So you ride yourselves over the fields

Here is the cutest Sovey boy after our bareback ride yesterday afternoon.  Yes, he is back in his bitless bridle in this photo.  He is doing fine again.

Pie and I had a fabulous ride on Tuesday evening. This was my first evening ride since last year so he was nervous in the cross-ties trying to convey to me that I had mixed up the routine.  With Pie, I just have to proceed calmly and tell him that I know what I am doing. With his first balk and worry as we headed out, I pushed him forward with no ambivalence in my mind and that was all it took.  He trusted me the entire ride.  I need to trust myself and push him forward more when he thinks the only way out is up. And, as many of you kindly suggested, also circling him if he is doing the half-rear and absolutely won't go forward.  I think he will go forward if I mean it. He just senses my hesitation to push him forward. 

Kate, over at A Year With Horses, had a great post about her new Drifter boy and his baby habits called Drifter Acts Like a Baby.  This post really hit home with me because it described my Pie to a T.  Pie is willing until he is done or bored or onto the next thing and then he wants to be the boss like a spoiled child.  It was easy in the beginning because everything at our farm was new to him, but now he knows the routine and the farm and he wants to cooperate only so long.  My daily work involves trying to get him to give even when he is done.

Pie is the youngest of our three horses in actual age.  He is still five and will turn six on May 7th of this year.  Foggy turned six on January 22nd, but Foggy is the real baby.  This is a different kind of "baby" than the one I was just describing above or Kate is describing in her post.  Foggy's actions and view of everything reminds me of what it would be like to have a foal on the farm.  I know he raced and has seen way more of the "world" than Pie, who never raced, but Foggy is "coltish" in his daily play.  I really like that about him, but it might be a crazy ride when I finally climb on!  

The cutest thing about Foggy is the hair that flows out of the inside of his ears.  He looks like a long-haired bunny rabbit.  Because of his constant movement, I had a difficult time trying to photograph his cute ears.

These shots are from Tuesday evening.

He just won't stand still long enough for me to show both ears at the same time.  The tufts are adorable!  Here is a photo from last November when Brian and I went to see him at the track.  

He was calmer that day than he is with us.  He is not hyper here; the only way I can describe it is - exuberant!  He used to come out of his stall very slowly and walk calmly.  Now, he comes out excited to see the day and the other horses.  I know that I am partly to blame.  I am always so excited to see him in the morning and I can't contain my enthusiasm.  That is the worst thing about being around horses for me.  I get the best results when I act "bored" - like a mutt, as I say.  I am SO NOT bored when I am with horses!  Today, I acted bored and depressed when I brought Foggy out and he walked out quietly.  Oh, it is so difficult to be calm when you have such adorable cutie pies around you at every turn!!!  

they asked us to stay for tea and have some fun

This is my take on Frank Mather Beatty's poster, Out of the Running.

Today's ride on Sovey was ridiculously perfect in spite of a thundering herd of two stirring up trouble in the pastures beside us.

I left Pie and Foggy out together with access to all the pastures as I headed out riding Sovereign this afternoon. That wasn't very smart on my part. It is fine if they are out together, but I should have kept them in a small pasture. I gave the left-behind-boys hay to munch which only lasted as long as Foggy's tiny attention span (4 minutes!). They walked slowly and calmly around to be near us at first. I rode for 30 minutes around all the building and trees. Sovey likes variety more than anyone so this was a fun ride for him. My mother joined us and we followed her into the woods. Dumb me. I was talking and forgot what I doing. As soon as we were out of view, the two wild babies understandably took off looking for their herd mate. If I had been on Pie I would have been launched into orbit. Luckily, I was on Sovereign who takes care of me like no other horse I've ever known. He put his head up a little but that was all. I felt his heart thumping because he heard one of Pie's dragon snorts, but he didn't become the dynamite keg that Pie is known to imitate in scary situations and we made it back without any problems at all.

I love these three horses so much.  Each have unique personalities and their own positive attributes. I tell the horse I am with at the time that "you are my best boy" but really they all are my best boys. Sovey is a steady boy under saddle. Pie is willing and funny/goofy and sweet. Foggy is unbelievably kind and trusting to horses and dogs and people. They all like each other, too. Foggy is back in at night because our temperatures are so chilly, but in the day I have witnessed Sovey and Foggy grooming and resting their heads on each other. Pie and Foggy eat tight together sometimes. And, of course, Pie and Sovey are still best friends. It seems to me that Pie and Sovey are actually happier now than they were before. I think it is because they are one horse closer to a real herd and all the benefits that come with that natural dynamic.

I thought I was perfectly horse happy before, but I feel even more joy now, if possible.  My only regret about adding another horse is my sad lack of blogging time.  I have been having interesting rides on the two "old" boys and good progress on the ground each day with Foggy, but I find little time to post about it and then it is the next day and new things happen!  Three horses and a husband and a sixth grade sweetie-Maizie-girl and a smattering of posters to design and blogs to read (I have been reading-just not commenting) has been keeping me stepping - all in a good way. 

On Sunday, Maizie and I went geocaching and she found a pony travel bug that had instructions to have its picture taken with "other ponies" along the way.  Here it is with Pie and Sovey!

never seem to live up to the ones inside your head

Here is my cute boy, Pie, on our ride today to the cemetery.  We haven't been here in a long time but he has been "asking" to go, so today we attempted this big adventure.  

I finally kicked the flu (thank you for all the kind well wishes) and got back to riding this week.  I have been alternating riding Pie and Sovey each day and yesterday I tacked up the new, sweet Foggy for the first time.  I walked him (me on the ground walking beside him) around the ring in his tack.  He walked nicely for me, but I can tell he is nervous about "something new".  I have read in blogs and internet articles that a sign that a  horse is calm is when they chew.  I have to say that I must not understand what is meant by this.  Both Pie, and now Foggy, "chew" and lick and move their tongue around when they are nervous.  By contrast, Pie lowers his head and gives a nice, long sneeze-snort-sigh when he is relaxed and Foggy did that very thing after a few laps around our ring.  As soon as I heard that and felt him relax and lower his head, I untacked him.  He was much more worried about our new program than I like.  I didn't tack him today, but I will again in a few days.  He is just going to take a long time which is fine.  His weight is still very low so there is no hurry. 

I am getting bored riding around the farm and I know Pie and Sovey would like a change too.  Today, I pictured going north off our property and Pie headed right out there straightaway.  How do they know?

We have to pass an automotive garage on the way to the cemetery. Pie will not walk by without visiting there.  It is sort of embarrassing, but I like that he is interested and not frightened. My mom was walking along with me so you can see her talking to the mechanic in this picture. We gave the man treats for him to feed Pie.  Pie loves him now.  He took our photo (below), but unfortunately he got his hand in front of the lens.

Pie continues touching "targets" everywhere because of our clicker work.  A few days ago he was determined to touch every single plastic bag that had blown over from the auto-auction.  Our treats were long gone, but he would not stop!  Today in the cemetery he wanted to touch the monuments but I would not let him.  He had to settle for this trash can.  He loved it, but of course, thought it was smelly and made his "stinky face".

Pie and I headed down a path and somehow got lost from my mother. He was determined to go home a different way than the way I wanted to go.  He started throwing his head and popping up and down in the half-rear that he does when he is nervous and wants to go home but won't listen to me.  I stay with him and have small successes with sitting tight and pushing him forward. He gets very frustrated, but we are working on these tantrums.  As usual, I am kicking myself for not going home when we were at the trash can. I always have to push it and not quit when ahead. So, I kept working, but it was clear that he was not moving forward.  He started backing up and tearing up the cemetery grass. I only ride him on the pavement or way over at the grass edge near the woods, but still I didn't want him to be destructive.  I had to dismount which is the kiss of death for me because I am not as confident with him when I am on the ground.  I let him graze and pulled out my cell to phone my mom for moral support.  Pie really calmed down when I started talking on the phone which is weird, but tells me that my body language and voice probably calmed down first.  My mother was wondering how a huge horse could disappear in a cemetery.  She had started home when she lost us.  

I walked back out to the neighborhood beside the cemetery and found her.  She gave me a leg up while complaining how much I weigh.  She said that it was much easier to give me a leg up when I was in high school.  I reminded her that my mare was only 14.2 back then and Pie-Pie is almost 17 hands.  I was so proud of how still he stood.  I have been using clicker and treats to get him to stand better for mounting and it sure paid off today!

Back on our property Pie put a nasty rear in when a loud truck passed.  I just couldn't get my breathing together and I held my breath when the truck approached.  I'm not entirely happy with today's ride, but I am not mad at Pie.

Foggy is out all night tonight with the boys for the first time.  I hope I can sleep!