Doranna Durgin's Blog, page 7

Dormosedan, a sedative, for first shoeing

By Patty Wilber

I recently got two new colt starts, Ciroc and Rascal. They both got their first set of shoes over the past two weeks, and I used the sedative Dormosedan (detomidine hydrochloride) gel for both of them.

Photo from; https://www.americanfarriers.com/arti...

Dermosedan is a safe prescription sedative that can be given to a horse without veterinary supervision.  The gel is squirted under the tongue about 45 minutes before shoeing and the effects last 90 to 180 minutes.

According to the package insert, “Dormosedan (detomidine hydrochloride) is a synthetic alpha2-adrenoreceptor agonist with sedative properties.” I used the AI tools Perplexity and Google Gemini to help understand what that means (because Chat GPT 4o would not give me references today).

“Synthetic” means the drug was artificially produced in a lab as opposed to being made from an organic source.“alpha2-adrenoreceptor agonist” indicates that Dorm binds to the alpha2-adrenoreceptors in the central nervous system instead of noradrenaline. When noradrenaline binds, the result is an increase in alertness, but when Dorm binds, there is a decrease in the nerve impulses normally triggered by noradrenaline, and the horse is sedated. Plus, any noradrenaline released after Dorm is given is prevented from binding because the Dorm is in the receptor.

If a horse is already excited and keyed-up, Dorm does not work as well.  That is because a keyed-up horse has a gob of noradrenaline coursing through its system, taking up a lot of the alpha2-adrenoreceptors.  You can go ahead and give the Dormosedan, but it has less effect because it cannot bind to the receptors since the noradrenaline got there first.

The effects of the Dorm last 90 to 180 minutes because that is how long it takes most horses to metabolize the drug and flush it from their systems, freeing up the receptors for their normal molecule, noradrenaline.

This sedative has minimal side effects. Over 200 horses were tested and “minimal adverse reactions, such as sweating, urination, salivation, flatulence, slow heart rate, and sheath dropping” were observed in less than 2% of the horses tested according to the Blue Ridge Equine Clinic.

In reading the drug package insert, I found a more precise breakdown.

So, why did I use Dermosedan on these two young horses?  Mainly I did it for the farriers. The first set of shoes on a young horse can sometimes be a chore and I suspected that Rascal in particular was going to have trouble with his hind feet because he has just learned to be comfortable picking them up and letting me clean them.  I basically used the Dorm to bribe the farriers.  They were both (different farriers for each horse) grateful because the Dorm worked and both horses were really easy and safe to work with.

Three farriers I have talked to feel, based on their experiences, that Dormosedan does not inhibit learning.  That would be nice because using Dorm definitely keeps a horse calmer, and thus the memories a horse would have of the shoeing would be calm and drama-free.

Research on memories made by Dormified horses, however, is scant.  When horses are sedated, it is thought that memory formation is indeed impaired, though it depends on the degree of sedation and the individual horse.  It would be a bummer if Ciroc and Rascal got through their first set of shoes with no recollection of anything because then the second farrier visit would just be ground zero. Let’s hope that both horses do remember a thing or two from their first shoeings because eight weeks from now, (with more hoof-handling by me in the interim), we are going Dorm-free.

 

What do horses see?

By Patty Wilber

Do you see what I see? Well, in the case of horses, I think not!

Our eyes are set in the front of our heads, giving us good binocular vision and therefore excellent depth perception in the area where both our eyes perceive the same image. The single image is seen slightly differently by each eye. You can test this by closing one eye and then the other and watching the computer screen move back and forth! The brain puts the two images together so we see one thing.  The brain also triangulates and this helps us with depth perception. Having good depth perception is key for predators that need to be able to be on target to catch their prey.

There is an evolutionary trade-off in eye placement! Horses have their eyes on the sides of their heads, giving them wonderful monocular peripheral vision, but a reduced area of binocular vision.  Horses have just tiny blind spot behind them. No wonder they can startle things coming at them from almost any angle!

Image from https://askanimalweb.com/equine-vision/

 Since horses are prey animals, this wide field of vision has the great advantage of allowing them to spot danger (and then RUN! AWAY!)

This eye placement can be a bit of a challenge when horse training because the lateral monocular vision can result in the horse brain seeing something with the right eye, but then having to fully reprocess it when seeing in the left eye!

In addition, horses are tuned into movement and changes in their surroundings.  Both items should enhance their survival in the wild, (but might decrease our survival when riding!)

Horse: that garbage can was NOT there yesterday.

Horse: yeah i saw that dog jump into the water tank but I have NO IDEA what just jumped out!

Some horses are much more reactive than others. They run off at the drop of …well at the drop of anything.  Others simply don’t.

About 14 years ago, I had two horses I was training.  T, who was a pretty solid quiet guy, and Risa, a reactive type who also may have had some vision issues beyond horsey eye placement. Double whammy.

One day I rode T and ponied Risa.  T, being on the quiet side made a good lead horse because nothing really bothered him. Generally, the ponied horse thinks the lead horse is the fall guy and if anything is going to go down, the shadow world lurkers will eat the lead horse, sparing the ponied horse,  Thus the ponied horse feels safe and is therefore calmer.

T first, Risa following; worked well.

At dusk, I switched. Ms. Reactive With Bad Eyes was riding point in the gathering gloom.  (Not all trainers claim to be smart all the time–why did I do this?) Risa was not longer calm! She was alert, light-footed, lion bait!

“i am NOT lion bait”, she said.  “i can leap away VERY fast!”  Whereupon she gave a little demo.

“ho hum,” said T.  “when’s dinner?”

We wove our way home.

“DOGS! oh they are in a pen.” said Risa with a swerve.

Walk, veer, walk, jig.

“DOGS! oh they are in a pen, too!” said Risa with a jig instead of a serve, just to mix it up.

“ho hum”, said T.

Walk, jig, walk, walk, veer.

There was a person walking on the road. Risa: “what are they doing, THERE?  they were not there YESTERDAY!” She stopped and had to be urged on.

Jig, veer, jig, walk walk walk.

A guy scraped his gate shut and it made a loud and truly hideous screeching sound.

“OUTTA HERE! (cuz I can leap away, fast, remember?)” said Risa, and she tried.

I used the reins to say whoa and we got a little butt-dropping halt right off. She was still thinking, some. Good job!

T, still in tow, said, “ho hum.”

We did make it home, still astride and all in one piece.

Horses in general are more reactive than humans, which is evolutionarily programmed in, but it is also interesting to see how differently two horses process the same visual information. It is also amazing to see how horses may cue off their handlers. Horses can become more reactive to both sights and sounds if their human is reactive, and conversely can become steadier and more confident if their human is that way.

I am never bored by the horses! Tired sometimes,  but never bored.

Happy Friday!

 

 

 

Hay! Tractor! Truck!

By Patty Wilber

I like to buy my hay from farmers directly, have it delivered, and store it in my barn for the year.  This year instead of buying all my hay from one guy, it looks like I may end up buying from up to five different farms.  I had anticipated needing 800 bales for the 2024-2025 season but I ended up with more horses than I had anticipated in the barn for training, so had to up my estimate to 1100 bales.  Maybe I should go for 1200… (My go-to guy could not add extra bales to my original order as he was sold out.)

To get ready for the new loads, I cleaned out the barn, and am still working on spreading the waste as mulch over my Kochia (a weed) crop behind my barn!

Clean barn with 200 new bales (- what I already used) loaded in! Nine hundred or 1000 bales to go!

I pushed the old hay out with the tractor and am still working on spreading it as mulch. I don’t know why the photo turned out so poorly.

I had the tractor out, so I worked the arena by pulling sand back to the middle and was planning to drag.  It was hot.  The tractor was hot. But we had just put a new radiator in, so I wasn’t too worried.  Then the tractor overheated and the new radiator boiled over. Oops.

Since I had to wait for it to cool off before opening up the radiator, I went and bought two gallons of radiator fluid, figuring I’d have to refill the whole thing. That stuff is expensive! 18 bucks a gallon!  I obviously am not a mechanic, as you will soon see.  But, when I got back, I properly undid the front bar of the tractor that you have to move to open the hood, unclipped the hood, took off the exhaust chimney, and flipped that hood open.  I looked at the radiator and the whole front was coated in hay fluff, which was the cause of the overheating.  It couldn’t breathe! That was a relief to discover and was easy to fix by simply brushing the fluff off. I opened the radiator and had to add MAYBE a quart to refill what had boiled out.  Not even close to two gallons.  I was able to return the extra gallon.

It was still hot.  Actually, hotter, but since the new radiator was no longer choking, I fired up Old Blue and finished the arena. There was no overheating!

The arena looks so nice when dragged!

And in other news, we had been saving for a younger truck for maybe 10 years and had begun to look.  Thanks to a tip from Dolly Wallace, I found one locally that had way more fancy stuff on it than we needed (like a 60-gallon auxiliary fuel tank and an electric tailgate and an aerial view for backing up–how it does that I have no idea), but it met all the basic criteria: newer (2021), low mileage (11000), 3500, long bed, 4WD, diesel, crew cab, and both hitches (gooseneck and bumper pull) were already installed. We bought it.

We will be hauling our first load on Sunday when we go to the Manzanos with the Pecos Chapter of the Back Country Horseman to hopefully finish clearing the Crest Trail between Red Canyon and Spruce Trail.

Colt start updates: Ciroc is loping a little bit (ride 11) in the arena.  She is super willing and zero drama.  She is also trailer loading. Rascal is walking (ride 2) in the round pen.  He was tentative Day 1. By Day 2 he had already figured a lot out. We haven’t tackled trailer loading yet.

Happy Friday!

The NMBHA show, the colt starts, clouds and more flies.

By Patty Wilber

Last Sunday was the second of the New Mexico Buckskin Horse Association’s Ranch Horse Series.  It was a big success and a lot of fun.  Three of my usual crew did not show, but Patty S. and Colleen V. both won some classes! Hadleigh had some outstanding moments with Elvis and Kitiri borrowed Monica’s horse for her first-ever on-her-own show!  Kitiri did a great job riding Chexy past a scary flapping banner.

Monica got a photo of me helping Kitiri in which it looks like my right boob is weirdly bulgy, the left one is missing, and I have scoliosis, but at least I am smiling, and Kitiri and Chexy look sharp!

The show ended one class early because a big storm cell blew in.  It started with black clouds and lightning and then dumped rain for an hour, so we had to cancel.  Gette (who had a good series, btw, and won a buckle!) and I hung out with other folks under an overhang while the wind raged and the rain came down in curtains, but that left Stella tied to the trailer in the deluge, so finally (after waiting way too long, really) asked Ashtyn to hold Gette and I ran over to load Stella and get her out of the storm.  I was soaked completely through and my boots were full of water in about two minutes. Thanks to Pat and Colleen and someone else (I was focused and missed who that was!) for helping get Stella and all our stuff loaded in the downpour!

I have another show this weekend, and it looks like I will be the lone member of Team Wilber showing in this one, but one my of riders who has never shown this horse plans bring him to let him check things out!

In other news: Sheryl L.’s Rascal (3) seems to have mastered tying, is learning to lead, and is willing to wear a saddle. He is a stout dude! I might be on him next week, depending on how the groundwork progresses, since he knew nothing when he came!

Rascal tying like a champ, even if he looks suspicious! Under the tree is a nice spot!

Ciroc, Whispering Spirit’s, 2-yr-old black filly, is now eager to work.  She follows me around like Gette does, demanding attention.  What was all the NO stuff at first?  It is gone! Yay!  She is out of the round pen and into the arena. Walk trot.  No drama.

Gino Christy H.’s cool leopard appy (3) and I have been working on softening his lope.  We saw this cool cloud formation while out on the trail.  It looked more like an owl at first but had shifted a bit by the time I got the shot.

The flies are still bad.  Gino, Christy E.’s Cocoa, and Jessica’s Trigger are helping each other out. Cocoa got the prime spot!

Happy Friday!

Got another new horse

By Patty Wilber

Whispering Spirit’s filly Ciroc has continued to make steady progress!  She handled the tarp training easily, we are working on improving her groundwork, trailering skills (she willingly went in halfway Thursday) and we’ve been riding (three times) in the round pen.

Ciroc and the tarp. She was unfazed. Trigger is helping out again.

My first rides are always very low-key because I am drama-averse. The advantage of slow is that my colt starts rarely fall apart when I ask for new things, which means I almost never (almost, mind you) have to deal with bucking, rearing, or running off.

After three rides, Ciroc, can move her hip, walk quietly, bend to a stop, almost halt on my breath, back a step or two after stopping, move off my leg a bit, and she has trotted a few steps (on purpose), all with a lot of confidence. She likes her pen pals Gette and Stella, and she is asking to be picked when I am at the barn. I am pretty proud of her.

I know some trainers feel colts have to meet certain benchmarks right away (loping by day four, for example), but I try to get there when I feel we are both ready. For me, loping is usually between ride 10 and 20.  Ciroc feels like she will be right in there.

I just got another horse in to start Monday.  His name is Rascal and he came from Sheryl. I didn’t take any pictures, yet, for some reason.  He was, apparently, a really in-your-pocket baby, who then got turned out on 30,000? acres.  I think she said 30,000. He wasn’t handled much, in other words.

He arrived and then met all the other horses over the fences (as all my pens are adjoining).  He was amazing.  Brave, but not aggressive, inquisitive, and really confident in himself, but not pushy.  Three days in, we are getting some groundwork basics going.  He is easy to catch if I stay quiet, he is starting to actually lead, and he follows me around.  He figured out sideways Thursday.

I get a kick out of helping the youngsters find their way through these early stages.

It is a pretty cool gig!

 

The horse that yelled “NO” and some flies.

By Patty Wilber

We have gotten a fair amount of rain recently, and that always leads to flies.  Lots of flies.  I have become a bit wary of the heavily chemically-laden fly sprays because I always end up inhaling the aerosols, and then my lungs feel poisoned.  Lately, I have been buying the kind with herbs in addition to the toxins, so it smells better.  My lungs are fooled.

I also have chemical-free stink traps.  They work well for me.  This year I tried sticky paper around the barn posts, too.  Gross, but effective!

In the midst of the fly population explosion, I got a new horse in for training.  She is a beautiful non-fading black daughter of DK Smart Mate, named Ciroc (a brand of vodka–it was the alcohol year for foal names at Whispering Spirit Ranch).  Smarty tends to produce pretty level-headed and talented offspring, like Rip, who I had last year.

Rip! Photo by Colleen. 2023.

Imagine my surprise when I put the halter on to lead her to the tie rack and instead of coming along, she ran backwards yelling “NO!” at me.

Me: “Well, what if you just move your shoulder over a bit?” Her: “WHAT? NO!”

Me: Maybe just your head? Her: “NO!”

Me: “Is there anything you want to do?” Her: “NO! well ok i could run you over. or rear. ur choice.”

Me: “That will be a hard NO x2 from my end. Just take a breath.” I wondered if she’d been drinking the vodka instead of being named after it.

With zero pressure to move her feet, she was content to stand, so new plan:  Pet her with the stick and string.  Pet her with my hands. Move her head a little bit.  Keep telling her that none of the stuff we were doing was hard. Really.

I had some serious doubts about how training under saddle was going to go with a horse that reacted so strongly to what most consider minor asks.

This slow-boat program went on for about three days and then suddenly she became about 300% more cooperative.  This is not to say that she became 100% cooperative, but she started acting interested and she began to try!  Good thing because about this time, she got a hunk of fly paper stuck on her tail!

And guess what?  There was NO drama!  She flicked her tail and the paper stuck to her leg.  She stamped her leg.  She flicked her tail.  And that was it!  Wow!  Maybe her Daddy’s temperament is in there after all!

Ciroc with fly paper in her tail while Trigger tries to figure out what is going on!

In a few more days, she wore a bareback pad and a bridle.  Ho hum.

Ciroc with a bareback pad, and snaffle bit on a baling twine bridle. She was allowed to walk around freely in a pen. The twine bridle would break but the halter would not, so it was important to have a safe space. The white streaks are SWAT, the fly repellant. (That smells pretty good.)

Two days later she was wearing a saddle and playing with the blue tarp.

i am NOT afraid of this tarp…even if i was a bit suspicious five minutes before this photo!

I have a few more ground work exercises I want work on before stepping up.  I hope to be riding her next week. I am cautiously optimistic.

Happy Thursday night/Friday!

 

Ireland: The Story of the Exploding Tire

By Patty Wilber

The Irish drive on the left side of the road and the driver’s seat is on the right (oops I said left at first…) side of the car.  This is a bit disorienting after a lifetime of driving on the right, and Jim and I both tended to drift farther left in the lane (and the edge of the road) than necessary. The non-highway roads ranged from one lane in a lot of places to barely two lanes.

As we headed towards Galway, Jim hit a rock with the left front tire as he tried to move over a bit on one of the barely two-lane roads to allow a car to whiz by. I had nailed at least two curbs with the left front tire, myself, during my adventures earlier in the week!

Not long afterward, an attractive gas station/shop appeared and I suggested we stop for gas.  Jim said he was going to wait until Galway. I opined that this place looked really easy to access and we were pretty low on fuel, so Jim decided to stop.

As we gassed up, we looked at the tire.

It had a huge bubble in it!

We moved the car to a parking spot near the convenient picnic tables, and watched as the bubble expanded and the tire blew!

Well! That was lucky!  Just think if it had gone while we were driving on one of the tiny roads!

Our phones did not want to call out at this location (even though they worked perfectly in Limerick), so the station attendant allowed us to use his phone to call the rental company (Budget) and Budget arranged for a mobile tire company to come.  Jim’s phone was happy to accept calls and we learned it would be about 40 minutes until the tire guy could arrive.

Lucky for us again!  There was a 24/7 Launderette in the parking lot! We did our laundry while we waited! Amber spearheaded the effort!

As I’d mentioned, there were picnic tables and it was a really nice day, so we ate our smoked salmon, brown bread, and cheese we’d found at the Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna in the morning and had a picnic while the clothes washed and the tire guy made his way to us!

Then the tire guy showed up, and fixed our tire.

We finished folding our clothes, packed up the remains of our picnic and headed to the Lisdonaugh Estate for a two-night stay!

They breed Connemara Ponies there, it turns out.

The grounds of the Lisdonaugh estate, from their website.

And that is it for the blog and Ireland! Next week we will be back to stories in New Mexico, if we have not washed away by then in the monsoonal torrential downpours!

 

 

 

Riding in Ireland–for some of us!

By Patty Wilber

We got off the plane and during a lovely Irish breakfast at our hotel (Bunratty Manor Hotel) my right eye starting having weird flashes and a sudden increase in floaters.  The flashing kept up during our visit the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park (really interesting) and because those symptoms are characteristic of a detached retina, I sought medical care.  (Richard definitely provided encouragement to go in as he had had a detached retina.)

First, I went to a local clinic and they referrred me to the A&E (accident and emergency) at Limerick University Hospital, in nearby Limerick. As expected, this took forever, and Jim and I missed our pre-paid medieval dinner at the Bunratty Castle and were at the hospital about eight hours! The resident (I think she was a resident) that examined me was quite thorough and did think I had a possible tear, so she scheduled me for surgery and a consulation with the Consultant who was a more experienced eye guy.  If I had to have surgery there was a chance I would be stuck in Ireland for at least a month as the change in pressure associated with flying is not good for post-surgery retinas.

I decided not think about that possibility too hard.  It was too daunting. The next morning, the Consultant declared that my retina was not damaged, and no surgery was needed. My cataract was kind of in the way of a good view, which was where the confusion arose. Huge relief. They felt that the gel in my eye was liquifying (a normal part of aging) and a bit of the unliquified gel was clinging to the retina, possibly damaging a capillary.  The pulling on the retina explained the flashing, and the leaking capillary explained the increase in floaters.  At first they said I had no restrictions on what I could do, but once they heard I was to be on a horse riding holiday, they declared no riding for a month!  We sent Amber and Richard on the prearranged shuttle to An Sibin, the equestrian center.  The shuttle was supposed to include a boat ride to a Holy Island (but somehow did not). Jim and I rented a car so I would be able to sightsee on my own while Amber, Richard, and Jim did the 100+ mile ride across County Clare. I actually did go to the Island one day, but the others got rained out.

The accommodations at An Sibin!  It was like a Hobbit House!

A view of Loch Derg (that contains the Holy Island) and some horses.

I didn’t get too many riding photos since I didn’t ride with them, but I did have breakfast, dinner and sometimes lunch with the group, and everyone was so kind and made an effort to really include me.  We met Doris and Charley from Germany, Sandy from Canada, and Judy from the DC area. They all did the County Clare ride with our group!  Another couple, Marie and Carlos, from Portugal, was there for the same week but they were doing short rides in the morning and sitghtseeing in the afternoons.

All the horses were quiet and knew their jobs.  The proprietors, Nicola and Bertie breed and train their own animals and had a nice variety, including one Appaloosa cross!

Jim on his Irish Draught.

Richard on his Gypsy Vanner cross.

Amber with her Irish Sport Horse.

The horses were always tied to miniscule branches or baling twine.  That way if there was a blow-up, they would just go free and not cause a bunch of drama.

The saddle pads were all rubber.  If they had been wool or any kind of cotton material they would have never, ever dried out.  It was cool (60’s F) and really damp. All the buckles on everything were rusted.

This was the first pad, and there were two more rubber layers.

They rode on trails and roads and each night the horses stayed in a new location while the riders were driven to their accommodations.  This included several days at An Sibin, one night in a town called Gort, and two nights for us in Lisdoonvarna while the others went back to An Sibin. There were five and a half days of riding.  All food and lodging were included, except alcohol.

It was a fun trip–even for me!  I will not bore you with the non-horse places I went, but next week I may regale you with the Story of the Exlopding Tire!

Side note: “Sibin” means secret drinking place and arose when the English tried to stop the Irish from drinking.  They were not successful.  Read about that here.

Happy Friday!

P.S.  We made it home and I am going to the eye doc in Albuquerque today for a second opinion.

Getting to the Appaloosa Nationals

By Patty Wilber

Last Saturday we were driving out of the Pecos after Gette’s first packing job with Back Country Horsemen.  We packed supplies for a trail crew working on Cave Creek.

Gette did a great job on her first packing job!

We were re-entering cell service when I got a message from Christy reporting her busted truck was still (re?) busted and she had no way to get her horse to the Appaloosa Nationals in Oklahoma City. We were to leave Tuesday.

Fortunately, being reconnected to the world (after an unplugged day) allowed me to quickly contact Derek who was hauling LT and Lucy.  He graciously agreed to rearrange a bit and fit in Deets. (We couldn’t take my truck because Jim had committed to two more pack-ins while I was to be at the horse show.)

Then, we needed a health inspection for Deets, so I thought I could haul him to his Monday appointment (since Christy had no truck).  But I realized I serendipitously already had Dr. Loya coming to do chiropractic on Gette and Stella.  The magic of cell phones allowed me to contact her, add the inspection to Monday’s visit and get the necessary information from Christy to Dr. Loya, while still on the way home!  (Jim was driving.)

Got the health inspection completed Monday, but then Derek called in the evening. “I have some bad news,” he said. Those are never good opening words…

They got poured on and they have a barn area and a long dirt road that can become impassable, and was nearly there.  Fortunately, they were able to pull out before it all soaked in, and overnighted the horses and living quarters trailer at a nearby friend’s (The Roybal’s). Whew.

We all met there at 4 am Tuesday morning. Jim drove our truck and trailer with Deets. My traveling companion, Shelley, drove me.  Nichole drove Heidi and Derek.  Jim and Nichole win the supportive spouse award!

Christy and Heidi have placed in all their classes, so far! They got some trophies, too!

Christy and Deets won Limited Green Ranch Trail!

Heidi and LT got reserve in Open Cow Horse!

They have quite a few classes left, but I am not sure if I will get an update out before I take off for 12 days in Ireland!

Happy Friday!

 

 

 

Finn goes to the Mountains

By Patty Wilber

Every once in a while I get a horse that can handle the backcountry almost right away.  Finn is one of those horses.

I had 18 rides on him and his owner Sheryl L. mentioned that she’d really like him to learn to cross water.

Turns out I was scheduled to help with a BCH pack out for a trail crew on the 19th.  (By then I’d be up to 20 rides.) We had to ride out of Jack’s Creek on Beattys Trail #25, to Jacks Creek Trail #257.  We were picking up gear at the creek crossing where you can turn to go up to Pecos Baldy Lake.

That set of trails is pretty safe for a green horse.  There is only one spot I don’t love and it is just a short narrow spot right before the seep on the horse trail out of the parking lot.  And, of course, there was the requisite water crossing, right where we were to pick up the gear, so I’d be able to work the water without slowing up the project. Perfect.

Finn is three or four years old.  I have a photo of his papers, but his name and birthday are chopped off.  I know he was officially registered in March 2021, so maybe three?  He was a stud colt until March of this year and removing the distraction of testosterone has really slowed his roll.  Unless some hot mare starts waving her raised tail in his face.  For that reason, we loaded Penny in front, Cometa in the middle and Finn in the last slot.

He unloaded and stood at the trailer like he’d been doing this forever.  Penny and Cometa had nothing on him.

He’s been on the steep and rocky trails here with other horses so I knew he was quiet when traversing rough terrain and was fine leading or following.  For this ride, I had him follow Penny, who was being packed. Penny is super solid and makes a good mentor, in case that was needed. (It wasn’t, but at least we had a plan.)

We headed out and while he might have liked a slightly faster pace at first, there was no jigging or fretting.  He marched right along.

Heading up the horse bypass out of Jack’s Creek trailhead, following Penny.

Because he had not crossed mud or water before I was a little concerned about the seep on the horse bypass.  He didn’t even pause!  I was really impressed!  But it turns out he was not actually paying attention and when a hoof hit the mud, he was a bit shocked and scooted over.  Fortunately, it is a tiny seep so he was basically through it before he saw it.

He had no trouble stepping over a large log left on the trail–it really needs to be removed.  In retrospect, we should have taken it out on the way back, but we didn’t. Finn did have a fair amount of trouble on the rocky sections and he tripped and chose poor foot placement often enough to be a little annoying.  This trail has no rocky spots with precipitous drop-offs, so he could bumble along with no untoward consequences for either of us.  Luckily, we have plenty of rocks on our home trails so I can work on that.

Once we got to the water, I expected him to hesitate and then plunge ahead to follow the others, but he declined and really did not show much motivation to catch up.  I got off and Jim ponied him.  This did result in a mad rush and a bit of a body slam for Jim’s horse, Cometa.  Cometa has ponied a lot of horses over their first stream crossings.  On one of my first stream crossings with him, he laid down in the water…but back to Finn.

Jim turned around and brought Finn back.  Finn rushed ahead again and got loose.  Dragging his lead rope, he hurried through the water, up the bank and started a strong trot out into the forest, rather than on the trail.  It felt like all the blood left my extremities and I panicked I was about to lose a client horse in the wilderness. Fortunately, my limbs still worked so I was able to follow immediately, and Jim, on horseback, was ready as well. Another lucky break: the trees are thick right there and within 20 yards there was a fallen tree angled across his path.  He could have charged through it, but he just stopped and looked at me.  He did not move a foot as I came to collect him.  I think he was happy I was still close by.  I, on the other hand, was all wrought up! I was a little shaky!

Jim collected him and led him in again, and by this time, Finn had figured out, “oh!  it is water! i am thirsty!”, and he drank.

 I rode him through (easy) and we tied up for lunch. Whew!

“what?” said Finn.

“omg” said Cometa. “babies are exhausting.” “what?’, said Finn.

After lunch, we packed up and headed back.

“water, schmater. i got this,” said Finn.

Finn kind of hopped the seep on the way down, and the rocks in the trial still confounded his feet, but he is just starting out, and I was really proud of him!