Adventures with Tex

Words that we hear regularly from June

2011-12-15T06:02:00.001-08:00

Words June says (and their translations)

Dow (down or up)
Pup (up)
Unnn (hungry)
Meal (milk or drink)
Duce (juice or water)
Du-orse (horse)
Meow (what a cat says)
Mooooo (what a cow says)
Boot (book or boot)
Boot-th (boots or books, plural)
Socks or thocks (socks)
Shoes or th-oos (shoes)
Du-wash (rhymes with squash) (=trash or Josh)
Du-wash-du-ah (Joshua or Phillip)
Wu-cy (Lucy, Rachel's blue heeler)
Di-ssy (Dixie, Rachel's yorkie)
Beeee! (rhymes with yell, and is always said loudly)- (Belle, the lab)
Kacker (I saw you with something resembling a cracker package and I would like to have one)
Cookie! (I know you have cookies in the cabinet and I want one now!)
Petzel (pretzel)
Pees (please)
Cacker cookie cacker cookie pees (I want something to munch on NOW)
Mama (mama)
Da-dee (daddy)
Mama da-dee mama da-dee! (I'm still here in the backseat. Are we there yet? Talk to me!)
Gusss (Gus, the blue heeler puppy)
Ho-wee (Jolie, our australian shepherd)
Bus (car, truck, vehicle)
Sow-side (outside)
Baby (baby or a stuffed animal that isn't a horse)
Tot (hot)
Towd (cold)
Wide (I want to ride on a horse, toy, or something else I see)
Bee (Granny B)
Nana (nana lisa or banana)
Papaw (papaw terry)
Papa (papa gene)
Ga-gace (Granny Grace)
Pow! (sound effect for high-fives)
Ticken (chickens)
Tank-you (Thank you)
Tanks (Thanks)
Head-oh! (hello, usually said while talking to someone's cell phone she's stolen)

Progress pics - Purina Strategy

2011-10-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Chief (sorrel) is 23, rarely ridden, and has been on 2x/day 2 quarts of Strategy for about 3 weeks. He needed some weight put on him just because he wasn't gaining on all-stock 2/day and green pasture, and winter is on the way.
Sonny (bay) is 4. He was fine on all-stock feed 1/day until the husband began roping and riding him in ranch rodeos 1-2 times a week. He lost quite a bit of weight in a few short months.
This is their condition at approximately 3 weeks into their feed being strictly Purina Strategy, with green bermuda grass forage.

A little thing that's growing!

2011-10-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Our daughter is 15 months old now. I don't particularly have a baby book, so this seemed like as good of a place as any to record what she's doing this week.
Sunday she colored for the first time.
She likes to open and close doors, lids, really anything.
Today while she was "helping" me feed she tried to eat dog food, she did eat some purina strategy, and she played in the chickens' water.
She doesn't eat much most days.
She likes cream of wheat, ice cream, spaghetti, red beans, and bananas.
She likes to lay down and splash with her feet in the bathtub.
In the store, she yells "HEY" to everybody until they look at her.
Last night she gave me a kiss for the first time.
I think she's named her teddy bear "Popple."
She can do sign language for "more, milk, please, eat, drink, wash," and sometimes "diaper."
She can say "dow (down) outside, dog, kitty cat, dow, meow, horsie, Belle, dow, Nana, mama, dada, dow, Papa, mmmma (milk), popple, diaper, ( and did I mention "dow?") on her own. She has repeated many things like "light, breakfast, up, poo-poo, Jolie, Sophie, bible," and so much more.
Monday she nearly picked up a feather that had chicken poo on it. I told her "no, gross, poo-poo." Then she came to another clean feather and called it "poo-poo."
On walks, she stops every 3 steps or so to bend over and look closely at something on the ground.
At night when she gets tired she comes to me and holds her arms up.

I have no experience with a 1 yr old child at all, so pretty much all of ths amazes me.

Pictures of Tex tonight

2011-09-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight Tex was a model! This senior in high school wanted pictures with a horse, and Tex was my choice out of our three because Chief is a little bony right now, Sonny is a little skittish on the ground, and the girl was short enough to use Tex. Plus, he's gorgeous! (OK, beauty is probably in the eye of the beholder.)

Besides his scrubby little mane that rubs off every time he sticks his head through the fence to eat and his lack of height, I think his color is nice, but I personally like his decently full hip, his topline, and his shorter neck. In these pictures I did stand his rear-end on the uphill side to make him look a bit taller than the girl. Are there any conformation experts out there who'd like to give input? Does he fit the foundation or ranch-bred quarter horse description?

Obviously I'll never breed this horse, and I'll use him no matter what he looks like. However, it's always good to learn more about correct conformation in my favorite animal.

Tara and Tex's first team sorting- the video

2011-09-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here's the video of our short first ride together at team sorting practice. Now,I'm having trouble getting motivated to ride because all I want to do is go team sorting again!
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> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg9W8Ck8jmM
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The best day of my life! (well, in the top three)

2011-09-01T08:51:00.001-07:00

Date: August 27, 2011

Today was one of the best days of my life. It all started when I told Josh all I wanted was to go team sorting for my birthday. I'll be turning 30 this Tuesday the 30th of august, and it's kind-of a big deal to me. And, on top

of that, on my written Tex goal list, it said "August- team sorting- participate." Today was the last chance to team sort in August. It had to be done.

I have always been terrified of hauling horses in the trailer on the interstate or highway. But yesterday, Josh's work schedule changed to 9:30-6. We live an hour from his work, and team sorting begins promptly at 8. I HAD to bring the horses the 1 hour drive, on some interstate, to Baton Rouge.

I've driven horses to the vet 45 minutes away, but only on small highway. I had a huge fear of going fast, and especially of lane changes on the interstate. Well, I wanted to go sorting, and this was the only way. So, today, I looked that fear in the face and told it "forget you" (in other words). I remembered that I was once single, and made up my mind that if something happened with the trailer, or the horses, I would simply deal with it! And so I did. There were no catastrophes. None of the horses fell down in the trailer. The trailer didn't come unattached and careen all over the interstate. There were no flat tires. The truck DID start. I didn't end up with a flipped trailer. I actually arrived with myself and all three horses safe and sound, and by doing so, faced so many fears and feelings of inadequacy.

We arrived around 7:15. Josh warmed up Tex while I warmed up Sonny. Tex was pretty antsy with all the other horses loping around and behind him in the arena, but didn't throw any fits.

Then, it was time to ride! At this team sorting practice, teams are drawn and each person gets 5 rides for $25. I asked Josh to ride Tex on his first ride of actually team sorting, just to see what would happen, he held the line and went in to get cows. His turns weren't what they ought to be, and he was a little jumpy when the other horses moved quickly around him. But, no fits!!

Josh rode him one more time, I rode Sonny once, and then it was my turn on Tex. I couldn't stop grinning as we walked into the arena. When our number was called, we went in and tried to sort out the cows. As one tried to go past, I had to ask Tex to stop, go, stop, go, stop, go to maneuver the cow, and he did exactly that. He did everything I asked him to do. It wasn't perfect, nor pretty, but I was so proud that he did what I asked.

I rode him on four rounds tonight. By the last round, he seemed to understand our task and maybe even locking onto a cow or two. I loped him back down to the arena exit on our last ride, and probably had the cheesiest grin on my face you've ever seen.

I am so proud that Tex did his turns when I asked, moved quickly or slowly when I asked, stopped on my seat, and even seemed to follow one certain cow toward the end. It was the best reward for all the time we've spent together that I could have ever wanted. I felt a few happy tears creeping up by our last ride.

To top off my birthday celebration, I entered the $10 jackpot sorting at the end of the night on Sonny, and lucked out and won $35, which paid for all my rides that night.

Seriously, it was the 3rd best day of my whole life.

If I ever decide to plant butter beans again, somebody talk me out of it!

2011-09-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

The evil butterbeans are taking theor revenge! We've had a bit of a dry spell, but my hopes that it would kill the bitterbeans were to no avail. They are climbing up a crepe myrtle, tearing down the support fence, and producing like crazy. I shelled a few, but never cooked any. I guess I'll just save the dried ones to eat through the winter.

I planted red potaoes today on the ex-pea row, and a little lettuce on the dying pepper row. Hopefully the potatoes will sprout. I have no doubt about the romaine lettuce sprouting. It was like a weed this spring! I am planning to plant the lettuce in alternating weeks so it doesn't all come in at once. These seeds are from the flowers of the spring leftovers.
I also transplanted some of the marigolds from garden front row to pots on the porch. This should give more room for lettuce, broccoli, or cauliflower.

I'm supposed to be exercising, since I'm 13 weeks prego and have been very grouchy. This
morning's potato-row-hoeing definitely got my blood pumping and increased my mood level quite a bit. I'm thankful
to have a garden today.

A beautiful evening loping session with cowboy Josh.

2011-08-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

The back of the property where we live is so beautiful when the sun is setting and when a storm is rolling in. Add a horse, and voila- gorgeous.

Finished with fundamentals

2011-08-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

We have completed our summer lessons with the Clinton Anderson-trained Katherine Clark. We did around 8 or 9 lessons together, and she taught me how to do the fundamentals that she thought would be more applicable to me, and to Tex.
The red piece of paper is what she gave me to remember each exercise. Although we're finished with lessons, we're not through with practicing and mastering these exercises.

Throughout the process, I realized two fears that I have- trotting/loping downhill, and loping in any sort of somewhat wet environment. I have visual pictures of my horse bucking me all the way down a hill, and also of him loping along, hitting a muddy spot, losing his footing, and flipping over on me. So I must overcome those fears.

Today I got up and rode at 7 am - 7:35 or so in the shady pasture, and when we finished, unsaddled and tied Tex in the far corner away from his buddies.

When I came back about an hour later, he happened to have his whole body against the fence- just right for me to climb on the fence and swing over his bare back. So, I looped the lead rope over his neck and gave it a try. I figured it wouldn't be far to the ground if he pitched a fit. We walked, stopped and backed along the way for about 50 yards until we reached the barn. THAT was the highlight of my whole day! It felt great to have him just respond to my seat and the halter to stop and back. I look forward to many more hours of bareback riding with my little cow horse!

Yielding the hindquarters (and other progress)

2011-07-07T22:57:00.001-07:00

Tonight, for our 3rd lesson, Katherine asked me to go ahead and do groundwork exercises beforehand so that all we had to work on was lunging, a little cruising, and the one-rein stopping exercises at a walk, trot, and canter before moving on to the next activity- yielding the hindquarters under saddle.

The one rein stop at a walk, trot, and canter is showing a little bit of progress. Tex actually wanted to stop when I sat down at the trot and actually at the canter, too. This is probably my favorite exercise for now because it does so many things! 1. It solidifies that when I sit, we WILL stop. 2. It works on flexing and becoming more supple with each stop.
3. It is sort-of fast!
4. It gives my horse ONLY 2 chances before he had better be moving at the speed I ask him to put out. This will really relate to our cow work and any reining we may do in the future. How nice will it be to have a responsive horse who goes the speed I ask, when I ask? The only horse I've ever ridden like that was Fancy, the short little sorrel quarter horse mare with an attitude at CP.
5. This one-rein stop exercise also drives in the fact that I do have a way to make things "stop" when I'm on my horse. This in turn helps my control-freak self gain confidence that I CAN do this.

Tara Marie Photography
225-634-7229
www.taramariephoto.com

Clinton Anderson style training- my progress

2011-06-30T11:10:00.001-07:00

Today was my second lesson with Katherine, who is an avid Clinton Andeeson follower. She recently attended a 2 week training clinic at his ranch in Texas. She's working a day job at the camp two miles down the road, and in her off time "training" me and Tex at the same time. It's exactly what I needed- accountability, specific goals, specific activities/exercises to do, and someone explain it all and push me a little.

Last time we did three ground work exercises only- yielding the forequarters, flexing, and lunging for respect stage 2. I'm going to skip talking about all those for time sake. But one note for myself- I need to remember to point when lunging.

Today, 2 weeks later, we reviewed those three activities and added two in-saddle exercises: 1. The one-rein stop at a walk, trot, and canter, and 2. Cruising at a trot and canter.

Before the one rein stopping exercises, I told Katherine exactly these words- "This horse has a great stop on him." Boy did he make a liar out of me today! He ONLY attempted the nice sliding stop after he was dead tired at the end of cruising. He really leaned hard on the bit today. I will now start flexing him on the ground in the bit, not the halter. I didn't know that he was supposed to be that flexible and supple in the neck, in either a halter or a bit. That is my bad. I am supposed to bump, bump, bump his mouth if he knows to give but instead leans against the pressure.

So here's what I had to do- 1. Squeeze , then kiss, then over & under, until he trots. 2. Let him take 5 strides. 3. Sit hard and say "whoa." 4. Pull him around to a one-rein stop until he stops moving and touches my boot. 5. Flex him to the other side.
(repeat steps 1-5 a lot of times). I wasn't allowed to steer him at all during this time.

Next, do it at the canter. I let Katherine do that first on Tex, and then I did it. He looks so gorgeous doing what quarter horses are supposed to do- starting fast. I overcame 95 percent of my fear of loping on him today.

Then on to cruising- pretty much, i was supposed to lay my rein hand down, ask him to trot and keep him at a trot for 5 straight minutes, stopping only i he broke into a lope, and speeding him
up if he slowed to a walk.

I struggled not to steer him with legs and hands! At the canter, he kept going over some muddy areas and I got a little nervous about that, but made it through. We only cantered for around 1.5 minutes because it was time for me to go.

I am proud of myself for overcoming that fear and also learning what his "give" is supposed to feel like. And, both of today's exercises were quite fun, and something I can do on my own pretty easily.

Babies

2011-06-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today, like every Wednesday, June and I spent the day together at home. The day started out wonderfully. She woke up late, around 8:45, had her milk and some cheerios. We went to the barn and let the chickens out, came back for her 10:00 nap (which she didn't really take), lunch at 11, playing, nap at 1:00, woke at 2:15, snack at 3, and dinner at 4:30. Then, right when I needed to be cooking and working, she got fussy, grouchy, needy, and clingy.

I can't help but think on days like this that I stink at this. I don't know what to feed her. I don't know what to do with her when she's in that "mood." And I feel very impatient when I'm sleepy and she's just wanting to jump all over me, but she cries when I put her down. How am I supposed to know what to do in these circumstances? Surely there must be a "parenting for dummies" or something like that. If only this could be like one of my animals or garden- plant at a certain time, feed it the same thing at the same time, read the manual from the ag extention office if you have questions. Does the ag extention office have pamphlets for fussy one-year-olds? :) Does anyone have any books or blogs for beginner parenting they would recommend?
TM

Tara Marie Photography
225-634-7229
www.taramariephoto.com

Improved Purple Hull Peas (cowpeas)

2011-06-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

Gardening always tends to remind me of the people who have given me seeds and starts to my plants, and it always brings back good memories. For example, Mrs. Jan Miller, my best friend's mom, gave me the seed for these improved purple hull peas five years ago when I went up there to help their family on their small dairy during a crisis time. It was a fun week, spent milking cows, hanging out with my best girlfriend's parents, feeding calves, tilling the garden, and even getting to AI (artificially inseminate) a cow. I don't think it was a successful breeding, but hey, it was good practice. (If we ever do our own cow-calf operation, which is in the long term plans, I'll be in charge of all AI on our cows, since I did it quite a bit during grad school.)

But back to the peas...
Last year I planted the purple hull peas from my grandparents- California Pinkeye Purplehulls. But this year I gave the improved a try again, and I'm glad I did. They seem to be much longer, which means more peas per pod. Most of them are longer than this ice cream bucket that I use to pick them. The peas themselves are very fat, too. I can understand why they're called "improved." One thing that's a little different about them- when they're deep purple, they're too dry. They need to be picked a little greener than the California variety.

I am now getting at least 1.5-3 bucketfuls of peas each day on a 30 foot row. I planted them around late March.

God's color palate

2011-06-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Garden plunder

2011-06-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is becoming an everyday occurrence, minus some of the yellow squash, minus some of the bell peppers, plus a whole flat of tomatoes each day, purple hull peas, and some green beans. We've now canned 14 quarts of tomatoes and 7 quarts of squash.
Monday we picked the two rows of sweet corn- it was so tasty. The Merit variety seemed larger and perhaps a bit sweeter than the silver queen. Off two 30 ft rows, we got around 7-8 gallons of corn on the cob.
The peppers aren't doing well again. The plant just randomly shrivels up and dies. I don't know what's wrong!
I now have 24 chickens-- 17 young sex-link pullets around 2 months old, 2 rhode island red hens, 2 dominic hens, 2 cuckoo maran laying hens (new as of Tuesday), and 1 very lucky rooster.
The weeds are overtaking the garden! I'm trying to decide whether to spray with roundup between the rows or just get the old hoe and do some "hoeing around." ha ha.

May 21st pic and lesson with katherine

2011-06-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am trailering Tex to te nearby arena for a lesson- a lesson for both of us. Katherine is a young, yet experienced, horse trainer, and also a friend. She said she will be starting us from the ground tomorrow, and will show me some exercises that will directly relate to in-the-saddle time. I didn't want to spend a lot of time on ground work because it seems like that was my only option with Tex for so long, due to him being little and then because I was prego with our precious little girl.
When someone "goes to a trainer," is it customary for the trainer to "train" both you and the horse, or just the horse? I really want both.
TM

Cow work- right on schedule

2011-06-14T10:26:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday a neighbor invited us to come work a few cows with our horses. I decided to ride Chief for the initial rounding-up of the herd, and then threw my saddle onto Tex to see if he would give cutting in the small pen a try. (by the way, he has been around in a pen with cows about two other times, and has been tied to the fence near them during ropings and team sorting multiple times.)
In the pen with about 10 cow-cal pairs, I started by asking him to move one light-colored calf around the pen. He wasn't focusing at first, but the longer we worked, the more he seemed to catch on. It also helped me understand why it's important fo him to have a strong stop, fast go, and fast turn with a light front-end.

By the end of our little 30 minute work time he had sorted all of the calves away from the cows. They didn't stay in the corner where we put them, but that's ok. If we get the chance again to sort cows for real, I'll feel comfortable getting on him and using him for that work.

Pros- 1. There is definitely some interest in cows, and a little bit of a natural cutting feel to him.
2. Tex is being very calm in the arena.

Cons/things to work on-
1. I can no longer allow him to be lazy with his turns and going forward.
2. I must get on and off him multiple times to work on standing still. He is starting to walk off when I mount up, even though I've always refrained from moving for at least 20-30 seconds after I mount up.
3. He is still very nervous outside the arena. We nearly had a wreck once out on the trail with 3 other friends.
4. On the trail, he is pushing through the bit, wanting to go, go, go. But when we do pick up a trot, he gets super nervous. I'm not sure what to do about that. Suggestions?

Another random
TM

Encouraging week!

2011-01-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

I have ridden Tex three nights in a row this week- Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I trailered him to the camp next door so I would have lights to ride under after dark. Josh has been helping me each of the 3 nights get a grip on what to work on.
So, what I'm working on is leg pressure. I'm supposed to put my leg into the horse's side about 2 seconds before I pull the reins, so that he will begin to relate leg pressure with turning. And, while remembering to do that, I'm supposed to keep my heels down, press my legs into him toward the front of his body (not toward the middle or rear), use my calves first and then my heel, keep the amount of pressure relative to how sharp I want him to turn, use my legs to keep his speed constant, and also encourage him to turn his front feet, not his back feet. THAT's not much to remember, is it? (sarcasm).
Sunday night, my first night to do all this, I got so frustrated because I felt like I was trying to remember too much at once, and that I was giving Tex 10 signals at once. Which, really, I was giving him 10 signals at once. But, he already knows that he's supposed to keep his speed constant. So I guess he's mainly learning how to turn on leg pressure, and also how to turn correctly (crossing one front leg over the other to turn.) Regardless, it was frustrating the first night, and I felt like I was the one learning, not him.
Monday night was MUCH more encouraging! I could feel Tex actually begin to respond to my leg pressure. When I would push my leg into him, he would turn an ear to me and start showing that he was getting ready to turn.

Tuesday night (last night) showed HUGE improvement! Tex turned correctly I'd say 80% of the time, and he definitely was responding and moving away from the leg pressure. I could feel him moving his front feet correctly (which was improvement on my part) and was able to give him a release when I felt it. We did some great turns at the walk and trot.

Some interesting things that have happened in the last three days:
1. Monday night, Tex spooked at some running horses and a car door slamming, and he didn't buck or run, just jumped a little.
2. Tex encountered a huge beach ball, and doesn't seem to care about it. We rode around it and up to it.
3. Tex will now, on the ground, put two front feet on a platform with barely any encouragement, and stay there. (Which is pretty much useless, but it looks cool.)

Other improvements that have come along with these three days of training-
1. I feel like I'm in better control of my legs and seat.
2. My hands on the reins seem to be more in control.
3. I'm finally able to feel a "correct" turn versus an "incorrect" turn.
4. I think Tex is enjoying being ridden!
5. We are riding in close proximity with other horses while they're being ridden, which is good practice for my Feb. 25th goal of taking Tex to ride around other horses at the team sorting.
6. Being at the camp has put Tex in a different location, which increases his comfort zone.
7. Josh has had to make me suck it up and get on a few times (like after the car door slam spook) and I'm glad that I did it.
8. We're also having time to just sit together- me on Tex, not doing anything but sitting there. That's good practice too!

I have called to schedule my horseback riding lesson, and should be able to do it within the next two or three weeks.

PS maybe soon, with all this riding, my baby fat roll will disappear...

TM

Fancy- a fine little mare with attitude

2010-12-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

This horse's name is Fancy, and she lives and works at the camp in Marble Falls where we used to manage the horse program. She was my very favorite horse to ride there. She was all of 14 hands tall, cinchy, had a sour attitude when you asked her to lope, and tried to scare everyone. She didn't scare me at all. I loved her, and loved her attitude as well. She was pretty well trained and taught me a lot about sitting firmly in the saddle and steering. If I oversteered her or accidentally put an unintentional foot on her side, she would let me know!
We took her to this team penning event one time. Unfortunately, she didn't seem too interested in cows, which surprised me.
Regardless, as much as I like Tex, I would love to have Fancy here to ride.

2011 Horse Goals

2010-12-27T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of our ride at the house on Dec. 23rd, 2010.

I have recently realized that I underestimated the amount of work that goes into breaking a new horse. No wonder people sell well-seasoned horses for over $1000! There are SO many hours that go into making a horse great.

Stacy Westfall wrote a great article in the January America's Horse magazine (the AQHA magazine) about making new goals for your horse. She touched on deciding what to give up to reach your goals. I wish the article was online for sharing!

First, an update on my old goals: (on my previous post)

1. Help him learn to focus on and trust me when I'm riding him. This seems to improve with every ride, but needs, more than anything, more hours!
2. Desensitize him to many different obstacles, in preparation for the stock horse association trail competitions. I have continued working him on the ground with a log to cross, a wooden platform, pieces of plywood, and a set of 3 tires in the round pen. This week maybe I'll do it from his back.
3. Sensitize his turns. Going VERY well! I'm feeling very happy with his turns at the walk and trot. He could use a little more work to the left. I have been riding him in his rope halter that has knots on the nose and poll.
4. Let him learn to hold a snaffle bit in his mouth. He's only done this three or four times, but always by the end of the day of being tied with a bit in his mouth, he's very quiet. When should I start riding him with a bit, or a bit/bosal combination?
5. Teaching him to "send" into the trailer, instead of being led into the trailer. Tex is definitely resisting this one. He will send into the stall, around me, and just about anywhere else, but won't send into the trailer. He loads perfectly when I lead him in, though.

This past week, I set some definite deadlines for goals, and they are as follows:

Dec 20th-March 4th- Ride 3-4 times per week
Between Dec 20th and Feb. 28th- Use my birthday money to take a lesson with a good instructor I know, on a seasoned horse, preferably a large horse. I need to overcome my fear of large horses.
February 1st- Ride Tex out on a trail or two from time to time.
February 25th- Trailer to the team sorting event in Port Allen and at least ride around the other horses in the unfamiliar setting.
March 2nd (this one is a MAYBE)- Trailer to the LA Stock Horse Show in Lake Charles, LA and enter the trail competition only.
Beginning June 1st- Ride Tex regularly on the trails with other horses with the summer youth camp horses down the road.
July 2011- Introduce Tex to working cows. He has seen and been around cows at roping events we've trailered him to, but he has never worked a cow. I can hardly wait for this one!
August 2011- Participate in a team sorting, even if I lose sorely!
September 24th, 2011- Participate in the LA Stock Horse show at BREC's Farr Park. Trail and at least one or two other classes. Maybe all of the classes?

Other undefined dates and events:
*Ride in an extreme cowboy race with my horse friend Katherine in Amite, LA in 2011.
*Ride with another horse friend, Che Che, and get input from her, no matter how embarrassing it may be. I realize that it's important to surround myself with people who are better than myself, and this will be a good step in that direction.
*Trailer Tex and ride with Katherine at her house about 1 hour away, just for the experience of riding elsewhere.

My fears are as follows:
1. Embarrassing myself in front of the instructor and my horse friends. Hopefully they won't have high expectations of my horse skills, because they're not as good as I'd like them to be.
2. Showing up at an event and chickening out.
3. Trailering long distances. I can make the straight trip to the vet's office no problem, but I break into a cold sweat anytime I get above 50 mph.
4. Large horses. It's further to the ground if you fall off! I don't really know where this fear came from. I've ridden some pretty large horses, but still feel much more afraid when riding a big one compared to a short little cow horse.
5. Getting bucked off. This is a fear that is fading, but still very real in my mind when I have to ride alone. I was thrown 3 times in one year in 2008, and that was plenty for me.

Stacy Westfall's article says, "if you have written goals, you are much more likely to succeed." So, here are my written goals, which are also on my refrigerator for constant reminders.
Peace out!
TM

2010-10-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

I have been riding Tex! My husband took and rode him regularly for 4 days, and I'm sure pushed him pretty hard. He came home a much more respectful horse. He is keeping his speed more constant, going when I ask, and definitely stopping when I ask. His stop is great! Now, I feel comfortable working Tex at a walk and a slow trot, and almost feel safe to ride him without the husband around.

It's become more obvious to me that Tex's bad manners in public were due to a severe lack in confidence. It's made me realize that my job is to help him gain confidence in himself. In doing so, however, I also gain confidence.

Many people would have told me that with my experience level (I would consider myself a low intermediate rider), breaking a horse wouldn't be a good idea. And that's what I would recommend for others too. However, I do have a VERY supportive and knowledgeable husband who has given me wonderful advice throughout the process, and he's been there to hop on Tex when he's giving me trouble and not be afraid of a little bucking or acting out.

Here are some current goals I'm working toward with my little guy:
1. Help him learn to focus on and trust me when I'm riding him. How? When he loses focus, I change directions.
2. Desensitize him to many different obstacles, in preparation for the stock horse association trail competitions. How? Right now, I'm sending him over many different obstacles on the ground.
3. Sensitize his turns. How? Riding circles & figure 8's in a bosal right now. I'm considering using the tighter rope halter instead. He seems to respond to the tighter halter better.
4. Let him learn to hold a snaffle bit in his mouth. How? I put the snaffle bit (full cheek snaffle) LOOSE in his mouth with no reins, latch the throat latch, and leave him locked in his stall to figure it out for a couple hours. He has done this about 4 times and has come a long way. Why loose? I read an article once that said the only way the horse would learn to hold the bit correctly was to let him figure it out himself. I'm happy with the technique, and it seems to work for Tex.
5. Teaching him to "send" into the trailer, instead of being led into the trailer.

Remember my struggle of whether or not to teach my horse to flex? Here's a neat article I found about why teaching your horse to flex is important, from Jody Cunningham, a trainer from Crockett, TX.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4713905426627294583

My favorite bird. And, bucking.

2010-04-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

On a random note,
I've decided that these little white birds (cattle egrets?) are some of my favorites. It's such a great example of mutualism (a biological interaction in which both species benefit). I wish there was a laundry bird that would follow me around my house and put the dirty laundry in the hamper.

Regarding Tex, this is my husband's facebook status Tuesday night: "Rode a tractor for a while, then the dozer for a while, but for some reason couldn't stay on the horse very long. That could have been because he looked like a saddle bronc. Thanks Jolie."
He had decided to ride Tex away from the barn on the circle. They rode past the house in the back, past the pond, into the woods, and back to the barn. Sort-of. Apparently near the pond, Tex was spooked by something and jumped. Then, Jolie, my innocent little dog, came out of the woods and spooked him again, and Tex unloaded my poor husband. From the way he tells it, he technically didn't get bucked off, because he came off the side.

I'm not too concerned. He's a young horse, and he was spooked. He did what he thought best, and many horses would have done the same thing. It will take time for him to learn a different response.

Husband did get back on and rode Tex all the way back to the barn, but I think he's been a bit sore and hasn't ridden since. At least it wasn't far to the ground! :)
TM

"Hurry up, we're hungry!"

One year anniversary, and 15 weeks to go!

2010-04-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

April 9th marked the one year anniversary of Tex's transfer of ownership to me. I found some of the pictures from around April 15th that I took to help mark his progress. Today, I took some pictures of him for comparison. It looks like he has filled out quite a bit in a year. And, he has definitely shed out his winter hair sooner this year. He's pretty handsome, if I do say so myself!

The other pics are the alien crop circles that Tex leaves in our grass every time I tie him up. He had a break over the weekend, but today he's back on his tying schedule. He's still pacing, but as soon as he decides to sit still, I'll release him to go eat grass with Breezy and Sonny.

Also, here is a link to a short video of Tex's third ride ever on April 4th, 2010. It was his first ride in 2010. I had stepped onto his back and ridden him twice in 2009 right before I found out I was pregnant.

Tex's third ride ever- a very short video

Only 15 weeks until I can ride!!

High expectations, and 16 weeks left....

2010-04-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

This pic is one taken at home, when husband is mounting up. No problems, calm horse.

These two are a little different. He's so tense!

It's 10 weeks till the baby, 16 weeks until I can ride!

Last Friday husband and I took Tex and Sonny to their first event- a team sorting practice in Port Allen, LA. Tex loaded like a champ into the trailer, as usual, and Sonny gave husband some trouble with trailering, as usual. They seemed happy to be together and had no problems on the trip.

When we arrived at the arena, Tex was the first one off the trailer. After all four feet landed on the ground, he went nuts! He charged past me, swung his rear end from side to side, raised his head, whinnied, stomped, and pretty much acted a fool, in front of all the other horses and a few people. This was not supposed to happen! My horse is the calmer one on the ground normally. Sonny is usually the one who is scared of everything on the ground.

Tex's behavior didn't improve the entire night. We saddled him and left him at the trailer while husband rode Sonny during the warm-up time. Later, I held Sonny while husband went to get Tex, just to lead him around and let him see things. That didn't help matters either. At one point, Tex violently kicked three times out at a SHADOW. Poor thing, he was a nervous wreck.

I would have liked to just tie Tex up at the arena, but there really wasn't a place for it, and I was afraid he would kick someone coming by. So, he eventually went back to be tied up at the trailer for the rest of the night.

Once again, I cried. Apparently the end of pregnancy is when all my emotion-causing hormones have set in. My expectations for Tex in public were so high, and he disappointed me greatly.

However, it made me realize something- Tex doesn't stand still when he's tied very well, even at home, when Sonny isn't around. Therefore, every day this week, he's been tied up far away from Sonny and Breezy, until he settles down. I have a few worn down circles around trees now, where he's paced and pawed until he couldn't do it any more. Too bad I didn't use him to plow up my garden! He's improved every day, and calmed down faster and faster. It was a much needed lesson for him, and for me.

High expectations are what got me in trouble. I expected him to act like a charm, and he was just the opposite. This is a lesson that I hope to carry over to other aspects of my life....

Spring = Time to ride

2010-04-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

My husband works commercial construction turnarounds right now, which means he works REALLY hard, long hours for a couple months and is laid off in between. Lucky for me, he was laid off this past Thursday, just when the weather turned out beautiful! I thought long and hard about it, and decided that I wouldn't mind if he did the first 10 rides on my horse (he says that a horse who is going to buck will most likely do it within the first 10 rides- we'll see.) Husband also has a young 3 year old, Poco Tiveo Cee (aka Sonny) that he purchased last October from Mr. Frank Perkins, Perkins Ranch, Tyler, TX, who he hopes to shape into a roping horse for himself. Sonny has had 30-60 days of riding on him at the Perkins Ranch before he was sold, but not much since then.

On Saturday, the husband decided it was time to ride our two young horses. He started with Sonny. The young bay performed quite nicely in the pasture and handled himself well. OK, so really, I wasn't really paying attention to what Sonny was doing, because I was anxious about Tex's third ride ever that was soon to come. I did, however, snap a few pictures of Sonny's ride.

Next was Tex. I brushed him while husband unsaddled Sonny, and discussed with him (Tex) all the reasons why he should behave well and remember everything he had done on the ground with me. Husband threw a saddle on him, put the bosal over his nose, and all too soon took him out in the pasture. I asked him to please only work on "go" and "stop" that day. Husband stepped his left foot into the stirrup and swung over, ready to go wherever my poor little horse might take him.

Tex stood still, sniffed husband's foot, sniffed his other foot, and then kept standing there. Husband put the reins forward and kissed, asking him to go forward. My suspense was killing me by this point. I wanted to just take control and tell my horse to go forward like we were lunging. Tex turned his head to the right, trying to figure out what husband wanted him to do. Husband continued to kiss, kiss, kiss, and finally took the end of the rein and touched it to Tex's rump. VOILA! He walked! And once he started walking, he kept walking (except for one small detour- he tucked his nose to the ground to "cut" my dog out of the pasture at a walk, then kept walking). Even better, when it came time for the WHOA, he remembered what that meant, and he stopped. After several repetitions of this kiss, kiss, kiss, and then WHOA, he figured out that kiss means walk forward, and that WHOA, even if it's from his back, means stop.

After it was over, I finally breathed, we unsaddled, fed, and I went inside to start supper. And then I cried. I wanted to do that third ride myself SO BADLY. I wanted to feel what it felt like up in that saddle.

I was so proud of my horse, but so sad that I couldn't do it myself. After some reasoning, I figured out that I probably would have had husband do the first 10 rides anyway, pregnant or not. Now, after I have the baby (11 weeks from baby, 17 weeks from horse riding)I'll be able to hop on with a little more confidence, having seen that Tex isn't going to throw a fit.

Now, I'm hoping that I'll love the baby as much as I love Tex.....

My delicate state

2009-12-29T21:19:00.001-08:00

There seems to be a setback in Tex's training. Just as I had been on his back around three times, I found out that I'm going to have a baby! My husband knows my stubborn will, and his only request was that I not attempt to ride my young horse in my delicate condition. So, I have obliged (but only since he asked nicely). But as soon as the baby is born (it's due June 22 2010) and I heal for my 6 weeks (which I'm hoping to condense into four weeks), I'm planning to hop back up there, sitting tall in the saddle, continuing to be myself and achieve my goals, helping my little cutting horse become the best ranch versatility horse in the world. Hopefully someone will hold the baby, at least for the first 10 rides......

To flex or not to flex......

2009-10-22T04:27:00.000-07:00

During the beginning stages of ground work with my "cutest little gelding in the whole world," I have been puzzled as to whether or not teach him to flex. Flexing is the action of the horse bringing his head around to touch his side without moving his feet- much like us turning our heads without moving our bodies. I've heard and seen two schools of thought. Many trainers teach that flexing is absolutely necessary, but I have not heard them explain a good application for the future. Other trainers disagree, not wanting the horse to ever move his head without the feet following in motion. My choice was the latter, to NOT teach Tex to flex (ha, that rhymes). I taught Tex that when I pull his rein to the side, his feet always move at the same time.

However, when I mounted the little guy for the first time last week and attempted to turn him, he braced against the bosal (a piece of equipment that goes around the horse's nose with reins attached, the predecessor to the bit). It was quite difficult to turn him from the saddle! Husband said that once you mount your horse, everything starts over again with his training. But the difficulty with turning made me think twice about my flexing training decision. I do want to be able to turn him with very little effort, and I want his nose to turn and then his body to follow. Additionally, husband informed me that a well-trained cutting horse (which is one of the things I hope to make Tex) needs to be able to walk forward or backward WHILE flexing its neck to watch the cow.

For further research, I found a video videos on YouTube to see the effect of flexing on a young cutting horse. Check it out, and notice how the trainer is continually turning the horse's head sideways WHILE the horse moves straight back or forward.

I have since decided that teaching Tex to flex could actually be in my best interest for the disciplines (cutting, working cow horse, penning, ranch horse versatility) that I want him to excel in. I will be teaching flexing from the ground for the next few lessons, and then work on it while sitting still in the saddle. TM

Moving- again

2009-09-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

We moved Aug. 30th to a larger house on the same property. It's a beautiful house with no spiders, unlike the deer camp, which had some of the largest spiders I've ever seen. This second move will hopefully be our last in a LONG time

Tex had a break in training during the move, but I worked him today for the first time in around 3 weeks. I haltered him, groomed him, cleaned out all four feet, walked him out to the open area in my yard, and stuck out my right arm with a kiss, asking him to walk. He started in the walk, picked up the trot, and suddenly kicked up his rear and bucked a small buck or two while traveling around me. After finishing his first hissyfit, he maintained a fast lope until I pulled his head toward the inside, saying "easy, easy." He did slow down, but then threw another fit. At this point I realized that I hadn't brought my homemade lungeing whip, which was not a smart decision. Instead, I kept the long lead a little shorter, giving him around 6 or 7 feet of length while I kept 3 or 4 in my hand to wave at his hip. During the second and third hissyfits he aimed his inside hip at me, threatening with his body language to kick my face in. 6 feet of lead line could have allowed him enough room for his back foot to reach me. The foot never came up, but he got the message across, and it worked. I got scared and overreacted, feeling very angry. I stopped him, backed him aggressively, and tied him up for the rest of the afternoon, a bit discouraged, wondering if I can actually accomplish this goal of breaking a horse from start to finish.

My hope is that his attitude was due to his resting period, and that tomorrow will be a better day.

This picture is one I took in mid-August. Tex's weight is ideal for his height in my opinion. He is currently eating 4 pounds of Purina Junior feed and 2 pounds of rice bran, twice a day. TM

Tex's surgery- a scary moment

2009-08-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Tex is officially hernia-less and fixed! His surgery with Dr. Beauchamp (pronounced Beecham) was on Wednesday, July 22nd. Dr. Beauchamp gracefully allowed me to watch and even help a little with the surgery. I was in charge of holding the anesthesia drip, checking Tex's blink response, and adjusting the anesthesia as the Dr. told me to. The hernia hole in the abdomen was, by my best estimate, 2 inches wide and 3 inches long. The vet cut the skin, pushed the bulging intestines into the hole, trimmed the tissue along the hole's surrounding muscle, pulled the two sides together, and stitched them up. He first stitched the muscle, and then the skin. Tex has a total of around 15 stitches on the inside, and 15 on the outside. Then he was castrated, but I'll spare the details of that one for the sake of any guys reading the blog. He then woke up, stood up, staggered a bit, whinnied for Taz (who was nowhere near) and began eating grass. I was able to bring him home within 1.5 hours of the surgery.

My cute little horse felt bad the first night and moped alone in a shady spot in his pasture, away from his best friend Taz. He didn't seem interested in his food, which included a pain killing powder and an antibiotic, so we moved him to another pen. We left his food out for him to munch on as he felt better. The next morning, he had eaten every bit of his food and was walking about, seeming to feel much better.

Around the 5th day, I looked once more at his wound area to check up on him, and to my dismay, his belly area and private areas were quite swollen! My concern reached the point that the next morning, I highly expected my poor horse to be dead. Sure enough, at 5:30 am, in the bare twilight, I peeked out the front door, shone the flashlight, and saw the large hunk laying on the ground. While throwing my boots on and walking toward the area, I began to prepare myself by saying to myself "He's dead. He's dead." When I walked close to the grullo-colored hunk on the ground, it raised its head and looked at me as if to say "What are YOU doing up so early?" I petted him for a while, very relieved that my self-preparations were in vain. He later got up, ate his breakfast, and was a happy horse. In a phone conversation, the vet said I needed to exercise him more to ward off any swelling. Since that day, Tex has been lunged every evening for between 15 and 30 minutes, and the swelling is no more.

Here's a picture of Tex after his surgery, in the middle pen, meeting his friend Sparkle nose to nose for the first time. They had seen each other across fence rows, but never been able to touch. TM

The near past, present, and future for Tex

2009-07-14T21:20:00.001-07:00

Past: Tex has, shamefully, been on an unofficial training vacation for the past few weeks due to backed-up photography work and heat. Hopefully once things level out with photography computer work, Tex and I can do some lungeing refreshers a few days in a row.

I have changed Tex's feed, due to a recommendation from a friend and from the feed store owner, to Purina Junior instead of Nutrena Youth. Mrs. Cindy at the feed store in Jackson swears that I'll see a difference by using the Purina, and she also guilted me into feeding him twice a day again. Of course, that's what feed store owners are supposed to do to pay their bills, but I do know that it's beneficial to feed twice or even three feedings a day instead of one large one. Taz, husband's gelding, has also realized that Tex's $17.00 per bag feed tastes better than his $8.00 per bag feed. This morning after their feeding I looked out the window only to see Taz, a full-grown, healthy gelding, eating poor, malnourished Tex's junior feed. And I thought they were friends..... It looks like Taz will have to endure being tied up during feeding time to teach him not to be a bully with feed.

Great news- Tex's registration papers are in my files with my name and a picture of himself on them!! This was a huge step for me. I was so excited to see my name on those papers!

Tex is growing still, but it's harder for me to tell when he's growing because I feed him twice a day. It's like my orchid growing in the kitchen window- the leaf is growing, but I don't know when. I just come home and glance at it, and it's larger than the day before. Tex is very similar.

In the very near future, possibly even next week, Tex will have his hernia repair and neutering surgery at Dr. Beacham's office

As for now, it's late. Much to do tomorrow!

Tex's first saddling (with me, anyway)

2009-07-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

I've been lunging Tex as often as possible, usually once or twice a week. After the 15 minute lunging session, I usually take and work with him doing other ground work, such as teaching him to lead correctly, teaching him to back, and to give to pressure from the halter. One day, I introduced the saddle blanket to him, and it was no big deal at all. So, last week, I decided to try the wal-mart bag and the saddle. Everything went tremendously well, so well that i believe he's done this before. Tex only sniffed the saddle and then stood quietly. The girl I got him from had definitely put a saddle on him before, but possibly only once (please correct me if I'm wrong on this!). I love my horse's response to scary things. He looks, snorts, and faces the scary object. I truly believe that this will help us in future trail obstacles and competitions, and it's the kind of attitude that I would look for in a horse to buy.
My plan for the next several lessons is to "keep on keeping on." I need to solidify his lungeing skills. I want him to start the lunge at a walk, then at my request (two kisses) bring it up to a trot, and then with three kisses, a lope. We have not done a REQUESTED lope yet, but he has gotten excited and loped during lungeing before. After he learns speed control while lungeing, I plan to work on directional changes while he's moving, instead of stopping before changing directions. Then, after ground work, I plan to continue introducing scary objects, swinging ropes over his head, putting the saddle on his back, and teaching him to lead and give to the halter pressure. To recap (more for my own clarity) the grand total will be 15-20 minutes of lunging followed by 15-20 minutes of pressure and desensitizing work. Just to clarify, I have decided not to ride Tex until I feel as though his leg bones have grown and filled out. They are still quite delicate, and although I'm smaller than most people, I would not feel safe riding him at this time for the purposes of his future and long-term well-being. TM

He does look so nice under my western saddle! It makes me dream of team pennings, ranch horse competitions, and working cattle.

PS I got his official AQHA papers with MY name on them in the mail today!!!

Home is where your horse is...

2009-06-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

I have a sign in my house that says "Home is where your horse is." Well, it certainly feels that way in Louisiana. It's such a delight to be able to look out my kitchen or living room window and check to see what Tex and Taz are doing. I drive past them on my way down the driveway, and they're the first thing I see when I get back home at the end of the day.
Having Tex nearby is a constant reminder to go and work him when I get home. He's been in the round pen once and on the lunge line twice within the past 10 days, and I plan to do the lunge line again tomorrow. My goal is to do three days in a row, at least 20 minutes per lesson.

He gave me a little trouble on the lunge line the first time in this location last Wednesday. He and Taz have apparently become close buddies, and when I moved him out of sight of Taz and began lungeing, Tex was more of a nervous wreck than I've ever seen him before, but definitely not the worst horse I've ever seen. Tex was giving me two problems. First, he wouldn't just walk on the lunge line, like he does when we're close to Tex. He wanted to fast trot mixed with lope, and I instead wanted him to walk calmly. Second, while moving to the right in a circle around me, he would (on the side closest to the barn) stop, turn, and go the other direction, without a cue to do so, pulling me toward the barn with each wheeling turn. I didn't have my lunge whip, it was SO hot and humid, and I got a bit frustrated. So, I stopped where I was, led him back to the horse trailer, and worked with other easier things. We ended on a good note that day (which is important for every lesson).

Tex's Heritage

2009-06-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

In April, soon after acquiring Tex and studying his pedigree at www.allbreedpedigree.com, I had a phone conversation with Tex's breeder and afterward mailed him a disposable camera and self-addressed stamped envelope for him to photograph Tex's parents and full brothers/sisters. The pictures have arrived! The bay is his dam (mom) and the dark pictures are the sire (dad). The pictures of the sire are difficult to interpret, and if anyone ever makes a trip to Gainsville, TX, I'd love to get some more pictures of the stud.

I'm no expert on horse conformation, but here are the traits I've observed from the pictures. The dam and sire both look short, which means Tex really may not have much more to grow. The full brother/sister (it's hard to tell with the picture- we'll assume it's a sister) looks EXTREMELY similar to Tex in nearly every way. I like the way she's crouching in this picture when she moves. I'm happy with the dam and sire's rear ends, but think that their chests could use some more muscle. The dam's front feet look like they point outward a bit, which would explain where Tex obtained those genes. Neither the dam nor sire appear to have a very thick mane. The stud seems to be pretty squared in all four feet, which I like. He doesn't look like a dun in these pictures, but he could be a red dun. Overall, without seeing the actual horses, or professional pictures, it's really hard to tell what these horses truly look like. Plus, I believe the mare is bred, which makes her look a bit more swaybacked. I'd love any further input on the conformation of these two horses, as well as the full "sister."

Great questions that I need to answer

2009-05-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

The following questions are the result of some questions that a friend listed on her blog about her 2 year old. Although I'm in a bit of a different situation due to Tex's size and health situation (being a 2 year-old in a 1 year old body due to malnutrition), these are all questions that I will have to consider in the near future as he continues to grow.

When should I begin trying to sit on Tex's back? I have already put a leg over him while sitting on the fence, but nothing more. I'm thinking that I'll wait until he reaches around 700 pounds before actually sitting on him. What is the percentage of a horse's body weight that they can safely carry?

Tex's size is a major hold back in his training "under saddle." Most people begin riding horses at 2 years old, but I knew when I took Tex that riding him would not be something we could do for a while. I think that he MAY be big enough to ride within the next 6 months to a year. However, I consider it a blessing in disguise that he cannot be ridden yet- it forces me to not skip the training steps on the ground that he so greatly needs. I have created quite a long list of things to teach Tex before he is ready to ride, things that will carry over into his riding career and long into his life to make him a pleasant horse for everyone. These include picking up feet, accepting scary things, lunging at a walk, trot, and lope, changing speeds as per my verbal commands, sending (I point and he walks in the direction I point), loading in the trailer, crossing water, and moving his body in response to my body language, to name a few. Luckily, mentally, Tex is a strong 2 year old, willing to learn, and able to have a longer attention span than a 1 year old, which means we can do longer lessons.

The friend's blog said that horses will continue to grow until they are 6 years old. I don't expect Tex to grow to his full genetic potential, which should be small anyway. The breeder told me that Tex's dam (mother) is only around 13.5 hands tall, which is a very small horse! On the other hand, he is already showing that he's going to be quite a stocky horse. Only time will tell!

This picture was sent to me today. My mother-in-law took it last night during Tex's evening feeding. I believe he is starting to look more and more like a 2 year old. Notice that his hips are getting taller than his shoulders in this picture. I will join Tex in Louisiana in TWO days!

Daisy and Tex meet for the first time

2009-05-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Daisy is husband's brother's dog that my in-laws dog sit on a regular basis. She looks bad in this picture, but it's so typical of Tex's personality! He's always so observant of other animals around him. I hope this carries over into his cow cutting future career. I miss him a lot and can't wait to see him in 5 days!

In Louisiana!

2009-05-24T17:22:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture that my gracious mother-in-law took of Tex and Taz in Louisiana! This is my friend Kelly who came out to meet Tex.

Finally, some decent pics of myself with Tex

2009-05-23T20:05:00.001-07:00

These were taken last Thursday, the 21st. Tex often "cuts" the cat out of his stall. I don't know for sure if that's what he's doing in this picture, or if he's just walking backwards funny. The cat's name is Killer.

Today Tex and Taz arrived safely in Louisiana. Apparently Taz has a scratch on his knee. I'm excited that where we're keeping them at husbands' parents' place has a round pen.

We've been working on backing lately, and he is picking up on things so quickly. You can see in one of these pictures that I'm asking him to back, and he's actually picking up his feet to do it. He did NOT do that before!

Tex's hot wheels

2009-05-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Husband has been working hard to fix up some new wheels for Tex and Taz. Seriously, this has been a lot of long nights in the working, with the help of our friend Kole. This trailer needed lots of work, but husband finally finished last night after metal work, tons of sanding, two coats of primer, and two coats of paint. Now we're ready to go to lots of events in Louisiana. TM

Tex, minus the winter hair

2009-05-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

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I took these picures last Sunday. What a striking difference from when Tex arrived at my house. He's now 13 hands tall! My friend Kristy helped me move Tex around in his new pen during feeding time. There is food in the trough, but I've been trying to teach Tex not to be aggressive with food. I put the food in his bin (or trough, depending on if he's in the stall or out), and then I use my elbow and body language to keep him out of the feed. I only back away and let him eat when he puts his head down and is calm. I've also been TRYING somewhat of a clicker training, after reading an article in John Lyons' Perfect Horse magazine. The article was written by an animal behaviorist who has trained many exotic animals. She described that "clicker" training is simply using some sort of audio signal to "bridge" between the desired behavior and the reward. Instead of using an actual plastic clicker, I use the word "good", quickly and short, in the same voice tone. Horses have an approximate 3 second time interval in which to receive a reward. That's not always enough time. I'm guessing the "bridge" is what helps the horse understand that he did the right thing within the 3 seconds, and the reward (petting, or getting to eat his food) comes soon after the 3 seconds.

For an example, when I'm teaching Tex to be nice when fed, my desired behavior is for him to stand quietly. I put the feed in the trough, and as SOON as he stands quietly, I say "GOOD" one time and back away, allowing him to access the feed. Desired behavior = GOOD = REWARD (food).

Clicker training isn't popular in the cowboy world from what I can tell, but since I've never done this before, and haven't seen it done much, I'm willing to try anything that seems sensible to me. If it doesn't work, I'll quit and try something different. So far, my theories have been proven right- Tex seems to be learning quickly. On top of that, while working with Jade, our 8 month old border collie puppy, the "good" seems to "click" with her, too :)

One of these pictures is of Taz, husband's goofy-sometimes-uncoordinated-unpredictably-spooky-horse.

The last picture is of some of the horses that husband and I have taken care of during our time at the camp. We know each one's name, personality, habits, and pecking order. I will miss them, but it will be nice to only have 2 horses to care for instead of 26!

Tex is moving to Louisiana

2009-05-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

Tex is moving to Louisiana this Saturday, 8 days before I'm moving there too. He will live in husband's parents' green pastures with LOTS of grass, and I plan to see him very often. I will be living about 10 miles away, but in the town of Jackson, LA, there is little to no traffic to worry about.

Tex's surgery was scheduled for today, but since he's going to be making the 8 hour trip with husband's brother on Saturday, I decided to cancel the surgery. I can't imagine that it would be very good for the stitches to bounce around that much on the trip. I'm sad that I have to go 8 whole days without seeing him, but I know that he'll be SOOO happy to have all that green grass, and possibly some new friends. He'll be traveling with Taz, husband's 1/2 paint, 1/4 arabian, 1/4 quarter horse (if you use your math skills, you'll figure out that those numbers total only ONE horse!). Since Tex is traveling, Monday I loaded and unloaded him into the stock trailer several times to make sure he wouldn't make a fuss about it. He did wonderfully, but doesn't know how to back yet- on the ground or in the trailer. So, I took him out of the trailer and tried the Craig Cameron method of teaching him to back- tapping his front feet with the stick until he backed. However, it was late and I was impatient, so it wasn't our most productive lesson. When I'm feeling impatient, tired, hungry, or especially a combination of all three, I've learned that it's best not to try to train!

The move details have been a bit overwhelming lately- I'm actually moving 21 days ahead of schedule, which makes for a very short time to pack! TM

Pedigree

2009-05-15T21:00:00.001-07:00

Last week's gain

2009-05-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

To the best of my measuring ability, I've determined that Tex gained 18 pounds between the last week in April and May 5th. I've started a chart on the barn dry erase board to measure his growth.
I was out of town all last week and was in a rush to get packed for Louisiana, but husband took some pictures of Tex for me. I wanted to show his shape from the top. That's where his the growth seems to be most obvious.
The move to Louisiana has me a bit crunched for time, so his loss-of-manlihood and hernia surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday, May 20th, by the famous Dr. Kyle in Burnet, TX.
These are the pictures from last Sunday, May 10th. Since we returned yesterday, he's shed almost ALL of his winter hair!!! Those pictures will come next.

Weight gain monitoring pics- last week in April, 2009

2009-04-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures on the same day as the hobble pictures, Tuesday afternoon.

The other day I was in our tack room picking up my saddle when I glanced up on the shelf and saw TWO weight tapes! Boy was I excited. I thought I was going to have to buy one. Turns out, the feed store gave them to husband for being such a good customer (since we don't have any grass, we feed a LOT of grain at the camp). The only thing is, there are two different equations to use to calculate weight- For non-horsey people, the girth measurement is the circumference around the horse's body, just behind his front legs and over the withers (the bump behind their neck). A horse's height is also measured as the distance from the ground to the withers.
The two different formulas were:
1. For ADULT horses, girth x girth x body length / 330
2. For YEARLINGS, girth x girth x body length / 301

Tex's girth width was 53.5, and his body length was 53 (doing the best we could to measure it). When I did the calculations for adult horses, he came out to weigh 460 pounds. I didn't like that number at all, so I decided to try the yearling formula. Using the yearling formula, his weight came out to 504 pounds. That sounds much better, so I've decided to stick with that, just to keep my hopes up! Grow, Tex, grow!

Tex is shedding his winter coat more every day, and he's going to be a beautiful color when it's all gone! I think his rear and backbone muscles (I don't know the technical terms) are filling out.

After I went home that night, I caught my new baby chicks doing something funny! TM

Hobble Trained!

2009-04-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

The place where we have our horses in central Texas has almost no grass in the corral. We simply don't have the cross-fencing needed to establish pasture, and on top of that, rain comes in short spurts or not at all in the past few years. I knew that Tex needed grass to put on weight- he prefers it over hay, and sometimes will skip his grain to gaze longingly over the fence wishing for the grass that grows in the "people space" around the barn. That's what made me decide to hobble train him. It would allow him the freedom to graze in the people space without me having to worry too much about him running off.

Hobbles are a leg-restraining device that does not hurt the horse at all. Once a horse learns to accept hobbles around his/her legs, the horse can walk, but not trot or run.

One thing I'm learning throughout this training process is that I don't have to spend the money to get the "Official AQHA Sponsored Equipment Whatevers." I did a quick internet search about making your own hobbles to find out that I could make a pair with an old piece of cotton rope. We just happened to have one! It looked easy to twist and make the hobbles in the pictures online, but when I started trying it myself, it wasn't quite that easy. I decided (for now) to tie them the best I could and not worry about being perfect.

Tex learned to accept hobbles in about 2 total hours, split between two weeks. I started by letting him graze with his rope hanging down. He seemed to not mind at all when he stepped on his lead rope, as long as he could still eat. The next day, I used the old cotton rope to wrap around one leg at a time and pick up his feet with it. Not only did it teach him not to fight the rope around his feet, but it also helped with his feet-picking-up behavior. The next time I worked with him, I began to tie the two feet together. He freaked out one time, came close to falling, but then realized, "There is grass to be eaten- why worry about these feet restraint thingies? Who cares-I'm hungry." I supervised that first tying day. Yesterday was the 2nd tying day, and he seemed to remember that it was no big deal. You can see in one of these pictures that he's walking, having his foot restrained by the hobbles, and there is no effect in his behavior.

After watching him for a little while, relaxing in the grass (with Jade, our border collie/blue heeler) while he grazed, I decided to leave him somewhat unattended while I went to fix some supper. It was a very happy success for me and for Tex. TM

This week's pictures

2009-04-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

This week's pics were taken on Thursday. I hope to give you guys at least DECENT pictures to look at. I wanted to show everyone all of his zebra stripes! I believe with 90% certainty that Tex is truly a grullo, as his papers state. I found a website, www.grullablue.com, that describes characteristics of a grullo horse. According to that site, Tex's dark face, black/brown legs, darker tips of the ears, and dorsal stripe from head to tail all make him qualify in the grullo category. On top of that, grullos often have zebra stripes on the back, shoulders, neck, and legs. These are the stripes I've found on him, even before he's shed out very well. The pic of his hind legs isn't very good, but you can see the subtle striping. The ears are my very favorite! I have a feeling I'll enjoy looking at those from behind when riding him in the future!

Also, this is his weekly picture to gauge growth. I am seeing a little bit of difference on his ribs in person, I think, but that is hard to tell in the pictures. Just like wearing white can make certain body parts look larger (my bottom half could resemble a lollipop in white jeans), the brightly exposed pictures before covered up many evils on his ribs by making him look bigger than he is. The darker pictures below are a more representative of his true body condition.

Talking with the vet

2009-04-22T15:55:00.001-07:00

I called our vet, Dr. Kyle, on Friday to discuss Tex's nutritional needs, when to castrate, what to do about the hernia, and what to expect. I have the utmost respect for veterinarians. Dr. Kyle advised me that to maintain a horse, you must feed them 3% of their body weight in total pounds of feed, which includes hay, grass, and grain. While growing, horses need 4% of their body weight in total pounds of feed. Also, he said that protein is more important than fat at this time, and he suggested (as a friend did) to put him on some sort of equine junior or youth feed. I'm currently making that switch slowly from his high-fat pellets, which is what we feed all of the other horses that we take care of.
One of the first things Dr. Kyle said is to BE PATIENT. Well, I'm willing. I'm looking forward to moving (we're moving back to the great state of Louisiana in June) because there is actually grass in Louisiana, versus this central Texas drought-bound area. We have a LITTLE grass, but no fencing around it. I think that Tex will do very well when he finally has access to unlimited pasture grazing.
Dr. Kyle also mentioned that testosterone DOES have an affect on growth, so we need to leave Tex as a stud for as long as we can. I can keep him separated for a while, but he must be cut before the move. The vet and I agreed to wait 30 days and re-evaluate the horse's body condition. Apparently anesthesia needs a decent body condition, or could harm the horse. I'd like to learn more about the details of that.
No, he may not reach his full genetic potential for height - He's strongly King bred, and King was 14.3 hands, so I may have a 14 or so hand horse. That's fine with me, because I'm a shorty myself!
After the phone conversation, I felt relieved about my decision to take Tex, and felt even more hopeful for the future. TM

Trimming Day!!

2009-04-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Every day since I've had him, I've worked with Tex's feet to make sure that he won't give my farrier (husband) trouble. I feel sure that if my horse is troublesome, husband will start charging me for his services! I had set a goal of having him ready by Thursday, but Thursday evening was filled with other things, so Friday was the day of Tex's first hoof trimming - first ever.

I want to learn how to do his feet myself, but for the first time, with so much corrective trimming needed, I wanted the expert to take care of it. I tend to make hooves quite uneven while trimming right now, and I'm not the strongest when it comes to the back feet.

Tex held up his front left foot pretty nicely with only a little arguing, but when it came to his back left, he put up quite a protest (but he lost the battle). However, when husband moved to the back right, Tex seemed to remember the trouble he encountered, and must have decided that it wasn't worth the fight.

I didn't notice a strong difference after the trim, but I know these things take time. I wish I could have immediately noticed a difference- Patience is not always my strongest virtue, but something tells me this horse may teach me otherwise. TM

Wednesday pictures

2009-04-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning, April 15th, I decided to take some pictures of Tex for a few purposes- to help me gauge his growth, to post on here, and to post onto a forum site in which people critique the confirmation of your horses. I'm still nervous about posting the pictures, and haven't yet. I may wait until he puts on a tiny bit more weight and those scars heal up a bit before posting pictures of him. Looking at them myself was enough critique for one day!

After putting the pictures on my computer and scrutinizing them, I noticed one major thing that needs work (besides the hernia, of course)- his feet, particularly the front right. All four poke outward more than I would like to see, and that one sticks out like a cowlick on husband's hair.

He does look scrawny in these pictures, but I'm nothing but hopeful. I also took some of him with myself and with husband, so that we can measure his height differences over time. That night, I marked a small notch on his stall door at the height of his withers, just in case the pictures make it difficult to interpret small height differences. I'd like to pick up a weight and height measuring tape as well.

I've decided to do my best to take pictures of him AROUND every Wednesday. TM

Round pen work

2009-04-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 13th. Mondays are my day off work, and we decided to visit some friends down the road. They have a panel round pen, and invited me to bring Tex out to their house. He loaded and unloaded very willingly from our straight load horse trailer. I let him loose in the round pen, let him get used to his surroundings while I enjoyed a glass of Mrs. Barbara's famous sweet tea, and then we began our first round pen lesson.
Tex seemed to remember a lot about the previous day's lungeing session. He trotted off easily when I kissed and glared at his hip. He easily stopped when I said "whoa" and stepped into the path of his shoulder. He even gladly faced me completely again, without me having to pull on his lead rope! I think that I may end up doing a combination cue for stopping- a bit of a tug and then stepping into his shoulder's path. I hope that will carry over during his riding, so that he can know that any pressure on his face means something. The same goes for the whoa.
On Sunday, I had asked him to do all of his turns toward me because of the lunge line. Monday, at liberty in the round pen, I asked him to turn away from me. He seemed a bit confused at first, because he thought he was doing what we had practiced the day before, but once he understood the concept, he did it correctly around 5-6 times. Now I'm thinking through how to cue an outside turn different from an inside turn.
I actually have a huge VHS set of John Lyons' first video series. Apparently they cover every monotonous hour of him breaking one horse from start to finish. I've only watched the first video while I had strep throat this past summer because it was the best thing to put me to sleep on the couch. However, I think I remember hearing within my sickly drowsiness something about how to cue an outside turn and an inside turn. Before I struggle through the old VCR rewind and fast forward buttons, does anyone have suggestions?

I've updated the blog settings so that anyone can leave comments, so feel free! TM

Our first lunging/longing session

2009-04-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

The next Sunday husband helped me build a tiny round pen made of rope and fence posts, and Tex and I headed out for our first lunging session. However, during the walk to the round pen, he tried to stomp my face off! He was quite angry about leaving the barn, and very disrespectful of my space. I was a bit shaken, and although wanting to do this project independently, I felt safer having experienced husband there for support. Husband made him do the first couple rounds around the round pen (still attached to the long rope), and I finished the rest of the 20 minute lesson. Tex may have been lunged one or two times during the month that Anna had him, but he didn't know a lot about it.

He learned to go when I kiss and to stop when I say "whoa." I was particularly impressed with his whoa, and his immediate response of turning his face and entire body toward me after the whoa. When I used to lunge Spiderman, he almost never turned his whole body, no matter what I did. I was also quite satisfied with Tex's speed of learning and his attention to me.

By the end of that lesson, he walked MUCH more respectfully back toward the barn, and hasn't tried the stomping in the 5 days since.

When asking him to stop, I was unsure whether to step in front of him to ask him to stop, or to remain in the middle of the circle and pull on his halter with the lunge line. What are the reasons for each, and is one better than the other? Also, what is the correct spelling for lunge/longe?
TM

Tex- the first day

2009-04-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, April 9, 2009, I traded my crazy playday horse, Spiderman, for Texolena Outlaw, a 2-year old grullo registered quarter horse.

Tex came to me from a young lady named Anna Bear from Killeen, TX. Anna had acquired him from a man down the road from her barn who could no longer afford to feed him. The man said he fed them "a flake now and then." Well, I'm imagining that flake may have been once a week, because this guys is severely underweight for a 2 year old.

Anna found my ad for "playday horse for sale or trade" on craigslist.

The trade was a known risk for me, but I was ready to move on from Spiderman. I liked the fact that Tex was already registered, his color was nice, his conformation didn't look bad in the pictures, he had a consistent strong cow-bred bloodline, http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/texolena+outlaw
and Anna described his disposition as very laid back. I had to commit sight unseen to the trade, because it's a 2 hour drive between our house and Killeen, and Anna had to use someone else's trailer to transport.

Here are the only pictures that I had to look at before making the decision to take him. They're from his craigslist ad.

I had been trying to sell Spiderman for nearly a year.
Here is picture of husband riding Spiderman, who I had owned for 2 years. He was sweet on the ground, but competetive in the saddle, and was always a fight when it came to pleasure riding.

When I finally made my decision and convinced husband to say yes around 11:30 pm, I couldn't sleep. I stayed up until 1 am looking up his pedigree.

Anna and her horse trainer/friend/employer, Amber, arrived at our place around 10:45 am on Thursday. When he stepped off the trailer, my first thoughts were 1. "Oh boy, he's tiny." and 2. "Oh boy, that hernia is NOT tiny." He has an umbilical hernia, not unusual for young horses, that must be fixed with surgery. However, surgery to fix the hernia needs to be combined (for health and financial purposes) at the same time as he loses his manlihood.

Amber rode Spiderman in our arena while Tex hung out in the stall, and by 12:30, It was a done deal. This is a picture of me with Tex and Anna with Spiderman, the horse I traded (an even trade, might I crazily add). They loved Spiderman, and I, although not quite sure what I had done, did not regret committing to this little guy. TM