Hello, August

I've been away for what feels like much of the summer and it feels odd to be thinking about autumn plans already, but here we are. 

Most recently, G and I went on another trip 'back east' to Ontario , but we didn't purchase any ponies this time! :)

I've got some further time off and things planned through mid September, but I am already feeling so much more refreshed and positive. The work burn out situation was getting pretty bad earlier in the year. I am always appreciative to have the horses as an outlet, but often the work stress still intrudes into pony time just via me having an internet connection and a big to do list. A forced time out via a vacation elsewhere is the best solution I've found!

A train of ponies incoming

Sophie missed her calling as some sort of cutting or ranching horse, she's very effective at rounding up the boys for me and this is the normal scene when I go to get them from the field.

She was on the naughty list this week though, she trapped Buck in a corner and kicked the sh!t out of him, after being turnout friends for months now. So, back to her own paddock she goes, where she's highly offended that he doesn't want to be friends/is scared of her now. Mares! (Buck is fine, a few scrapes and kick marks, it just took about 10 years off my life)

We got Reggie's test results back and they were completely normal, in fact his molybdenum was on the low side. So the molybdenum situation seems to be isolated to Buck. Poor Buck is having a time, lol. But it is great news that it's not in the hay or the water or anything else the other two are coming in contact with. So, I can stop worrying about that. It's still odd since they all live together, but at this point I will shrug my shoulders and switch Buck's vitamin and mineral supplements around to meet his needs better and we'll re test this winter.

Hi, I have a secret source of molybdenum somewhere that I like to ingest at 100x the recommended amounts

As far as pony training updates, Reggie has been tacked and sat on a couple more times, plus of course working on 'parking' him and other on the ground things like standing square and practicing his flexions a la that lesson we had with Jody. In his spare time, he has taught himself how to open his main gate and lets himself out in the mornings if I'm too slow. There was only so long being careful about letting him see how that latch operates was going to last.

I swear he is always plotting something

Reggie's fall and winter is just going to be more of the same, plus some more ground driving and leading him out on the trails. He's quite immature physically so I'm definitely fine with waiting before doing anything more than sitting on him and walking around for a minute or two.

He is certainly filling out this summer, but there's definitely that awkward baby pony thing going on where his barrel/ribcage is cob sized but his shoulders/chest are still disproportionately narrow. We'll make some plans when he's 4 next spring.

I think Buck is going to be the guy this fall and winter. He's big and he needs a job. He's getting better, but the borderline rude pushy behaviour continues to be a thing when he's bored. He's also Next Level at turning everything into a game. That's pretty much the entire reason I never had geldings before, I normally find it incredibly annoying. Jokes on me though, because he's mine and maybe I'm mellowing with age I think it's funnier than maybe I should. 

Maturing beautifully.

 I hate to say this, but I'm starting to think he's not the easiest horse to train. I know a good trainer would never blame the horse, but let's just say the process with him generally takes a lot longer than other horses. Someone who worked with him summed it up well, using a windows desktop analogy. When you click the 'file' menu with him, instead of the few standard options, there is an endless list of available things in the drop down menu :) You finally find and select what you want, then things bog down and process a good long while. Once you install something, though, it's there forever!

Possibly he's still just sharing that single brain cell with Reggie, tho

The good thing is that he keeps on trying, is genuine (and is super cute), so really, what more can you ask? I feel like he's had big breakthroughs as far as the trailering situation. It's not perfect, but he's like "I get it now!" and super proud of that, so it's suddenly a matter of stopping him galloping down and attempting to barge in there every time I need to open the door. He's also figured out the mounting block and is absolutely perfect at placing himself there. It's turned into a game, along with running over if I have the tack room door open or show signs of doing anything interesting. He seems desperate for something to do, honestly, and with me feeling like he generally needs a little more time and confidence learning new things, focusing on him this fall and winter might be a good thing for everyone.

We've had a couple of (very short - literally a lap or three of my ring) rides this week where he's getting pretty good at turns and whoa/go (just walking around, with G on hand to walk ahead of us so we have a visual to follow (that sometimes has treats in his pockets!) if we get 'stuck'. Once I'm a little more confident we have a solid whoa, we'll start doing some short trail outings. Trails are my plan for him for the next few months. I know everyone varies, but I like and feel safest there on young horses - there's only one logical direction (forward), it's mentally engaging, and physically not too difficult. Our trails here are technical enough that paying attention to navigating their own path at a walk is mostly the name of the game and there are plenty of hills to take the initial edge off feral babies if need be.

Hopefully I'll get back to a better blogging routine once the craziness of summer is over, until then, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their horses!

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