Wasting time

I am the world's best procrastinator, and when it comes to procrastinating for my last set of final exams EVER, the level reaches epic proportions.  I've got seven finals.  Yes, you read right: seven.  One is next Thursday, the other six are Monday-Thursday morning.  Yuck.  Just thinking about it all makes me shudder.  

Thank goodness for Jasper, who gives me a great excuse to put off the inevitable.  Today we had a photo shoot and I think he's looking quite good.  He feels fit, and demonstrated this to me today during our arena workout by kicking out and doing mini-bucks when he thought we should be cantering rather than trotting.  He got in trouble for that, although I am happy he's feeling so good.

Jasper looking like a cool cat.  "Who? Me buck? Never."

Jasper shares his feelings on studying for finals. My sentiments exactly, Jasper. My sentiments exactly.

Turkeys and Deer and Moose, oh MY!

Today was Jasper's first day back on "training" schedule and we headed up to Moscow Mountain.  I really enjoy riding with PJ because our rides are always different and rarely fast.  However, we go through some really technical stuff which is so good for pony brains.  Today we were picking our way up a really steep hillside and PJ leaned back and said, "This is how you condition your horse for endurance at a walk!"  It was true--Jasper was huffing and puffing (although not nearly as much as PJ's out of shape spring ponies) and had to very carefully pick his way through the logs and large branches that scattered the ground.  I'm so happy Jasper's got so many hours on the mountain as I think it's really contributed to him being very good on technical trails and mud.  He immediately slows down and drops his head so he can pick his way through the complicated stuff.

This is a picture of a mamma moose and her calf taken this winter at PJ's place by PJ.  This was shortly before she finally decided PJ was too close and charged. PJ's ok, though. :)

We didn't have any water crossings, although we did see some wildlife.  We were on a logging road looking for PJ's trail down the side of the mountain when Jasper and I spotted a turkey simultaneously.  This led to a minor pony brain meltdown when the turkey flapped off through the bushes.  We cut down along that trail and turned a corner just in time to spook a deer leading two moose running at high speeds down through the trees.  Jasper then had a major pony brain meltdown and it took a good two minutes to convince him that bolting back up the hill was NOT the right answer and that it was just a stupid moose and that they had only rarely been known to eat horses.  He was on MAJOR moose patrol after that, and peered around every corner as we came to it to make sure the coast was clear.  Just outside of PJ's property line, we spotted another moose crashing off through the bushes away from us, although this time both dogs saw it and took off in hot pursuit.  I hopped off for this one and Jasper calmed down right away.  It was a good moose training day!

This is by far the most wildlife I've ever seen on the mountain!  When I reported our adventures to Wayne he was pretty jealous--he's always wanted to see a mountain moose!

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Although I didn't do an extensive exam on Jasper after our ride, he didn't appear to be off at all on his right hind leg.  He's been totally fine all week, but I'm still a little paranoid and am going to watch that leg like a hawk.  I've even pre-warned one of the clinicians at school that if this mystery lameness doesn't resolve he's going to be coming in for a full workup because I love my horse!

Here's a couple shots of the fetlock, and after careful scrutiny, I can see no swelling or abnormalities on his "bad" leg other than the scuff mark from where he was interfering.  He's had no swelling or heat anywhere in that leg other than the swelling on the inside around the scuff mark just after the ride, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it really was just the interference and nothing more serious.

Here I'm pointing to the scuff mark.  The swelling on ride day was focused around this area.

Here I've pulled back his furry fetlock so I could see if there was any more swelling, and there doesn't appear to be.  The lump near my thumb is his ergot--it confused me for a bit until I realized.

His other fetlock for comparison.  The grey stuff on his upper leg is residual clay leg poultice.

Teaching Your Horse to Pee on Command

A few years ago when I was first started my adventure into learning everything I could about endurance, a schoolmate of mine had a reputation around the halls as being an endurance freak.  I would tell people I wanted to do endurance, and they would say, "You should talk to Jane!"  Eventually, Jane and I became very good friends (and still are).  The other mutterings around the halls and even from the clinicians was, "Jane can tell her horse to pee!"  

I was more than intrigued by this--it seemed like an incredibly useful tool for an endurance horse.  And a skill that only a true horsewhisperer would be able to teach their horse.  I was only correct about the former.

During this time, I had become enchanted with parrots.  All types of birds--Macaws, Amazons, Budgerigars, African Greys, Pionus, the list goes on and on.  I was almost obsessed with learning about parrots and endurance simultaneously and spent hours on the internet absorbing every bit of knowledge I could on both subjects.  Soon after, I adopted a little feather-plucked ("oven-ready" as I liked to call him) African Grey named Max.  I had started hearing recently about being able to teach your parrot to poop on command, which also seemed useful as birds poop all over the place.  

Both tasks involved the same basic training method--starting first with putting a cue to a behavior and then slowly progressing to anticipation and finally, commanding (although I don't like the word "command").  Max caught on quickly, and when I got Oscar (another Grey), he also caught on quickly.  Jasper has only proven how intelligent Arabs (and Arab crosses) are by learning quickly as well.

I'll outline what I've done for Jasper.  The first time he peed on trail with me, I immediately started whistling and praising and rubbing him.  The cue I use is a whistle that sounds like, "Twoo twoo twoo twoo."  I also made note of the surface he preferred, which was deep sand.  Some horses like grass or gravel while others don't mind hard-packed dirt (although this isn't the norm as they don't appreciate the splash factor).  Since then, I've started noticing that when he has to pee he'll sort of swing his head to the side really fast and make eye contact with me.  Hard to describe, but somehow I know it means he's got to pee.  And I've noticed he tends to do this when we're riding through sand at a walk.  So I'll stop him and start whistling, and 9 times out of 10 he'll stretch out and pee.

It's definitely not rocket science, and an odd sort of command, but I like it.  Both times he peed on the ride his heart rate plummeted afterwards, so it may be a cause of "hanging" when coming into a vet check.  I know my heart rate gets up if I've got to pee!

Official Ride Photos

This is when Jasper was trying to convince me that lone men and motorcycles do not belong in the desert.

He looks much more relaxed in this one.

Both were taken about 3/4 of a mile after we had to remove our front boots.

Images by Steve Bradley.

Tough Sucker Ride Pictures

The setup, which is a disaster, of course.


Jasper and I just before we headed out!


I thought this sign was funny--I think Jasper may have taken it too literally.


Jasper after the ride looking pooped.

Bongo looking pensive in the trailer.

Not so Tough Sucker

Friday

12:45 am

I’m awake, still, and can’t decide if it’s because of the long drive that I’ve yet to settle from, the constant squeaking of the spring ties, the anticipation and nervousness for tomorrow (or today, I guess), or all of the above.  Jasper’s happily munching away at his hay at the trailer, squinting at me in the lamplight every time I go back to check on him.

The drive was long—much longer than I had even been anticipating.  Navigating through Oreana roads in the darkness isn’t exactly my cup of tea, although we only managed to eliminate a jackrabbit and a few other small furries from the population.  My exam this afternoon went according to schedule--I arrived on time and finished in 13 minutes, including a second go-through to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.  As I was leaving town, I suddenly realized I had left all the refrigerated goods back at home stowed safely in the refrigerator and had to back-track.  Even so, I was on the road by 2:55 Pullman time (3:55 ride time).

When I did arrive in the dark, I was worried I’d have trouble finding our rig.  However, when Wayne had said he’d parked right at the entrance, what he actually meant was that he parked right at the entrance.  I could see the trailer and horses from the road, which was a relief.

During my absence, Wayne reported that Jasper got free not once, but twice.  The second time, he broke the tie.  I don’t know what was going on, but I imagine it was all the excitement of everything.  Even so, I was surprised at the news.  He vetted in without incident, although he received a B on gut sounds.  Wayne said he’d been eating for a while before he vetted him, so I think it was just the extremely long trailer ride.  I think when all was said and done, Jasper was in the trailer for 10 hours or so, including an hour layover in Boise while Wayne checked on the kitties and loaded Cricket.

Saturday

Morning came too soon, and just as I expected, I woke up long before the alarm clock went off. Jasper looked good--he'd eaten everything in front of him and drank about 7-10 gallons of water overnight. I ate breakfast and set about putting Jasper's boots on, a task made all the more difficult by the fact that Wayne had inadvertantly parked at the leaving point for all distances. Jasper danced and whinnied every time another group of horses trotted or cantered by. I finished tacking up and bravely put on Jasper's S-hackamore, figuring I could put his snaffle in if things got rough. I mounted and we set off walking for the start. About 100 yards from the trailer, Jasper had a meltdown--Cricket was circling at the trailer and all the excitement had taken it's toll. I dismounted (with difficulty--I had to pull him into a spin), we walked to the start, and I switched his hackamore for the bit. Ah, well.

They announced the trail was open, and Jasper and I gallantly left for our first 15 mile loop of our first endurance ride....with me walking him on foot and him whinnying and prancing next to me. I took Karen's advice--so long as Jasper wanted to prance about and pick his own pace, we would walk. We were passed over and over again, each time ramping him up more than the last. I held fast--this was a training ride, after all, and I wasn't about to let control get away from me that early in the ride. After about 2.5 miles, he had finally calmed down enough for me to mount again. We walked for another mile or so, and then I asked him for a teensy-weensy trot. He gave it to me, but at a 10 mph pace. So we walked again. We alternated walking and trotting for the first five or so miles. In one of our trotting bouts, he suddenly started to do the sideways "I've-lost-a-boot" trot he does, and so I stopped him and checked his rear boots. Nothing looked out of sorts, so off we went--at the sideways trot again. I stopped him and realized his front right boot had come completely apart. I hopped off and removed it along with his other front boot and stuffed them in our saddle bags. It didn't look like we were going to be able to finish with only two boots--I'd heard the second loop was rockier than the first.

We soon caught up with Carol and Rick Brand and made our way with them for a while. Jasper was feeling more relaxed, and so we pushed on ahead, working at about an 8.5 mph pace with frequent walking breaks.  I was so pleased with how relaxed he was going--he was more than willing to go faster, but listened very well and ended up rating better than I would have expected.  We crossed a stream (Alone! A first for Jasper!) and he had a nice pee in the deep sand.  I've almost got him to where he pees on command.  We're now at the point when I know he's thinking about doing it and can cue him to do it before he actually does.  I think it won't be long before he'll do it completely on command.

We came into the vet check and I told Wayne he'd have to fix my boot or else we'd have to pull.  He set to work and I vetted Jasper--he ended up getting better scores than the initial check, which made me happy!  He pulsed down right away and drank very well and we made our way back to the trailer for our quick break.  Wayne fixed the boot in short order--it turns out that I hadn't screwed down the screws tight enough on one of the cables, so it hadn't broke, just pulled free.  I rebooted Jasper, grabbed a quick snack and we headed out again for loop two.  

Jasper had PLENTY of energy leaving camp that time, too, so we walked until we were just outside of camp.  He seemed to catch on pretty quickly, and Rick and Carol caught up with us and we rode with them again for the first 3-4 miles of the loop.  We pulled ahead and again, Jasper rated extremely well and only spooked once at a lone sagebrush in a grassy field.  I couldn't believe how well he was doing out ahead by himself!  The loop went by very quickly, although about three miles from camp on a walking break I noticed his heart rate was hanging at about 103.  At first I thought it was a mistake, but it would move and so I decided he was probably just excited by the ride.  Unfortunately, this is the point I think his rear boot had started knocking into his fetlock.  I even got off and we walked for a bit to give him a break in case he was feeling especially tired, but he was acting normal and his heart rate eventually dropped again.  When I remounted, we finished the last few miles at about an 8.5 mph pace with him sitting at a 120 bpm.  When we came into camp, he was looking excellent!  His heart rate dropped, he had excellent gut sounds and other vet scores.  Unfortunately, when I trotted him out, he was significantly off in the right rear.  I had Wayne trot him out again so I could see, and he was definitely off.  Since we had taken so long, we didn't have any time to remedy the situation, so we were unable to complete.

I was very concerned about Jasper, and although I calmly walked back to the trailer, I had felt like running.  I stripped off his hind boots (no rubs) and started feeling his leg.  Sure enough, on the inside of his fetlock he had a scuff mark and some decent swelling where he must have been interfering with his other hind Renegade.  Well, shoot.  I iced and wrapped the leg, and within about a half hour, the swelling had decreased significantly.  We walked back over to the vet-in area so I could have Dr. Washington take another look at his leg.  He felt the muscles and everything and said there wasn't any cramping, so it was probably just the interference.  

All in all, I'm incredibly happy with Jasper's performance on this ride.  He ate and drank like a pro, rated better than I had expected, and looked happy and relaxed throughout most of the ride.  His lameness was a learning experience for me--I even have hind interference boots but since he's never had the problem before I didn't think to put them on.  I am so thankful he is not seriously injured, and really don't think there's anything I could have done to prevent this.  It's just one of those things!  At the awards dinner, Wayne asked me if I was disappointed I wouldn't be getting one of the cool completion tee-shirts.  I leaned over and whispered back, "I have a healthy, happy horse who did awesome for his first endurance ride, and I wouldn't trade that for all the completion tee-shirts in the world!"  He nodded and seem satisfied.

When we got back on Sunday, I turned him out for a quick roll in the arena and he wasn't off at all.  On Monday, he was definitely 100% sound and ran bucking into the turnout pen flirting with the mare in heat on the other side of the fence.  What a good boy!

Eeeeee!

I'm pretty excited!  The trailer's packed, Jasper's bedded down for the night, the water tanks are full, and I'm almost done with my laundry!  I can't wait!

I even had Wayne practice trot-outs, not because I don't think he's smart enough to figure it out.  I just wanted to make sure Jasper wasn't going to mind him doing it, and he didn't.  He moved out really nice and relaxed and was looking around the whole time.  He's such a good boy.

While we were filling the water tanks in the horse trailer, Jasper was standing as tall as he could in his run about 100 feet away nickering as if to say, "Uh, guys? Did you forget me? I'm right here...and I'd like to go with you!"  Every time I'd look over he'd nicker.  I eventually went and stood with him and told him all the exciting things he'd be seeing tomorrow.  I think he's ready, and possibly as excited as I am!

Things are coming together

I'm starting to feel like the weekend is actually going to be here.  I spent the day taking care of the little annoying things that needed to be done.  I washed my saddle pads and Jasper's blanket and laid everything out to dry in the sun.  I fiddled with his Renegades to make sure they were in good working order.  I did an inventory of everything and have started laying it out in the garage so I can pick through and organize it as best as possible.  The trailer doesn't need much packing, as I store my tack in it and it's still mostly packed from our camping trip.  

Also, I finally got my ordered Platinum Performance today and had WAY too much fun dumping it into bags labeled "AM" and "PM" for ease of feeding.  I love this stuff.  It's expensive, but cuts WAY down on the amount of grain you have to feed.  Plus, as a vet student I get a discount. :)  The extra super bonus is that Princess Jasper likes it, too!  (Believe me, he's earned this nickname)

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People are always asking me what Jasper's breeding is, which causes me to launch into a drawn-out explanation of how he was adopted as a yearling out of a rescue situation, and the only thing we know for sure is that his Mother was an NSH.  At this point, I usually stage whisper, "But don't tell him he isn't registered!"  Then I say I think his Daddy was probably a thoroughbred, but who really knows.  I've toyed with the idea of inventing a fake breed with the word "Prince" in it in order to save my breath, but at the same time, I don't really care.

I'm not sure if I've ever talked about how specific Princess Jasper's requirements are.  He has very specific needs for hay--if it does not meet his strict standards, he will pee in it and refuse to eat.  The hay at the barn is (mostly) acceptable, although if he gets a particularly stemmy flake, he will eat everything except the stems.  And then he pees in them.

His beet pulp and grain need to be separate.  He does not like it when the grain gets soggy from sitting in the beet pulp, and will dump the entire mix.  He'll eat beet pulp and grain separately, but not together.  He does not like canola oil.  He only likes corn oil, and then only in small amounts.  We've discontinued using oil now that he's at a good weight, so this is no longer a problem.

If his run is soggy, he will stay in his stall all day and stare longingly out over his "waterfront view."  This means extra mucking for me, but I don't mind.

I can't decide if all the talk about him being an endurance horse is going to his head or not, although I have heard him mention a time or two in a whiney voice, "But I'm an aaaatthleeete!"

 "Send it back! It's too soggy!"

Woot-Woot!

I just checked the weather and they're predicting temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's during the day, and lows in the mid- to high forties! Perfecto!!

Five day countdown!

I have sat down to write about six or seven times to no avail.  School’s been hectic and I haven’t been spending really any quality time at home.  Not to mention my internet is (as always) pretty spotty, and the motivation just goes down the tubes.  Today I’ve got a little bit of time between everything, so I can finally give an update!

I’m getting very excited for Tough Sucker.  It’s been a pretty hairy go so far—Wayne’s grandma passed away on Saturday morning (it was pretty expected—she’s been sick for some time), but the funeral has been scheduled for either tomorrow or Wednesday.  He’s going to be exhausted when he gets back from Washington DC, but he’s still on board for taking Jasper down to Boise on Thursday.  I love that man.  Then this morning our surgery room flooded and our neuter was cancelled and rescheduled for NEXT Monday, which means we have patient care all through the weekend.  I was so worried I’d have to cancel TS, but I spoke with the professor and have been able to find a stand-in for this weekend’s patient care.  Whew!  Add to all this the fact we’re doing a last-minute small animal nutrition short-course that takes up two hours of every afternoon, and I’m feeling hard-pressed for much down time. 

The weather has been on and off lately, too.  One day it’ll be in the 50’s and gorgeous and the next the wind is blowing hail at 40 mph.  Ah, well.  Spring in the Palouse is always interesting.

In other news, I finally got Jasper’s S-Hackamore last week.  We did a quick “trial run” in the arena and when I was satisfied he understood, we called it a day.  Then on Saturday, Moscow “Mountain” had FINALLY thawed enough to do a ride on the roads, so I trailered Jasper over and PJ and I did a nice 11 mile ride.  It was mostly walking, but the roads on the mountain are beautiful and we had a nice time catching up.  Jasper was excellent in the S-Hack, even when a pitbull/boxer looking dog came rushing at us through some bushes and scared the pants off all four of us.  I’m pretty happy with the level of lateral control it has—I could still make Jasper look at the “monsters” that seem to pop up all over the place when he’s leading the pack.  I’m still debating doing the TS with it—I may start in his snaffle and switch to the hackamore at the end.  He’s fairly level-headed, though, and may just try it with the hackamore.  I’m still packing his snaffle around in my saddle bags anyways, so if things got bad I could switch mid-trail.

I’ve got a million things to do before the ride.  I’m so glad we went camping a couple weeks ago, since I think I have a much better of an idea of what’s needed for camping with our ponies.

To Do:

1. Strip sheepskin saddle cover off and wash it.
2. Wash both saddle pads.
3. Try my hardest to get as much shedding hair off Jasper as possible.  If the weather looks warm, then I may do a conservative clip on his neck.  His coat isn’t terribly thick, but I don’t want to take any risks.
4. Pack trailer! Remember to bring a larger water bucket!
5. Figure out what to do with Sammy over the weekend.  She’s having her anal glands removed on Wednesday, so depending on how much post-op care she needs, she may have to stay at the hospital all weekend. :(

Get a hair cut!  Graduation pictures are being taken next Monday.  I don’t want everyone laughing at my picture 20 years from now like we do to the people that graduated 20 years ago.  I probably shouldn’t wear my glasses—they seem cool now, but just look at the ones from the 80’s.  I bet 

It's Official

And I mean, really, really official.  Wayne wants to sell Cricket.  

As I was leaving for the barn the other day, I received a text from him.  It said, "Sell him, no trades."  I was worried he'd been hurt, and tried calling him several times to no avail.  Just before I was going to place a call to Marva, our horse boarding friend, he answered.  I asked him what had happened, and he said nothing.  He had gone out to the barn that day and was finding himself putting off riding Cricket, and when he did finally get around to it, Cricket pitched a fit of epic proportions and would not allow him to mount.  He just decided it was time since it was no longer fun for him any more.  

I'm going to place the ad this week, and I have to admit I have mixed feelings.  Cricket has definitely been a journey for both of us.  We've learned a lot from him, even though the lessons were not always "fun."  I do like the little guy, but am happy he'll be going somewhere else.  I'd like to see him go to an endurance home, but we'll see.  He's had tons of experience doing other things, like horse shows, barrels and jumping.  He just needs someone who is a stronger leader than either Wayne or I.  When he spent the summer riding with Lacy, he blossomed.

In like a lion, out like a....well, a lion.

Yesterday I braved the high winds and chilly temps to get in a quick arena ride in the indoor.  After mounting and starting our ride, I started hearing gunshots from the barn owners doing some target practice.  This is a fairly regular occurrence on the farm, and Jasper's stall faces the target yard, so I would assume he'd be fine with it.  Not so.  He was getting increasingly agitated--enough so that I dismounted and lead him over to the driveway where he'd be even closer to the noise.  Despite us standing 20 yards or more from the gun (it was a small rifle--maybe a .22?), every time it went off he levitated about an inch off the ground.  I completely ignored him and allowed him to graze and really focused on acting like it was not a big deal.  After 15 minutes or so, I gave up and retreated back to the arena to finish our ride.  

Since our arena workout was pretty much a wash as I could hardly get him to focus, I decided yesterday would be an excellent day to introduce him to the crupper.  I've worked with him before using a soft rope under his tail at the walk, trot, and canter.  Also, most days when I groom him I will spend extra time scratching around on either sides of his tail.  Luckily, he really isn't very insecure about his backside, and really seems to enjoy his butt scratchies.  

I left him in the crossties and ran up to the trailer to retrieve his crupper.  I put it on and adjusted it to where I thought it should be, and we went into the arena to do some groundwork.  Once he started trotting, the saddle moved more than I anticipated and I loosened the crupper by a hole.  After I was satisfied he was absolutely not freaked out at all by the crupper (which took all of 2 minutes), I mounted and put him through his paces.  It was such a non-issue that I can't decide if it was all the previous work I've done with him on his butt or if he's just a really laid back guy.  Either way, I'm pretty satisfied that if I were to need the crupper for a ride, it would be no biggie!