ROPIN'!

Since Star's been ill (some virus thing...) I have been creative about what to do with Mercy. On Tuesday, I took Mercy out on her second 'alone' trail ride. I once again let her pick the path and she ended up taking me to the creek trail. She REALLY wanted to go down the the creek on this trail, but the slopes down there are sudden and once she gets into the creek, the brush makes it hard to turn around. We finally broke onto the service rode where we met a couple with their beagle. We see them on the trail all the time, so it was a quick hello and then into the creek! Mercy wasn't as interested in the water as she usually is, so we headed on back... I didn't want to stress Star out too much and get her even more sick. Mercy wanted to move out quite fast, but she slowed when I asked.

Then on Wednesday I went over to my friend's place to ride. We had a blast! Again we worked on loping mainly and that alone has improved so much! I am able to get her loping to the left on a loose rein and to the right after a little shoulder control exercises. We ended the hot evening by setting up some ground poles (well, actually they were PVC poles which she usually used for pole bending practice) and jogged over those. The first time over she blew right over them, landing on every single one. I changed plans by backing her through and side passing instead, to increase her awareness of them. It seemed to work! The next time over she stepped over each one beautifully!

Staring at the weeds in the nice dust free sand:

Once we got home, we let the girls out back to enjoy the evening:

The next day, I rode Mercy at home. Before I could even get on Mercy, Star pulled back on her leadrope pretty hard. I have been tying her to the barn to stand while I ride and usually she moves around and frets for a little bit, but nothing bad. This day she had something up her booty. I should have tied her and then asked her to move around to feel the end of the lead like I usually do, but I have done this many times now...I thought we had something going. Thank goodness the bolt held. How I love lifelong pullbackers! >:( NOT! Once I saddled up, I started out just asking Mercy to collect at the walk and follow my reins, legs, and seat while turning either sharply or gradually. We did have one issue come up, which I have actually ignored until now. Mercy dives into our circle (only at home, of course) so I applied Mugwump's 'Follow your nose' lesson to our ride. When she cut in many feet, I would haul her around and back onto our path. It only took 3 times for her to get the point. From their I worked on her stop and haunch turns. Waiting for her to give to the pressure cues:

Resting after a nice collected jog:

I really didn't want to lope her at our place yesterday. It is just so rocky and her feet get really banged up if we ride too much. So I pulled out my XXX-soft rope. I have been exposing Mercy to the rope every now and then for quite a while. On Tuesday, I stood next to her, on her right side, and practiced throwing the rope away from us. She didn't flinch once. I even pulled out a cone and roped it. I then walked backwards, Mercy followed at my shoulder, and we dragged it toward us! She looked at me with a bored expression when we were done moving. So, when I was riding yesterday I grabbed my rope again. She, again, could care less. Sweet.

I walked her around while slapping the rope on my thigh to make sure I could steer, neck rein, and hold onto the rope (which is too long for my small hands. Do you know how long a real roper's rope is?). Once I knew I could drop the rope in an emergency, I lined Mercy up to face one of my barrels with a cone on it. I swung the rope over us and let it loose. I got the cone!!!!! I couldn't believe it! I practice, but I am not confident enough to actually hit it on the first swing, lol! I asked Mercy to move around so she could feel the taught rope hit her shoulders and nose. Then I asked her to back. We pulled the cone off the barrel and the rope slid off, just what I wanted it to do. btw, I never wrapped the rope on the horn, I just held it against my leg to simulate it. That's where we stopped for the evening. I wish I was more skilled with the rope because I truly believe roping could be Mercy's specialty. Of course, no pictures, but I won't forget next time.

Wordless Wednesday

Mercy's First Ever 'Hair Cut'

Well, I've gone n done it again. I am not often very spontaneous, but on Wednesday I had had enough of Mercy's mane. I shaved a short bridle path (since her ears are so long I decided not to do the 'lay the ear back to mark how long to cut it' thing) and cleaned up her muzzle. I always have a hell of a time getting her bottom lip. It is just so sensitive. She has gotten really good at either sucking in her lips or pursing her lower lip and chin together so that I can not get the hairs in the groove created. *sigh* Oh well, I'm not showing her, yet...

She stood awesome for me to shave the bridle path. I knew she would, but you never really know how they will act once they feel the vibrations on their head. What a good girl! Next mane adventure- banding! ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Riding Galore!

Mercy really needs to be ridden daily so we can work out some issues. So far this week we have ridden everyday. My sister and I started off the week (Tuesday, lol!) by trailering the girls over to the Landsburg trails. My sister and I use to ride these trails when we (and Star) were younger. It was great to be back. We picked up some Subway for lunch and headed out. I grabbed my old saddle bags that attach to the back of the saddle. Star's saddle doesn't have any strings or D-rings, so it was Mercy's time to shine. I have not attached anything to the back of her saddle before, but she handled it like she had done it forever.

We hit the trail and not too soon after we left we heard an animal crashing through the woods up the hill in front of us. Mercy and Star stood and stared that way for a while, but it didn't take long to refocus. After an hour into our ride we stopped for our lunch. Once we were done, we loped up the hill to the next trail system. I was so proud that Mercy wasn't fazed by the large saddle bags banging on her sides as we made our way up the trail. What a good girl!

Then, on Wednesday, my sister and I headed out back on our trails for a quick ride to the lake. Mercy and I followed Star and Kimberly down the trail quiet and relaxed. This was great because Mercy really doesn't like to bring up the rear. Scary things follow her, I guess?!

Thursday morning we headed out again out back, but this time we did the 'big loop,' riding on the old train tracks and wandering back through the woods. Everything started out great. We got over to the tracks and loped a little before heading into the woods. After a few switchbacks we headed down to the creek on our way home. Unfortunately, that's where the fun ended.

Star went down to her knees for reasons we still don't know. Kimberly stayed up, but I don't know how. Star was able to right herself once she got her hind feet under herself, a tough achievement when on flat ground and harder even yet when facing downhill on a gravel service road. We jumped off to address the situation. Both of her already arthritic knees were bleeding, as well as her fetlocks. I grabbed the vetwrap and a tissue out of her saddle bag and wrapped up the worst of her bleeding wounds, her left fetlock. I offered for Kimberly to jump on Mercy, but she insisted on walking with Star back to the house. Luckily, we weren't more than 20 minutes away.

After getting back, we washed her legs and applied some swat. Star's no good at keeping bandages on her joints, so we just apply a fly barrier. Poor girl. We just don't know what do think about all of this. Her toes were a little long, but not bad at all. And she has arthritis, but generally it only bothers her in the winter when it's cold and we don't ride as much. The only other thing I can think of is that her back was sore from all of the riding we had been doing. This really doesn't make sense to me though because I palpated her back for soreness before that ride, only to find nothing at all. IDK...

Since Star was not going to be ridden for quite a few days, I took Mercy over to a friends place instead of trail riding yesterday. I rode her for a little over an hour practicing rail work. We worked on a nice collected jog, leg yields, and eventually we got to loping. I usually ask her to take the lead she has problems with first, so that we end on the easy lead. This time I wanted to shake things up and start with her left lead. This is the one we that we rarely have problems getting. Not so. Mercy decided the right lead was her idea of fun. After catching the wrong lead she immediately went into a series of weak crow hops. *Sigh*

I quickly brought her back to a walk and tried again. This time we got it and were much happier about it. That whole series of event was quite interesting. I remember thinking, once we were loping on the correct lead, how at the last show Mercy kept taking the right lead, even though we had circled to the left and practiced all of our maneuvers to the left. Weird, but whatever. Now was the time to fix it. I brought her down to the jog several times and again asked for the correct lead. Once I has satisfied, we switched directions. Of course she preferred this lead, now, and took it each time I asked.

After a short break, we practiced some pivots and side passing. Then we headed back to the rail. We jogged out and when we came to the straightaway, we rounded a barrel that was in the middle of the arena. I visualized my pocket and guided Mercy with my hand on our new reins. She needed a little more guidance lifting her shoulder, but overall I was really pleased. We did this on and off for another half an hour. Then it was cooling down time so I jumped off and walked her around for a while until she found some weeds to munch on. What a great way to prepare for our next gaming show... hopefully tomorrow!

btw, this was too cute to not put up. The wildlife around here is as lively as ever. Here is one of the new twins- s/he was trying to reach the water. It eventually did, with the help of a rock to stand on! The tree and violet-green swallow babies have left the nesting boxes. Only the barn swallow babies need to take permanent flight now. However, they are flying, just not leaving the nest! LOL!!

Wordless Wednesday

Skywatch Friday No. 51

See more beautiful and dramatic skies from all over the world at Skywatch Friday!

Sunday Gaming

Mercy and I ventured into the great unknown this weekend. Kinda. Sorta. We went gaming by ourselves! My dad did tag along in the morning until I got registered, but then he headed back home to finish other chores. We loaded up and headed out early so that Mercy would have plenty of time to get warmed up. Good thing we did because she was a handful. She loped nicely enough when I was in the warm arena. Once I got into the main arena, however, she could barely walk. There were too many distractions: horses zooming past, or stopping mid stride right in front of us and completing a rollback, the tractor moving the dirt around, and guys setting up the first course of the day. I finally got her to walk calmly when the called for the arena to be cleared.

Waiting for me to sign up for the day

Keyhole was first, so while waiting for our turn we practiced stopping and rollbacks. Things were going well and when our number was called we headed over to the course. I asked Mercy for her left lead while making a circle and the little bugger picked up her right lead! I didn't have enough room to correct her, as we had already crossed the timer line, so we changed plans. Unsuccessfully unfortunately. Once we got into the chalk outline Mercy didn't stop. Yup, we got our first No Time ever! Grrrr....

Eating the 'good stuff' at the bottom of the bag during a break

Even though we NTed and didn't place, we did make up some good time. This was the case for all of my other classes. Figure 8, Cal Stake, Flags, Barrels, ans Key Race were all run on the right lead, even though every time I had asked for and had practiced on the left. It worked out for barrels since that is the one event we go right first, but it sure was a pain. I knew I needed to correct her, but I just didn't want a fight yet. We are finally loping. I am alright with that. I know she can pick up the correct lead, but for now I let it go. Next time I will be more demanding. That should be fun, lol!!!

My dad came out again to drop off some Subway sandwiches and check on things. I really appreciate him doing this for me. It sure makes things easier. And other than the loose pony (who was "caught" by Mercy) and the loud, earthshaking, scary diesel trucks and motor homes driving by (which she got over with by the time we left) things went smoothly riding solo at the show.

Watching the scary motor home that had just passed

Anyway, here are our times for this latest show:

Keyhole~ 15.742 NT
Figure 8~ 18.007
Cal Stake~ 13.076
Flags~ 23.871
Barrels~ 22.136
Key Race~ 15.691

Overall, it was a great day! We bettered or equaled out run times since the last show and no one got hurt. I'd can that a day gone right! ;)

Mercy peeking around that corner to see where I had gone... to find shade

Wordless Wednesday

Random Happenings

Crazy Chai showing off in the grass

Tiki trees a squirrel

Java pounces on his leash

Young buck ruminates in the front yard

Mercy eats some tall grass by the lake

Mercy's gear at the gaming show (more on this later!)

Sunday Stills: Wings

Technically, yet to fly....I had to take that pic at a really weird angle, so it's blurry, oh well. I know there are at least three, maybe four chicks!

It's Coming Together

Mercy and I are finally starting to click. As you should know by now, loping wasn't coming easy for either of us. Mercy was rushed and nervous, while I, knowing her bucking history, want to take things slow so I have a little more control of most situations. Over the past two weeks I have hauled out to a friend's arena to conquer our loping issues. I didn't expect perfection. I just want a nice, easy-going, controlled, loose reined lope. Preferably on the correct lead.

After pondering many of Mugwump's ideas on starting colts, I felt more prepared to deal with Mercy. And myself. I had skipped over the initial walk/trot/canter on a loose rein, and without steering; letting the horse get comfortable carrying and balancing you without asking much of him/her for the first ride. Knowing Mercy was a bucker, I felt more at ease at a walk or trot. Plus I didn't have a round pen or arena. Yeah, I had an enclosed pasture, but with her tripping tendencies and random trees and poles (from the pole barn) I did not feel safe just hanging on.

Well, last Thursday I had had enough with excuses. I needed to lope Mercy. My friend Addi stopped by my house with her trailer and we loaded Mercy up. This was only her second time in a new trailer with a horse she had only met a time or two. I was surprised when she jumped in and remained settled. Neat! When we got to the arena, we tacked up and headed in. We spent a lot of time working on circles and bending, as well as yielding her shoulder and ribs.

When it was time to lope, Addi moved her horse into the middle of the arena so I could use as much space as was necessary. When I asked Mercy for her right lead (her worst) she picked it up immediately! Of course it was at a million miles an hour. I took hold of the reins and released the pressure when she slowed down to a nice lope. I wasn't prepared to let her blast off loose reined in this arena. The rails are 10" rusty steel beams and it only takes one time hitting those with your knee before you know how to avoid them! *blush*

We loped many laps until she offered to trot, at which point I encouraged her to keep going. We did a few more laps and when I asked her to stop, it took only one stride to do so. Sweet! Of course she wasn't breathing hard at all, but I, however, had been holding my breath (dang it!!!), so I had to air up. After watching Addi work with her horse, I jumped back on the rail and asked Mercy for a lope to the left. She got that one immediately and slowed to a nice lope much quicker than going to the right. At that point I worked on having her pick up her shoulder, as it was leaning in so much I thought we would fall over. She caught on quickly and it only took a little rein pressure to keep her up when I asked. After we stopped, we called it a day and headed home.

Then, on Tuesday, I loaded both Mercy and Starlett up to head back out to the arena. This was another gigantic achievement for us. This was the first time I have ever loaded both horses up and hauled them out by myself! And we had no issues what so ever! Tee hee. When I got there, my friend Kay took Star and worked her while I rode Mercy. We did the exact same routine as the time before. It took a few tries for Mercy to get the right lead, but once she got it, she got it.

After such a good couple of rides at the arena, I decided yesterday was the day to try our routine at home. I saddled up both horses, Mercy in her reining saddle and Star in her English saddle, and headed to the barn. I tied Star up so she could 'work it out' while I rode Mercy. I could tell Mercy was really responsive right when I got on because she was super sensitive to my leg, bending right around with very little pressure. She was following her nose, finally!


I started out just walking in the circle I decided I wanted to follow for the whole workout. Once we got a few hoof marks in the ground to designate my circle, we picked up a trot. She moved out quite quickly, which I didn't discourage. I blocked her only when she tried to move up into a lope. We weren't ready and that's not what I had asked for. We trotted this circle for a good 25 minutes before she 'asked' to slow down. I sped her up, then asked her to slow to a nice jog, in which she offered collection. That's where we stopped and aired up. Once I switched direction on my circle, she not once tried to lope, only trotted out. Good deal.

I switched directions again and asked for a lope (while most likely holding my breath... rgggh) to the right. She missed the first lead so we came back to the walk and tried again. I used a little more leg to move her hips over and once I asked her to lope, she got it. I let her lope out as fast as she wanted to, I just sat deep in the saddle and steered her back on course with our circle if she strayed. After a few laps, we were on a completely loose rein and she was loping like a not so green horse. We broke to a trot and I asked her again to lope off. This time she got it. It was finally coming together.

When we switched to the left, she loped off on the correct lead. She needed a little more direction to keep her on our circle, but she kept a nice rhythm and speed the entire time. When I asked her to stop she planted her butt and I jumped off and loosened her cinch. What a thrill! We were finally understanding each other. That was the best ride I have EVER had on Mercy since I have owned her. I tried to stay off her face and out of her way as much as I could, and she seemed to understand what my cues meant. I can't wait to put it to use at our gaming shows this year. And hey, maybe we will make a reining show this year, lol!


(btw, Star had calmed down by the time we got back to her. For a crazy, old, stallion mare, she did great tied up while I rode. I need to do that more often!)

Skywatch Friday No. 50

While I was waiting for my 4H kids to start working their horses last week at the Enumclaw Expo Center, I took this shot, hoping for a real break in the clouds.

See more beautiful pictures like this one from all across the world at Skywatch Friday!

Wordless Wednesday

The Darlings

This evening we had a surprise guest stop by...


...and help eat our herb garden...


...and whatever else she could before we shooed her away.

*Sigh* Oh well. Probably needed a pruning anyway.

On our last trail ride, TrailRidinRN and I came across a nest of Golden Eagle chicks! One of the parents was feeding them, so they were really noisy and animated in the nest. I tried to get a good pic of them, but by the time Mercy would stand still they were quiet again. The nest is in the top left corner:
Zoomed in:

Sunday Stills: Tri-color

I love these plants! They never fail to change colors all throughout the year.

Wordless Wednesday

Bucks and Gains

Last Sunday was Mercy and my second gaming show. The morning was moving slowly from the start. I got up around 6:30AM and was ready to leave by 7:00, but we didn't even go out to the barn to get Mercy until 7:45. She loaded fairly well and we were on our way. I drove the trailer down the main highway to the saddle club putting on the show. What I didn't realize is that they were doing road work and instead of leaving signs up warning drivers about the 5-6" drops they ground out of the pavement up ahead, we simple fell into them without notice or time to slow down on our way down the road. Thanks pavers, my already not-so-easy-to-keep-happy-while-trailering horse is now even more nervous, thanks....

Anyway, we get to the show and pull in under a giant tree. That would have come in handy if the sun had ever broke, which honestly I am glad it never did. Gaming in extreme heat is not fun or me or my horses. I unload Mercy and tie her up, then head over to the show office to sign up. Once again, the morning is crawling along. The office was running really slow and it took quite a while to get out. By the time I left, the first event was set up and the riders were finishing their warm-ups. I quickly tacked up Mercy and headed over to the now abandoned warm-up arena.

She was ready to go and responsive. I usually trot quite a bit and don't bother loping her. This day she was having a little trouble circling to the right, which is not unusual for her. I continued to circle her until she loosened up a little and became more responsive. Then I turned her to the left and loped her out with ease. Her willingness led me to believe she was ready to join the others.

I rode her over into the arena and found a spot to relax until our turn. Mercy and I are only qualified to ride in the 'D' class, so we had to wait until 'C' was over with for keyhole. When our number was called I pointed her out and asked her to trot a circle. We trotted to the left and then I pointed her straight. She suddenly decided, as we passed through the timers, that it was more fun hanging out with friends than working or running. So, she picked up a lope on the left lead (the one she usually bucks on) and started to buck a little more than she even has with me before! Thank goodness a great 'arena mom' was yelling at me to sit which broke my disbelief that this was happening. I needed to act, not daydream!

Once I had control again, we backed and backed until she relaxed her head and broke at the poll. I wanted to finish the run, but I couldn't remember if I had gone through the timers. Once I got my answer I continued down and back, finishing keyhole. After a run I usually reward my horses by heading back to the trailer for a snack. Nope. Not this time. I took her straight to the warm-up and worked her butt. We did serpentine, transitions, lots of circles to the left, and leg yields. Anything to keep her busy. Once she offered a super smooth 'whoa,' I jumped off and walked her back to the trailer.

Figure 8 was next. I decided not to warm up too much because we were going to trot this run. I also didn't let her just hang out while waiting. I kept her moving around, zigzagging around horses and stopping at random. Our number was called and we headed out. I circled her twice this time and trotted her out. She kept trying to pop up into a lope, but I kept her calm and trotted the course, got off, and returned to the trailer.

From then on, things went much better. Cal stake was quick because it's not only a down and back type event, but I also let Mercy lope. She was finally figuring it out! Flags was next and my grandma had come out with my dad to watch us. Flags is easy when your horse is use to them, but I have not had to experience riding a horse that still needed direct reining while carrying a flag. Mercy did great! I grabbed the first flag with my right hand and bunched the reins in my left hand. She got a little confused when she tried to cross the course, but once she figured out this wasn't Figure 8, we made some good time.

Barrels was going to be our last event for the day. I was getting a little sore and didn't want to wait around at the end of the day to pay up, with everyone else. This event takes a long time because you can only have one person go at a time, instead of running two events at time. We had a long wait before my turn, so I unsaddled Mercy and let her graze under the tree while we all watched the other riders. Some mischievous boys came along at some point and were playing on the tree, throwing stuff and yelling off war chants. Or something...


I got Mercy saddled up and headed out. I wasn't expecting much spectacular, so we quickly warmed up and headed out. When it was our turn, I let her loose. She loped out like pro. I don't know on which lead, but when we got to the first barrel she rounded it on the correct lead. After making it around we headed to the next one. She momentarily got confused and tried to go around the wrong side, but she was easy to correct and we continued on. Over to the third barrel and we were loping home! Loping! Woot!

She did very well and with the help of the arena moms, we got a great time for our first barrel run ever! Here is the break down of our times:

Keyhole- 31.970
Figure 8- 25.069
Cal Stake- 14.559
Flags- 19.328
Barrels- 23.847

To see how we have (or have not, lol!) progressed, look back a few posts to find our previous times. We had a break this weekend and I will be not going this coming weekend, but expect us back out there on the 27th or 28th! Can't wait to do it again! ;)

Wordless Wednesday and Belated Sunday Still: Silhouettes

...I hate spiders... especially 'flying' ones! ;)

Catching up...again

Wow, what a week! It started out with me washing and waxing the trailer. This only happens once a year and since we don’t have a cover for it, of any kind, I try my best to get it looking real good during that time. Of course, Chai helped for a while…

until she found a better spot to sleep… *sigh*

I am unable to remove the mats at this time (the previous owner glued them down when they replaced the floor right before we bought it) so I crawled under the trailer and checked them that way. It took two days, but I got the trailer washed and waxed. Of course it took another day or two to replace the tack! I didn’t want to use it! Tee Hee!

Mercy, Star, and I went on some pretty nice trail rides this past week too. On our first ride, I rode Star and ponied Mercy. Star was moving right out and Mercy was enjoying the opportunity to eat everything along the trail. We headed over to the lake and once again there was a couple fishing, so we detoured around them. After stopping for a quick snack, we continued on our way. We started home after a while and stopped by the creek. Star reluctantly went in, while Mercy literally dove in! She went right for the deepest part of the creek and I thought she was going to roll, but I think Star’s pawing distracted her…and then she forgot. She splashed around for a while until she put her head into the water too deep.

On one of the freakin’ HOT days we had this past week, my sister, Kimberly, helped me bathe the horses. I had bought Mercy a new Medicated shampoo for her itchies… I still don’t know what’s causing this, neither does the vet. I’m thinking fir tar, bug bites, or sweat. Until I figure it out, I will continue to do my best to help relieve Mercy of her aggravating and destructive itchies.

Star's obligatory "You can't get my mane wet, even from the other side!!!" I won...

Java got a bath too… and then found a nice resting spot…

Then I rode Mercy a ponied Star the next day. Mercy walks so fast that Star basically trots the whole time. It’s good for her. I thought she would try eating like Mercy does when she’s ponied, but she didn’t. What a good girl! Once again, we did a few looper trails, but it was so hot already at 10:30AM, so I pointed them back home. We stopped by the creek for a quick drink, them not me, and this time Star dove in! That’s pretty brave for her. She will never refuse to go into water, but she doesn’t love it. I was quite impressed.

The next evening, I saddled up Mercy and practiced some barrel racing on my front pasture. I didn’t work her hard or fast because 1) she’s not ready 2) the ground is rocky and 3) I needed to work on her impatience issues. The camera wasn’t set on the correct setting so ya... I even crawled on Star bareback for old time’s sake... not a good idea. She is very high withered and I had flashbacks about why I didn't win many bareback classes in 4H!

Mercy and I went to our second gaming show yesterday. We had one big bad moment and a couple of really big good moments. I will update you all on that later! ;)