A fine day with Mag, ending with presents for Mag (and Bellis)

I should say, our best day yet. I actually had big fun with Mag in the woods, and I know why. We went exploring in an area off trail I'd never been, bushwhacking, and it brought our relationship to another level, I think, because we both enjoy exploring.

I'll start at the beginning, but small warning, it's long.

At 11:30 I was grooming Mag and puttering around as he stood tied and realized he was disturbed about something. It took me a while to realize how disturbed, and then I wished I had my camera. He was lifting his back and neck as high as possible, and tail, wow, it was eye candy with mud. The neighbor's 3 fat-pen horses had escaped. They were wandering around the field between their paddock and our house, gleefully eating the lush green grass. Skip the Paint was in heaven, racing around playfully, while the two Icelandics focused on getting their calories.

After a half hour I thought oh my, when is someone going to say something and get those horses caught. The average German reaction time to reporting something amiss is less than a micron.

I realized that if I'd begun our walk without noticing them, well, there would have been FOUR loose horses in that field.

Finally the nice neighbor and another joined the barn owner to try to catch them. WITH NO BUCKET. I thought, this will never work, and sure enough, it was a merry chase. I decided I'd go over there with a bucket if it went on too long. Isn't it a fun thing, to watch horses refuse to be caught, enjoying their freedom? These horses spend the entire Winter in a little paddock where they cannot move much.

I took advantage of Mag's complete distraction and did more water training with him. He's taken a dislike to the hose and having the mud sprayed off his legs, but this was perfect. He was entranced by their antics and stood very nicely for me. I haven't seen the color of his hooves in weeks.

Finally they got them caught and the fun was over. I immediately took Mag out for our walk.

I thought, we've done so much hard stuff - walking by houses and to town and along busy roads, it's time for a little peace and quiet - the woods.

First I did some groundwork at the recycling/hiking parking lot. I was able to get him trotting around me both directions with only a few problems, where he tests me to see if I really intend for him to keep circling. Yes I really do expect 5 circles, child.

Understand that I'm stressed about reinforcing what I've asked, (stepping aggressively toward his hip/swinging the end of the rope at his hip) because if he overreacts, I could lose him. I am working next to a street without an enclosure. I hate that I cannot feel safe when I do this, that I won't lose him. But so far so good. This is why I'm working in increments, only 5 circles at a time.

Funnily, he has no idea when I say "walk" after trotting, he swings around, yielding his back end, halts and faces me. Apparently he's never been taught a trot to walk transition but certainly he thinks that's what I want, so that's fine for now.


After feeling pretty good about our circling work I walked down the trail to the GSD club. I thought, today is the day. I shall find a tree and start to teach him to tie in the woods. I must find the perfect tree. As I walked along, I may have even been saying that aloud, I was in such a good mood. I will know you when I see you, perfect tree. I have no idea, but I will.

There it was. A Beech sapling with tender branches in all directions except over the trail/road. So we would have a place to stand, and he might be able to circle the tree, but it would be inconvenient with all the branches. And, it was perfectly placed on a ledge above the trail, so we were below it.

Of course I did not actually tie him. I just fed the rope around a high branch above his head, and around another one, so I had two points of leverage, and then I stepped back until I was at the end of my NH rope, and he had about 2 feet of rope to move around on. It was safe and perfect.

He immediately started eating the tree(s) and after a while he started fidgeting and pooping and pawing and saying how everything else in life sucks less than this.  But amazingly he never once tested the rope, not even a slight pull, nothing. Someone taught him well.

10 minutes later, as promised, we made our way down the trail. I watched him walk over rough gravel never flinching. I hate to even get my hopes up that his hooves are as tough as they seem, but right now, it's tempting. I purposefully walk him over the most jagged rocks to see if he'll try to walk on the grassy edge, and that has never happened.

Every single bench we came to (4) I sat down at and made him wait while I caught my breath. For one moment I saw the watershed through the trees and we listened to geese (swans?) arguing below.

Something spooked him - no idea, but for the most part, he did his "scent-dog" thing, where he walks along behind me with his nose to the ground, learning of all the exciting things that transpired before us from the smells. Often he'll touch the ground or push his muzzle into the leaves to get a better sense of the place. I love that he wants to be connected with the woods like this, if you were to see him, you'd think he's fascinated by the outdoors.

What a wonderful thing, for a horse to try to engage the environment, as opposed to the heart-beating-from-chest of the mare. Although Mara was often calm while being led in the woods, she never showed a sign of curiosity. Mag often has a branch hanging out of his mouth.

Not that Mag does not do his Friesian pose often, he does, I sometimes think he's 16 hands high, because I can barely reach the top of his head. He sometimes swings his head over the top of mine (not good manners).

We marched along and I started to enjoy the woods themselves because it had been so long since I'd been there. Never with Mag, so perhaps last September? Everything is brown and dead, but we haven't had rain for a week or so, and the trails are not muddy.

I had this thought, "The bridge!"

There is this little bridge with a NO HORSES sign on both ends of it, make no mistake, no horses allowed! I have ridden across it, and most people do, but I have bridge trauma so I'm glad to see a little muddy path going straight down into the tiny creek where hooves have churned up a way to avoid the dubious bridge. It looks safe - newly built, etc, but I know if I have another horse fall through a rotten bridge, and this bridge happens to say no horses, I'm not going to get as nice a reception from the police and firemen as I did in 2009.

So my plan was to get only Mag's forehooves on that bridge. It became trailer training again.

I sauntered onto the bridge, which is about 6 feet above the creek and about 4 feet wide, with high side rails on both sides (claustrophobic like a two-horse trailer). I did not ask Mag to join me. Like at the creek a few weeks ago, I stood casually and started to daydream, and never asked him to come to me. The creek took 55 minutes. This bridge took 5. He snorted at it, and it took him a while to actually touch a side rail with a whisker. He looked behind him like, "Mom, isn't that the preferable choice?" I stood there looking at the wooden planks, wondering if they're horse safe, and waited.

There was a puddle directly in front of the bridge planks, and Mag blew ripples into it with his snorting. The sound of the creek was beautiful. I had all day.

He pooped, twice, and I knew that was a sign he was gathering courage. Or maybe I'm wrong and this horse is a bridge expert who likes to play games with me. (!!???)

Suddenly he stepped onto the bridge with not one, but both front feet. I stepped in front of him to block him and immediately asked him to back off the bridge. OK not so scared after all.

I walked him away from it, letting him browse on blackberries. Then back to it, and I got 2 hooves again, and then asked him to back off it again. We did it one more time (after another blackberry break) to cement it in my brain that he's fine with the bridge, and perhaps, maybe someday, even a horse trailer.

Then the fun began. I wanted to use this little singletrack/deer trail to get us up the hill again, but I couldn't find it!

I started us down a little path that ended in brush and we got a bit tangled up but got out. I was happy to see that when some bushes pushed up against his belly, he didn't mind.

Then I found the real deer trail and found it blocked by fallen pine trees with sharp edges. I worked and worked on moving them, and Mag waited for me. I realized that he was waiting for me patiently. I moved a fallen tree, we tried to get over it. We succeeded.

I noticed he was too close for me to get back out of a dead end and I asked him to back up. There was a branch between his forelegs, at pastern height.

"Mag, BACK."

When he tried, he found his foreleg trapped and the branch shifted up to knee height. I know this is a dangerous situation but I wanted to see his reaction.

Mag backed up a step.

The tree snapped in two as he did, from the pressure of his legs. Apparently it was rotten.

He stood there like nothing happened.

And that's where it got fun for me. He was dragging his half pink nose in the forest floor which is really just like walking through corn flakes. He would pick something up every so often, or eat some oak leaves, but he seemed to enjoy this little wood.

I was curious if I'd actually find the way back home. I knew we weren't far off track, but I'd never been in those woods and we were not on any trail at all. Just corn flakes and holly and blackberry brambles to navigate through.

Eventually I saw this weird metal plate with some short cut logs over it. Like it was hiding something, I don't know. I went right for it.

I started kicking the metal plate and Mag said, "Yes, it's 'one of those things that are not like the others'."

I had to laugh.

And then ...FINALLY.....he let it all hang out. Not completely, but a sure sign that he was saying, "Isn't life good?"

Then I saw the sign that says to keep out ...of the area we were in....a nature protection zone. We were at the main trail again.

At the top of the hill by the shepherd's house is a bench, which of course I sat at. This is the bench I had sat at many times while Mara stood tied to an oak tree there. Of course Mag didn't need another tying session today so after sitting there doing my "bench thing" we finally left and saw the 24 chickens and.....and..

2 PONIES!

The shepherd's wife had bought two Shetland ponies, but I'd only seen them once before.  They ignored him completely, faces buried in their hay pile. How rude. I must say, these ponies had so much hair on them, I may not have recognized them for ponies at all, except for when they turned their faces toward us (the only acknowledgment they offered). Poor Mag, the 24 chickens show more interest in us than the two ponies.

The shepherd lives on a bumpy dirt/mud road and today as we tried to get home, there was a little truck blocking the path. I knew there was barbed wire where he was, so I pulled Mag over by the shepherd's house, with the dogs on chains running crazily back and forth.

The Toyota truck came further toward us and I saw it was pulling a mini trailer of sand to fill in pot holes in that road. He stopped in a safe place and I brought Mag down and nodded a thanks to him. He got out of his truck just as we passed.

I said, "Pretty truck!"

He smiled, "Yah.." and we followed him along the road/path. He had dumped a bunch of gravel/sand on the road to fill in the pot holes. All three of us approached them together. Mag stepped confidently onto the new, oddly colored sand.

Then the flanneled truck driver turned to Mag and pulled Mag's head in to his chest. He said, "Aren't you a finer!" He held Mag's head close and rubbed both sides of his face. If I may interpret Mag's impression, it was, "Oh yes, I'm a finer. And isn't it great, making friends?"

I finally said to Mag, "Ja komm" and he left his new friend.

Almost home again, in our driveway, I got the mail. Mag was, astonishingly, in no hurry to get those final steps to his paddock. He wanted to get the mail with me.

Then I saw the two big packages the mail man had left in our greenhouse (our designated drop-off place.)

1. 10kg healthy horse snacks

2. New Amigo Bravo

I tried it on him and I'm perplexed. The 125cm Bravo was at least 6 inches short of his hind end. The next size up was only 130, which is only a 2 inch difference, so I ordered the 140, which is 6 inches bigger.

WTH Horseware Ireland. Please explain how 6 inches too short became 10 inches too long. (That's a 16 inch difference instead of the 6 inches expected.)

I have a pet peeve for horse blankets that are too big. There is nothing worse than a blanket whose back end catches poop 10 times per day. MUCH better to have a blanket too small!

I took some photos so you can criticize me before I probably experience the disaster that is a slightly-too-large blanket.

But hey, it's got reflectors. If Mag busts out of here, at least he'll be seen if anyone happens to shine a light toward his head or his butt.

Here are some photos from today and yesterday.



Bellis knocked over my chair twice to get my attention.




Still doesn't fit.




He's up to standing tied an hour. He doesn't go to sleep, but he doesn't fidget.









I was too lazy to put the leather halter on, so he's hard tied here. Bad: (





Awkward photo, but it shows how he's almost too thin. Note the pile of birch trees. Perhaps this is why he's fine with branches getting in between his legs and snapping.




I love his expression.

"I'm being a good boy, right? Amn't I?" (My husband likes to say "I am, amn't I? Cuz how can "Aren't I" be acceptable grammar?)




You know what would be clever? If Horseware Ireland made rain parkas for humans. I mean, their stuff is 100% waterproof no matter how much rain, stays that way for years, why not make such a product for people? I got their catalog with this blanket. They do have a clothing line. But no rain parkas. They also have a weather app you can get to let you know which Horseware blanket your horse needs on a given day. pffft!

So what do you think? Will this be OK or will I have a poopy mess?