We're Back From The Beach!!!

After a very long four-hour trip, Max and I are back from Morro Bay and it was a major success!! Max trailered like a pro and there were no traumatic events or disasters (thank god!!!).

We left about 10 am on Thursday, after a morning of loading, and Max loaded with no problems. Max was joined by his stablemates Dumbles (short for Dumbledore, a five year old Arab) and Kisses (a 13 year old Standardbred). The trip was uneventful and Max was very patient, even when we stopped for an extended period of time to get lunch and refuel.

We arrived at the campsite at about 3 pm and quickly got camp set up and settled the horses into their new home in the corrals (thank god we didn't have to tie off of the trailer). Others in our group slowly filtered in until we had about 25 horses and 30 people.

I decided to take Max out for a short ride to settle him and get him used to the area. Max was definately energized by the cool sea air and the steady sea breeze and he was definately up for a ride.

The trails leading away from camp towards the beach are all sandy, even though there are trees and vegetation and Max found the footing to be somewhat tiring- with the exception of some of parts of the various trails in Hansen Dam and especially along the base of Hansen Dam, there is not a lot of deep sand so it was going to be a workout that week.

After some basic manuvers, I then took Max up to the ridge overlooking the ocean (to get to the ocean from the campsite, you have to ride up a ridge and then cross the main road. Max was definately buzzed up, looking at all the new sights, sounds, and smells. His ears were turning everywhere and he was taking it all in. The bad part was that he was getting buzzed up and it was clear that I was going to have my hands full for awhile.

After the initial foray, I joined some of our group who wanted to watch the sunset. Max was excited to go, especially as he was behind a very fast Thoroughbred and he felt that he had to do everything to keep up. We followed one trail towards the beach and we went most of the way, turning back just shy of the actual beach.

It was dark by this time and on our way back, Max was definately chomping at the bit and wanting to run home. It was everything to keep him in check and he plowed through the sand with no sign of of tiring and he definately didn't want to rest.

Max and I on the sand...we finally made it! Unfortunately, the pictures are not the best due to the jiggy horses and all.

Max after a long day at the beach...

Upon returning, I feed and watered Max and he settled in for a long slumber. Overall, it was all new stuff to throw at Max but he did allright for the most part. More to follow!

Pancho Villa Returns!

Here's an updated Pancho Villa video for your enjoyment:

VIVA MEXICO!

The Rules of the Barn

I got this off of a chat board and it rings so true that I thought I'd post it here:

Rules of the Barn:

1. I am Human - you are Horse - what I say goes. Please take that into consideration when you are standing on my foot.

2. Spilled grain is not "fair game", especially when it is spilled in another horse's stall. It still belongs to that particular horse. You have no reason to go in and eat it.

3. Poop does not need to be hidden. I clean your stall every day - I 'will' find it. Do not hide it.

4. I do not need your help when I clean the barn, nor do I need your supervision, or even your presence. I have been cleaning the barn and stalls ever since you lived here, and I know what I am doing. Standing at the door staring at me, will not make me clean faster.

5. There is no need to go into the barn and help yourself to the feed.Meals are given at specific times of the day. There is a feeding schedule. You know the schedule. I know you know the schedule. You know that I know that you know the schedule. There is no need to help yourself.

6. Water buckets are not toys. Neither is the gate, fence, pitchfork, wheel barrow, whatever is in the wheel barrow, or the occasional dog.

7. The wheel barrow is there for a reason. Please do not try to move it while I am cleaning your stall.

8. Just because I go into the barn doesn't mean you automatically get food.There is other stuff in the barn. Stuff you don't want. Like wormer and fly spray.

9. Sheath cleaning will NOT be enjoyed...by anyone.

10. Water travels through the hose. If you are thirsty, do not stand on the hose, as the water buckets will fill much faster.

11. Not everything has to be high drama. None of the following things will kill you: fly spray, plastic bags, balloons, hoses, chipmunks and other small rodents, or bright blue tarps.

12. Although I understand the need for you to relieve yourself, it is not necessary to hold it in all day until the moment I finish cleaning your stall and put away the wheel barrow.

13. Accidents happen...However, I'm not altogether sure you're not trying to kill yourself. Next time you decide to impale yourself on some sort of object, please try to do it when it's not hailing, midnight, the weekend, or Christmas.

14. While I appreciate your need to be clean, pooping in your water bucket does not make my job easier, and it deprives you of water. Please find a new spot.

15. Whinnying as loudly as you can in my face does not make me feed you any faster.

Getting Ready For The Beach

Well, after some six months, it's drawing close to the time I'll be taking Max on vacation with me to Morro Bay for four days. I'll be leaving on Thursday morning and I'm going with some friends. Max will be able to travel in relative comfort in a very large camper/horsetrailer combination (he's ridden in it before with no mishaps). The drive is going to be a bit longer than what we've done before (4 hours) but he'll be with other horses who he knows so it should be allright. I'm also going to not feed him any Omolene or other supplements so he won't be buzzed up, especially when he gets there.

Space is going to be somewhat tight so I'll have to carefully pack and only take the essentials. Yesterday, I helped out, cleaning the trailer out and replacing the shavings and loading up the feed on the truck.

This ought to be interesting and hopefully I'll get some good pictures to post. I just hope he takes to the beach and doesn't have any serious issues with it- some horses are put off by the noise of the surf so we'll have to take it easy.

For a map of Montana de Oro's general location, go HERE.

What's Been Happening

Well, after having resolved the air conditioning crisis, I've been able to get back to the more pleasant activities for as riding Max. My usual trail riding partner had been unavailable due to some family issues but they appear to have been resolved (as best as possible) and so for the past two weeks, we've managed to get in some serious trail time.

Basically for the past two Saturdays, we've ridden up the Doc Larsen Trail, past the bathtub and then followed the fire roads in a general loop, eventually arriving back at the stable. The weather has been warm but excessively so and we've been going out in the morning. Naturally this have been more of a work-out for Max than usual due to the extended distance but he's more than capable of handling it and he's done pretty well.

The bad part is that his buddy is a Thoroughbred who is prone to getting a bit excited at times and so I have to watch Max carefully. The Thoroughbred will sometimes try to take off in a canter/gallop and Max gets excited about it. If I'm not careful, he sometimes starts to whirl so I have to be on my guard. The other bad part is going home, he likes to move fast and he's been jigging- a product of my holding him back and his wanting to trot/speed up to keep up with the Thoroughbred (unfortunately, his gait is not as fast-moving as a Thoroughbred's).

This is an area I have been working on and I recently obtained some interesting training material by Clinton Anderson, a well-known horse trainer. It seems pretty common-sense, no BS so I'm working on implementing it. The key appears to be keeping the horse's attention on you, the rider and this can be accomplished by making the horse move/circle and otherwise do work and make him focus on what you want.

The basic idea is eventually, the horse will be more interested in cooperating (i.e. not jigging or otherwise acting out) than acting up because that means he has to work harder. The key is also not to fight with the horse by holding him back- you are not going to win the muscle contest!

The book I'm using is really a compendium of articals published in "Horse and Rider" magazine:

The book can be ordered here.

Air Conditioning Repaired - At Last!

Well, today the service technician arrived with the compressor motor and by 6 PM, we were back with real air conditioning! Thank god!! It's been a miserable two weeks and I have not been able to get much sleep and it's been a real pain trying to function during the day (I keep wanting to go to sleep in the afternoon).

It just goes to show how dependet on air conditioning we modern people are- without it, many buildings would not be useable. Certainly an object lesson...I was also surprised just how hot the house got, even with shade trees and all. Very instructive.

Sweatbox - Further Update

It seems that life has been on hold since the air conditioner died- it's been pretty hot and to make things worse, the humidity level is higher than usual for this time of year. Even riding in 95 plus degree weather is preferable and I've been spending a lot of time at the stable- at least when I get hot there I can put my head under a hose. Max has been getting quite a few baths lately.

Because of the length of time that it will take to repair the air conditioning, the home warranty company offered to give us $150 towards a window air conditioner. After going to Lowes and picking out a model for $224 that offered a compromise between power and price, I then spent a Sunday afternoon installing the window air conditioner in the bedroom. That was interesting...

I then found out that the manufacturer recommends running the unit only from a wall outet that's dedicated to that outlet (in order to minimize power draw). Window air conditioners can draw a heavy electrical load and there's a danger of overloading circuits. Unfortuantely, there are no dedicated circuits in the bedroom but from what I can determine from working with the circuit breakers, it appears that the circuit also only goes to the TV so it doesn't seem that there will be much else drawing on the same circuit.

We've been operating the unit for about four days and I've monitored it very carefully- so far no problems but when the compressor turns on, the lights in the house momentarily dim. I really don't want this to go on too long and I turn off the air conditioning during the day when we're not at home.

Well, supposedly the air conditioner will be repaired today and it had better happen or I'm going to be one very pissed off person. We shall see...