Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Truby Saves My Weekend

I was not feeling it this weekend. You know how sometimes you're just so tired of the same old nonsense you get at work? I just COULD NOT with the annoying clients, phone calls, co workers eating guac and chips (ahhhh, the crunching!) I blame the recent solar storm for it all. I shot out the door as soon as I could on Saturday, and headed straight to the barn.

Hello! I'm Truby. Here to make it better!

Once I get out of town things slow down. There's far less traffic, so I can drive a little slower. Once I get on the neighborhood roads, I just coast along. The barn is so peaceful, always. The horses are relaxed and happy. The grounds are quiet. The ranch dogs are Golden Retrievers, so super happy and pretty laid back. I could feel the tension and annoyances of the day just slipping away. Bliss.

I brushed Truby and worked on deshedding her. And then despite the fact that I was wearing my loose leg yoga pants, work smock, and only a regular bra, decided I would go for a ride. Since Truby's been moving out so well for a while, I decided it's time to start really riding her again. Usually I hop on bareback and we just stroll along. But today I pulled on her saddle, hit the timer  on my phone, aiming for 15 minutes of good walking.

Why yes, I ride in a 2k saddle and a $30 sidepull.

Truby was fantastic! We just walked, enjoying the sun and the movement. Lots of changes across the diagonal, and even a couple baby leg yields each direction. I want to build her up slowly, both because of her injury last fall, and because it's gonna be HOT soon. So, taking the Denny Emerson approach. Good foundation of walking, building it up over terrain, then slowly add in the rest. Also, if you're not following Tamarack Hill Farm on Facebook, you really should. It's always interesting. Great pictures, history, past/present/future thoughts on eventing, lots of great ideas on being a better horse person and rider. I love it.

I also love this picture

Looking for coyote in the wash

After our ride, I hopped off, thanked Truby for a good time and gave her lots of hugs and cookies. I went home feeling elated and relaxed. Of course, the next day I was back with the grumps. I was supposed to go to a work related seminar, which had been cancelled....and I was not informed. Nor was the cancellation posted anywhere. I had taken the day off work to attend this, and it was only the night before that I found out it wasn't happening. With no appointments scheduled, I decided to keep my day off rather than hope for the chance of setting up same day appointments. Not that I really mind an extra day off, but I don't get paid time off, so no work means no money. Feeling grumpy and annoyed, I head to the barn for an attitude reset. 

I spent a long time just brushing Truby. Shedding her out. Combing her mane. Currying and brushing. We both enjoyed it, and Truby is starting to look pretty sleek! Then I took her for a handwalk down the backyard trail. 


Family of Road Runners lives here, and I usually see
at least one on the backyard trail.


Secret horse friend was very excited to see us!

After our walk, I decided to work on desensitizing her to the front gate. We attempted it earlier in the week, and it hadn't gone great. I took a huge handful of horse treats and a couple long carrots and headed over. First we just walked up to the gate. I allowed her to look and sniff. We circled around in front, and she stayed at a polite speed, not spinning around or charging away. Then I let the gate open. I continued to feed her carrots while the gate whined open and clanged into place, and more carrot while it closed. We walked back up to the gate and looked around. This time when I opened the gate, I led her through. She immediately got super tense and worried, which is typical for her (omg! Crossed the property line! Ahhh!). I shoved carrots in her face. I offered her to walk forward, and when she did, I decided to see if she relaxed moving away from home. Yup! As soon as we got a few feet from the driveway she really started to calm down. Rather than school the anxiety area, which doesn't help Truby at all, we continued down the road. I had the community trail in mind. Truby walked confidentially and calmly down the street, and we made it to the trailhead. 

 The more warning signs, the better


Truby, calm and interested


Once we got off the pavement and onto the trail Truby relaxed even more. She was totally chill! Near the beginning of the Loop it goes right behind our barn. Even with her friends whinnying at her, Truby was interested, but relaxed. She walked with a nice free gait. She'd look at things, but not worried, just curious. I was SO PROUD of her! In fact, the only thing that bothered her was a big barrel cactus growing on its side. It was well of the trail, but she was Not Okay with it. Even coming back she got the snorty nose and arched neck. None of the other cactus bothered her. Just that one.


Saguaros? No big deal


She really wanted to walk over to the Teddy Bear Chollas.
Trust me, that is a BAD idea!


That sideways barrel cactus? NOPE.

We probably only walked about a quarter mile of the mile-ish Loop before she started getting balky. At first I could get her walking again with a swat of the lead rope, but the second time she stopped, she was starting to get the tense ears and over anxious eyeballs. I asked her to walk forward a few steps, and then we turned around and continued walking back. When we turned around, she let out a big breath and lowered her head. I don't think anything was scaring her, but she was clearly Too Far From Home. Since we're learning and gaining confidence so Truby can be a happy and safe trail horse, we simply redirected to her comfort zone. She started powerwalking, but slowed to a good pace with a gentle tug on the lead. Heading back, the trail takes us directly facing our barn. Even facing the barn with her friends calling her, Truby only stopped and looked toward home, but then walked off nicely. The rest of our walk back was uneventful. Even when I opened the gate Truby only jerked her head a bit. 

A few houses away from home, a dog came barking to the fence as we approached. Truby didn't even bat an eye! She glanced over, but kept walking, unconcerned. I said "Good girl, Haiku!" (Haiku is my dog) and Truby didn't really react. I giggled, and said "oops, you're not Haiku. You're Truby, good girl Truby!", and Truby pricked her ears, arched her neck and gave her head a little shake. She was like "Yes! I'm Truby! Yay!" So cute. My heart melted a little and I leaned against her, absolutely in love with her. 

We finished our adventure by relaxing in the mesquite



I thought laying on my belly would make for some great pics



Might need to frame this one!





1 comment:

 It took a long moment before I could even ask the question. I leaned against Truby and ran my hand along her neck, underneath her mane. &qu...