Ground driving

She was much better this time. She fussed a little and gave right up and did a good job.

From afar

I took some pictures of Shelby as she was taking a drink on the other side of the panels. I didn't have time to spend with her today, other than feeding and a quick check to make sure everything is okay, no weird lameness or anything like that.

She is pretty. For some reason, she always is full of scrapes. I don't know if she hasn't learned where not to stick her head and neck or what, but she has hair rubbed off in little patches always. Could be trying to get rid of the flies, but I think it's from sticking her head through the feed door and pulling it out too quickly.

She looks way downhill in these pictures, but I think it could be the slope of the ground to some extent. She is definitely still downhill, but not as bad as a few months ago.

September 11 attacks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks

Poor little Shelby

Poor little Shelby has had to do precisely nothing in a very long time. She eats and sleeps stretched out in the grass in the sunshine. That is all she does. She drinks once in a while and puts her head on other horses backs and rubs against the fencing, but that is it.

I think she likes it.

She's still a baby in so many ways. Her body is growing so fast, but her eyes say she doesn't always quite know what is going on. She likes the company of other horses, but has been very content in her own space next to the others lately. It's good for her to not share her food with Chavez all the time. Phelps and Shelby are about the same ribby factor, so after Phelps is done with is antibiotics, I'll put her with him to eat together.

Funny that she seemed so tall to me before Phelps came. Now, she seems even a little small. She is nicer all the time and hasn't pinned her ears at me in quite awhile.

Shelby is fine. Her feet look better than I have ever seen them and she is getting more personable all the time.

I've been watching the Olympics and haven't had time to work with the horses lately. They'd better be glad for fresh food and water until after the Olympics. :-)

Same old, same old...

Shelby and Chavez are thick as thieves. You won't catch one very far from the other. It has worked out very well for Shelby as Chavez has started sticking up for her at feeding time. I think he's realized he's not a youngster anymore and is starting to assert himself a bit. I like it.

Shelby seems to be filling out a little. Perhaps due to Chavez making room for her at the hay piles. Perhaps that she is not nearly as skittish and squirrely as she has been in the past. I think a calm horse has more ability to concentrate on being healthier and more fit in general. Somewhat "new-agey" which I am not at all, but think about it. Most nervous, constantly moving athletes (long distance runners, cyclists, etc.) are skinny and fussy. (Okay, maybe just the ones I know and/or hear about.) People who are calm and work out, but don't take it as life and death can be fit and healthy without being skinny and crazed.

That is probably WAY beyond the scope of this blog . I just mean that she is settling in, doesn't seem so nervous and is, possibly because of that, gaining some weight and looking sleek.

Could just be that she has stopped growing UP for awhile, too.

Lots of busy days with getting kids in for Optometrist and Dentist appointments. Not much time for the ponies right now. I need to make some hard decisions on a couple of horses in the next few weeks and that has taken up much of my horse time.

I'm not selling or giving them away. Just my old gelding, Dodge... he wintered REALLY hard last year. He's IR and hates low carb, low starch food. He's ancient and I don't know what his past really consisted of. He has started favoring a foreleg more than normal. He's skinny and ... the list goes on. So, when I took Dani in last week, I talked to her about Dodge. I'm probably going to put him down in the next few weeks.

Selfishly, I know I can get him through another winter. Honestly, I don't think that's in his best interest. He went downhill so quickly after we had to put his buddy, Gambler, down last year about the same time. I'm so not ready to go through that heartache again, but I think it's the best choice. I can't make him any younger.

More ground driving

We worked on ground driving again today. She is quite calm in the round pen and for the minimal equipment I attach to her. I started with just a little lunging, then attaching the surcingle and long lines, piece by piece, until she had everything on, doing a circle or walking a little in between each step. I like doing a little work each time I add an element. I think it's just too much all at once if I slap on the surcingle, add a line to each side and off we go. If I do that, I have no chance to really see how she's feeling that day and how she's processing each step. So, we're always slow. We always make progress of some kind, but not always as fast as I think it should be. I need to get over it, realize she's a barely two-year-old filly and do the groundwork until it is done. And by done, I mean, she's got it all and knows what I want, before I climb aboard to ride.

I know there will come a point, where I just need to get on and go. We're not there yet. I continue to work with the saddle and laying over her, putting a foot in the stirrup, but that's not where all my concentration is now. The emphasis has to be on understanding. I feel like she's barely gotten a chance to be a "kid" and now I'm making her work. I don't mind that fact, but I don't want to push so hard that she hates it either. I hope (knock on wood) that I take each horses' personality into account before I even put on a halter, let alone ask them to do something for me.

So, ground driving; she caught on much quicker this time. She knew what I wanted and was showing me her stubborn side. I only drove her outside the round pen for a few minutes until she was in tune with me and listening well. We did a couple of things well and stopped. As Clinton Anderson says "Horse training is the opposite of sex...you stop when it feels good."