August 31- Ride #7, sick day

Horrible head cold all week but still had to work since my boss was out of town. Hard to hold down the fort with half a brain. Hopefully not too many mistakes.

Training journal again to the rescue.
Sunday- Ride #7. Took Sherlock away from his breakfast. Quick groom and fly spray, knelt when cleaning R front foot. Saddle and rope halter. Balance checked when dismounting. New riser pad makes back od saddle really high.  Just a few minutes walking to check saddle fit. Cantle too high. Impressed that he takes such good care of me even when he isn't feeling 100%.

Monday- Gave grain (CoolCalories added) and groomed. Very good boy. No balance checks but didn't work. Fly sheet back on. New bites L barrel, Blackie back in pasture. T told me they are getting an increase in alfalfa/grass hay this week.

Wednesday- Fed grain- held the bucket waist-high and he stood more square while he ate. Looks good, cheerful. Watching for loose stools with CoolCalories but no problems.

Thursday-Fed on the other side of the shelter. This area seems to vanish out of the consciousness of the other horses. Nice quiet feeding time and he doesn't spill as much if he's not always looking.

Friday- Fed on the other side of the shelter. Sherlock remembered once I called him and came right around. Some new bites and a scrape inner L cannon bone. All healing well, Fly sheet home to be washed.

Saturday- Fed on the other side of the shelter. Sherlock waiting for me at the gate remembered and came around. Trying to be quiet witht he grain so the others don't realize what they're missing. Added flax seed with 1/2 scoop CoolCalories and he really cleaned it up. Measured again for blanket, 72 inches should be a better fit. Weight taped 874#. Too thin but looks better than before move to pony pasture.

August 24- ride #6 &weekly wrap-up

Where did the week go? Thank you, training journal.

Monday we had Bath Day- sponged with apple cider vinegar, which is helping the hives go away. Also started groundtie training for hoof cleaning, just in case of balance loss.  Safer to be away from fences and tie rails.
Tuesday we explored the grounds a bit further. We found the hay barn and behind it the hay fields and the pond. There are dirt roads to ride on back there but we didn't go too far. The pond was showing off with Canadian Geese, lots of dragonflies and even a blue heron.

Wednesday, ride #6. Just walking, but using the whole round pen. Nice medium walk today. Sherlock started swishing his tail and then stomping and I emergency dismounted to shoo away a big fly keen on his sheath. How rude. I rubbed a handful of SWAT on the area and re-mounted for a few more minutes. Good whoa today. Holding up well to ponies,  but the old horse wouldn't let him drink so I moved the old fellow for a minute so Sherlock could have a nice long drink.
I have realized that Sherlock hates fabrics that are not natural. He does very well in the wool felt pad  but the fake felt one he tried to roll with me! So I'm looking for a used leather bridle and found a wool felt English pad. The riser pad should fit between the saddle pad and the saddle, so it won't touch him.

Thursday just groomed and gave him his grain. Gave grain next to grain storage trailer, anxious about trailer but went to bucket when he saw it. Riser and Cool Calories arrived in the evening.

Friday very muddy! A said he might have slipped in the mud, maybe with the right front, which is the one he always puts forward when he lowers he head for anything. Fed in barn aisle (first day Cool Calories, I am not at ALL paranoid about driving to the stable with a big ziploc of white powder so I stored it there) and scraped the majority of the mud off so fly spray could be put on. Free longed Sherlock in indoor arena w/t just to see if he was sore but he looked okay.

Saturday woke up with screaming sinus headache! DayQuil and Cold Season tea and went out a little later than usual. Lots of riders getting tuned up for a show. Gave Sherlock his grain in paddock since everyone else was out working. Ponies are Annie and Tooie (the mini). Groomed the rest of the mud off and got it out of his mane, ACV on hives and put on the fly sheet.
 I went out to the outdoor arena as lessons were switching out. Ground work with squeeze game, he was trying to circle behind me towards the gate so I made a barrier of the swinging rope- he got hit just once, and then was a little anxious but careful, and we used that impulsion to get a decent sideways game both directions. Then we worked on "stand" while we watched the lesson horses get started, and went for a walk around the barn and back to the paddock. I now give him a handful of fresh grass or alfalfa if I was able to pick some, every time I put him away. He is slowly getting more willing to go back in the paddock.

August 19-Photoblog

Luna at Carr Park

This morning I was thinking of my dear friend W- some time ago she sent out a challenge to photograph a sampler of your day. I was heading out for a hike that day, so my photoblog turned out very nice, full of Eldorado Canyon scenery and flowers. Well, I decided to do it again today.

This is a fairly typical Monday with freelance work but no job searching. Here we are in the little park close to home. It is the first day of school and the street was packed, but I'm not photographing that chaos as I don't want to worry about permissions and such.

Sherlock has breakfast

Gray at KT's

Then I headed out to the stable. I worked Sherlock a little, cleaned his hooves, and bathed him with apple cider vinegar. It did help the itchiness, but it's not repelling flies. I didn't take my phone to the bathing area, so no pics of Sherlock biting the hose. He had his breakfast and a drink of water, then back to the corral with the ponies. He is starting to stand up to the smallest ones now, at least for food and to meet me at the gate.


Picked Luna up and went to lunch with Gray at KT's BBQ, we like to eat there Mondays as they have excellent Mac & Cheese on Monday.

Going to hike

Teller Farm

Took Luna over to Teller Farm for a short hike. Very close to KT's and to my old workplace. Hot out (high 80's) but I let her get down in the irrigation ditch for a drink.

I like this hiking trail as it's flat and easy with paths through tall grass. The minus is very little shade.

Then I stopped in at the bank and headed home to work. I am taking notes on an audio program that will come out later in the year with author Danielle LaPorte.

Ezio awakens

My desk!

What passes for breaktime- a quick trip to the backyard with Luna, and the dwarf-slayer to tackle some of the dandelions popping up. Then some laundry - here are the 4 loads that are clean from yesterday. I am good about doing laundry but not so much on the folding and putting away.

Gray's home, it must be dinnertime! No pictures of pork chops and stuffing- but here is a screencap from my fave game on my phone, Dragonvale. All my shiny gemstone dragons!

Dragonvale!

And now that dinner is done, reading aloud to each other from Blood of Tyrants until bedtime. I love these books, they are about the Napoleonic Wars but if there was an aerial corps made up of dragons.

Candi and Temeraire

Good Night!

August 18- Ride #5

First ride at the new stable! Sherlock has lost some weight from the transition so I have not been keen to really work him, just feeding him his grain and walking tours of the arenas. Clearly I have been letting the hoof cleaning go a bit, as he was quite bad for his feet today. He would rather concentrate on clearing out the weeds in the round pen. I suppose I either have to weed or I have to get him on the tie rail in front of the barn.

I was hoping to have pictures but G was too worn out to join me at the stable. We spent part of every day Thursday- Saturday at the Wake Up Festival, put on by his workplace Sounds True. It was really fun but our first-ever yoga class left us both pretty sore.

But today I got my saddle out and the blue bridle and got on in the round pen. I was feeling a bit nervous, since he hasn't really been lunging or anything all week and I've been pouring Strategy into him every day. He walked well, but was still weeds-fixated so I dismounted and walked him over to the outdoor arena.  Got on there with a real mounting block instead of my lawn chair, how civilized. He liked to circle back to the gate, so I just let him relax and asked him to walk faster. He got a really strong walk going towards the gate and stretched his neck down, and circled larger. So we practiced whoa a few times and I got down and took him back to the round pen for his grain.

A nice first ride in the new place, I have to remember to get him used to the new area slowly as he was just really settling nicely in the round pen at the old place. And here I am in our first ride here trying the full-size arena! Pretty bold. Sherlock did great, just as quiet and kind as always and stubborn about the feet. I think we probably could have trotted, but it was hot and we was sweaty afterwards with just the turbo-walk work.

I find myself watching him for neurological signs now, but Sherlock is more footsore than anything else. I found my bottle of sole toughener and it was dried out. Bummer. The one people suggest is $40. My horse extras budget for the month is blown already with the purchase of a safe fat-booster for his feed (add weight withour getting bucked off!) and a riser pad to keep my saddle from sliding back and pinching his withers. I cut a little bit off his tail for my darling niece Sara, perhaps a bracelet?

August 14- Pony pasture

Stable Manager A called and said she'd like to move Sherlock to the pony/oldtimer pasture, as he was still getting chased off both hay and water. I headed right out and we moved him. Still very avoidant of the other horses, but his corner to hide in this time includes the waterer.

Poor Sherlock is sure that everyone is out to get him. He was improved today, though. The ponies like to wander together down to the other end of the pasture to work on the weeds, and while they are away, Sherlock gets the hay pile to himself.

When I went out this morning, they were just moving off and Sherlock was creeping into the edge of the hay. I brought my brush box in and groomed him while he ate, then gave him his grain (I mixed carrot bits in, and he avoided them). I decided to give him the day off from the little walks and light lunging of the week.

He followed me along the fenceline and waited while the tiniest pony drank, then he drank. The pony came back and he let the pony drink from the side of the waterer he wanted, while he drank from the other. Still giving way to the Shetland, but not as scared anymore.

August 13- Settling In

Sherlock is getting used to things at the new stable- I've been there every day giving him his grain, moving hay into multiple piles in the paddock, strolling the grounds, and doing a some very light work in the round pen. Today we gave up on the "tough horses" paddock and moved Sherlock to the "pony and old-timer" paddock.

He looks better settled already- drinking a lot. He did trot the fenceline a bit at first but came for a mint. He outran them easily when the herd wanted to greet him.

 Of course the first day he arrived I walked him to the paddock on the rockiest road on the place, and he bruised his sole and chipped a front hoof as well. So he's a bit footsore- I need to find my sole-toughener stuff...

August 10-moved

Sherlock is safe and sound in his new home!

Trainer Joe Andrews came all the way from Loveland this morning for 20 minutes of work. Sherlock got on the trailer with very little reaction, and rode to the new stable peacefully.

I put him into his new drylot pasture, and he was greeting the other horses very nicely, then charged headlong for the round bale of hay and got kicked by the alpha mare. Then he retreated to the corner by the gate and stayed there. I brought him some hay and a couple other horses ate with him.

Looked pretty peaceful when I left, though alpha mare was out being ridden. Maybe I'll stop back in after dinner.

August 9- Ride #4, voice from the past

VERY interesting conversation Thursday on FB.

Someone recognized Sherlock's racing name and asked if he came from Mountaineer. She had been looking for a lesson prospect but the trainer thought he was too volatile. He flipped backwards in the stall and hit his head on the concrete. He was showing signs of neurological damage and went blind in one eye. They were considering euthanasia at the time.

So this must have been in March when he stopped racing. This makes a lot of sense to me, it fits with the pressure resistance he shows. I am even more impressed that he still trusts anyone at all and has dealt so well with being blinded.

I was actually a bit anxious Friday going out to ride, but I just made it as normal a day as possible. Grooming, extra work on the feet, flyspray. Saddled up English and put the bit and bridle on. We walked to the car and got Luna, off to the arena where I left Luna in the shade, and then the round pen. Worked on the line a bit getting him to move his front end over when reversing, then I re-set the saddle (Not getting bitten re-tightening it) and got on.

One side of the round pen had been shifted, so this day when I was more conscious than ever about stumbling and missteps was full of them, as one side of the pen was deeper footing than usual. Still he walked well, quickly settling into a full-pen circle. I worked on a strong walk and trotted both directions, and tightened the girth while in the saddle. Whoa is coming along better.

I am so glad my Sherlock is here and safe, that he trusts me and doesn't fight me. I am so thankful that this 'throwaway horse' is mine.

August 7- Ride #3 Western

After a very light day Monday of turnout and walking over the liverpool / practice bridge, I rode on Tuesday. We were both still a bit sore from a hard weekend.
I put the Western saddle on Sherlock and bungeed the stirrups together so they wouldn't clank. He hardly looked at it. I decided to use my new rope halter-sidepull just as an experiment, as I hadn't changed bit onto bridles yet.

A little groundwork with the rope, then took it off so he could trot with the saddle. He did great but the saddle slipped back gradually. I reset it and was getting the mounting block when he walked off. This time with no bungees on, the stirrups clanked a lot and he was a bit anxious, but I kept blocking him so he only walked and didn't jangle them any louder. He let me catch him in a just a minute.

So I got on and Sherlock was a bit anxious at first again, I just petted him a lot when he halted, asked him to walk and halt. He tends to circle near the gate, but stretches that as the lesson goes on, and we build it into a figure-eight, then a U with a reverse on each end, then a full-pen circle. I wanted a "power walk" this time, as in the retraining manual from goodhorse.org

And Sherlock did well, getting some stretchy strides and relaxing his head. He also halted better, but was a bit more stubborn on turns. More work over the practice bridge afterward.

Then Wednesday we did Parelli games in the corral, just trying to improve groundwork communication so he can speak the same language as the trainer. I can't recall them all but we did practice Yo-Yo game for backing up and then coming forward to me while I'm facing him.  Squeeze game is like basic lunging with reverses, which he's fine at. Sideways game is tough for him, but with work he started to get it, esp. from the normal leading side.
He needs practice on the other side but tried.

It's hard to be consistent- he needs much more pressure on the off side - I want his good eye to be a plus, but he's so much more compliant on the near, blind side. Vanishing out of his vision gets a much better turn on the forehand than "pushing" on the seeing side.

Nancy Headrick and Scarlett

I have an appointment for Saturday morning with a local trainer who I hope to be bragging up here very very soon.

Energy is low, and I keep thinking about my dear departed friend Nancy. I suppose from now until September 11 is anniversary time, when she was hurt in the trailer loading accident and the cancer returned in her fractured arm bone. I miss you so much, Nancy. Someday we will take to the trails again together.

Packing list for Friday:
Vetwrap for silencing Western stirrups
Chocolate to repel Dementors

August 4- Trailering Double Fail

Sherlock and I have been getting ready to move to the new stable, CES, which is very close to my house and is a little tiny place, so less buggy. With a wood-fenced group drylot pasture which should suit well.

Friday Sherlock was very ratty, angry and biting at poor little Shoshoni and being quite bad with his hind feet, but I got him doused with the new natural fly-spray and feet cleaned and finished up well.

Saturday he wouldn't get in the trailer.
Sunday he wouldn't get in the trailer.

Gimme mints!

I am learning a lot about my horse and what makes him tick. He hates increases in pressure and pushes back hard. He settles back from stressors quickly and becomes his friendly self again, with no grudge holding. He trusts me more than anyone else and he watches me every second.

And I'm noticing that people can't seem to remember that he can't see. He can't react to your rope-twirling with a nice sidepass if he doesn't know you're doing it. It has made clear to me that I have GOT to support Sherlock as he learns, to advocate for him. To remind anyone who works with him and me that we need to communicate with him differently, using our words and touches intelligently when he can't see the cues. I have a responsibility to create the cues that he best understands and use them, and make sure others use them.

Wish me luck.