Trail Riding with Truby

Truby and I have put quite a bit of time into getting her ready for her first real trail ride. We've got the driveway gate down, no problem. Walking down the road to the trail? Great, even on trash day! 

Just a horse going through your garbage and judging you.

We were planning to go for our first actual trail ride the day after Truby tangled with the fence. So obviously we had to delay a bit. Thanks to our handwalking exploits, she's gotten a lot of time on the trail, and I was sure she was ready for a ride. We made plans again, but they fell through. In a rare moment of bravery I decided to just tack up and go anyway! If things fell apart I could just hop off, right? Or...never get on and just do a tack walk!

I got Truby ready, loaded up on carrots, and off we went! It was a beautiful morning. Sunny, warm, nice breeze. Truby seemed relaxed and happy, I had some butterflies. The trail owner thoughtfully provides a nice two step mounting block right by the driveway, which is much appreciated! I checked my girth, crossed my fingers (and toes!) and swung up. 

First trail ride!

We didn't waste any time hanging around, and headed down the trail. Truby was pretty relaxed, ears up, striding forward....s.l.o.w.l.y. She wasn't balky or resistant, just walking super slow. She seemed a bit unsure and just wanted to take it slow to find her balance, and as long as she was going forward and not looking at things to spook at, I was okay with it. 

YOU GUYS!!!!! I RODE MY HORSE ON A TRAIL!!!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!

This is such a huge milestone for us! A few years ago we really put in the effort and time and expense to do some horse shows. Same two venues, but we logged a lot of miles, just walking. Walking from the moment she stepped off the trailer to the moment everyone else finally finished their classes and was ready to leave. It took a long time for her to feel comfortable enough to just stand still for a bit. And another visit or two before we could try the show ring. (PS take your baby horses off property as soon as you have good ground manners! Get them used to going places! Start now! Don't be me and trying to convince an old horse new tricks. Start 'em young!) Anyway, even though we eventually got a good handle on the show grounds, trail riding was still a distant dream. 

Unsure about walking directly away from home

Did we go far? Hell no. We walked down the trail towards our barn. The trail loops north just behind home, and as soon as we started away, Truby got really uneasy. Cowgirl and Windy were screaming the entire time, which didn't help. We got a bit up the trail and then Truby turned around.  She was tense and moving at a fast walk. I turned her away and sent up away from home. Then it dawned on me NOT TO PICK A FIGHT. 

We have lots of time to go the entire loop. Make the first ride, short, sweet, and stress free. I let her turn around again and walk back the way we came. Truby heaved a big sigh, lowered her head and walked at a nice, even pace. Success! Turns out, I am capable of making good decisions. 

Even when we followed the trail back to the start and were again walking directly away from home (to the east this time) Truby stayed relaxed. She felt good. We were out together enjoying the day. What could be better?

Join us!

Once we reached the trailhead I hopped off and showered Truby in hugs, pats, and praise. Oh, and carrots! We walked home with a swing in our steps and a smile on our faces. Maybe just the smile on my face, however, Truby did seem quite pleased. 

Once home, I pulled off her tack and gave her the ultimate reward for white horses: turn out in a dusty pen while sopping wet! I think she enjoyed herself. And she definitely deserved it!

A well earned roll in the dirt!

Happy Handwalking....and Coyotes

Spring is here!

I've gotten really behind on our adventures - which I guess is what happens when you're not used to having adventures and then suddenly life gets a little interesting. 

With Truby's injury, I wanted to handwalk her at least 30 minutes twice a day. And 30 minutes walking around a ring is boring! I was bored, Truby was super bored. Combined with the fact that she was sore and her face hurt, it was a pain keeping her walking. We'd walk around the barn, then a lap around the ring, then down the drive, back around the ring, etc. That was okay...for a day. 

So we tried the backyard trail. That was pretty nice! Truby was much more eager to keep moving. But then we ran into a problem...

Canis latrans

This was about 8 am. We got almost to the end of the trail when we spotted a coyote. Watched her for a bit...and then realized she was walking RIGHT TOWARDS US. We turned right around and started walking away. I kept glancing over my shoulder...and the coyote keep following us. Yikes. Then she turned off the trail and went on her merry way. She probably wasn't following us, just heading the same way. Probably. 

We tried the trail a couple more times at different times, but always ended up running into a coyote. So the backyard trail was out. Soooo....why not try the community loop trail? Truby and I had already schooled the gate, and Truby was fine with that. We'd been on the trail a few times. Why not?

Good choice

This was a great plan. Truby was happy to have something interesting to go, rather than circles in the ring. The loop has just enough variance in terrain to interesting and require some thought, but nothing too strenuous. It's just over a mile, giving us a nice 30 to 45 minutes of walking. The footing is great, used shavings on top of the desert. We both really enjoyed it! Plus is gave us a nice groundwork for when we could eventually ride instead of walk. 

This was going really well. For almost two weeks. Then one evening I took Truby out to the Loop. She was okay walking down the road, but as soon as we got to the trailhead, she spooked at a rock. I rolled my eyes and we walked on. She was really jiggy...swinging her head around, dancing at the end of the lead, charging ahead. I couldn't believe she was being such a brat! We did some reminders of Leading Like a Good Horse, but it didn't seem to help much. I couldn't believe she was being so naughty! 

Sound on for coyotes

Coyotes vocalize oddly, and one coyote sounds like 3 coyotes, 2 coyotes sounds like 5 coyotes, and a pack of coyotes sounds like every coyote on the planet. This certainly explained why Truby was so edgy. Not being bad, nervous about pack hunters out hunting. We were still just a quarter of the way through the Loop, and the coyotes sounded like they were right behind us. So I decided to keep going. I don't know if that was the best idea, but I didn't want to walk into a couple of coyotes. 

Oddly enough, Truby seemed to want to plunge into the interior of the Loop. Not in a fearful way, but a very purposeful way. We kept going, and by the time we were approaching the last part of the Loop, she was fairly calm and well behaved again. The last quarter of the Loop walks past the ring, turnouts, and barn of the property's barn. The far edge of that is their hay storage. We got just past that when our trail was blocked. 

It blends in really well, but that's 

a big ol' coyote

There was a big coyote square in the trail. It had caught something small, and was started to eat it. Maybe a ground squirrel? We turned RIGHT around. No way I was going near a coyote in the middle of a snack. Plus our coyotes are well fed, sleek, glossy coated, and big. Luckily the driveway for the barn slices right through the last corner of the Loop. It would get us past the coyote, and be quicker. I was more than ready to be home at this point. 

We had just cleared the barn and were heading home...when the snacking coyote started a high pitched howl. Yikes. I was really glad to be on the driveway getting home just a little bit faster. The coyote was behind us to the south. 

And then, ahead of us to the north, I heard something that made my blood run cold. Another coyote returned snackin' coyotes howl. 

So we were between at least two howling coyotes. They were clearly talking to each other. I don't know a lot about coyotes. Were they saying "hey man, I got a squirrel snack!"  or "Hey, there's an injured horse and a slow human, let's get 'em!"? I really did not want to find out. I urged Truby into a powerwalk. I knew better than to run, but what should I do? They kept howling to each other. Would they attack us? Should we go to the safety of the barn? I rarely get cell service, so what would we do? It was already almost sunset. We could hole up, but the coyotes would stll be out there. No one was at the barn. I didn't know if anyone was going to be back that night. 

So we kept walking. And I started to pick up rocks. Just in case. Since I always carry treats or carrots on the trail, I slipped Truby the last few cookies I had. I didn't want her to start to panic. I also didn't want her to think trails were scary. I was terrified. I could hear both coyotes calling to each other, but now they were behind us. Were they going to come at us from behind?

I was never so happy to see the end of the trail. Truby had kept her cool, but I was still pretty freaked out. As soon as we left the Loop and hit the road I breathed a huge sigh of relief. As we walked up the driveway with the last of the light, I apologized to Truby. Profusely. I had assumed she was bad. I assumed she was being a naughty pony for the sake of being naughty. Even though we'd walked out there almost every day for close to two weeks, and Truby was good as gold, happy and relaxed...then suddenly, she was completely different. It was wrong of me to assume she was being a brat. I didn't trust her enough to look for another reason for her behavior. Truby didn't hold a grudge against me, because she's a the best little gray horse, but I felt like an ass. 

For sure sometimes horses will be bratty if they're in a mood, or testing boundaries, or whatnot. But we -I- need to remember is that sometimes they act differently if they're in pain, or scared, or even just worried about something. And maybe if you take your horse out for a walk in an open area where there are coyotes hunting....

Mini Post - The Nest

Today I found a little bird nest

It was made with white and brown horse hairs

I showed it to Truby

She thought it was weird

And she wasn't sure what to do 

But then she decided that it made her happy

And then it blew away

Good journey, little nest

The Long Week of Ouch

The first day of Truby run in with the fence I wasn't too concerned. Sure, she was skinned and swollen, but she was also cheerful and nothing looked really bad and she wasn't too painful. The next day she started looking bad. Her chest was huge and droopy and swollen and firm...not soft squishy swelling. She was a pretty sad pony. (Refer back to my first post here.)

The sun sets on another Truby filled day

While I was off the first and second day of her injury, the third day it was back to work. Back to extremely busy busy work! It's finally settled down a bit, but for the last 3 or 4 weeks it's been CRAZY. So my week looked a lot like: get up, go to the barn for at least an hour, go to work, take an extra dog or two, go home for an hour or two, then back to the barn for another couple of hours. Go home, be half asleep then collapse into bed.

 Checking for cookies in the first aid drawer

I'm lucky that I live close enough that I could take care of Truby twice a day. I'd have liked to do three times, but her injury wasn't so bad that I though it would be worth the wear and tear. It was an intense week, but I really did enjoy it! I got to spend lots of time with Truby, and it was satisfying to watch her heal.

Saturday morning my awesome massage therapist came out to work on Truby. Jenna very kindly fit us into her crazy busy weekend and had some techniques to help reduce the edema and make everything go back to where it belongs. I met her at 7:30 am and she was already hard at work making Truby feel better. It was neat watching, because when she was working on a sore part and Truby was resisting, Tru would snatch hay out of her haynet and gobble it quickly. Stress eating at its finest. But once she started to work it out and it started to feel good, Truby ate slower, and slower, and finally just put her head down and closed her eyes in bliss. The massage really helped reduce the swelling and we had our first dramatic edema reduction that day. Anything for Princess Pony!

Speed eating while Jenna worked on a tender spot

Realizing this feels good

 A break for kisses

Enjoying a jaw release

I took pictures every day so I could track the changes, and thankfully, everything continued to improve steadily. After 4 or 5 days, the skin on the chest finally gave up and started to slough off. It had been too badly damaged. This led to the next challenge: flies. The barn has A TON of flies. I'm not really sure why, but we are Fly City. Her face wound is easy to cover with a flymask, but her chest was difficult. I tried putting Swat around it, but the area was too large and the flies had no problems landing in the center. I ordered a cheap fly sheet that arrived in two days, problem solved! 

 Not so sure about these daily face washings

 Day 1

 Day 2

Day 8

So with a lot of time, walking, and care, Truby is pretty much recovered from her fenceline injuries. It's been a long few weeks, it happened on March 28 and today is April 17. Her chest had a downy layer of hair grown back in. The edema is gone. She has a scab over the one actual "wound" on her chest, just a jab from a twist in the wire fence. Her face has lost all the scabs and damaged skin, but no hair has grown back. At all. The skin is a happy pink...but no growth. I don't know if it's just slow or she'll never get it back. It's kinda cute, my Lucky No. 7, so I'll be okay with it either way. 

Feeling sassy! So good to see her playing.

Moonrise over the Rincons

Birthday Pony

Today is Truby's 18th birthday! I guess now she can finally take up smoking, do some gambling, and enlist in the military. Or maybe she'll just get lots of cookies and a good grooming.

Birthday cookies: check!

 Birthday friends stopping by?: Check!

Getting to bury your head in a giant pile of hay? Check!

 Baby Truby, just 5 days old

 Right after I got her, about 4-5 months

6 months old

 Long yearling, enjoy the snow.
she's so fuzzy!

Horse show just a few years ago

We've had lots of wonderful memories since that hot August afternoon that Truby arrived in my life, almost 18 years ago. I had only planned to keep her a few years while I was in school, and then sell her. How much better life has been that I kept her instead! Happy birthday, little gray horse. I love you! 

It Was All Going So Well...

Things with Truby have been going great. She's really settled into her new home. We're getting back into riding, she's been great handwalking off property, and we were going to go on our first trail ride. So of course, you know something's gotta go wrong.

And sure enough, last Wednesday I get a text from the barn owner: Truby's chest looks really dark and swollen. You should come check on her. Great. I had high hopes she had been rubbing on a mesquite tree, and just got covered in sap. Having spent the morning scheduling doctor appointments and other stupidly stressful adult things, I asked husband if he would come with me. Luckily he was just getting ready to take a break, and came with me.

As soon as I saw Truby, I could see that whatever had happened, she didn't have any gaping wounds and wasn't bleeding. I scolded her while I went looking for the damage. Didn't have to look far, the fence right by the gate was bent far into the next turnout, the panel next to it was bent far into Tru's turnout, and the top wire, which is two wires twisted was snapping in half. So what happened? NO IDEA. It's not like Truby to try and go through a fence, or even lean on them. Had she tried to attack her neighbor? Again, not like her. Plus she was out next to Cowgirl, whom she's stalled next too. And they've never had a problem. It looks like they were trying to get into each other's pen. But again...not really like Truby.

 She smoothly took off all the hair. Her skin is BLACK!

Quite swollen, too.

 She was wearing a sturdy flymask with a nose flap.

Imagine if she was naked :( 

I brought her into the barn for closer inspection. Her chest was really swollen, almost like she had tried to go through a fence. She skinned herself pretty well, but only a very small knick at the bottom. We double and triple checked to make sure it was a cut, and not a puncture. She had tiny little abrasions on the skinned area, and a scrap on her leg. 

Then I went to take off her flymask. She was wearing a Cursader flymask with a long nose, so I wasn't expecting any damage. But...you know, horses. The instant I saw there was an injury, I looked at the ground, took the mask off and told husband to tell me how bad it was. A nasty scrape, but it could have been worse. So much worse!

I washed her wounds with some betadine, smoothed on some handy salve, and surrounded it all with bright pink Swat. She got some Bute just in case. We decided to keep her in for a few days. Cookie Doctor was scheduled to come out the next day for annual vaccines, so I called and begged them to add Truby, just for a check.

And the next day I was very glad I did! Her chest was hot, and swollen, and saggy, and worrying me. First thing in the morning I took her for a 10 minute handwalk, cleaned and salved her ouchies, and then settled in to wait for the vet. 

I don't wanna. I'm tired. This is stupid. My face hurts.

Well, mare, don't lose fights with fences!

YIKES

Ouchy #7

Cookie Doctor came out midday, and was suitably impressed with Truby's ouchies. Her chest was bruised and had some nice edema going on. I was worried he'd need to put a drain in, but no. He said it should be able to reabsorb and drain on its own with some exercise. Sure enough, Cookie Doctor was correct, and a week later, she's basically back to normal. I was doubtful at the time though. Her chest was huge and unhappy. But I set up a handwalking schedule that started as soon as her exam was over. Cookie Doctor thought that the scrapes would heal without any more care than I was already doing. His only worry was that if she did get an infection, it would start over the weekend. Easter weekend. Neither of us wanted to deal with a holiday weekend emergency, so we decided to start her on some oral antibiotics, plus Bute for a few days, since she was clearly sore. 

My life for the last week has been up early, take care of Truby and handwalk her, then go to work, and back for more Truby care in the evening. She recovered a bit more every day, and is doing quite well. I'll do a few more posts of her recovery, but her new fly sheet was just delivered, and I want to go put it on her. Details soon!