Day 3 - First neighborhood walk

Friday was my first full day at the barn. 8 am to 2 pm. I had the car, I could leave if I wanted, but I took up all that time enjoying being there because for the first time, no one else was there. Until 1 pm it was just me and Willy the barn guy but he was off driving tractors around.

So I leisurely cleaned my stall, which was infuriating because Mag has been pooping miniature poops and then walking them around and it takes me a full 30 minutes to sift through it all. He still has not lain down in the stall despite the thick bedding.

Then I snooped around and looked at all the horse photos on all the tack lockers. Dozens of tack lockers. I gasped when one of the photos of an Appaloosa had a guy in it with a SEAHAWKS hat. HUH?!?!?

Then I snooped around in the Reiterstube, the little kitchen/lounge. It was warmer in there, and almost freezing outside. I was tempted to lay down on the bench and go to sleep, because I had gotten up so early. I skimmed a book called Pferde Lexicon, a dictionary of horse terms. I laughed when I found mistakes in the book. I found one of the coffee pots full of blue mold. I found lots of tea, and I'll be bringing tea to add to that. On the board I saw a little tiny photo....what, that's ME! A newspaper clipping of the article of our wedding day, where Gabi showed up with horses at the church. I'm in that dress leaning toward the horse, my man is smiling at the camera, holding my bouquet, and the text reads, "She left her own horse in Seattle, the capitol of Washington state, for love" Hey, I didn't leave him, I mean, as soon as we were married I went and got him! And Seattle, the capitol of WA? *lol*

After exploring every nook I finally got Mag, cleaned his hooves, and we headed out on our first neighborhood walk. I wanted to find my friend Susanna's barn. Tolima's owner, my lease TB in 2008.  I found her name on the wall that she hosted a "Riders' first aid clinic" this month (she's a nurse)  - eventually she'll find out I'm there. I haven't told her yet cuz I am not ready to go on one of her wild rides!

The sunlight was streaming into the barn in beams of light, through yellow panels and casting red blotches on the floor, and on my horse. The barn was empty of horses but Mag just stood there politely letting me scrub his hooves. I didn't know he'd be OK about being all alone in the barn when everyone else was out.

We set out and I was flashing back to the times on those trails, but uncertain about them, I don't remember them all and I didn't have my Garmin. It was fun to see things pop up that I remembered, and suddenly a creek, and Mag said, "Oh no! I can't go in that!" and I said, "Come on!" and he said, "Oh yah, I forgot, I like water!" and he went in and put his nose in too.

Up and down hills, I was getting tired but when I'd sit on a stump to rest, Mag was patient and just  nuzzled my hand, and well, let it all hang out. First day out in a new city, and every single time I stopped to rest, he demonstrated how relaxed he can be.

Then I found the fancy riding club exactly where I expected it, and 5! people rode horses by us, saying Guten Morgen as they passed, and two people were bringing horses in, and one of them had a grey and said, "Like looking in a mirror!" : )

Mag was animated, "Wow look, horses!" but backed up on my command to be sure he was with me.

Then I found Susanna's barn but she wasn't there. Oh well, another time, won't she be surprised!

Then I started getting blisters and I knew I did not want to go down the hills and valleys again, I wanted to get to know this area so I headed toward the streets. Over rocky trail/road Mag never gimped, his hooves are much better. At one point he stared at some puddles and I said, "Omygosh are you thirsty?" and he drank from the world's tiniest puddle. Good boy.

Up into traffic, and I mean lots of traffic, with no sidewalk, Mag showed his greatness. We ducked between parked cars to let cars pass, we stopped at a bus stop to rest and cars and busses were whizzing by inches from his tail. That was a little close so I probably won't stop there again. Then there were gardeners on both sides of us, raking leaves behind fences, and people on scaffolding working on roofs, and Mag passed through without a glance. The sidewalk, finally a sidewalk started,  was so narrow it was hard to keep him on it. The entire time, he never spooked once. I laughed to my husband, "Mag said, 'Yah, looks like Dabringhausen!'" (our town)

My blisters were killing me about an hour in. OK, my new Horze boots are probably just appropriate for riding and stall work, not for hiking.

When we got back I put him in the stall but before I let him off lead he answered another horse's neigh with a neigh of his own in my ear and I scolded him for that. He is talking more now, even though he doesn't seem attached to any particular horse.

Then I sat back in a chair and ate a pepperoni stick and drank a coke zero, watching Mag go in and out of his stall.

My blisters stopped throbbing so it was time to work.

I put the lunge line on him and we went to the arena, which I'd prepared with 2 raised cavaletti at B, and 3 ground "poles" at E. Not poles, rather these long rectangular foam-filled plastic things. Really really nice to move around! And although horses can just step on them without pain, they don't seem to *prefer* to, or at least, Mag doesn't, so I approve.


He was limber and floating in his trot as we began. He has this awesome jog-trot that looks like he wants to be a Western horse.

He was right on, he was so loose from our walk, we did the cavalettis and puffy things at a jog and well, no one was at the barn today so there were no distractions walking by the gate (when he lost his mind last time).

He used to throw tricks at me - direction-change-refusals and rushing backwards, repeatedly. That seems to be extinguished!  He only tips his ears back at me when I say "Canter" because he truly hates hard work, but at least he's not kicking out in my direction.

I planned a method, a conversation we could have to help him not stress about cantering on the lunge. I would bring him in to 15 meters, so I would have control, and have the whip in place behind him, within reach of him when he broke gait. It worked - as soon as I quickened my walk, he was ready to canter, and when I kissed/said Canter, he immediately obeyed. But it's hard for him, so he falls apart and trots.  He cross fires, he cannot balance on such a circle under pressure. I get it, but then I encouraged him forward and I think he got it - he went three times around and that was my goal.

I threw a thousand praises at him after this achievement and let him jog over the foam poles again. His topline is so awful, he really really needs the poles.

The other direction (right) is less problematic, somehow, so we didn't work as much on it.

The final time I got three laps I praised him and released him to roll in the soft footing but he didn't want to.

I wandered around cleaning up our poles and poop and he followed me, even though I said, "Go, go!"

Then he saw a huge bale of hay and the rubber horsie swimming pool was in the way. The one he was afraid of when I threw it in his path while lunging. But he saw the hay and went right in, standing in the pool, eating the hay. I sat back on a bench and just enjoyed the moment.

Then I put him in his paddock and the mare who is in love with him peed in his direction. He drank and drank and then ate as I left.

Weird, I have no worries about him being there. He's as calm as if he had always lived there.

I am glad to see they are feeding him more than he can eat everyday, and turning him out at the break of dawn and after dusk. That was one of my main worries, well, enough food, and enough turnout. I was there at 8:15 this morning, and ALL the horses were already turned out, and all the stalls were already cleaned. OK then. Well, not my stall, I don't pay for that service. But I was so happy to see my horse out as the moon switched to the sun.