The missing fire ants (and stuff about Mag) and downtown.....

I must say thank you to all the people out there who have never met me but somehow believe in me. It's humbling and encouraging at the same time.

My hip is not healed yet from where I landed after being kicked. My brain is worse though, telling me at all costs to avoid Mag's hind legs. Funnily, I can still wash his tail, cuz I wasn't kicked while standing behind him, so my instincts are still OK with that position. Although I used New Age Dr Bronner Lavender Castile soap and that is some greasy stuff, so he's got English Breakfast tea color right now *lol*

I wanted to do the massage work today but Mag was covered stem to stern in crusty dried mud. So I took my garden rake to him. This way I can get his entire body with zero risk of a kick, and it's a sort of sacking out too I suppose.

I brushed just enough to be able to do the massages. I found it interesting today because it's day 2 of massage work and he seems to understand the routine and accept it, whereas on day 1 he was wary, "What now, what next!?" He did try to walk away from me to eat a few times, so I looped the rope over my arm. During one exercise he nipped at me, and got in trouble even though he didn't make contact. I know that he wasn't threatening because his expression was calm, but the speed at which he swung his head toward my waist was too fast to be polite. Like Baasha, he can learn what appropriate mouthiness is and what inappropriate is.

His body was all tense after that so it was fun to start again and get him relaxed. He actually pooped, just as in day 1, which is something Mag never does, he's a shy pooper, so I know the massage is encouraging that.

Interestingly he isn't "sheathed out" during most of the massages. (the Germans have a wonderful term for dropped, ausgeschlaucht, which cracked me up when Lukas said it). I think he's still expecting some discomfort, and I know that some of the exercises are hard work for him.

The one that is the hardest is the one where he's trying to bite the lead rope the entire time we do it. It looks simple but I guess it's not - I hold the halter and rock him back and forth so he weights his hind end, and then the forehand, back and forth, rocking his body a few inches without actually moving his hooves (but that's ok too, if he has to). He was much better at it today, but it's not a "feel good" exercise!

If you want to know more about the massages I'm doing, just ask in the comments.

Mag apparently needs infinite sacking out because he's still nervous about horse blankets and any blanket at all, and my rain coat. Despite going through Spring having the blanket on and off every single day. He's still like "I'm gonna die" when a blanket comes near him. He can eat his hay under a waving plastic tarp, but even a towel is scary. A tissue too, as you saw.

Tonight I brought out the umbrella which he seemed to think he'd never seen before, and as snorty as he is, it's interesting how he always wants to touch or chew on the object. What's his deal? He is a mix of I'm terrified, Oh that is really interesting let me eat it!

I did some clicker training and learned that Bellis doesn't know the difference between the target and its stick (bad!) and Mag doesn't know what the click itself means (my bad!).

I wanted him to touch the target that I placed on his hip. He thought about it and decided rather than stretching through his body, it would be easier to just back up and touch it. I had to laugh. Clever horse. But no c/t. You must stretch. I realize I'd never properly loaded the clicker so of course he doesn't care about that sound, he just tries to touch the target and get a treat. Amazingly he was very polite about taking the treat the entire time. Recall that I haven't given Mag treats from my hand since March, because he was too "Where's the snack" every time he saw us.

"Wait."

He's really got this down now I think. I hold up a finger and say wait and he's not allowed to approach his hay until I walk away and say OK. Also when he got scared today and wanted to trample me to escape the narrow orchard path. I peered at him and held up my finger and he controlled his mad rush and waited until I let him by.

The other day they were particularly hungry, I was late with feeding, and Mag actually kicked the stall wall for the first time, with a forehoof. I laughed, "Oh, you think that will make me feed you faster?" Poor Mag. He already knows the routine of "Leave the ENTIRE AREA until invited" so I got out the lunge whip and swished it around the ground. Both Bellis and Mag obliged and left the entire area, although quite hungry. Mag turned to stare at me as I hung up the hay, but waited until I was done and then politely, slowly, entered the area. I said, "OK" and let him at the hay. If he's gonna get exuberant about feed times, he's gonna have to back up very far before allowed in. But mostly they always have food in front of them, so it's not a normal issue. But I can't help being impressed by his self control, waiting at the required distance for me to say OK.

He seems to have a deeply ingrained submission streak. I'll take it.

I got in touch with the Western Trainer at the Haflinger farm nearby and she said she will give lessons at that barn (I doubt she lives there anymore, I am guessing it was her childhood home - I know her grandmother from the free church who lives there, to whom I delivered a Hersheys bar in remembrance of the wartime generosity of Americans, after talking to her about the war), Also, this trainer's brother was our post carrier. It's a small world in this tiny country). If I can have lessons there, it would be so great, it's the only covered arena near us (though it's only 15X30 meters) but it's closer than the fancy arena.

I understand KB, what you mean when you say putting Mag with a full time trainer would not help my riding Mag. That is why I hope to just have lessons and not send him away.

As  I type this my next door neighbor cop is enjoying a visit from a uniformed officer who just pulled up on his motorcycle. His jacket says POLIZEI and he does in fact have a gun (the only guns you'll see in Germany, but are rarely used (check the stats)). Theyr'e just hanging out chatting, it's so nice to have a cop as a next door neighbor. Cuz I leave my windows open. And he parks the cop car right next to my house. Cops in Germany are so non threatening (check the stats). Ha, my  neighbor just clapped him on the back as he mounted his motorcycle and shouted a goodbye to him as he zoomed off.

Oh, his chickens. They come running to me (have you seen a chicken run full speed toward you? It's such a sight!), they say, "NEIGHBOR friend, what have you got for us today?" I am dismayed, because I seem to have spoiled them. They refused to eat fresh strawberries from my yard, and slugs too. Tonight they fought over a worm, so what?!??! They seem to only want meat or cheese at this point. It's fun to have chickens watch me as I work in the yard hoping for something good.

Tonight is the AbiBall - in Germany graduation is combined with prom at the end of the year, it's strange. In the middle of me massaging Mag J called to me from a window to come in and help him find a proper formal outfit to wear. He left an hour ago, first to his Kabaret practice and then the Ball. Strangely the teachers and family are invited to the ball, but must exit by a certain time (11PM?) to let the kids get down and party (and high school kids drink alcohol in Europe, so they party publicly at "prom".)

J's Kabaret will be 4 days next week, (reminiscent of the 4 days last week where he was the technician for this year's High School Musical). The Kabaret is something I never attend, it's 100% political/social satire and I can't find it funny. But he's been practicing piano the last two days for hours on end. I sure hope they appreciate all his work. The neighbors I'm sure are tired of hearing those songs over and over and over....

After AbiBall and Kabaret, it won't be long until it is actually all over and he gets a rest. And I ask him for help with the horse, with the yard, and and and..: ) But he does deserve a break, so I won't ask immediately: )

SO. Where are the fire ants.

I poisoned the other day, all around my house and barn and paddock. That's all, just as a start. I upturned several stones today looking for their nests and found none. I took a shovel and dug a trench along our brick wall, where they usually reside, and found ...ONE.

I turned over stones by our pond and found a huge nest of.....BLACK ANTS and their larvae, half with wings. I stood there gaping, are black ants (harmless) immune to the poison? Do they, Lord help us, actually compete with fire ants? Wouldn't that be the best?

I kept digging and kneeling down tearing our weeds, which would normally be impossible, each weed I'd rip out would expose fire ants, and often times, an entire nest with larvae.

The donkey watched me the entire time. She thought I'd lost my mind. I was like, "WHERE ARE THE FIRE ANTS!!!!!" And every so often I'd pluck some grape vine for her to eat, or some plum branches. Still no fire ants.

I'm not sure what I experienced today was real, so I'll go out tomorrow again.

If it's true, I will race back to the feed store and tell the guy, "IT WORKS ON THEM" and buy a few more cans of poison.

And if ants truly war against each other, and the black ones are winning, ....I have to repeat myself when I thank God for this.

At the end of my day outside Mag said, "Oh no, don't take my fly mask off, it hurts, it hurts!" Yah, he's gonna have to learn about that too. He's so melodramatic!

***The image below***

Me and Baasha, 2005, Steilacoom, Washington. I admit I was talking on a cell phone on my horse. Tsk tsk , but Baasha was happily playing in the salt water. This was after we'd run around at Fort Lewis military base, where they let horses in between the danger zones. My friend Jen, who was an active service Army Captain (in Kuwait),  the craziest horsegirl I've ever met. She invited me there. (She used to ride her Arabian to work at the base. The army is so cool, to allow her to park her horse for the day.) She took this photo from the back of her Arabian Sheik. I fulfilled my lifelong dream of riding Baasha in downtown Seattle with her and Sheiky. They were totally fine.

We even rode to my downtown office, under the Space Needle, and we rode through the business district with its sky scrapers. I was pleased when Baasha pooped on the Post Intelligencer's front lawn. (At that moment I was disgusted with their handling of news).

I was not so prepared for a 1st Ave poop......which showed me the difference between having a horse diaper on Shiek, and my "doggie bag" for Baasha. Enough said, I hope.

We tied our horses to parking meters outside of Zeek's' Pizza,  where the employees came out with vegetables. And  some crazy dude walked by and put his INFANT ON BAASHA'S BACK! No problem for our Arabians. But..


At Pike Place Market, the shop owners came out with random vegetables for our horses. It turns out they don't like cucumber. But what a great photo opportunity, with the market and Puget Sound between the ears. Unfortunately, it was the time of film cameras and I don't have images of it.

Bicycle cops spoke to us about following sidewalk traffic rules, and Baasha pawed the pavement with stripes during a Don't Walk to the amusement of the dozens of foot-commuters around his body. If our horses were not 100% safe, this could have been very bad, the proximity with the loaded side walks. Of course, we didn't know it until we tried it. But after all those years, it was perfect. I rode Baasha along the International Fountain! The PI Building, Queen Anne Square, Seattle Center, WA State Ferry docks, Myrtle Edwards park, cantering along the Sound at the city center... Ask me later, about how I managed poop scooping.

I took Jen to her first endurance ride but I was such a crappy mentor I'd forgotten important details like "ride card" ......but hey, she got me DQ'd from CTR, so we're even: ) On our one endurance ride together, we both had yellow ribbons tied on our horses, and our trucks.  For her friends still in active service.



Puget Sound. How I miss you.