She's Here!

My baby, my Ribbon, has arrived! She pulled into the drive at 4:15 this afternoon and quickly got settled in with her new paddock mate, Gus. I am ecstatic to finally have her so close. I'll be able to see her everyday and ride her most days. I can't express how glad I am that she's here.

Ribbon with Gus

Her new home

The Herd

These are the horses I'm leaving behind.

"Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
Can you frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He gallops into the clash of arms.
He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
At the blast of the trumpet he says, 'Aha'!
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting."
Job 39:19-25

So Long, Farewell, Etc.

There will be no more posts about Brandy and Chance for the summer. I said good bye to them when my cousins visited. School has ended, so I will no longer be able to drive to Dallas. Frankly because it is too far to drive from San Diego! There may be some posts about other horses, however. I'm going home to a horse camp where there are many horses who I love dearly. Among them, my own Arabian mare, Ribbon. I will take lots of pictures and hopefully find time and an internet connection to post them here.
So long.

Visitors

Yesterday was show-off time for me! Andrea and Alysun brought the kids out to the ranch. Needless to say, I didn't do any work because it was 3:30 when we all arrived and we all had a blast introducing them to the horses and watching the kids interact with the horses. Brandy even let Nathaniel pet her! She wasn't so keen about the idea of three little kids climbing on her gate, but she didn't cower in the corner like she used to. She just stood in the corner and watched attentively


.

When Alysun asked Emma what horse she wanted to take home, she immediately pointed to Bell. I saw that coming. Bell had shied away from Emma, but Emma was very patient and just held her hand out and Bell came back. Sadly, I don't have a picture of her with Bell.

Driving Lesson #2

Brandy had her second driving lesson today. She allowed me to be almost directly behind her and out of her line of sight. She yielded to the pressure of the outside rein on her halter so that she stayed close to the fence most of the time. Her trot was well controlled, and she walked when I asked her to without me having to step out in front of her. She even changed directions twice without too much fuss. I figured out that if I could switch sides really fast she would turn so that I would be on her inside. For her second lesson she did really well. We only worked for half an hour, but it was a very productive half hour.
Chance and I worked on side passes, collected gaits, flying lead changes, and turn backs. He did better with the turn backs than he has, so I was proud of him. His overall performance was probably the best yet.
It was a very good day.

Fence Building and Galloping

I went to bed last night expecting to go for a trail ride today. This morning I woke to a phone call that the trail ride was cancelled, but I was welcome to come out and ride anyways. I mulled over it for awhile. Some friends were going to a softball game and I hadn't been to one yet or hung out with them very much this year. At last, I decided that I would go to Dallas. The weather didn't look promising when I left, but by the time I arrived in Dallas it was much nicer.
Plans changed further when Debbie asked, "Do you want to help me do some fencing?"
"Sure!" I replied eagerly. Manual labor is something I enjoy and I miss it when I sit in a classroom all day everyday.
"Really? Okay."
So, I helped her start building her fence for her pasture. It was a beautiful day and I even got a sunburn on my neck! Most of what I did was just hold the T-posts while she pounded them into the ground. She did have me do one of them and, well, we'll just say that I'm not as strong as I was seven months ago. After about three hours on the fence we reached a stopping place.
I got Chance and we went for a ride. Growing up on a foresty mountain, there weren't really any places to just let the horses run (they're all old camp horses who just want to walk, anyways). There's a nice field behind Debbie's place. After trotting for awhile, it was clear that Chance wanted nothing more than to run as fast as he could. So, I let him. We leapt over a log and ran a couple of strides before he let go of a playful buck. I scolded him and we continued on with no further display of playfulness. It was delightful to have the stolen from me as the wind whipped past us, whistling in my ear. When we came to the gate that led us back onto Debbie's property, I slowed Chance to a walk and we rode for a little while in the field beside her barn. It was so delightful. A very satisfying Saturday.

Working Double

I worked both Brandy and Chance today. I decided to start Brandy on driving. Debbie has told me that she has driven Brandy before, so I thought I'd give it a try. Brandy wasn't sure about having me sort of behind her and having the driving reins touching her back, but she did pretty well for not having done it in a long time and never having done it with me.
The weather was extremely nice and warm so Chance and I went for a nice trail ride. Chance picked a brisk trot for most of it and we returned with a nice layer of sweat on him and a refreshed spirit in me. I was there for nearly three hours and it was so nice to have that chunk of time without any other engagements.

It was a beautiful day today, so the late trip out to the ranch was easy. I groomed Brandy and then lunged her. She did very well, especially with another horse in there. She's also doing amazingly well with her surroundings. Someone pushed a wheelbarrow behind her today and she didn't even flinch. I took her on a walk after I lunged her and we went to my truck so that I could get something. She wasn't worried at all. I wasn't there for long because it was late and I needed to get back to school. I'm hoping and praying that I can pick up my regular schedule for the next three weeks. I hope nothing else comes up to prevent me from going out there.

Other Horses

Here are a few of the horses that greet me whenever I work with Brandy and Chance. Usually I have to put them in their stalls, but today I was able to use the round pen and allowed them to keep their arena territory.

Aspen.


Traveller.


Aspen, Easy, Traveller.

Brandy's Photo Shoot

It's been almost a month since I have been to the ranch! First I was busy and then sick and then Katie came and then I was busy and then sick again. Today I finally made it out there! It was rather windy, so Brandy was a little odd. Things look really scary when the wind blows them in funny shapes. I lunged her in the round pen. She did do really well. After I lunged her I took out my camera and tried to get her to stand still in a cluster of yellow flowers. She didn't really want to when I was moving around. So, I found a really tall flower, set Brandy in front of it and snapped some pictures from the other side of the plant. For some reason, she wouldn't run over the flower to enter my space, so it worked pretty well.

Pictures of Chance

I haven't been out to the ranch for awhile. I was in Washington for spring break, then Katie came to visit. I was going to go today, but wasn't able to get away in time. I do, however, have some pictures of Chance that I took before the battery in my camera died.



This one is my favorite.

I lunged Brandy in the round pen today. She did really well until I asked for a lope. She just doesn't like to do it, and then she's worried about it, and then she gets tired. It's a very exhausting business. At last I was able to get her to lope a couple of steps each direction. Then we went for a stroll outside to cool off. It was very warm today and the sun felt very nice. Brandy didn't spook about the truck coming down the driveway toward her - she side stepped and we moved out of the way, but she handled herself very nicely. She didn't spook as the tractor drove by, or the hose moving, or the girls cleaning the stall right beside. I'm very proud of her, even if we didn't achieve a controlled canter. That will come though...I hope.

Spur of the Moment

I didn't make it out to the ranch yesterday. I just had way too much to do. However, today was sunny and, it's Friday so I had nothing to get back to. My roommate is working, so I would've been here all by myself anyways. I hopped in my truck and drove to Dallas, not quite sure who I would work with or what I would do.
I ended up riding Chance after a long grooming session. He had two huge knots in his hair. One of the kids who is working at Debbie's was there and helped me to get the knots out, talking the entire time. It was amusing.
I received a couple of bucks from Chance, but fortunately I had decided to lunge him first, for he was full of energy. We worked a little on collected trot, lead changes, turn backs and side passes. Then we went outside to the field behind Debbie's house. It was still really mushy and wet from the recent rain, so we didn't go too far into the field.
I think that I will change my second ranch day to Friday. I just haven't been able to get away on Thursdays. Fridays is much more feasible.

Breezes and Flags

I lunged Brandy on Tuesday with side reins. She did really well and held her head collected as if she'd been doing it forever. There was a bonus to our lessen that made me extremely proud of her. The trainer was working with a horse and had all sorts of scary things (tarps, flags, blankets) scattered about the fence. The door was also open and letting the breeze into the arena. Several times the breeze came through and ruffle the flag or tarp. Brandy perked up her ears sharply, raised her head, balked, and stared hard at the flag the first time. Then she walked slowly forward! A few other times caused a little anxiety, but no bolting! We moved through walk and trot and even a very fast trot in which she kept her head collected. She did so well that I had the brilliant idea to ask her for a canter. She bolted without a second thought. After that I had a hard time even getting her to move. After about half an hour of frustration because she would barely walk, let alone trot (even with the whip) or canter, I untacked her. The day was nice, so we walked around outside a little. She needed to cool down and, to be honest, so did I. I didn't want to put her away while I was still frustrated with her.
Looking back on the meat of the lessen it went really well. I have to keep reminding myself that she bravely continued to be lunged even with the flag and tarp and blankets wisping in the breeze and how far she has come since I started working with her.

Another Day

I intended to ride Chance today, but my hip and back were hurting a lot when I got to the ranch, so I decided just to lunge Brandy today. It was a short lessen, but a good one. I shortened the side reins a little more and Brandy collected more than she has before. After I put her away, as I was walking by his stall, Chance nickered at me. I couldn't resist. I went into his stall and rubbed his face. He played with my hand and my sweatshirt with his lip. I felt so bad and almost pulled him out to ride him, but my hip was hurting more from turning around in a circle for 45 minutes. Next time. I miss that little guy.

Tarp? No Problem

Last week the round-pen was occupied. This week it was empty of horses, but full of mud and it was raining. Debbie's trainer was working horses in the arena, so I dilly-dallied a little with Brandy. I saddled her, then unsaddled her, then put her circingle on. By that time, two of the horses had been put away, so I rebuilt my "round-pen" and took Brandy for a lunging session. She did really well and I noticed a tiny bit of improvement in her holding her head.
The most exciting part of the day came when I had the genius idea to have Brandy walk over the tarp that was on the ground. We've never done this before, so I really just thought she would get a couple feet away from it and then balk. However, as I inched carefully onto the tarp, she followed, She snorted a little, but then followed me all the way across! I was ecstatic and we went in for another try. This time, her back foot got caught under the tarp. In the time that it takes you to blink, she lunged forward, pushed me down and I landed on my right hip (again). I saw her bolting for her stall and gripped the lunge-line tighter. I completely expected her to ignore the tug I gave the line. Instead, she spun around and looked at me with alarm as I regarded her with some sarcasm in my look. I praised her for not bolting completely, then we went over the tarp again without incident.
I want you all to know that this is HUGE! Tarps are terrifying. They're crinkly and move weird when they catch on everything and they're loud. Brandy walked across TWICE like she's been doing it for years (maybe she has and nobody told me). I'm very happy about this lessen.

Resourceful Round-Pen

When I discovered how much easier it was to work with Brandy in the round-pen than in the huge arena, I couldn't wait to get out to the ranch yesterday...only to find that a new member of Debbie's mustang family was living in it. Having been raised to be resourceful, I built my own with two jumps, four cones, and a barrel. It worked quite well. Brandy didn't even try to get out! I'm going to revise what I said last week about her liking to work in a round-pen. I don't think she necessarily likes it, she just works better in it (perhaps that's why, she knows she has to work). I warmed her up and then went to tack her up. What a delightful surprise to find the cirsingle (I'm not sure how to spell that) had come home! It's so much nicer to work with side-reins that are actually...side-reins. I've said before that Brandy doesn't like side-reins (what horse does?), but until she learns to carry her head collected on her own, she's going to have to put up with it. She did very well and I was very satisfied with the lessen for that day.

Round Pen

Brandy and I discovered the round pen behind the barn. For several reasons, we've never been able to get out there and use it before now. First it was being occupied by another horse, then it was wet and rainy and muddy, and then I forgot about it. I was lunging Brandy with side reins today (she hates them) and telling myself that there had to be an easier way to teach a horse to bend and be able to stay in one place while lunging. "A round pen is what I need," I said to myself. Then I recalled that there was one outside and that it was unoccupied and probably not too muddy! We went out there and discovered the large but not massive round pen. Brandy liked it. I think she likes having a little bit of confinement. I had Brandy trot around for awhile to get used to the round pen and then she didn't seem to want to stop, so I just let her keep going. When she was done I asked her for a lope. She did, but she still thinks she's in trouble when she lopes. Then I tightened the side reins and she did pretty good with that. I took the lunge line off and it was pretty cool the way she went in a circle and obeyed without a line attached to me. At first, I don't think she noticed When I took off the side reins and the lunge line she figured it out because there was nothing on her face.
I think we both enjoyed the round pen a lot more. It was workable, but confined, and there were no distractions such as her empty stall beckoning her to run back to it. All the focus was on me...which is the way I like it.

FUN!

FUN was the word of the day. Chance made it very clear from the beginning that he didn't want to work. Rather, he wanted to play. He almost trotted up to me when I went to get him from his stall. While I groomed and saddled him he fidgeted a bit more than usual. When we walked into the arena, he lunged forward, then spun around when he came to the end of the reins. I had my hand through the reins so he came to a quick stop, pulling me a couple feet and slamming the gate closed. I felt really sorry for his mouth. When he repeated the action a few times, I decided to lunge him before riding him. I was hoping for a dead run followed by a few bucks. No such luck. Still, playing was the focus of our session, while trying to incorporate a little training in there. We worked on my roping skills a bit, and Chance kept his head down pretty well. Then we loped very quickly around the arena which was tons of fun! Chance is extremely athletic. Normally I ask him to canter collected, but decided against it today. We worked a little on lead changes and he did pretty well. Then I thought we'd run some barrels and try to change our leads doing that. That didn't quite work out the way that I wanted, but it was still fun. For a grand finale, I let Chance chase his giant toy ball around the arena. The smooth, rocking pace of his walk started putting me to sleep (is it a bad thing when you start to fall asleep on a horse), so we hung up the saddle for the day. It was a good day and I'm glad that Chance let me know what he wanted to do. I didn't work with Brandy because, like I said, I was falling asleep. I'll see her next week, though.

Makeshift Side-Reins

I lunged Brandy today with a saddle. Then I found some western split reins and made my own side reins. She's lost her bend, so we're going to be working on getting that back now. There was no bolting, but there was some stubbornness about wanting to be lunged. However, in the end, she did really well. She even dropped her head for a little while. She doesn't like side reins because she has to hold her head low instead of high, but she does pretty well with it.

Lead Changes and Turnbacks

I rode Chance today. We worked a little on lead changes and turnbacks. I practiced collecting him with one hand so that I can throw a rope and keep his head down at a fast pace. We didn't do too much because Debbie's trainer was there and working on some cool stuff with one of the fillies and had obstacles all over the arena. The turnbacks started out good, but then Chance got bored with them. I think I'm going to start riding him with spurs. Debbie told me that she usually rides him with spurs. I'm just always too lazy to put them on (it that ironic?). My legs have been getting a good workout. The lead changes are going well too. This is only the second time I've worked with him on it and he's learning fast.
There were a lot of distractions today. Debbie's house got crushed by a tree in the storm last month so she was getting a new one put up. On the neighboring lot men were pulling down dead limbs. It was very noisy, but Chance did well with so much going on.
Because of time, I didn't work Brandy for very long. I did lunge her without a saddle on. I was amazed as I watched her eyes get more and more calm and her head began to drop. A fly on the wall never know that the slightest unexpected movement or loud noise would make her halt, send her sidestepping or bolting across the arena. It was a successful lessen. I like those...a lot.

Lessen #1, 2009

Welcome to Brandy's Blog! I decided to give Brandy her own "news room"... but she has to share it with Chance. There's just not enough room for the both of us on The Cowgirl's Typewriter.
Brandy and I started our lessens again today. I saddled her and then lunged her. She did pretty well considering it's been almost two months since I'v worked her. She didn't quite like trotting with the saddle on, but there was NO bolting. I also introduced her, officially, to my camera and we took some fun pictures together. She was so good as that big black thing stared at her and then made a clicking noise and rubbed on my vest when I moved making another funny noise! (I feel kinda like a mom talking to her baby right now). But seriously, she did good.


Me and Brandy


Brandy on the lunge line


Brandy with her saddle.