Roadside assistance for those hauling horses

Another blogger I read mentioned how useful she has found US RIDER. A roadside assistance service for people who haul horses. I've never tried it myself since we don't have a truck capable of hauling a horse trailer, but it seems like a useful service. So I thought that I would mention it in my blog in case someone else might find it useful.

Some Fireworks During a Lunge Session with Shadowfax

I've been lunging Shadowfax semi-regularly in preparation to starting to ride him again. I haven't been writing about our lunge sessions, because a lunge session that goes well is pretty boring. And he's been doing pretty well. Not perfect, but he generally listens and does what I say even though I may have to repeat myself several times. However...he was rather different today. I don't know what the problem was, or if he was just in a hyper mood or what. But today's lunge session had some fireworks.

I suppose I had a little warning of what was to come when Shadowfax didn't stand perfectly still while I was picking out his feet. He normally doesn't move a muscle, but today, he was wriggling around a little, not bad, but compared to how still he is normally, it was noticeable. But I didn't really think much of it at the time. Once I started lunging, things seemed to go normally at first. But then he kept speeding up. He broke into trot before I asked him too, and even though he slowed back down when I kept saying "Sloooowwweeerrr, sllooowwweerrr", he was just wanting to go faster. We went counter-clockwise first, as usual, and even though there were a couple of exciting moments when he kicked up his heels and tried to go faster, he mostly behaved.

But when we switched sides and went clockwise, things got rough. He just kept speeding up and starting to run. I could slow him down, but it took some work and he would shake his head and object. So finally after the third time he bucked and went into a gallop, I decided that if he wanted to run, then by damn, he was going to run. So I yelled, "RUN!" and just held him in the circle as he ran full out. And he ran. Boy, did he run. For a big boy, he can be fast when he feels like it. And he kept running. And running. My arms were shaking from holding him in the circle. However, when he finally started to slow down, I waved the whip at his rear and yelled, "RUN" and kept him running. He slowed to trot and I waved that whip and yelled, "RUN" and made him keep running. He tried to slow several times and I just kept yelling and waving the whip and made him keep going. If he was going to challenge me by bucking and running, then I was going to make him regret it by making him run until he never wanted to run while lunging again. Eventually, when he was looking truly tired and he slowed to a trot again, instead of forcing him to run flat out, I asked for a canter and got a decent canter. I cantered him around the circle a few times and then asked for a trot. He IMMEDIATELY dropped into a trot. I made him trot several more circles, then asked for a walk. He immediately slowed to a walk. I walked him around a couple of times, then said "Ho" and he stopped.

I walked up to him and patted him and talked to him as I switched the lunge line to the other side of his bridle. He was sweaty and tired, but wasn't even close to being in any distress. I started him going counter-clockwise again and this time... he listened to me. He really, really listened. He had one ear facing forward and the other facing me the entire time. I walked, trotted, walked, trotted, cantered, trotted, walked. And he did everything exactly when I asked. I ended the session by just walking him for what seemed a really long time. It probably felt even longer to him. He was so tired that he wasn't picking his feet up as high as he ought and tripped over uneven ground a couple of times. As soon as I felt that he had walked enough to cool down slowly from this rather intense session, I asked for a stop and got it.

I led him over to the trailer to untack. Most of his sweat had dried and he felt cool. So I gave him a nice grooming/rubdown and gave him a few carrot sticks. I tried to do some carrot stretches with him, but he really doesn't know how to do them properly (that's something I need to teach him). He kept trying to bow instead of doing the stretches, so I asked him to bow a few times and rewarded him for doing so. I unhaltered him and let him go, but he started following me back to gate, so I worked a little on having him stop when I stopped as we walked towards the gate. That trick he knows pretty well, but it's something we've always worked on with him haltered. However, he did great even though he was at liberty. Paying as much attention to my body's movement as he did to my verbal command. At the gate, I gave him another carrot stick and told him he was good boy. Which he is, even if there were some fireworks during the lunge session.

Singing Chickens

Right after one of my hens lays an egg, she stands around and sings about it. Frequently, other hens will join in and there will be a whole chorus of singing chickens. It's very loud.

Why do they do that? It seems like it would be the reverse of a survival tactic. Sort of like announcing to all the predators nearby that here is a nice fresh egg, come and get it. Oh, and by the way, there's a loud and none too bright hen available for eating as well.

So... can anyone come up with any ideas why it would be a good idea for hens to loudly announce their success every time they lay an egg?

Anyone?

Riding Red in a Jousting Saddle

This past Sunday, there was another jousting practice at DASH's arena. DA was kind enough to trailer Ziggy over so that Foxfire could could get some work in on him. (We really need to get a truck of our own.) I went along to watch and be social. However, I ended up helping train SH's new jousting horse, Tinkerbell, by standing at the end of the jousting lane and giving her baby carrots when she would come to me and stop instead of continuing to run around the arena. Tinkerbell is a huge Frisian/Percheron cross, and I have to admit, it was a little scary to see her coming at me. But she always stopped, or at least slowed down enough so that all I had to do was take one step to the side and she would end up beside me instead of in front of me. She was trying to stop, she just mis-judged her distance a little.

I also got up on Red and rode around the arena a little at a walk. Red was wearing his jousting saddle which I had never ridden in before and I hope to never ride in again. The saddle seams are in exactly the wrong place for me and really dug into my inner thighs. Ouch. Also, the stirrup leathers which were sized for SG were way too long for me, so I had to ride without stirrups. Not really a big deal, since all I was going to do was walk. But it was really nice for JJ (and SG who is actually the one who rides Red for jousting) to let me ride him, so I shouldn't complain. I'm not sure exactly how long I rode. Maybe 20 minutes? The saddle was hurting my thighs and, I have to admit, it really is rather boring to just walk around an arena. But I need to get more time in the saddle at a walk before I'll be able to do anything else. Sadly, my tailbone still hurts when I put pressure on it, so I'm a little leery of trying to trot yet, even on as sweet a horse as Red.

Ah well, one step at a time.

Shadowfax Playing

A while back, my husband managed to get some pictures of Shadowfax running around the pasture and playing. This is quite an accomplishment, because usually, as soon as the critters hear us open the door to come outside and take a picture, they stop whatever cute thing they are doing and turn and look at us. It is very frustrating. I just want to yell,"Ignore the human and keep playing!"

Anyway, my husband's camera is pretty fancy, and if you hold down the button, it will take a picture every 1/4 of a second. The following seven pics were all taken only 1/4 of a second apart.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superhorse! (Maybe I should have named him Pegasus.)

Yup. My horse can do a complete 180 in a little over half a second. That's how he threw me. He didn't buck. He just sort of ducked his head and did a 180 so fast it sling-shotted me off his back.

Here are a couple of more pics of him showing off his athleticism.

And another sequence of pics shot 1/4 of a second apart.

Not something you really want to see up close.

Don't worry, for that last shot, the photographer, Foxfire, was actually about 20 feet away and on the other side of a fence. Shadowfax was not trying to kick him, he was just playing.

Back in the Saddle

After over a year of recovering from being thrown from my horse and breaking my tailbone, dislocating about half my ribs and messing up some muscles in my right leg, I have finally healed enough to get back in the saddle. My criterion for being physically ready was that I could finally do sit-ups with only mild discomfort (On a thickly carpeted floor). I figured if my tailbone and ribs can handle sit-ups, then they can handle sitting a horse at a walk. Not a trot, not yet, but a walk should be okay.

Anyway, JJ, being the good and knowledgeable friend that she is, figured out that though I was physically ready to get back in the saddle, I wasn't quite comfortable getting back on Shadowfax yet. He only mis-behaved the one time, but he is still somewhat inexperienced and thus, unpredictable. And he is the horse that hurt me. So, she invited me down to ride Red, her very experienced (and very short) older horse. So, on Saturday, Foxfire and I went down to her house. JJ rode her younger and taller horse, Saga, while I rode Red and Foxfire walked alongside us.

We went for a nice short ride along some trails through the woods near her house. (I am so jealous that she has such a great place to go trail riding right next to her home.) I was surprisingly un-nervous. Though I suppose since Red is the only horse that I've been on that HAS NOT mis-behaved in some way, it's not surprising that I would be the least nervous about getting on him. (Cash spooked and teleported sideways, Sonata crow-hopped and bolted, Ziggy reared and Saga bucked. Even the professional lesson horse that I rode spooked and bolted with me. I actually managed to stay on all those horses. But my dream horse, Shadowfax, managed to throw me.)

The trail ride was fabulous. It only took me a minute to remember how to move my body with Red's walk. And the woods were very pretty and peaceful. It wasn't until near the end of the ride that my tailbone started to get sore. The last fifty yards or so were a bit painful. But overall, it was a really good experience.

Now, I just need to ride Red or one of the other more experienced horses for a bit to continue to build my confidence. And ask my husband to ride Shadowfax a few times to get him used to being ridden again. And then I'll finally -- hopefully -- be ready to get back on my own horse.

Mark Kanemura and Lady Gaga -- Born This Way

A couple of years ago, while watching So You Think You Can Dance season 4, I absolutely fell in love with one of the dancers. His name was Mark Kanemura and he was the most gloriously weird dancer I had ever seen.

Mark's "Bohemian Rhapsody" solo during SYTYCD Vegas week season 4


After watching more of the season, it wasn't just his dancing that I loved. His stories about being the weird little kid that everyone picked on and his refusal to change who he was and is in order to "fit in" better touched my heart. Several of the show's choreographers saw the wonderful weirdness in Mark and celebrated it within their choreography.

Mark and Chelsie dancing to "Beautiful" choreographed by Mia Michaels


Mark(the ringmaster) and other SYTYCD dancers dancing to "The Dance" choreographed by Mia Michaels


Mark and Courtney dancing to "The Garden" choreographed by Sonya Tayeh

The Garden is still referred to as a benchmark for contemporary jazz dance.

Though "Bleeding Love" choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha does not celebrate Mark's weirdness, it was an amazing routine and was nominated for a Grammy.


After SYTYCD, Mark was asked to dance with Lady Gaga for her MTV VMA performance of "Paparazzi". He then continued to dance with her during her "Monster Ball" tour and in several of her music videos and award show appearances. He took a break from touring with Lady Gaga to appear as an All Star in season 7 of SYTYCD, but is now returning to the Lady Gaga fold. In his blog Left of Center, He talks about his experiences as a non-standard sentient being and his admiration for Lady Gaga.

The thing i love about Gaga is that she is not just an artist, she is a leader. She is the "mother monster" to the "little monsters", she is the light for people that are in the dark, she is the voice for people who feel afraid to speak.
--Mark Kanemura

I may not be gay or lesbian, but in my own way, I am a "little monster", a freak, someone who doesn't fit in with normal society. And it gives me hope and makes me feel just a little better about myself to see people like Mark Kanemura and Lady Gaga succeeding in the world from which so many of us have been rejected. I can appreciate, but not quite embrace Lady Gaga's anthem "Born This Way" because I am not proud that I was born this way. I am still ashamed of who I am. But maybe someday...someday...

WHETHER LIFE'S DISABILITIES
LEFT YOU OUTCAST, BULLIED, OR TEASED
REJOICE AND LOVE YOURSELF TODAY
'CAUSE BABY YOU WERE BORN THIS WAY
--Lady Gaga

For more information about Mark Kanemura, go to MarkKanemura-Online.org

For more information about Lady Gaga, go to LadyGaga.com