Miracle of Miracles!!!

It began as any other day...except for the snow part. That part is not an any other day weather occurrence, thankfully. But it surely was part of yesterday. And as you probably know, I am not a fan of the four letter S word. There is, of course, little I can do about it falling, and training must continue.

Tika hadn't worn the saddle since Thursday. On Friday, the too small sheet had been her only training exercise, and I'd given her Saturday off. So I wondered how she'd react to the approach of the saddle. Turns out, better than she had a few days ago. There are still aspects that are not appealing to her, but she stood relatively still for it to be lifted upon her back as well as for me to reach beneath for the girth.

Naturally, I had my de-spookers handy to help with the ground work. Chickens are wonderful at getting horses used to things flittering and fluttering around their feet. And legs. And heads. I went to feed the other night and couldn't figure out what that dark thing in Tika's stall was. Turns out it was one of the hens roosting on the hay manger.

Years ago I learned not to fret when one of my mustangs appeared to slip backwards in training. Sunny was notorious for moving three steps forward, then two steps back. It has, at this point, become almost unnoticeable to me when a horse's training lags or reverts. Tika has decided she doesn't know how to lead. Of course, that's kind of hard to overlook, since forward motion is a bit on the obvious side. Rather than walk around the paddock with me once her saddle was on, she planted her feet and gave me some lip. A bit of Tika-tude.

That was okay. I got even with her by putting the bridle on. She was then mouthing the bit and forgot she didn't know how to lead. We went into the round pen where I began rubbing her with the reins, tossing them over her neck or the back of the saddle. This is something Tika is very uncomfortable with, and I always feel bad when I see that sudden look of uncertainty in their eyes. You've worked and worked at building that trust...then you dash it all with one flip of the reins. But it's a phase that will end soon. After a few flips of the rein across her back, I went back to rubbing and building confidence again. Tomorrow we'll do it again, and the day after that, and the day after that, until she realizes that nothing is going to bite her.

Once un-tacked, as we stood their in the snow, I decided to pull out one of the blankets. I knew it would be too big for her, but figured I'd put it on her just to help with the desensitizing. This time I slipped it over her head without undoing the chest, and she stood still as it slid over her back and across her hips. Reaching beneath was once again her weak spot, and she danced in a couple of circles before I got both straps up beneath her belly.

Now...this blanket has hind leg straps, and I wondered if I'd be able to get them on without a kick in the head. No time like the present to give it a try, eh? The left leg first, since that's her easy side. I ran my hand down her back to her hip, then down the back of her leg, rubbing in circles and talking to her. She didn't mind, so I moved to the front of her leg, across the gaskin and then to the inside where I'd have to reach to get the strap. She side stepped a bit, but otherwise stood still. It was only a minute, then, before that strap was secure.

I walked to the right side, and she began turning circles around me. Definitely not what she wanted to be doing. Wasn't the left side enough? She kicked out once...half heartedly, mostly out of discomfort and fear. I continued to work, but she continued to spin whenever my hand slipped towards the front of her thigh. So I grabbed the nearby lunge whip and began to stroke her with that. This really sent her into orbit and she dashed in small circles around me, kicking out at the object that was between her legs. But a couple of mintues of this was enough to convince her that she could A) not escape being touched and B) when she stood still, the banging of the object stopped. Once she began to relax, I rubbed the inside of her leg with the whip, then slipped the leg strap into place and quickly clasped it to the blanket.

And despite it being a bit on the long side, the blanket actually laid across her body nicely. I decided to leave it on her for the remainder of the afternoon, which ended up being all night, since it stayed snugly in place and I didn't want to take it off and let her get cold.

It was about that time that I looked up into the corner of her stall. I have no clue what drew my eye upwards to the ceiling, but...wonder of wonders! Lookie what I saw!

Dang...it's a miracle!

Back to the Future

Today's Sunday Stills word is Technology. Being as I live in my own little reality which appears to have more to do with the past than the future...let's face it, Living Legends doesn't exactly scream rocket science...I had to shift gears.

There was a time when technology meant a change in bit styles, or perhaps a new tree in a saddle. Or how about an upgrade from a hinge to a door that could slide across the front of your barn? Just imagine not having to kick that snow drift out of the way in order to get in to feed your livestock.

I wonder what my great-great-grandparents would think about the world today. Horseless carriages for everyone. Freezers and refrigerators inside every house. And imagine not having to hang your laundry out to dry! I bet they'd get a real kick out of how simplified we've made daily chores.

But just imagine what they'd think of this.

Or this.

This stuff scares me. I'm overwhelmed by fans and mother boards and daughter boards and modems. I'm clueless on how they work, except somehow they link me to all of you. I sit down to this screen and push a button, and instantly my words appear on your screen, in your home. No waiting months for a letter to cross the continent, or even overseas. I may not understand how it works, but I'm glad we've got it. Because not only does it connect us today (and tomorrow), but it's also my little window to the past, where I share with you a heritage that otherwise, you may never know.

Guess What Tika Did?

The temps have begun to rise. It was nearly almost not freezing yesterday! That was good news, because I left my hose outside in the cold and it was frozen. And while the water tubs had a good, solid layer of ice on top, the mustangs are ice munching maniacs and managed to chew and lick their way down to the water below.

If you were here yesterday, you may have noticed the photo of Tika. Did you see what she was wearing? Darling's English saddle! I know...didn't I just say I was going to wait until she stopped dancing around? Well, I figured the hunt saddle was less intrusive than the Western saddle pad, so opted to haul it out there with me on Thursday. She really didn't put up much of a fuss, and she's not at all concerned about things tightening up around her belly. Naturally, I've already had my long, trusty rope around her and pulled tight, just to see how she would react.

Tika's biggest issue is me being down there beneath her. Still makes her kind of nervous. It took a couple of reaches for the girth, but I managed to get it and once it was pulled up around her middle, she simply stood there. Some horses make me nervous when I saddle them up the first time. What if they blow before the saddle is secure, and it slips underneath their belly in the middle of a bucking frenzy? No such problem with this girl, and I hadn't anticipated there would be.

So Tika's worn a saddle. Then yesterday I thought I'd bring out an old sheet to see how she reacted to that. Again, something big and floppy going over her back was not on her hit parade of things to do on a Friday afternoon. I didn't think she'd have any problem with me slipping it over her head (I never unbuckle the chest...do you?), but I didn't want her to suddenly lose it when the blanket hit her back on both sides. So I unfastened the front, rubbed it on her face, neck, and down across her shoulder before sliding it over her body. She thought it a bit odd, but didn't panic.

This sheet is old. No back leg straps and even one of the belly straps had been ripped off at some point. But she wasn't bothered by on her body, so I fastened the one belly strap (and yes, the chest was secure at this point as well), got her a little bit of grain and left her happily munching. When I returned an hour later, the blanket had been pulled up around her girth area and was dragging on her right side.

Hmmm...desenstizing without the hard labor. I don't know if she was worried about it hanging down there or not when it first happened. She didn't appear to care one way or the other when I got there. I unbuckled the belly strap and pulled it off over her head. Enough training for the day. Neither Steve Holt! nor Sandy would have allowed that, even a month into training. Heck, it's all Sandy can do to tolerate things going over his head still!

Isn't she cute?

Now, there's a little matter of a prize for the book, Shadow Horse. I'd asked earlier in the week for what you'd be willing to do, or what you wanted someone else to do, in order to get a copy. Kathy M posted a story of her being wedged into the bars of a round pen panel. That's an image that has left me giggling the past few days...so Kathy? You win, girl!