The Real Deal

I'm damn proud of Maverick. He's more than a sorrel diamond in the rough. He's the real deal. He may not be much to look at, nothing flashy, no high step, but he's a damn good horse.


I got on him yesterday for the first time in one and a half years with no issues. Most trainers would shake their heads in dismay and say I'm doing it wrong. In fact, I HAVE had a trainer show his dismay for my lack of ground work with a horse before stepping into the saddle.


But to those trainers, you don't know what I have. Your horses take years and years to get where I am without even trying. If I could ride more than once in a great moon, I'd have a horse that would win ribbons, buckles, trophies. Why, because he's that damn good.


I was mulling it over. I haven't ridden Maverick since October 2014. I got pregnant in 2015 and didn't ride (because I didn't want to risk hurting the baby...had a wakeup call when I fell off Zeke...hard). I did hop on Maverick in October 2015 but that was for about 5 minutes and only to prove to myself that I could ride him. I still get a scare from thinking I can ride him (he's a perfect gent so it's all in my head).


So, go pull a horse out of YOUR pasture that's been sitting for a year and a half and climb on without any ground work. Oh sure, I threw the saddle on and did about 2 minutes of lunging but that's it. I walked him around the arena and then hopped on. Yes, he's that damn good. Not many people can do that with their horses unless they are old ranch horses who have miles and miles and hours and hours of time on them. Maverick. does. not.


I can pretty much hop on any of the herd that's broke to ride and ride out with no problems. Because my herd is that good. Because we have a trust. And I'm just that lucky.


I was asking Maverick to do stuff that was trained out of him. It irked me that people were telling me I needed to work with him, that he's just being lazy. There's no flaw with Maverick. What he does, is all stuff that he was trained to do (or not do in this case). If he were a person, he'd be close to a damn genius.


Maverick is smart and gets bored easily. But he's smart and has a good work ethic (if/when I ever do ride him).


I guess I just wanted to toot Maverick's horn. He hasn't been off the place in 1.5 years, hasn't been saddled in 6 months (and a year before that), hasn't been around anyone else but his normal herd in 1.5 years, hasn't been hauled in that same amount of time and he did awesome. Of course, he bulked a little going in and out of the trailer but I sort of know the issue there.


Maverick is no push button horse. But that's because I'm used to riding Zeke. He's an old pro. But at 24 years old and having been trained and done almost everything in the books, he knows what he's doing. Maverick hasn't been exposed to nearly as much. I know his history and in fact, he hasnt' been exposed to nearly as much stuff as the rest of the herd and he did awesome for what he knows.


So, I used to call Maverick a diamond in the rough. Naw, he's the real deal. If he would have fallen into a home that showed, or a home that rodeo'd, he'd be winning ribbons and buckles. Because Maverick is the real deal.

Horse Eating Netwrap

Did you know...Netwrap is scary? At least it is to this guy (sorry, pics are super old)

I'm still feeling the pain from my encounter with Maverick and the netwrap from last Sunday. We needed to put in round bales so I put the hard keepers in the barn for their nightly meal and tied the others up. I questioned where I tied Maverick but didn't want him with the rest because he likes to mess around with lead ropes and halters. He helped Chaos get out of his halter one other time we were putting in round bales. I dont' want a loose horse while we put in bales.


So Maverick was tied to a corral panel. I knew when I did it, that I should probably tie to the post instead but didn't think the lead rope was long enough. I'd unwrapped the netwrap and was walking over to throw it out of the pen. I have a pile of netwrap I need to throw away but don't want to fill the garbage can with it until garbage day (which I always forget).


Of course, I was walking with the newrap way in the air so I wouldn't trip over it and apparently THAT scared the crap out of Maverick. It was all a little surreal from here on out.


Maverick got scared and pulled back...hard. He ripped the corral panel off (it was only tied to keep a weak spot in the fence from opening up). Well, that meant Maverick was even more jacked up because he was scared of the netwrap and the corral panel that was still attached to his lead rope but now dragging at his feet.


So Maverick was in high gear going backwards and was headed straight to the other three horses that were tied up at the hay ring.  They started to spook and Maverick took off running forward around the drylot in some deep, thick mud. I was afraid he was going to get his foot stuck in the corral panel and break a leg but he figured out how to run and drag the damn thing without getting caught (thank god).


He finally came to a stop and started backing up but then got the corral panel caught on the fence and promptly went face first into the dirt/mud. He somehow got his foot caught up in the rope when he backed up so it was elevated. I was worried that he had his nose buried in the mud so I rushed over. He didn't have his nose in the mud. Unfortunately I didn't have a knife to cut the rope if I needed to and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get the halter off or not.


But I walked up calmly while Maverick was blowing hard and was able to get the halter off. I wanted to make a quick get away so that I'd be out of the way. But  because I was in ankle deep mud, as I was trying to get out of the way, I started to slip and fall. Maverick lunged right at that moment and went over the top of me.


I don't really know what all happened. I did not lose consciousness but I closed my eyes and hoped to god I wouldn't get my head stepped on. I didn't get directly stepped on but I did get nicked on one of my love handles (that'll teach me to be 20 pounds overweight). I also am not sure if he hit me in the head/shoulder or if I hit a rock when I fell.


I had to take a quick assessment after Maverick went over the top of me. I wasn't sure if I'd have to go to the hospital or not. The first thought was...well crap, I'm suppose to have jury duty tomorrow and I'll be headed to the hospital. But after a few curse words, I realized I was going to be fine but when I touched my head and saw blood, I figured I' better get in to the house and take a quick assessment of the damage.


That'll teach me to wear a barrette. I haven't worn barrettes in years and I did that day because I wanted the hair out of my face. I think that's where all the blood came from. The barrette must have cut open my ear when I hit my head on a rock (or had it hit by Maverick). At least that's my guess.


My ear is still crusty and hurts like the dickens but it's getting better. I honestly couldn't tell if I was sore from being run over or if it was from riding Rain (he has the worst trot and trying to get him to lope for drill team is exhausting).

After I went back out to finish chores, I did assess Maverick. The entire time I was finishing chores, Maverick stayed right next to Ivan's side. Ivan kept trying to lick him and make him feel better. Every time I'd look over to Maverick and point a finger at him and tell him he was a bad horse, he'd lower his head or try to hide his head behind another horse to block the view. He knew he'd done wrong.


But I did take a look at him and he did get banged up a little. He had a rope cut on his back leg that had gotten hooked up on the lead rope and corral panel. We have mud and lots of it. We'll call it "mud" for the sake of this conversation.


I didn't think that Maverick would let me do much with him and I was hurting so I decided I'd stall him in some deep straw and let the cut scab over. So into the barn Maverick went. He wasn't so sure about being in the barn. I forget that I'm fairly loud and clumsy in the barn. The hard keepers are so used to me fumbling around that I was a little surprised that Maverick wasn't used to it. But then again, I'm not sure I've ever stalled him in our barn.


So I guess I need to start getting Maverick used to being in the barn (if he's going to be my drill team replacement once I send him to the trainer). I didn't want Maverick in the barn alone because I wasn't sure how well he'd handle it...probably just fine but didn't want to push my luck. So I kept his best friend, Jim in with.


In the morning I went out to check and he walked off just fine. No swelling in the leg (or any leg for that matter). So Maverick is just fine and I'll be feeling better soon enough. It's just a reminder that you should always be cautious around horses. I seem to have more wrecks on the ground, rather than in the saddle.

PS, I promise to get more recent pictures soon! But he still looks the same.

Pictures (or the lack thereof)

So, my blog has been pretty much pictureless for quite some time. Or there's a picture here or a picture there but not many recent ones. There's a reason.

I finally got a new phone so I could upload pictures right on the spot. Perfect! Except... after I've taken so many pictures, my phone won't upload them to Facebook (or let me send them in a text). Apparently I take too many pictures.

And most people would say, duh, just download them to your computer. Well, when you take too many pictures on your phone in a short amount of time, it also means that you have to put them somewhere and I've downloaded years worth of pictures onto the computer.

There. is. no. room.

The computer is almost full and my phone is almost full so that leaves the blog looking fairly bare. It seems like that thought should be totally backward. If you have so many pictures, the blog should be full...but getting them to the blog is the hard part. And I honestly don't have any recent pictures of the herd lately. I'm still behind in getting the yearly cheat sheet up. My phone hated the cold so no pictures in the winter and now that it's light out, I'm usually rushing to get chores done and it's not exactly pretty pictures. It would be horses caked in mud, or standing with their butts to the camera with their heads buried in another round bale (because they've pulled off the hay net).

So, I'll see what I can do about finding space on the computer and my phone so I can finally have current pictures of the herd. Jim and Brego are looking a little trim. They tend to lose a little weight starting in March and no amount of hay/grain will help. They simply need to be on grass. Junior is the same way. He looked really good going into winter but these past few weeks have been a little tough on him...it's been nice out with good quality hay and grain but at some point, their body demands grass. So I may do some rearranging to get them on grass before the rest of the herd.

Everyone else is fat and sassy (and enjoying round bales). We had a fairly easy winter and with constant hay in front of them, they all came out looking fatter than they did going in to winter. We still have another month before I start getting them out on the lawn to graze and it'll be  month after that before they are out on pasture. The pasture doesn't hold for more than a couple of months.

But I may consider putting up some corral panels and putting Brego and Junior out for a little bit (and possibly Jim). Maybe a little bit of grass in the evening will help them gain a few pounds. If only it was as easy for me to lose weight as it is for the horses and for them to gain weight as easily as it is for me.

Throwback Thursday

The Throwback Thursday picture is from last fall in Junior, Rabbit, and Mayhem's pasture. This is the view I typically get with them if I don't have grain or treats. I think they were going in search of the big herd in their pasture (or were trying to get away from me and my constant pestering).

Where's Skippy - March Locations and Winner

Skippy stayed busy in his adventures in March, while visiting locations in Ireland (or at least places "across the pond"). For those wondering where Skippy went, here's the actual names.

Day Five - St. Patrick Church

 Day Four - Newgrange

Day Three - Torc Waterfall

 Day Two - Scrabo Tower

Day One - Stonehedge

And the winner of March's contest is........April Lambertus

Wishlist Wednesday

On today's Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for stall mats. To ensure that the hard keepers get their grain with absolutely NO competition, we stall them during feeding time. This way, we can make sure that they get the right amount of grain and supplements and can keep an eye on them if someone is "off" their food.

We also stall the hard keepers in the winter time to ward off the chill and bad weather that we always get during South Dakota storms. And even in the summer time, we will occasionally stall horses to keep the  mosquitoes at bay (at least on those that have bad reactions to mosquito bites).

The barn is older and definitely NOT fancy. We made the stalls so again, NOT fancy. It serves its purpose but we would love someday to have better stalls. But in the  meantime, instead of having the horses stand on concrete with no cushion (except from the straw bedding), I'd feel more comfortable with stall mats. The stall mats give just a bit of cushion and help those that are a bit sore. We have a few that I've had to stall for one reason or another and I worry that without a stall mat or two, that maybe they will get more stiff. And as the older ones get older, having a bit more cushion while standing (and lying down) is always a good thing.

Each stall takes a minimum of two mats and would benefit from three. We've been buying the cheaper of the two stall mats from TSC (simply because price does matter). But we'd be happy with any type of stall mat to keep the hard keepers comfortable while in their stall.

Brego (one of the hard keepers) waiting for his evening grain.

Lone Horse + Lifecycle

I've actually been trying to figure out how to write this post for the last little while. Being that we are a Sanctuary, we deal with death on a somewhat regular basis, at least more regular than most. Aging bodies, stiff joints, grumpy horses, its' all a part of what we are.


But I'm sometimes taken aback by the lifecycle. I've been driving to the paying job from the Sanctuary for over 10 years. I always drive by a pair of horses. There was once a third but he left. I've never talked with the owners, I've never met the horses. I simply drive by and enjoy their brief company. In the past three years, I typically only see them on the way to work because I take a different route to pick up the kids from daycare. And with winters, I typically don't see anything but the road in front of me so it wasn't until daylight savings time that I saw the pair recently.


I was shocked to see that one hadn't weathered winter as well. It's been 10 years of driving by and I don't think they were very young when I started seeing them on my daily drive. So it was a bit of a shock to see that their age was really starting to show this year.


But the next time I drove by, the one that was aging poorly was gone. I presume that the owners did the right thing (because why would you keep old horses until the very end...at least that's my hope...and the other still remains). I'm sure that they had the one humanely euthanized but that left the other older horse alone. He has severe arthritis in his front leg. It's obvious even from a distance.


I guess I was a little shocked in knowing that one is no longer "with us". I say that loosely because I've never met him but he has been a part of my daily routine for 10 years. Now this other horse is standing in a lush pasture alone.


For some reason, I'm having a harder time adjusting to this loss and it's not even mine. I don't know either of the horses or the owners. I only drive by but when you do for 10 years, you get accustomed to certain things. I'm always looking at the countryside and looking for horses....because that's what horse crazy girls do.


So I'm a little saddened each time I see the lone horse. I'm not sure if I'm more saddened because the other horse is gone, or because the remaining horse is alone. Granted, I would never want the owners to "get tired" of the old horse and sell him at auction or try to find him a new home. That's simply too hard on them. But I worry that he's lonely, even though he's not my horse and I don't know him or the situation.


How odd that I would feel sad. It's simply the lifecycle and its' a fact of life. And I've been around this type of lifecycle for 10 years as well but it still for some reason is harder for me to take. Maybe because its' always harder on those that are left behind.


I don't know. I was going to write this post way more eloquently but I can't seem to find the words. My  mind just keeps going back to the lone horse.


Odd how even though I don't know the horse, know that it's simply a fact of life, and that he's actually had a pretty pampered life (lush pastures all the time, plenty of food, and shelter) I still feel bad for him. There are plenty more that don't get such a good life. It's simply hard to watch as people and animals grow up, and grow old.


Maybe it's having kids and realizing that life goes by so much quicker now. I dunno. I'm sure I'm not making any sense. It's just taken me a little bit to adjust to a different "routine".