back again! Again, the rope somehow got "fixed" and she panicked. Pulling back and plunging forward and sitting back again. I again calmed her down and loosened the rope. I don't even know how it got tight this time. I couldn't find any damage although I was sure she hit the post at least once.

I gave up and took her in the barn to finish the job. In the barn I just lay the rope over the stall door and she stood really well. I brushed her down, put hoof conditioner on her feet, fed her cookies and put her away.



I get so tired of her manic panic attacks. She has been hurt so many times because of them. Last year, my horseshoer came early one day and decided to start on the horses before I arrived. I have always held them in hand when he trims. They are very good for him but I enjoy spending a little one on one with them and seeing how their feet are. Anyway, he tied Annie to pipe rails in the corner of her stall paddock. She panicked and pulled back.

My neighbor saw all the commotion from her upstairs window and called me. She couldn't tell what was happening exactly. I felt so helpless as I was driving home from work. It sounded like the horseshoer was killing my horse! She said he was beating her and she was rearing. When I did get there everything was already settled down. The horseshoer met me and said everything was okay and that all three horses had been trimmed. I paid him and went to see the horses and assess the damages.

Annie had battle scars! Her face was scraped in several places from the halter.

Doesn't she look defeated in those photos? Poor baby!


She even had a cut at her throatlatch.


Her knee had a nasty laceration on the side.


The fence had even lost it's weld and the rail fell shortly after! Although I don't know how this rail fell because she was tied in the corner according to the farrier.

I was stunned!! He was wrong to be there without me. However, I never told him about Annie's tying issues. She was always very good for him in the past because I held her. I think he was still in shock when I talked to him afterwards. He could have killed my horse or been killed himself!

I debated whether to cancel his services and even sue him. But Annie did heal and although she has a scar on her leg, she is completely sound. It's so hard to find, and keep, good farriers. He is fast and the horses seem to like him. He is always on time too. Was it my fault too, for not telling him she wouldn't tie? In the end, I decided it was a horrific accident and not really his fault. Now he waits for me to be there.


What would you have done?
And, how can I train her to tie??



Didn't mean to hurt you - song: Sorry, artist: Tin Machine, album: Tin Machine II