Riding w/ Max Update

It's been awhile since I last posted an update on my training/riding "program" with Max. As usual, the weather has been back-and-forth- hot one day, rainy cold the next followed by clear, cool and windy ad nauseum.

Needless to say, this has had an interesting effect on the horses and in my case, it's been challenging dealing with my boy Max. It almost seems that his evil twin moved in one night and the "good" Max went to Cancun for a vacation (or so it would seem). Last week, it seemed that everything was a fight- trotting, cantering, even walking at one point. Now granted he's got some arthritis for which I feed him joint supplements and the occassional dose of Bute, but most of this stuff is behavioral.

I also suspect that he resents me demanding more out of him- last year he used to get away with quite a few evasions and I didn't have the skill to call him on it and demand performance anyway (so example, dropping out of the canter whenever he felt like it). Let's just say that the riding crop and my right arm have gotten a good workout.

Saturday was interesting- he was allright until we were heading towards the barn. at one point I wanted to canter him (in a direct NOT going directly towards the barn). He saw some other horses and did his "crazy fresh horse dance" which means acting all excited and spooky at the same time- a few taps of the spurs got his attention back on me. It's kind of weird- I'm telling him that it's OK to canter but he's so excited that he forgot to actually DO it. Pretty strange.

Then we passed by trainer's place and another horse (a very large Freisan) was running around in the arena like a maniac. Max immediately thought some was wrong and began to start backing up...more correction (sigh). By the time I got back to the barn, I was exhausted.

Last Sunday it got so bad that he didn't even want to walk- that ended after a brief "discussion" and we proceeded to warm up. Later at my lesson, he actually did pretty good until he had a temper tantrum- that also ended pretty quickly and we got back to work. Jeeze, does it ever end?

However, Monday was completely opposite- he was energenic, ready to do anything, no questions asked. In fact, he was getting a tad TOO hot but I didn't get on him for that. We did the usual trotting, leg-yields and some running laps at a canter around the track. I deliberately didn't push him too hard and we took extra time to walk and cool down at the end. The Boy couldn't have done it better and he got a good bucket for his efforts.

Last night it has just rained and the footing was pretty questionable (plus it was simply too cold- I just didn't feel like dealing with it) so I turned him out and mucked out the swamp that's normally his stall.

Hopefully things will dry up this weekend and we can do some training with no issues. I guess the moral of the story is that everyday is a different day...:-)

Indian Wars Era Living History

Here's a couple of pictures that I recently came accross of myself at Ft. Laramie at the General Miles Marching and Chowder Society (GMMCS) annual event in 1997. The GMMCS is a living history group devoted to portraying the history of the Indian Wars era infantry soldier during the era 1867-1891 and it's composed of mostly National Parks employees. It's a pretty hard-core group with strict authenticty standards and this was the first event of theirs that I attended.

Your uniforms and equipment are inspected and if everything is up to snuff, you are made a full member. I managed to make the cut at my first event- there were some others who had varous deficiencies that had to be made up at the next event. For my first impression, I chose to do Co. K, 18th US Infantry circa 1867/68. I was able to use all my Civil War stuff, for the most part, and the only major item I needed to get was an 1866 Springfield Rifle (aka the "Second Allin Conversion"). Of course, since then the prices have gone up signficantly on the M1866 so this would most likely be a much more difficult impression to do today.

The GMMCS holds one event a year, usually the fourth week in September at some significant site and they rotate field and garrison events. In 1997, it was a garrison event at Ft. Laramie, Wyoming. It was pretty awesome and we actually got to live in the barracks and sleep on the oh-so-comfortable bunks (painted in a puke lime-green color- no wonder why so many men deserted!).

I'll have more later- here's the pictures:

Crazy Weather (or My Horse is Being a Pain in the Ass)

Wow!

From warm Santa Ana winds that were blowing early Saturday and now today, it's raining and considerably cooler- can the weather get much more weird? Saturday was worthless for riding- Max was incredibly pokey and really didn't want to do anything (I suppose the warm weather combined with his winter coat didn't help any!).

I mostly wound up doing arena work and working him at a trot alongside his "girlfriend" Chenault (A 9-year old Thoroughbred mare who can be a handful). Normally we go out on the trail together but my friend was having problems with Chenault so we opted to do arena and track work. We did about four laps of continuous trotting and then rand some patterns in the arena- Max got to "chase" his girlfriend (and never catch her or overshoot her for some odd reason...:-)). Also, because of the winds, all the horses were acting edgy and otherwise carrying on like idiots. I decided that it was day for some close-in arena work. However, it was time to get Max's shoes re-done and a hoof trim and he was good for that- stayed nice and still for the farrier with no issues.

Sunday was a tad better although we had to have a few "discussions" on why it's a good idea to do as I say- Max was on a different program. However, he cleaned up his act for our lesson and was the picture of the perfectly cooperative horse.

Monday...we'll I'm giving the boy the day off. I'm sore from the past two days and it's wet and rainy. Just not fun riding weather. Besides, I have stuff to catch up on here at the house. I wish Max could run a vaccum cleaner or scrub dishes! Now that would be a sight! :-)

Road Trip!! On to Morro Bay!!!

Well it's official- Max and I have reservations for camping at Morro Bay for August 16-20 so it looks like we'll be going on the road. Hooray! Now hopefully we can get some shorter trips in between now and then so Max will have as much preparation as possible. Max was good going out to Juniper Hills in January but I want to do everything to make sure things are a success- the last thing I need is for Max to have a melt-down.

The camp site is located at a place called Montana De Oro which is one of the California State Parks in the San Luis Obispo region. The website is at:

http://www.slostateparks.com/montana_de_oro/default.asp

This promises to be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to introducing Max to the beach...now Max will have an opportunity to go surfing!

Weekend Horse Update

Well, it was another strange weekend...

Saturday it got pretty warm (maybe low 80s) and Max and I worked up a pretty good sweat. I took Max in a loop accross the river that empties into the lake in the Hansen Dam Basin and then rode up at a nice canter up to the bike path that leads accross Hansen Dam.

Next, we rode along a loop trail that leads down a hill and back accross the river and heads towards the arena at Orcas Park (I REALLY need to post a map here! :-)). We did a few laps in the arena and then headed home by way of the alley.

There were no issues except for the rental string riding up close to us as we made our way through the alley behind the Equestrian Center (basically riding up Max's ass is more the correct term)- lucky Max isn't a kicker(as far as I know...). Pretty rude trail manners- I realize rental strings are on a timetable but it's no excuse for creating a potentially dangerous situation- a different horse, loud noise, anything could have set off Max and create a chain reaction (or vice versa) and make for a horrendous horsewreck, especially since the alley is about 12 feet wide and there's nowhere to go if something happens. Basically, it's a chute. To complicate matters, a jogger was coming from the other way while the rental string is pushing on us- lucky the jogger had the good sense to look up from his iPod and pay attention and slow down. Not fun having a rental string trying to pass you when there's no real room to pass and a jogger coming the other way. Talk about needless stupidity.

Fortuntately, everything ended well and Max performed like a trooper (all the training I've put into him seems to have paid off well). Bad trail manners is no excuse.

However, the one thing that really ticks me off is bad trail manners. One of the worst are the assholes who insist on blindly galloping past others who are walking- I've had a few close calls with that. The herd instinct naturally begins to kick in and Max tends to get a bit excited. My usual reaction is to spin him around so he can see what's coming up on him and then keep him moving- preferably out of the way with room to manuever if things start getting dicey.

Sunday, it was a bit cooler and it rained pretty heavily in the morning so I stayed in bed a bit longer than usual and did some stuff around the house. About 11 it stated to clear somewhat so I decided to drive down to the stables and check on Max. When I got there, I was greeted by Max who was covered in mud from head to toe and nickering for his bucket (I'm convinced that Max was raised by pigs).

After an extended grooming session, I saddled and tacked up Max and we hit the trail again. I went a bit easier today and didn't cross any rivers- the foot was OK but I don't want to push him too hard, especially in deep wet sand. I also stay away from low areas to avoid quicksand. We did a couple laps in the arena and then rode home. It was beautiful outside so we pretty much just enjoyed the scenery. Of course, it began to cloud over when we got back to the stable but hey, who cares? We got the best part of the day and Max got his bucket when everything was done.

Hopefully the rain will stay away and the trails will be able to dry up some more.

About Horse People

I recently got this from a friend of mine and I thought I'd throw it up here. A lot of this rings VERY true, at least in my case! :-)

Only horse people...

* Believe in the 11th Commandment: Inside leg to outside rein.

* Know that all topical medications come in either indelible blue or neon
yellow.

* Think nothing of eating a sandwich after mucking out stables.

* Know why a thermometer has a yard of yarn attached to one end of it.

* Are banned from Laundromats.

* Fail to associate whips, chains and leather with sexual deviancy.

* Can magically lower their voices five octaves to bellow at a pawing horse.

* Have a language all their own ("If he pops his shoulder, I have to close
that hand and keep pushing with my seat in case he sucks back".)

* Will end relationships over their hobby.

* Cluck to their cars to help them up hills.

* Insure their horses for more than their cars.

* Will give you 20 names and reasons for that bump on your horse.

* Know more about their horse's nutrition than their own.

* Have neatsfoot oil stains on the carpet right next to the TV.

* Have less wardrobe than their horse.

* Engage in a hobby that is more work than their day job.

* Know that mucking stalls is better then Zoloft any day.

Low Cost Horse Transport

For those of you with ponies, here's a cheap method of horse transport and you don't need a trailer! Also, for you trendoids, it's very "Euro"...

Back to Columbus - Camp Furlong Days

Well, it appears that there will be a "4th Annual Camp Furlong Days" event in Columbus, New Mexico on March 9 - 10 to commemorate Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus on March 9, 1916. Hopefully it won't be as windy as it was last year- the event was literally "blown out" by the winds and much of the scheduled activities were cancelled.

Here's a picture of me and my compadre Chris from last year's event (did I forget to mention that it was windy?):

And here's me with a "captured" Villista:

Unlike last year which also included the dedication of the new museum at Pancho Villa State Park, this one will be a bit more low-key and not as well attended. Hopefully there will be a string of rental horses available like there was last year. We shall see...

Now to get those shelter halves together!

Hacking About - Pt. II

Well, Sunday warmed up into the 80s- geeze! I feel like it's back to August...I got a late start (due to some partying the night before) so we didn't hit the trail until about 10:30 and it was definately heating up. I suppose global warming is catching up...

I figured Max would be a bit pokey, especially since he still has his winter coat on and it was evident. I usually start off with by trotting around the track for two laps for each direction (two going left, two going right). Since this is a quarter mile track, it works out to about one mile in total. I then go into a canter, usually starting with a right lead since Max does better on this lead. Naturally when I went to the canter, he balked a little bit and we had a brief "discussion" (which usually consists of a couple of wacks with a riding crop). After that, he was fine except he was really dogging it- probably due to the heat. I could almost hear him saying "hey buddy, YOU try running around a track in a fur coat sometime when it's 85 degrees!"

After that, I went a bit easier and we did a combination walk/trot down the wash, same as yesterday. I also let him drink from the stream at the bottom of the wash (I encourage Max to drink often on the trail if the water source looks OK- no stagnant ponds).

We wound up back at the Orcas Park Arena where we did some trotting and cantering and then proceeded down the the river. We followed a trail that goes in a loop, crossing a river at two points and then headed back to the stable. I stay away from the low-lying spots due to the possiblity of quicksand- yes, QUICKSAND! Quicksand is no joke and I've gotten stuck in it with Max. Luckily, Max was able to power himself out of it and I didn't have to call for help (thank god- I would have really looked like a jackass for all to see, not just a jackass for Max only). Fortunately, Max forgave me for that one...

Got back to the stable by 12:30 and it was REALLY blazing by this time. I ended up giving Max a well-deserved (and needed) bath- it's amazing the amount of dirt he had on him! You could have planted a garden.

Normally during the summer months, I tend to ride either very early in the morning or late in the afternoon as the sun is going down- it's a lot easier on Max and more fun for me. I've been out on the trail at Noon with the temperature in 100s and it isn't fun at all- I'm not trying to recreate the Light Horse's advance on Beersheba in 1917, after all!

Well, that's all for now!

Hacking About - Pt. I

Well, the weather here in Southern California has been pretty strange this year. On the good (bad, depending on how you look at it), there hasn't been a lot of rain so the trails haven't been wiped out and re-arranged like they were two years ago in 2005- in January/February it truely seemed like it rained for 40 days and 40 nights!

However, what's really been weird is the up-and-down temperatures. A couple weeks ago it got below freezing at night and it was VERY windy. Even during the day, it didn't warm up. Then, lo and behold, the temperature shoots up and yesterday it was over 80- it felt like I was back in August.

For the horses, it's been a real roller-coaster and not the most comfortable. At one moment it's cold as all get-out and the next moment, it's hotter than hell. The danger is that now the horses will shed their winter coats and then be caught when the temperature drops and really be cold. Also the risk of colic increases- something no horseowner wants.

I had a short ride on Saturday (had other places to be) or about an hour and a half and we started out around 8:30 am. The weather was beautiful- clear, a light breeze and cool. Perfect for Max- not too windy so he didn't get buzzed up and hard to manage. We rode down the wash and then followed a bridal path behind the Equestrian Center (there's a nursery on the other side). The path between the nursery and the Equestrian Center is like a chute and most of the time there aren't any issues but when it's windy, it can be a problem. The big thing is that there is really nowhere to go if a major spook comes on. Fortunately, Max is pretty used to this path.

After following the bridal path, I crossed the road leading into Orcas Park and then entered the park through a separate entrance. The end result is that we wound up at the arena- there's a pretty nice sand arena at Orcas Park that's pretty big (I really need to get some pictures of all of this so anyone reading this can figure out what I'm talking about! :-)). The best part was that nobody was in the arena so we have the whole place to ourselves. I kicked Max into high gear (he seems to know that when we enter the arena, we're going to work) and did an number of dressage figures at the canter and trot. I then did some leg yields and finished off with some transitions. Max was the picture of cooperation.

We returned back to the stable, retracing our original path, and just for fun we rand some laps around the track at a canter. I then looked at my watch and realized that I was running late and it was time to clean up Max and put everything away.

Not bad considering that a year ago I couldn't take him more than about 500 yards down the wash from the stable without some sort of issue developing. With constant practice, my confidence has grown and so have Max's confidence and training. For the most part, he follows direction (occassionally he acts up but find me a horse that doesn't!) and we have a pretty good partnership.

Riding at Night or Exercising Your Horse When You Have a Day Job

If you want to get the most out of your horse, you have to exercise it on a regular basis. In my case, my horse Max is a grade (i.e., without papers) Quarterhorse and I've been working hard for the past year and a half training and conditioning him. Unfortunately, like most people, I work a steady day job so by the time I get out of work, it's usually dark (at least until Daylight Savings Time and the Summer)...which makes riding interesting.

Fortunately, there's some lighting and the ambient light from the surrounding area make it easier but it's still very disconcerting cantering along when you really can't seen the ground. Lucky the horse has better eyesight! The recent rains have also made things a real pain in the rear and while I pride myself in being able to saddle up and ride in the worst of condiions, there are limits...I ain't that hardcore (or crazy like I was when I was younger).

For me, riding is a great stress relief from work and I get antsy if I haven't ridden in a couple of days. The best part is getting Max warmed up and then kicking him into a canter- it's warp 9 time! Where I board my horse, there's a quarter-mile track I can use so I'm pretty lucky. More later...