Blips

I was so proud of how Truby did on our field trip, that I figured our usual building-condition ride in the arena at home would be no problem.

I WAS WRONG.

It started well. I turned Truby out in the arena for a little bit (Friday is Boy's Turnout Time, so she'd been in) and she was totally chill, mostly just sticking her head through the gate or trying to find any leftover alfalfa scraps.

I put on her sidepull, went over to the mounting block and hopped on. She seemed fine. We started forward at a walk and - omg everything is terrifying the walls are melting the sand eats trubys omg is that a bird i bet it eats trubys omg danger danger.

Nothing like sitting bareback on a suddenly/unexpectedly tense, spooky horse that's acting like the air itself is going to eat her. I was pretty sure this could only go downhill, fast, so I did what any smart person would do and got off. Truby was looking a little wild eyed, so I took off her sidepull, stepped away and let her run.

And run she did! That horse ran for twenty minutes. Guys. Trubys don't run! Trubys loaf around and eat snacks. But as soon as I let her go, Truby just started ripping around the arena, even throwing in some bucks! She stopped a few times to flip her tail up and blow her lungs with that high, sharp exhalation they do when they're super wound. I'm sure it has a name, but I can't think of it. Then she'd take off again.

What. The. Heck. 

I did pick up a lunge whip, just to keep her going through the corner with the gate, where she likes to slam into a stop and/or twirl around. She doesn't need that rough jolt on her old joints, so I just had the whip to keep her going through the turn. I didn't encourage her to run, just let her go until she was done.

She finally got tired of her wild pony impression, but was still very tense. She eventually settled into  a gorgeous stretchy trot in a consistent circle around me. That trot was SO PRETTY! She was stepping under, and stretching across her back. Reaching out with her neck. It was lovely, and I wish I had video, I don't think she's ever trotted so beautifully in her life!

Of course, she was still a little wide eyed and anxious, which slightly ruined the picture. After a bit, she dropped into a walk, and I kept her going around me, again, just a free lunge. She was blowing hard and sweaty. Finally she stopped and looked at me, like "okay, I guess I'm done? I'm tired, can I be done?"

I rubbed her ears for a moment, and put back on her sidepull. I had a thought that I would get back on and walk her a bit more to cool her out. But first I walked her just around the rail once....and she was SUPER spooky at the far end. So we did some in hand work,nice and easy, just to get her to stop freaking out at whatever demons she saw lurking outside the ring.

By the time we got back to the front of the arena, I decided just to call it a day. She was cool, she was dry, but she still had a worried look, like something, anything, could set her off again. Okay, whatever, let's just end on, not a good note, maybe, but a neutral one.

As soon as I put her in her stall though, she heaved out a deep breath, blinked her eyes, and instantly went back to her normal, relaxed, soft eyed, happy Trubyness. What???

So I have no idea what spooked her so badly. I still don't. But clearly, whatever it was, was probably just in the arena? I rubbed her down, brushed all the dried sweat away, picked her hooves...all the usual stuff and she was fine. Nibbling on her hay, just relaxed.

I was pretty upset. Here I thought we were doing great, possible able to do some trail riding in a National Park (!!!) and two days later I can't even ride her at home? So I did what most other people would do, I got depressed and shopped for new horses on Facebook. Found two absolutely perfect sounding horses, btw.

Husband thinks this was a crazy overreaction, but I disagree. I mean, that's what we do when things go unexpectedly wrong, right? Just some daydreams.

So, the next day I went out, spent some time with her, petting, brushing, scritches. She seemed totally normal. I walked her around the arena, no problems. So I jumped on, and....nothing. She was fine. She was relaxed. Her head was down. She wasn't tense or spooky, or looking for monsters.

She was so tired, and so sore though. After the first minute or two, she seemed to be saying 'I"m fire, I"m fine. Look, my head is low, I'm not looking around, I'm nice and slow. Can we stop???"

She was fine. Not tense, not looky, not spooky, not anxious. But she was really tired, and obviously very sore. So I ended there, and did something I really should have down the day before, which was wipe her down with some liniment, and give her a gram of Bute. Bad horse owner! I didn't rub her legs, so they got wrapped, and she got tucked in for the night. She seemed relieved to get to rest, and pressed her head against me for a few moments.

Quite a week of sharp ups and downs. But she's really cute. I guess I'll keep her!

Field Trip

Awhile ago I asked Cinco's owner, M, if Truby and I could go on a trail adventure with her sometime. Those two trailer out to the trails several times a week, and I'm totally jealous. Of course, the catch being that Truby's a total homebody and immediately gets super anxious/shuts down by crossing the property line. 

When I asked, M immediately and enthusiastically replied YES! but I had to follow it up with "...probably need to do a few quick training sessions...." Lucky for us, M knew exactly what I had in mind. She'd had to do the same with Cinco. 

We talked about it, as she tried to figure out how to best plan for success. I already knew Truby trailed well (usually) and could handle minor traffic/cars/trailers (usually) but needed to get going right away and powerwalk her stress off,  my goal was a place nearby with an easy place to unload, near the trailhead, and with open views (no mesquite valleys please.)

We settled on the trailhead just an easy 10 minute drive away, at Saguaro National Park East. It's at the dead end of Speedway, close by, decent side of the road unloading area right at the trailhead, Plus it's pretty open for the most part. 

 Truby was suspicious!

Truby seemed to know something was up, and watched us ready the trailer with a beady eye. Cinco loaded right up, but Tru took a few minutes more than I would have expected. She usually goes on first, and I think the problem was that she really didn't think there was ROOM for her to get up on the trailer. She was going in the last stall of the slant load, and she just didn't seem to think she could fit. After a couple false starts, she loaded up and we locked them in, and drove uneventfully over to the trailhead. 

I fully expected Truby to want to explode off the trailer, kinda like when I unbutton my pants after too many tacos, so I clipped on a lunge line instead of her regular lead rope, but no, she hopped down and started checking things out fairly calmly, although a bit anxiously. I ditched the lunge for our regular rope and walked her around a bit while Cinco unloaded. She was def anxious and worried, wanting to drag me around a bit (omg! Trailers! omg! Poop! omg! omg!) 

"this place smells weird"

 Once Cinco was ready, I headed right over to the trailhead and Truby instantly chilled out. We met two horses coming back from their ride. Good ol' wooly quarter horses taking their older riders out for a nice walk in the desert. We exchanged greetings, and the calmness of the other horses seemed to reinforce Truby's more relaxed attitude.

 She looks ready and willing to explore

We hit the Wildhorse Trail....and Truby LOVED it! She was relaxed. She looked around with soft eyes. She lead Cinco calmly and confidentially. She was totally chill.

 "This place is full of cactus and not foods"

The trail we took started high, and then dropped a bit into a wash. There were wide stone steps in several places. I wondered how Truby would handle them at first, but she seemed to think this was a pretty cool puzzle and clomped right down, no hesitation. 

 Stones steps. Luckily, Truby thought these were neat.

 The second, and much steeper stairs led into a big wash, which we followed until we decided to turn around. Truby handled the deeper, loose sand well. Much better than I did! And she continued her happy, loose, swinging walk.

Comfortable in the wash

 She didn't even spook at the jackrabbits! There were actually two of them, and they're just creepy. They're just so big. Sometimes Truby gets some major side eye at these, sometimes they don't bother her. Today they didn't bother her at all.

These things are WEIRD. Just...too big. Tru didn't mind though.

 After leading most of the walk, I pulled Truby up and let Cinco lead. I think Truby enjoyed going first and setting the pace, but she was agreeable to letting Cinco go ahead. After awhile we retook the lead, and she was much happier.

 Letting Cinco lead

I love this picture.

 There were quite a few moments where I longed to just hop on Truby. She was so relaxed and so comfortable, even my overly cautiousness nature felt safe to be on her. She really seemed to be quite happy to be out there. She was interested in her surroundings. She wanted to be out there, not tolerating it because I asked her to. Not worried, or anxious at all. It was beautiful to see, and I'm really happy!

Nice view, eh?

Sun sets over Tucson

We beat the sunset back to the trailer, but Truby's anxiety level shot up immediately. She Did Not Want To Get Back On. We were chasing daylight, and Truby wouldn't load. To make matters even better, people were leaving the parking area up ahead, and flying down Speedway like it was named Speedway. And coming the other way, people were flying up Speedway to get to the dude ranch. No one even slowed down when they saw us. Nice.

Her "I'm not getting on that trailer!" face

Once I found out M didn't have to go to work that night, a lot of the pressure went off me. Though after a few minutes, we began to discus options. Unload Cinco and try and put Truby on first. Take Cinco home, and then try to load her alone. I voted for just walking her back to the barn. 

In the end, M and I worked together and Truby loaded up without any major dramas. Once M figured out to stand directly behind Truby (well behind) and not to the side, where M was unintentionally pressuring Truby to squirrel off sideways. By staying well behind her, she pressured her forward and onto the trailer. She did get a few taps with a lunge whip, but we all kept it low key and as relaxed as possible. No yelling, no pony whacking, no drama. Just slow, persistent asking her to load. And it worked! We got her on and headed home. 

She unloaded calmly again, and was still tense, but happy to see she was home again. She got lots of cookies and 10 minutes wrapped in her Back on Track sheet before tucking her in for the night. By the time I left she was happy again and ready for bed. M and I were ecstatic by how well the whole adventure had gone. For a first outing it went perfectly! Even the bobbles with trailering were fine, because we worked through it together. So proud of all of us!

Finally home

Aftermath

I've gotten a bit behind. The usual combination of LIFE IS TOO HARD and BRAIN CHEMISTRY IS BROKEN. Nothing especially exciting, just busy busy at work and the usual mental health failings.

But that's boring. Let's talk about what happens after it snowed! So, of course by the next day the snow was all gone. It was warm and sunny and that snow just disappeared. But...I guess it's okay. It made our desert snow even more magical!

Remember that time it snowed so much Truby could levitate?

A few days later (Sunday), I needed to go to the barn after work, come hell or high water. I realized, as I was in the middle of bitching about how other people are trainwrecks, that I had forgotten to pay Truby's board. I immediately texted the barn owner, apologizing my fool head off, offered her my firstborn, and begged her not to kick Truby out into the cold, wet desert. I swore I'd drop off a check the next day.

Barn owner seemed completely unconcerned, probably because I'm AT the barn every day, sometimes twice a day, and am more of a flakey blonde than a potential sell-my-horse-for-back-board kinda person. Also, everyone loves Truby.

So, that's how I found myself HAVING to go to the barn after a long-ass workday. If I didn't have to drop off that check, I think I would have just gone home and collapsed. Instead, I headed down the road, easterly.

There's two ways to get there from my work. I usually go down Speedway, which runs East-West. I could also go down Tanque Verde, which run parallel to Speedway, and is the next road over to the north. From my work, it's easiest to go straight down Speedway, hook a left onto Wentworth, and then into the neighborhood.

So that's what I did. Seems straightforward. Go the more direct route, right? EXCEPT, the Tanque Verde Creek runs between Speedway and Tangue Verde. The "Creek" is actually a wash, so usually it's just a sandy riverbed with no water in it. There is a bridge spanning Tanque Verde Creek at one point, but the smaller roads running between Tanque Verde Road and Speedway just run across it at ground level.

I have no idea if any of that made sense to anyone. I'm so sorry if it doesn't. Come visit me in Tucson and I'll drive you around until it makes sense!

So, the whole reason I (poorly?) explained all that, is because when my tired, frazzled brain came upon this:

But how will I visit Truby????

We had a morning of light rain, but that was apparently enough to melt a lot of snow in the mountains and bring it all down into the valley. The wash did what washes do, and we had a river! So I did what anyone would do, hooked a U turn, parked, and got out to take pictures.

North towards the Rincons

 Looking Northish. Wentworth Road follows those telephone poles

Looking west

Watched a dumbass kid drive a jacked up pickup through the running wash

Arizona has a "dumb driver law". If you drive through a running wash, 

you are 100% solely responsible for the cost of your rescue. 

I usually drive through a sandy wash. I like to slow down a bit and look around. Sometimes I see people riding horses, or walking their dogs. I once saw a family doing a photoshoot. Sometimes I see coyotes. That day I stood at the edge and marveled at the rushing water. The current was strong, the water was loud. It was bright and the water sparkled. 

In addition to the dumb kid in the truck, I also watched an older man ride his horse down the wash. He came down the trail alongside Wentworth, and then just causally slogged through the edge of the water, and headed north on one of the 'islands'. The dumb kid made it (he stopped on the other side and then stood next to me to take glory pictures, we chatted a bit.) but I don't know what happened to the old guy. I guess he's fine, since I haven't seen any news reports about it. 

Desert washes differ quite a bit from normal waterways. They're far more unpredictable. Water volume and speed can vary drastically in short amounts of time. Many times, people who get caught in them, either taken by surprise (the can pop up suddenly) or by foolish action, can be swept away and die. Sometimes they're not recovered. "Turn Around Don't Die" is a common motto out here. Because while beautiful, washes can be very deadly. It's just another thing to be aware of when hiking or trail riding. Water, sunscreen, weather report. Rain or snow recently can cause washes to flow. Sometimes a fun splashy trickle, but sometimes....

Anyway. After enjoying the view, I drove back down Speedway, took the bridge over Tanque Verde Creek, and then all the way back down to the barn. I paid my board, and let Truby out for some quality roll time.

First, find the *best* place....

 Flop down and really work those itchy spots...

 Get those shoulders....

Awww yeah...

gather your momentum to flip over....

Work both sides evenly...

Don't forget to work the poll

Take the time to balance....

Evaluate. Are you finished?

 Nope!

Don't be afraid to go back and rework your hips.

All done? Okay!

Just heave yourself up and....

Shake it off!

Just a reminder that she *can* be clean and white and shiny.

I use my tears to get out the mud stains.

New Year, New M-OMG WHAT HAPPENED????

clouds swirling around the Catalina Moutains

So, in case you missed it, Arizona decided to try "New Year, New Me" in a pretty crazy way. IT SNOWED! 

I was a bit disappointed, waking up New Year's Day, to no snow. Oh sure, I could see snow in the Catalina Mountains, I have a nice view of the Catalinas and Thimble Peak from my apartment. It was pretty, but snow on the ground. Bummer! 

I went out to unblanket the ponies, and was excited to see snow!

Climbing out of our little wash

Wheeee!

I know it's hard to tell, but Truby is actually in those pictures. I know, I know, she blends into the snowy landscape, you can barely see her!

 Truby always thinks these fronds are food

They are not food.

They were calling for MORE snow that night. And again, I woke up annoyed at the lack of snow. Some of my friends further east, or much south were posting more pictures of all their snow. And I had none! Husband and I decided to go see the new Spiderman movie that morning. (I have a long standing dislike of Spiderman movies, mostly because how many freaking origin movies do we need?????? The answer apparently being ONE MORE, because the new one is awesome!) I loved it. It was fun and sweet and different and the perfect movie to see on a cold, grey morning. 

Our sad little dusting of snow

So while we left the house that had just a teeny tiny bit of snow, just a few miles down the road, the desert changed dramatically. It was incredible! I hope you want a ton of pictures, because after the movie, we went out to let  Truby play in the snow!

The Catalinas shrouded in clouds

Tanque Verde Wash

(Remember this view for my next post)

Tanque Verde Wash

(Remember this view for my next post)

 Rincon Mountains 

 The barn is at the end of the road

 She was SO HAPPY to play in the snow!

 Wheeee!

I told them to look cute for a pic for Cinco's Mom.

Brats!

 It was quite dark and overcast

Coyote tracks in the little wash

Cinco was confused about the whole "snow" thing

"Hello! What is white stuff????"

Cinco's mom leaves Truby baby carrots sometimes

 It's really cute, especially since Truby doesn't find them right away

Truby and Cowgirl's runs

And one more, because Saguaro cacti in the snow is rare!

It very rarely snows here, obviously. I read only three times since 1990? Something close to that. It can get cold out here, but rarely is it ever cold enough AND wet enough to get snow. Well, our mountains get snow, but valley snow is very much a rarity. 

It was really exciting to experience! I'm a winter girl, so I was in heaven. Truby had a blast, feeling very feisty, rolling in the snow, playing and cavorting. Cinco was baffled, both by the snow and his friend's behavior. I don't know that he's ever seen snow before. 

It was gone by the next day though. It was a fun way to start the new year. Unusual. Unexpected. Amazing. If you'd like to see more pictures, here some links. Earther and Washington Post seem to have the best round up of photos (note: I didn't look very hard for more pictures, so I'm sure you can find a ton with a quick google search!)