Training

In the one month Isabel has been with us she has accomplished a lot. 

• She loads and rides in the trailer like a big horse.
• Takes hikes through the woods and through water.
• Welcomes the kids home at the bus stop.
• She went to the beach for the first time.
• She dressed up like a centerpiece and walked in a parade.
• Washes windows and does my taxes.

Feeling like I've put the proverbial cart before the horse, I finally took Isabel down to the ring to do some training.

The first thing I wanted to work on is the "bridge", a wobbly piece of plywood that I train the horses to stand on, walk over, and back off of.

I barely had the 'bridge' down on the ground, when Isabel gladly climbed on it.

Clearly this task is stressing her out.

 

 

 Next we up the ante and bring out the big blue, scary tarp. <insert scary noise>

Hmmmm, OK, not so scary to Isabel.  I didn't even bother putting a lead rope on her for this training.

She doesn't get what the big deal is.

 

Next we added the two; the bridge on the tarp.  This should be pretty scary...

ummmm, or not.

 

In fact, Isabel says the tarp should be afraid of her!

 

 

 Attack the tarp!

 

That training took all of 5 minutes.
Now what?

Babe in the City

I had two rather lofty goals for Miss Isabel this fall.  One was to take her to the beach. Done.  And the other was to particiate in the Concord Holiday Parade.  I admit, this is a lot to ask a 4-5 month old, but this is Isabel.  She's amazing.


On November 17th we painted our toes...

 

and flowers in our hair...

 

and headed to the capital city to march down Loudon Road.

 

When we arrived there was plenty of new sights and sounds; marching bands, floats, and huge crowds.  She took it all in like a pro!

 

Courtney, Storm, Robin and Chase joined us.

My Mom was in the audience and described Isabel as "unimpressed" by all the fanfare.  She's incredibly level-headed.

And yes, that's one glittery bum.

 

After the parade she hopped back on the trailer and went home.  I could tell the 2 mile walk made her tired but she had no interest in a mid-day nap, so instead she went out to the pasture with her pasture mates.



 

Once again, this little baby has made me so proud!  She has handled everything I've thrown her way like a champion!

 

Now what should we do....?

 



Smile!

I just wanted to share some random pictures of Isabel. She's so stinkin' cute!

Should I break the news to her that she's not going to be a racehorse?

 

I love this face!

 Becoming part of the herd.  Isabel is now turned out with three other horses; Scout, Storm and Taz.  She's holding her own.

 Benji, one of her favorite friends.

 First snow! Luckily it only stayed for the day.

 Hello!

 

 A fancy escort for a fancy baby.

 

These long legs make it difficult to reach some grass!

Awwwwww, much better.

After a day full of new adventures, it's time for a nap.

A Day At The Beach

While watching Guy McClain start a young horse this weekend, he told the audience, "Don't ask a little from your horse, ask a lot, in the right way".

On Sunday, November 11th, I asked a lot of Miss Isabel.

I had hoped to work on trailer loading this week but the weather and schedule didn't cooperate.  So I finally got to bring Isabel out to the trailer on Sunday.  After our whole 'leaving the barn' issue, I planned on the trailer giving us an issue.  After all, the last time she got on a trailer she went on a 24 hour journey that landed her in a strange, new place.

I brought her bowl of liquid breakfast out to the trailer.  I opened the doors and set her food down on the floor and before I had time to ask her, she was already in the trailer!  Yes, the girl likes her food.  But still, that went better than I had planned.

She finished her breakfast and then walked out of the trailer.  Like a pro!

So I got some shipping boots and put them on her.  At first she walked like a drunk Tennessee Walker but it was far from bothering her.  I returned her to her small paddock and let her walk around in them for about a half an hour.  All was good.

Then I decided it was time for a test drive.

We loaded Storm in the trailer just as a bit of added security to make it a positive experience.  And then it was Isabel's turn to get in.  It took her a bit to figure out how to bend her knees to step up while wearing some over sized shipping boots.

I turned on my new camera system and my niece, Courtney, rode in the 3rd stall* with the cell phone on, and we headed down the road... at 3 miles per hour.

It took a bit but she soon got her balance and her driving legs.  I drove 3 miles to the gas station for a quick fill up and then back to the farm.  Isabel spent the time looking out her window or munching on hay.  Far from being stressed by the situation.

She did so good we decided to let Courtney ride in the truck... and we headed for the beach!

"let's hit the beach!"

 

 

 

Isabel was such a good girl!  We walked up and down the beach, got our feet wet and played in the sand.  Courtney and Storm took off for a good gallop down the beach and Izzy was happy to just stay and run her nose in the salty sand.



As the sun set, we loaded up (and once again, she hopped right in!) and headed home.  I'm sure she was one tired baby.  It was a big day for her.  I asked a lot of her and she gave me everything.  I couldn't be more proud of this girl!


* I will of course deny this.  I would never make my niece ride in the trailer**.

** Without leg wraps and a head bumper.

Isabel's First Pedi

Isabel has been doing so well!  November 5th was Isabel's first visit with our farrier, Denise.

It took her a bit to get her balance but she did awesome!!!  She had her hooves trimmed and shaped and Denise had her practice holding her foot up and out.  Little Izzy was a rock star and I think Denise would give her a gold star.

It was all I could do to resist painting her toes pink!

A big scare!

Once again, I'm behind on keeping up with the blog.  This has been like having a newborn again.  There's always something to be done, or researched, or just time spent cuddling her!

However, on Friday, November 2nd, I felt something was wrong as soon as Isabel started eating her dinner.  I quickly took her temperature (which was normal) and listened for gut noises (again, normal).  Suddenly she looked like she was having problems swallowing and I knew immediately it was choke.

Luckily, unlike humans, horses can choke and yet still breathe.

I started massaging her throat and she would swallow hard.  Finally around midnight the issue seemed to resolve.  But still, it was a sleepless night.

I spoke to my wonderful vet and she recommended putting Isabel on 30 cc of Papaya puree three times a day.  It will help sooth her throat and belly.

The next night I fed her dinner again and immediately she choked again.  She quickly turned to me with a look that said "massage my neck please" and I did.  A few hard 'gulps' later and she was fine. 

So now all her feed is soaked until it's drinkable.  And I'm a nervous wreck.

But so far it's done the trick.  Thank goodness.

Isabel Has Left The Building

...errr, I mean, barn!  After days of trying to get her to take that massive 4 inch step onto the cobblestone walkway, we finally had success!
The past few days I have taken a book (more about that in a moment) and a comfy chair and just waited for her to join Storm and I.

But she'd just stand in the doorway, content to watch us.

But today I envisioned having a 10 year old horse that wouldn't leave the barn through the front door knew was the day!  And as much as it hurt me, more than it hurt her, I had to enlist the help of a crop.

Tough love stinks.

But my smart, little girl quickly decided it was just simpler to walk out the barn.  And she did! Yay!!!!  Now that we're out of the barn, we have a world full of opportunity!

So we took a walk around the neighborhood and met some neighbors.

Look!  Someone smaller than me!

 

Come play with meeeeeeeee!

 

When we got back to the farm, Isabel and Storm were turned out in the east pasture.  Yee-Haw!

 

This afternoon Isabel got to make her first trip down to the bus stop to welcome home the kids.  She whinnied to the bus as it stopped and nearly climbed aboard.  I think the school kids would have enjoyed that!

Some day, little girl.

 

 

Now about that training book.  I have a lot of hopes and dreams for Miss Isabel (what parent doesn't?).  So I purchased several books on training for new ideas.  But Chapter Two: Prerequisites has me very concerned.

What the what?  I take many, MANY precautions to ensure my arse is NEVER over my head.  EVER.  I'm not sure how this pertains to training... but I'm scared!

So for now, I'll celebrate that she walked out of the barn, and leave the handstands for another day!