Friday, December 15, 2017

1st ride in a month

Since none of the treatments worked on Mag's back, I just got on and rode again today.

Ani would be on foot today because Mira had 4 teeth pulled Wednesday and she's being careful with her. (Since she rides bitless, I mean, really careful.)

I felt bad when I gave her a treat for Mira, and after she ate it, her mouth started bleeding. Ani called the vet right then. I shouldn't have done that, the treats are too hard for her. I offered my water bottle so she could rinse Mira's mouth, but she didn't want to.

Mag however, enjoyed drinking from my bottle today repeatedly. I love it that he's such a good drinker bottles are also something he enjoys. I should buy apple juice just to give him from the bottle.

When I got on Mag, we were right back where we were a month ago, no big deal, but today he was especially forward and impatient. "On fire" I exaggerated to Ani.

Anytime we had to wait for Mira, he would start tossing his head. Not too bad, but not because he had an itch. Not because he wanted to show off his mostly clean mane that I'd brushed.  It was definitely impatient tossing.

I only could get him to stand still for 10 seconds today under saddle, and gave him a treat for that, cuz it was hard for him.

The muddy hills were also hard, and to help him up I had to grab mane. He wanted to rush, but I kept him behind Ani or Mira so he had to go slow. Mira kept glaring at him to stay away from her, and I know one day she's gonna let him have it, so I am very careful not to let him touch her. She knows he wants nothing more for Christmas than to take a bite out of her butt.

We got to the stream and it was so full the islands have disappeared, and the water is right under the bridges. I led Mag over one bridge and he panicked halfway across, so we did it a couple more times. I admit, it is intimidating with the water swirling grey like that. Then I wanted to ride him over the next bridge but there was a tree down so I jumped off. We had to navigate around 4 fallen trees today, but down on the main trail the city had already sawed them out of the way.

I was having a hard time staying calm, even though my body felt relaxed in the saddle, I was mentally expecting things to be difficult today. And for some reason I couldn't think of any humorous anecdotes to tell Ani, so I was riding in silence most of the time. She wasn't talking either, and the silence seemed ominous. I started whistling, and that helped. Mag kept passing them, frustrated with their slow pace, then realizing it's scary out front, so he'd wait for them. He was never bad, but he was never calm.

We weren't out long, cuz she was on foot. We parted ways and I led Mag down highway 101's sidewalk on the way home where he spooked at a couple of vehicles. So I sat on a bench for about 15 minutes and just waited for the big trucks to go by, which they did. Strange which ones spooked him, and which didn't. The salt truck/plow was going really fast (80 or 90?) and sounded different from any of the other big trucks, but Mag was fine with it. A gravel truck made him spring to the side, his tail tucked down in a J. So we hung out more, waiting for more trucks. The last one was huge and Mag's entire body shuddered but he didn't spook. TP said he's just feeling Winter and using trucks as an excuse to be spooky, but I don't think a horse can fake a full body shudder like that, while holding still, all four hooves planted in place.

Finally back on small slow streets, two double semis approached us from behind, one after the other. The first one slowed almost to a standstill because we were so close. Mag darted forward and swung around. The second one was even scarier looking, but Mag was fine with it. No idea.

It's important for me to find safe places where I can spend some time letting Mag watch traffic go by (and practice standing still where it's not easy). Although Hohestrasse has a faster speed limit than 101, 101 has much more traffic, more big rigs. As we waited there, a couple of ladies walked by and Mag reached out his nose to say hi to them. One lady smiled and touched his nose. He's so curious about strangers, he wants to touch all of them.

Back home, 3 hours after we'd set out, Mag was ravenous as if he'd done 10 miles with me on his back, not a few km.

WE HAVE HAY! Ebay hay. And IT'S GOOD HAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as I saw it I asked the man, "How much more do you have?" He said, "100." My man said, "We'll take them all. Please."

: ) Yes yes yes, hay, and look, no mold, no dust, no mole hills, no weeds, it's even slightly green, for German hay!

Since Bellis won't share, I separate them all day, and at night I hang one big net full outside where she cannot bogart the area as easily.


I love this picture from last Winter because I had such nice days there at the barn, all alone with just Willy joking around with me, and Mag looking forward to my visits and his buckets. I loved that huge grooming stall; concrete is the best for hoof care. Also, he's not this skinny this year, even though he lived alone back then and always had hay in front of him. I also love this photo because I don't have to deal with the opinions of the masses anymore, "It's normal for an Arabian to look skinny!" *sigh* and "Your lead rope is on the ground, your horse is gonna hurt himself!" *lol*

7 comments:

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

I'm glad you got good hay and got to ride. I wonder if Mag's reactions to the different types of trucks has more to do with how much he's paying attention. Maybe he's a daydreamer and a few of them just took him by surprise? I'm surrounded by wild rabbits, so I don't pay any attention to them, but every once in a while one of the charges up to me and I startle.

AareneX said...

Yay, hay!!!!!

TeresaA said...

Yay for riding and for hay!

Kitty Bo said...

Even though I am horseless now, every time I see a truck loaded with hay, my heart leaps. Hay! Having a barn full is so important. I don't blame him about the big trucks. They can be intimidating for humans, and horses have more sensitive ears than we do. But still, he's trying. Glad you got to ride.

Cricket said...

Standing still on trail is almost impossible for Ashke to do . . . he is a go, go, go type of horse. Standing still in the arena is getting better, even though I can feel him shifting his weight without shifting his feet. Sometimes the impatience to do all the things is too great for their bodies to contain.

And I will be in Heiligenhaus in January for another meeting. How close is that to you?

lytha said...

Karen, I never could teach Baasha (Ashke's close relative) to stand. It wasn't important for me. Now it is. I want to be able to take photos, change out of my jacket, eat or drink something in the saddle without movement. It may be the most difficult thing to teach a hotblooded horse, I agree with you. I'm following the ideals of Andy Marcoux, who says even Arabians and Saddlebreds can stand still when asked, even when they'd rather not.

I live in Wermelskirchen, the outskirts thereof, one hour from Heiligenhaus. Heiligenhaus is where we bring our apples to be made into juice: ) You are welcome to come by and meet my horse. I'd go find some Dr Pepper for you.

Cricket said...

I have a plan to buy Dr Pepper in the airport and carry it on the flight. Two bottles for each day I’m there. 😄

And if you are only an hour away, I think I can make that happen. So would love to meet you and Mags.