A Two Ride Day

I was able to ride TWICE today. Both rides were on Jasper, but both were very different. For the first, we trailered out to the Mountain to do a nice, slow sweaty uphill walking ride. Our distance wasn't much, but his heart rate got up and we all had a wonderful time visiting and chatting in the warm February sun.

After this, we loaded up and trailered to the barn to act as Steady Eddy on Ony's first road ride. How did it go? It went perfectly, of course. Little Ony lead and followed and was completely cool and collected the whole time. We saw barking dogs, a small herd of galloping horses (and an even smaller herd of little ponies!!), a hunting trial, cars, four-wheelers and kids jumping on a trampoline. He seemed to really, really enjoy himself and worked hard to convince Lacy that he should be trotting. He wasn't excitable at all, he just seemed to think we should be getting where we were going faster than we were. He quickly calmed down and seemed to catch on that walking would be all we would be doing. I think the most shocking things to him on the ride were when we passed a cute little kids horse--he did a double take when Dad threw his daughter up on the horses's back. And Lacy said she felt his heart stop when a horse whinnied to us from waaay back in the pasture. But other than that, he was PERFECT.

The funniest part of the ride, and the one I regret not having my camera with me the most, was when Lacy got off and asked him to follow her across a small ditch with water in it. The embankment wasn't too steep, but Ony wasn't too sure about it. He tried to get as close as possible without getting as close as possible. This involved Ony doing a very good impression of downward dog on the bank. His chest was inches from the ground while his front legs were folded out in front of him. His back legs were still standing. He did it twice while investigating the ditch. I almost fell off Jasper laughing. I can't get over how babyish he is while still acting so mature about everything. That little horse can fold himself in half two times over and still trot.

I'm so proud. Of BOTH my boys.

Onyx Goes Outside

I won't bore you all with the details of how perfect he was, etc, etc. Here is a photo summary.

Walking out to the field.

Walking so well next to Uncle Jasper.

Onyx thinks this whole riding thing is cool for many reasons, but his favorite is that he can have head and ear scratchies whenever he wants!

Lacy is teaching him to turn around whenever she snaps her fingers and comments that he can be given affection as a reward. This should come in useful at rides when I bring carrots in my bags!

Trotting over some ground poles in the outdoor arena. Not gonna win any jump competitions any time soon...

After his session (which was loooong, esp for a baby), he got turned out with Uncle Jasper for some bonding time. I think Ony is lonely without Jasper around, and although Jasper won't readily admit it, I think he misses his little bro.

My Little Ambassador

Okay, okay. I'm going to post another story about little Onyx here, but only because I'm in that annoying "I'm-proud-of-everything-my-baby-does" phase that Lacy claims will make me an incredibly annoying mother one day.

Last night was Ony's fourth ride ever. Lacy did a bit of groundwork and rode him around a bit before handing over the reins to me. During this time, there were two other riders in the arena and she had taught approximately 1/2 of her student's lesson FROM ONY'S BACK.

I mounted, and found that the solid little horse of his first ride still existed. Not only does he completely lack that drunken squishy feeling that greenies tend to have, he's moving off leg impressively. Like while I was riding last night I forgot repeatedly he is just a baby. I wasn't brave enough to canter this time, but spent about a half hour riding my little baby around at a walk and trot. This next time (likely Sunday), I'll probably canter. Last night just before I got on, Lacy had Ony doing side passes across the short side of the arena in both directions. I still can't get over how fast he's learning!

Every time I've been out for his sessions, there has been a small social gathering of other boarders that gather to chit-chat and watch his progress. Every single time someone comments on how young he looks (Yes, yes. He's going to be four in June. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, I realize he looks like a coming two-year-old. Would you like to see his papers? They're in my purse.). They also comment on how "good he is for an arab." This is where little Onyx becomes a brilliant little ambassador. I always jump on the opportunity to tell them that arabs are actually quite level-headed most of the time and that I've dealt with FAR scarier warmbloods walking them across a parking lot while they piaffe with necks arched and nostrils flared because they've never been out of an arena. I would argue those types of situations are much scarier than anything I've seen with an arab [so far]. At least arabs have brains to reason through situations (and choose to use or not use them as the situation merits, thankyouverymuch). Anyways, he's caught the attention of a number of people who have become regulars at his training sessions. I'll admit, I do enjoy that he's got the spotlight and is performing so well.

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Anesthesia's a Bear

Today, I was a part of a team that anesthetized a bear from Yellowstone who had been having some problems with his hind end. It was a pretty big deal, and we had news cameras and our public relations guy all over. There's nothing that says photo opportunity like an anesthetized grizzly bear. Enjoy.

Jasper Deserves Some Headlines

With all the new developments with Onyx lately, it would seem poor Jasper has fallen to the wayside. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my first and most favorite endurance horse ever. We've started our conditioning program for the 2010 season and are starting slow. Our first ride is March 27th and will likely be a 25, so we're just getting out and moving the juices around a bit. I don't think it'll be a problem for him to be ready by then, and in fact, I think he'd just about be ready now.

This past weekend, I went home to Boise for a four-day weekend and dragged Jasper along with the intent of doing some nice rides in the warmer temps (not that things haven't been unseasonably warm up here in Pullman, too). On Friday, we accompanied a good friend on her first ride out on her new horse. Her new boy behaved himself beautifully and I constantly had to remind myself it was his first ride out of the arena! On Saturday, Wayne and I were able to get out for a nice ride together. Although his mare wanted to gogogo, she behaved very well for her first ride of the spring. On Sunday, my friend and I got out to do a quick training ride and had a blast letting the ponies open up the gears a little.

Either way, Jasper's not being neglected. He does admit sometimes that he misses his little brother, as things with just Callie are always boring. But he's planted in front of as much hay as he can stuff in his face, and is being fed grain/beetpulp twice a day to try to add some additional pounds before the ride season.

Ony's third ride

Onyx has a Ride

Yesterday, Onyx had his first ride. My good friend and horse trainer, Lacy, and I talked about his early training, and without a doubt I wanted to be the first in the saddle on my little bay horse.

We trailered out to the barn early afternoon (I'm on an easy peasy rotation and was done by noon), and I was proud of my boy for loading and unloading like he had been prior to the three-year-old tantrums of last week. I turned him out in the arena while I waited for Lacy, and he made the rounds making it very clear he remembered the place.

When Lacy arrived, she worked with him on putting a bit in his mouth for the first time. She had me loosen the sides of his bridle so the bit would be loose in his mouth in order to teach him to carry it by himself. He took to the lesson quite well, but one the bit was firmly secured in his mouth, he spent ten minutes trying to spit it out. After that, he figured out where to carry it and it became a non-issue. During that time, she worked with him on more groundwork and it was hard for him to focus on the bit when he had other things to think about.

Bit goes in.

Ony tries to spit it out.

He progressed quite rapidly and made it abundantly clear he remembered everything from his first lesson two weeks ago. She commented on how soft and responsive he was, and he did a great job paying attention even when other horses walked past (two weeks ago he whinnied and fussed when he saw other horses). She was soon jumping up and down at his sides and lightly kicking under his belly and at his flanks in order to assess how sensitive he was about being touched in those areas. The verdict? He didn't care.

Working with the saddle.

She placed the saddle on him several times and had him move around. Again, he's been ponied saddled before and that time seemed to pay off. Then my part began. She had me jump with my hands on either side of his saddle area from both sides. I leapt around like an idiot, and Onyx didn't seem to notice. Then she said she'd give me a leg up and have me drape over his back so she could have him move and get used to carrying a rider. This is where I started mentally kicking myself I'd spent so much time brushing out his mud clumps and coating him with show sheen while he was in the hospital. Oh well. The only reaction he had all day was when I was draped over his back and she asked him to move forward the first time. He seemed to think there wasn't any way he could walk with Mom on his back, and had kind of a slow, haltingly rough start. He caught on quickly, and I was able to do it from both sides in short order. During this time, I was keeping myself folded over his back by grabbing handfuls of winter coat in his girth and flank area, neither of which he seemed to mind terribly.

Just for fun. You can see he's holding the bit by this point.

Then we saddled him and cinched the saddle on. Again, no big deal. More jumping and kicking and another leg up to drape over his back. This time, my weight was thrown so far towards my legs poor Ony kept having to step waay under himself in order to keep from falling over, which elicited much giggling from both Lacy and I. Very shortly Lacy told me to put a foot in the stirrup and swing my leg up to rub his butt to see how he would react. Nothing. She suggested I just swing my leg completely over, and soon I was sitting astride my little Onyx. The feeling was exhilarating, to be sure. It all happened so fast I didn't have time to be nervous!!

She had him moving around in walking circles both directions. I had a good hold of his mane, but he felt incredibly solid beneath me. I think he was just happy I was balanced instead of hanging off his back like a deranged rock climber! She repeated all the ground work we'd been doing with me adding leg cues in order to reinforce her body language. He "got it" immediately and I quickly forgot he was a dorky three year old going through his first ride.

Then the unimaginable happened--Lacy handed me the lead rope and told me to do some one rein stops on each side, flipping the rope over his ears each time to switch sides. He did wonderfully, and then Lacy walked off with Ony following. Holy crap, I was riding my baby by myself at his second lesson!! When I'd ask him to whoa, I'd lift up the lead rope as she'd been doing from the ground, and little Ony set on the brakes. He didn't feel squirty or goosey or nervous or anything, and I responded by feeling quite confident (even though my heart was RACING from excitement and exhilaration!).

Finally, Lacy turned to me and said that was it for the day and that he'd done wonderfully. I agreed, but asked her to take a picture before I dismounted. She had been joking about taking off running across the arena to see what Ony would do, and did. He took a couple of short trot steps and when I asked him to whoa he impressed me by again putting on the brakes. Lacy was able to get a couple of dusty pictures and I asked her to hold him so I could dismount from the off side, since it's important for me to be able to mount and dismount from both sides on hilly terrain.

Once on the ground, I started shaking with excitement. I did a few celebratory leaps and fist pumps and gave little Ony a great big hug. I am still a bit in disbelief that the day I've been waiting for since September came and went so effortlessly. Little Ony is going to spend a whole month at the barn so Lacy can ride him more regularly. I miss the little guy already, but can't wait for us to start our journey down the trail together.

Onyx goes to the Doctor

On Wednesday night, I went out to feed the horses as usual. I whistled and the boys came running up to greet me at the gate, two buckets of grain in hand. I endured the usual antics on the way down to the barn between the boys--necks arched, tails swishing, both horses clamoring to be fed first. That night, Onyx won and got his grain pain filled before Jasper. I then stepped through the stall door to throw hay and noticed Onyx had stopped eating his grain and laid down. I thought it was odd and watched him for a minute. He got up and went back to his pan. I thought maybe he'd had a itch and continued bucking bales down from the stack, cutting twine and tossing armfuls of hay into the stalls. Then I noticed Onyx pawing and kicking at his stomach.

Uh, oh.

Convinced he was colicking, I walked up to the house to inform my roommate that I was going to be taking him with to the hospital with me that night, as I'm on overnights right now. I hauled out the first aid kit and took a halter and grabbed little Onyx. He was sticking his neck out at an odd angle and looked as though he was trying to swallow something. That's when he coughed and mushy grain and saliva came squirting out of his nose. Ah, choke. Better than colic, but still not good. Up at the trailer, his heart rate was normal but he was still struggling to work out the grain. I asked my roommate to hold him while I hooked up the truck and trailer and off to school we went.



Once there, I passed a nasogastric tube in order to dislodge any possible feed material even though he was acting much better. He got a shot of Buscopan (a smooth muscle relaxer, which is the type of muscle found in the GI tract) and a shot of Banamine to combat any inflammation. I was glad I'd brought him in--during my 12-hour shift I'd be able to check on him multiple times. He did end up re-choking early in the morning, but it's only because his stupid owner thought he looked starving and fed him a little more than a handful of grain. The on-call doctor came in and rolled his eyes many, many times at me. Ah, well, I learned my lesson.



The next morning he looked much happier, but I was too tired to think about hauling him home and so asked if he could stay for observation while I slept. Since our equine department is never busy, they offered to scope him free of charge as a teaching tool. I agreed, and they found no abnormalities (yay!). Onyx will return home this morning to a stall in the barn and no access to hay. He's not going to be happy for the next few days, but I don't want to risk anything else. Poor Ony.

Moving Up

Today has been a very exciting day for me. I was offered my first job at my top-choice clinic. I'll be starting slow and working my way up in hours, and I'll be working for a wonderful veterinarian who loves his job, takes good care of his employees, and has a passion for serving the community and world beyond. He's a fabulous mentor with a solid reputation in our community, and I feel honored that he has decided to add me to his team.



I realized today that this job offer is really the fruition of a dream that's been in process for me since I was 17. It was an odd thing realizing what I wanted to do at such a young age, but many in this profession feel as though it's a calling and a passion. I remember where I was when I realized and it all seems so odd now. I was 17 and rebelling against everything and everyone (but mostly my parents). School had never been a priority, and no matter how much trouble I got in, the one thing that brought me calm and serenity was the barn. I've always had pride that I took the initiative with my horse passion--although my parents were supportive, they had no interest in horses and so gave me the tools to do it on my own. I never owned a horse until I graduated high school. My parents didn't buy me riding lessons, riding clothes or show entries. They told me I would look back one day and be as proud of myself as they were of me for working towards my passion, and they were right.

The bus ride to the barn was a portal into a world where I was smart, compassionate, and had a drive that could equal no other. I was never a great rider (and in fact was quite timid), but accepted this and worked hard to improve my skills. I volunteered on Saturdays and Sundays feeding, mucking stalls, cleaning piles of schooling tack and turning out the horses. My work was quiet and I was alone much of the time with my 48 charges. I learned their personalities, their quirks, their scratchiest places and who I could take down to the turn-outs together.



It was on the bus to the barn one day when I had the epiphany, as it can be described as nothing else. It was as if someone leaned over and said in a clear voice, "You're going to be a veterinarian." The bus was not a quarter of a mile from the stop that would leave me a half-mile from my precious barn, and I remember being so startled I almost missed the stop. I got off the bus and crunched my way down the gravel shoulder deep in thought. It seemed so clear that I was suddenly struck by the oddness that it had never occurred to me before, except when I was a young girl and being a veterinarian was one of the standard responses (in addition to "horse trainer," "princess," and "my mom"). The idea began to take shape and become less of an idea and more of a drive. It just felt right. Since then, I've had countless joys, countless sorrows, disappointments and victories that cannot be paralleled. And every second, every tear, every late night, every ounce of stress and sweat has been absolutely worth it.

Well, 17-year-old Elly. You've made it. It won't be easy and it won't always be fun, but guess what. You're going to be a veterinarian.