Doranna Durgin's Blog, page 9

Selling Horses

By Patty Wilber

Selling horses is not one of the things I generally enjoy, but I have had fun the last few weeks helping Colleen market her horse.

Colleen has done all the hard work.  She made an amazing ad, and took all the initial calls. I only have talked to the truly serious ones, and the trickiest part has been asking my established clients to change lesson times so I can fit in the lookers. I have really enjoyed meeting new folks and showing them Luna.  Luna has done a great job for each person that has come, and she is currently under contract pending her pre-purchase exam, which we expect to go well.  That went faster and was way easier than I expected!

I have never had a pre-purchase exam done on any horse I have bought since I usually buy babies from breeders I know, but I always encourage buyers to get a pre-purchase because things have turned up in horses I was riding that I would never have expected.

One horse had a heart on the wrong side of his body and died six months later, probably due to an aneurysm related to that defect. He was only four!  It turns out it was a genetic issue and was known in that line of horses, but the horse rode perfectly fine the whole time I was working with him! One horse had a hock injury that occurred after I had stopped riding him, but it was only a month or two that I’d been done with him!  One had an old injury with a really ugly bone chip.  It turned out to be stabilized and not actually a problem, but it took a while to figure that out. I think the PPE is worth it for all parties.  The buyer can be confident the horse is serviceable for their purposes, and the owner doesn’t get any blowback because the buyer had the PPE info they wanted.

In other news, the days are getting longer and warmer!  The horses are liking it!

Gette and Gino soaking up the rays. They coordinated their napping positions so they matched, apparently!

They are both heading to a show on Saturday at the State Fair Grounds, where they won’t be showing in that many classes, but will get to see a new arena!  They also have one more April show and two Appaloosa shows at the start of May!

Happy Friday!

 

 

 

NMApHC Ranch Trail Clinic, 2024

By Patty Wilber

We did our NMApHC Ranch Trail Clinic at the Stanley Cyclone Center last Saturday, and on Sunday the weather was no good.  I sat down at the computer to do a little writing and a spate of snow blew through, dropping an inch in 20 minutes, then the wind picked up, so riding was not looking all that fun. Also, my legs were weirdly sore from standing all day at the clinic.  Thus, putting down some thoughts about the clinic seemed like a good way to get something productive done inside that did not include house cleaning…  Then the sun started to peek out, so the barn looked a bit more enticing…oh never mind…more snow, so I worked inside until late afternoon when it was dry and rode three horses in the gale.  All were very good, and that was quite satisfying!  But back to the clinic.

The clinic format, developed by Kathryn Erickson, is outstanding.  People are even starting to copy it!

We had 20 participants and ran five, 1.5 hour sessions.  We had three stations and we worked on effective negotiation of the trail obstacles, plus Kathryn built in lots of opportunities for transitions, which could apply to ranch riding as well.  Because of the small groups, each station had only one or two people at a time, so we could work with each equine and rider team at their level without having to segregate groups by ability.  This allowed each person the chance to work at their level and on the skills they wanted to improve.  Time just flew.

Colleen and Patty S. and their trusty steeds!

I had a bridge, a weave-through, and a large log as my obstacle set.  The bridge was a walk-over, the weave was set for horses (or mules) to trot or extend the trot, and the log could be loped, trotted, or walked as best fit the participant.

For animals that were wary of the bridge, we spent time doing exercises on and around the bridge. I always like doing odd stuff with the bridge so that our equine partners don’t see it as just something to cross over.  They learn they might have to stop or back off or side pass or any number of things. For some, we worked on creating a nice straight approach so the animal would walk right down the middle of the obstacles. Some horses were perfectly comfortable and we spent more time on the other aspects of the obstacle group.

Mini rant: I am deploring the trend in Ranch Trail to reward riders that lean way forward so the horse drags his nose and creeps over the bridge.  On a real bridge on a real trail, that is non-functional from the point of view of efficiency and safety. If a horse has a freak-out moment on a bridge, it’d be a lot more rideable if the rider were sitting centered in the saddle.  A real trail horse should definitely look where it is going, but that does not entail nose dragging.  The animal should move with purpose, or stop and back, or turn around, or whatever is required. I understand that Ranch Trail is show class, but it is supposed to celebrate real working horse/equine skills, and leaning forward and nose dragging over a bridge does not qualify as a useful or safe real-world skill. It was interesting to talk to folks about their show experiences and very unfortunately, the forward seat and nose dragging is being rewarded by some judges in some ranch venues. End rant.

The next obstacle was a weave.  We worked on horse and rider fluidity, line of travel, and change of speed (trot to extended trot for more difficulty). Some animals were so tuned in that the riders could reduce their cues to almost invisible and make the obstacle appear effortless.  That was super fun to see and help the riders achieve. (And made me want to run home and renew my efforts to approach that level of perfection on the youngsters!) Some horses did not yet get the game of weaving obstacles, so we worked on exercises to improve the basic weaving. We also had the weave set so one direction was much easier than the other.  For advanced horses, we could run the pattern in reverse to increase the level of difficulty. Everyone got better and found some new skills and talents!

The last obstacle included making a sharpish left-hand turn, aligning with the log, and going over it. Interestingly, aligning with the log was not as simple as it might have seemed.  We worked on having folks get their eyes on the log sooner to get their line of travel established quicker.  Some animals didn’t pick up their feet all that well over the log, and for them we did repeated log crossings.  Some animals were nervous, so we walked or trotted instead of loped.  Some folks were nervous, so we started with trotting, and if a person was ready, worked up to loping, or we loped close to the log, then transitioned to a trot before going over.

Faith and Romeo headed right for the middle of the log! Photo by Mandi.

The other clinicians had other cool ranchy obstacles but I was so busy with my spot that I actually have no idea what wonderful and inciteful things they did! But I do know, based on comments and subsequent FB posts that every station was a winner!

Faith and Ryan at the gate. Photo by Mandi.

I totally enjoyed the day and our feedback indicated the participants did, too!

Zuri, the puppy, had to go with me as Jim was busy all day and her puppy pen was not puppy-proof, yet.  She hung with me all morning while I coached. Later, Christy took her for a session and then Mandi took her for another session, so she got great socialization and was a tired puppy at the end of the day!

Zuri, spectating. Photo by Mandi.

Cancer Update:  I had a sonogram on my heart last week and it was perfect!!  (No drug damage!) I had a mammogram on Tuesday and it was CLEAR! I did develop a hive-like itchy rash after my last Phesgo shot. It seemed like some kind of contact allergy, but then I did more research and found that Phesgo can cause that, and you are supposed to alert your doc right away.  So after two weeks (that’s almost right away, right?) I did contact my oncologist.  I met with her Thursday and GUESS WHAT?  I am DONE with all chemo, surgery, radiation, and immunotherapy!  DONE!  I thought I had one more shot, but based on everything, we dropped it, and I won’t need to go back to the cancer center in person for SIX MONTHS! I have been there multiple times every month for the last year and a half, so it feels very weird! But the treatment has been successful, so at least for now, I am CANCER-FREE! (And it also turns out that people who develop a rash due to Phesgo have a lowered rate of recurrence!)

I do “get” to start anti-estrogen pills in about three weeks, and hopefully there will be minimal side effects because right now, my energy is great, my joints don’t ache, and the neuropathy is slowly getting better!

And super bonus: My newest grand-daughter, Juniper, is visiting this weekend (along with her parents).

Happy Friday!

 

 

Spring! 2024!

By Patty Wilber

Spring is a season I always like! Daylight Savings has begun in our fair state, and while there are always articles about how terrible setting the clocks forward and back is for everyone, I just cannot agree.  I don’t have trouble adjusting my internal clock to the switch, and I really like having the extra light in the evening, especially as we move out of the cold, short days of winter.  I can give lessons to kids after school or ride an extra horse!

In the summer, I am happy with light at 5:30 am and dark at 8:30 or 9 ish.  If we didn’t do daylight savings, it’d be light at 4:30 in the morning, and dark too early!

Spring weather always keeps me guessing. Last weekend included over 1.5 inches of precipitation, much of it in the form of snow. This quickly turned into a morass of mud in the horse pens, but the mountain was gloriously frosted.

Jim on Cometa on our back 30, with the Sandia Mountains gracing the view!

I had three horses in the back “pasture” aka mudhole, for all that moisture.  Trigger was here just for 10 days and he was hanging with Lola (here until June or so until she moves up north) and Gette. They are all dark bay and they were quite chummy.  There was no arguing over anything and they ate in a little knot.  Of course, when I went to take a photo, Trigger had to change the image by leaving the group and taking a pee!

“when ya gotta go, ya gotta go,” said Trigger. All that moisture filled up our water tanks. It is really satisfying to collect that water off the roof.

I did say the three are all dark bays, except Gette (nearest horse in the picture above) is really a varnish bay.  Her winter coat is dark, but as spring advances, and her summer coat is revealed, the light “varnish” and her spots start to shine through.

The varnish pattern is due to her LP gene, which causes progressive depigmentation.  By the time she is 10, she may be very white.  When she is fully shed out and in her summer coat glory, I will post her one-, two-, and three-year-old pictures to show the changes.

So, there was all that snow and wet last weekend, but it is spring, so the snow barely lasted a day and this week was in the 60’s.  The sand arena was still underwater Monday, but was just fine after that and such great riding weather!

This coming Sunday, the cold and snow, along with wind, are set to return for a one or two day engagement. Then back into the 60F range! The average last frost day was May 20th when we first moved to our place in 1997 (geez so last century–we are getting old!), I thought I read somewhere. I wasn’t able to verify that! The current last frost date, according to AI (Claude-Instant), is mid-April to mid-May, with April 27th predicted for this year (based on info from a nearby, but 1000 feet lower-in-altitude weather station, and according to ChatGPT4).

One of the biggest snows I remember was in April 2005. Nineteen inches! I am going to focus on the nice days in between the cold ones, and try not to get covered in shedded horse hair on a daily basis.

Happy Friday!

Flying Lead Changes

By Patty Wilber

When horses lope or canter, one front leg extends farther than the other and that is the “lead” they are on.  The horse below is on the right lead, and is going to the right. That is what we want because that gives the horse the best balance.

Faith loping on the right (and correct) lead.  Photo by Mandi.

If the horse changes directions, it should also change leads.  This could happen by breaking to a trot and then picking up the other lead.  This called a simple lead change.  In the event Ranch Riding, one can do it this way and not lose any points, so long as there are only two trot steps.

It is also possible to switch leads in the air, with no trot steps, and this is called a flying lead change. Of the classes I currently show, Reining, and the patterns run before Boxing and Working Cow Horse, require flying lead changes.  In Ranch Riding, most patterns say “flying or simple lead change” but I prefer to do flying, if possible.

Other classes, such as jumping and Western Riding also require flying lead changes.

This video shows four-year-old LT doing a left to right flying lead change.

Some horses take easily to flying lead changes and some take longer.  For a first try on a colt, I like them to be loping freely and confidently.  Then I lope a few circles in one direction, say left, while looking in that direction.  Then, I come across the middle and look straight across the arena, while pushing my horse, who is on the left lead, to the left.  I also use my reins to arc the horse around my right leg, so essentially we are counter arcing. Then I switch to looking right, and switch my legs by opening my right leg and pushing the horse right with my left leg.  If the horse is an easy lead changer like LT above, and Gino currently, they just change leads and you feel brilliant! For those horses, I can just continue to work on that a little bit day by day and in no time at all, they have the cue for lead changes down!

Gette is a little bit more difficult as she is not as handy with her hind end and wants to change in the front but not the back.  But she is still definitely an easy one.  For her, I need to push her harder to the left, get closer to the fence before asking for the change (because it forces the issue a little bit), and the using a stronger right leg when I change directions.  I often will only ask for one or two good changes on any given day so ask not to force the issue and make one scared or resentful.

For horses that claim they are just as happy doing a counter canter (cantering on the wrong lead, thankyouverymuch), there are a bunch of exercises that can be done to help develop the skills needed.

At the trot, off track the hind end left for five steps, straight for five, right for five. This increases hind end control which is needed for lead changes.Lope left and teach the horse to drift left.  Do the same to the right. That’s the movement in the middle of the arena that can set them up.Lope left lead five to eight strides, trot three to five steps, lope left for five to eight strides, trot three to five, lope right lead.  Repeat a lot over many days.  Shorten the number of trot steps. Sometimes they just decide to finally skip the trotting and change.After building skills, try changing over a log.

The main thing is to just keep building toward it.  Some horses have taken months but with consistent work they will got it, and once they get it, they usually keep get better and better.

Flying lead changes are really fun!  I am looking forward to getting them finished with Gette and Gino!

Happy Friday from Arizona!

 

 

NMBHA Training Show, part 2.

By Patty Wilber

Team Wilber had a really nice time at the New Mexico Buckskin Horse Association Training Show, Part 2!

I was really proud of our people and our horses! Here are some things that stood out to me.

During warm-up, Faith rode Romeo in the main arena in crowded conditions that she does not enjoy.  That was an accomplishment, but even better was the fact that her warm-up was effective! She convinced Romeo to stop breaking for the gate and to pay attention by being persistent and firm. In her classes, Faith hit every lead, perfectly, and Romeo went right where she told him and at the speed she requested!

Faith and Romeo. Yes to loping! Yes to the correct lead! Photo by Mandi.

Heidi used both LT and Lucy in boxing and she rode so intelligently on both horses.  She has gained a ton of cow savvy over the last year.  She read her cows very well, read her angles really well, and rode each horse to its strengths.  Given that the two horses are practically polar opposites in personality, it was really fun to watch her adjust to each.

Lucy and Heidi in cutting. Photo by Nichole Tucker.

Monica and Chexy had a reining pattern with circles that were so smooth and round and balanced!  It was really pretty to see, and also cool because we worked on that since the last show and the improvement was huge!  In trail, her horse loped the poles perfectly!

Monica and Chexy in showmanship. Photo by Nichole.

Patty S. entered many more classes than last show and despite not really loving the idea, she moved out of just walk-trot and entered walk-trot-lope classes.  This week in training, her loping moved forward even more!

Patty S. and Zima in the warm-up arena. Photo by Nichole.

Colleen took over riding Luna in all her classes (I rode her some last show), entered about twice as many classes as previously, nailed all her leads, and she stayed calm and was a brave leader for Luna when Luna got a little flustered. She even got a blue ribbon!

Colleen and Luna in halter! Photo by Nichole.

Christy was felled by the flu earlier in the week, so Gino came to the show but I did not show him.  Nichole T. lunged and ponied him, Heidi lunged him and I rode him over the trail obstacles and around the horses being shown.  He was not as happy as he was last show.  Maybe he missed his buddy Deets! But he has been riding great at home and that boy is a natural flying lead changer, which is a ton of fun to ride.

Gette was much more comfortable with the whole setup this show.  She did not lope sideways while spooking at spectators and did not object to the signs in the stock horse class.  She nailed her walk-trot ranch trail class but choked on her lope-over logs for the open.  She was really solid in all her other classes except boxing.  Her cow was just fine, but we just need more time on cattle!  I was super happy with her!  She is getting decent with her flying lead changes but needs more preparation before asking than Gino.

Gette stood nicely in her halter class! We have been practicing squaring up every day when we unsaddle. Luna standing nice and square in the background! Photo by Nichole.

The team also brought home some hardware as a reward for their hard work!

Faith won highpoint walk-trot-lope youth and Monica won novice horse! NMBHA president, Johanna Dralle presented the awards. Stella Cahal found the lovely buckles and got them ordered for the club! Photo by…I don’t know who! Mandi I think.

Heidi’s buckle! Ranch horse youth. Photo by Heidi I think.

And Faith’s niece is just too cute to leave out.

Charming Nichole. Photo by Mandi.

Next week I am going jeeping in Arizona and coming home just in time for the Paint Horse training show!

Cancer update. I had my second to last Phesgo immunotherapy shot this past Thursday.  They do not cause any side effects that I notice.  I feel great. The end of this month is packed with an echocardiogram in two weeks (to make sure the Phesgo is not damaging my heart…these drugs are so much fun–not–). In three weeks, I have a mammogram, an oncologist appointment, the last shot, and I meet with the surgeon to go over the mammo and the recent MRI.  All this takes up time but I am sure grateful for modern medicine and I LOVE the NM Cancer Center.  The people are great and the service is outstanding.  If I call for anything, they answer and stuff gets taken care of in real time not 400 weeks from now.  It is amazing. I wish all healthcare facilities were like that!

We got a new dog!

By Patty Wilber

Our two dogs are 10 (Coulson) and 11 (Lani), and Jim retired 2/29, so we thought, what the heck, let’s get a new dog…

Jim is partial to German Shepherds, and last week I found a likely candidate at the Valencia County Animal Shelter. That dog was listed as a young female purebred German Shepherd, so we packed up our doggie crew and headed down there for a meet and greet.

I cannot say I loved going to the pound!  All those lovely older dogs begging us to pick them.  It kind of broke my heart.

We finally located the one we came to see.  We were able to bring her outside and she was beautiful.  We thought she looked more Malinois than German Shepherd.  Unfortunately, when we introduced her to our dogs, she was very aggressive, and when anyone walked by, she barked with intensity.  She was really responsive to Jim, but all I could picture was two dead cats, two maimed old dogs and some bitten horses, followed by clients hiding in their cars instead being able to do their riding lessons.

We agreed that she was going to require too much management to be a safe dog at our place. But, there were two sets of puppies that were Shepherdy in appearance.  I brought out one but he did not strike Jim.  Then I looked at the other set.  The first one seemed very shy, which I knew we wanted to avoid.  The second one was unsure but seemed curious, so I brought her out.

She was 11 weeks old and had been surrendered just the day before. Thank goodness she was a surrender because those can be adopted immediately whereas strays have to stay in for three days in case their owners appear.

She was a solid little chunk (almost 16 pounds we found out later when we weighed her) and she was interested, calm, and while not exuberant, not shy, either. Jim really liked her appearance and demeanor, so, what the heck!  We picked her!

Jim and Zuri (she didn’t get her name until later in the day) at the pound. Jim looks pretty thrilled! Zuri looks a little unsure!

We got some hamburgers at Blakes and went to a nearby dog park to eat.  Zuri started coming out of her shell.  Neither Lani nor Coulson were exceptionally thrilled by all her puppy energy.

Lani tries really hard to ignore her. Zuri thinks Lani is great.

Coulson is not showing it here, but he is sooo jealous and wishes we had never found her. Zuri LOVES Coulson and wants to be with him as much as possible.

Zuri, Thursday.  We have had her for six days. She has changed already! One of her ears is standing up!  She is happy, outgoing, inquisitive, and confident.

She has seen the horses, but only from behind a fence. She watched two lessons on Thursday from inside the cab of the truck.

She seems like a good fit!

(The name Zuri comes from a character in a series by Joe Abercrombie, which Jim has read.)

Cancer Update:  My recent MRI was clean!

Happy Friday!

 

The NMApHC Rope Clinic

By Patty Wilber

Last weekend (2-17-24) The NMApHC put on a clinic to help folks improve their rope-handling skills for ranch horse classes.

The rope magician clinicians were Ryan Erikson and Shawn Carrell. Kathryn Erikson ran the “How to Manage Your Space when Dragging a Log” station, and I was support crew for the younger crowd.

Ryan on a warmer day. Photo by Lauren Aston in case you miss the watermark.

Shawn on the right, the header. Also, a on much warmer day! Photo from Shawn’s FB page.

Ryan on clinic day. It was NOT warm.

The clinic was at the Stanley Cyclone indoor arena, and thank goodness because the day started out cold and foggy with a biting breeze, and did not improve much.  Being inside, we were out of the wind, but it was not warm.  My face turned kind of blue and I ate a midmorning snack of a breakfast burrito provided by the Bickfords, hoping, that like in horses, eating would increase my metabolism and warm me up!  I also ate it in the bathroom, which was heated. The burrito tasted good, at any rate.

But back to the ropes. The first session was ground work.  Participants first learned to coil their ropes, then build a loop, and finally how to twirl the loop.  I spent as much time participating as I did helping in this session.  I learned some new loop-building tricks and fixed a problem I was having with twirling (I was not rotating my hand properly).

The girls in my group all caught on quickly and were soon coiling, building, twirling and even catching each other.  Also, despite the cold, I did not hear any complaining.

Addison, Mikayla, and Hadleigh. Photo by Monica!

Mikayla. Photo by Monica!

Hadleigh. Photo by Monica.

Addison. Photo by Monica.

Monica, clinic participant, and grandma to the girls. Mikayla in the background.

The second session was divided into three stations: Rope handling and throwing at a dummy from horseback with Shawn.  Approaching and safely handling a rope for a drag with Ryan.  Dragging the the log without hitting obstacles in the arena, with Kathryn.  I hung with the girls and spent a fair amount of time helping Addison with her horse Eli, who was petrified of ropes.

In Shawn’s session, the riders learned how to hang the rope on the saddle with a rubber rope holder.  Hondo and tail down, loop to the outside.  They learned to approach the dummy in “lane 2” and they learned how close to get.  Then they built a loop while still holding the reins, twirled and tossed.  Hadleigh is just ten and not super tall, so she had to work to twirl high enough above her horse’s head.  He did get whacked once.  I was so fascinated watching and helping Addison with Eli and his fear of ropes that I forgot to take pictures.

Ryan helped them correctly approach a drag and pick up the rope.  He also helped them learn to allow the rope to run through their hand so that if their horse were to spook at the drag, they could let out slack without getting tangled.

How to allow the rope to feed out. Ryan and Mikayla demonstrating.

Hadleigh practicing picking up the rope from the standard.

In Kathryn’s session, the drag was a fairly long log which requires preplanning to get it to drag without hitting the standard or any obstacles one has to drag around. Mikayla’s horse did not want to steer and she really worked at it until she had her horse dragging to perfection. (And, again, no photos…)

Gino also came to the clinic.  I brought him inside to be tied since it was horrible outside and also so that he wouldn’t be out there all alone. He stood tied to the fence near some other horses like a champ without pawing or carrying on.

Gino! Calm and cool and darn cute.

Christy rode him in the sections with the other adults and had him trotting while dragging the log like an old pro.  No photos since I was with the girls, so that’s my excuse on that. I was pretty happy with what I saw, though!

It was a really good clinic!  Thank you Kathryn and Ryan for organizing! Thank you Shawn, Ryan, Kathryn, for running sessions! (And me for my ground crew duties and everyone for not freezing to death.)

Happy Friday!

 

 

The Running Martingale

By Patty Wilber

Three weeks ago, I discussed the German martingale.  This week’s topic is the running martingale, which I actually wrote about once already, calling it a training fork, but that was in 2018…so I guess I can repeat a topic six years later.

A running martingale. The loop goes around the neck, the clip attached to the cinch and the reins go through the reins.

Penny photo bombing and Gette modelling. Gette is past the martingale phase in her training. I always use stoppers on my reins with a running martingale to keep the rings from getting right up on the clip that holds the reins to the bit and then getting stuck. It is not good to have your equipment contribute to creating a wreck, especially with a young horse.

When I first started training, I did not use a running martingale or any training tools on my colt starts, but as I got older (and wiser? or maybe more aware of my mortality?) I reached the point where I use a running martingale on 100% of my colt starts. It allows me some leverage if things go sideways but does not interfere with natural head carriage at all. It also allows me to feel more confident and that helps the youngster be more confident.

It is the case that I do not rush my colts and I rarely have blow-ups, but the last time I got dumped, I was on a young horse that was over for a lesson.  He had no running martingale and waxed reins. The horse lost it and started bucking.  I was in double trouble.  I could not control the horse’s head at all as I had no leverage, and the waxed reins just slipped through my gloves.  In retrospect, I might have been able to ride it out, but as we were heading out of my unfenced arena into an arroyo, I gave up and got dumped.

Waxed reins. Pretty, but not very grippy.

Well, the horse was scared and I wasn’t super thrilled. I mean who is when they hit the dirt?  Also, I had the chemo port in, which is inserted into a major vein (the subclavian which runs along the collarbone). Those ports are super stable, so once it was clear I wasn’t bleeding out or anything, of course I had to get back on that horse.  I didn’t want him to end his day scared.

On went a running martingale with leather reins I could grip, and we rode in the round pen.  The horse was not mean or bad, but he was frightened. He did lose it two more times, but with leverage from the martingale, reins I could hold on to, and a fence I could turn into, I could get him stopped, stay on top, and keep working, which we did until the tension left his body and he could walk along in a relaxed manner.

Usually, I don’t have to go there, but having that tool in place, just in case, is, in my book, a winner for colt starts.

(And speaking of winners, after review, Gette really did win open trail and WT ranch trail at the NMBHA show!)

Cancer update:  The aforementioned port got taken out in October, I have three or four (I forget) more immunotherapy shots to go, and in a few weeks I start on the estrogen-suppressing drugs and will be on those daily for five years.  I get a mammogram and an MRI in a few weeks just to make sure there are no signs of a recurrence and will get those every six months–or maybe just the mammo every six months. I forget that, too.  I have my energy back, which is really nice. My memory skills may be in question.

New Mexico Buckskin Horse Association Training Show Part I

By Patty Wilber

Last year I made it through the first NMBHA training show, but I was exhausted and took two or three days to recover!  This year, though I am still getting immunotherapy shots every three weeks, I showed three horses in multiple classes, helped six riders in multiple classes and went home invigorated instead of on the verge of collapse!  I am so thankful to have my energy back!

Next, I want to thank Colleen Varan. How lucky are we that Team Wilber has our own photographer!?  She says she was sorry she didn’t get as many pics of everyone in the crew as she wanted in her 500 images.  I mean, she did have to show her own horse a little.

Luna. I showed Luna in ranch riding, and stock horse, to help her get over her fear of going into the big arena all by herself.  We had some challenges, but she is braver than last year! Colleen showed her in walk/trot trail and pulled a second place in a large class!

Colleen and Luna, finishing their trail pattern. Photo by Andrew Varan.

Me and Luna in the scary big arena!

Patty S. and Zima. We went to Arizona the other week with our ponies, and now we have sucked her into having a go in the show pen! It was Zima’s first show ever and she handled the commotion without a single problem! Patty learned a few new techniques for trail this week and was able to implement them really well! And she is coming back for the March show!

Patty and Zima! Photo by Colleen.

Monica and Chicadee Chex.  Monica showed in the ranch classes, then stuck it out to the bitter (sweet, she said) end to be in the  “regular” Western classes, too!  Way to go! I am excited for this show season with them!

Monica, #155; me on Gette, Gino standing next to Christy, Luna and Colleen.

Gino. Gino, Gette’s half-brother, is at my house for training.  He was a bit hard to get to focus when he first arrived and has not been a fan of standing still at the trailer, but he is really coming into himself and he is sooo attractive!  He handled the show beautifully and by the end was happily munching hay all by himself at the trailer.  Christy had two strong walk/trot trail patterns on him and placed, pending review.  He was brave in the arena by himself for ranch riding and the stock horse pattern for me, but he felt that perhaps he was overworked.  When I reversed for the last leg of stock horse, which took him away from the gate, he gave a whiney whinny and threw a teeny buck. “i’m sooo tired! i thought we were done!”

Me and Gino. Cool image by Colleen!

Christy and Deets. In addition to showing Gino in trail, Christy also showed Deets in all the ranch classes.  Colleen got this shot!

Gette. Gette had a bang-up day in trail, winning walk trot ranch and open trail, pending review.  In boxing, she stayed focused and quiet on her re-do cow, after nearly being bowled over by two cows boiling out of the gate to start with.  She did not do anything spectacular, but stayed pretty level, got a decent turn or two and didn’t lose her cow, earning her a 4th in a big class. She didn’t like the hay I brought her and dented my pretty hubcaps by pawing between classes at the trailer, and then in the stock horse class with the signs you follow, she did not think those signs belonged, AT ALL, so we had a little spooking going on.  In looking at some photos of her, I was super pleased at her length of stride a the trot, but a little more collection will improve her overall appearance.   A super day for her first show!

Faith and Heidi.

I just love this picture of Faith (near) and Heidi (far), with the two horses totally in step and the two girls talking to each other.

Faith had taken some time off, then came for a lesson on Saturday in the howling wind and ended up being a bit sore on Sunday.  That did not deter her!  She did an especially good job helping Romeo work the gate in trail even though he did not want to.  She was calm but persistent and eventually got that gate done.  She also showed some ranch classes then stayed for those western classes at the very end of the day!

Faith and Romeo working the L. Photo by Mandi.

Heidi brought both LT and Lucy. Lucy was so solid and showed in all the ranch classes. Her boxing run was a thing of beauty! LT only showed in boxing and reining.  She had a really tough cow, but came back to edge Lucy out in reining.  The two horses are practically opposite personalities, so it is fun to watch how well Heidi adapts to each.

LT in reining. Photo by Lauren Aston in case you miss the watermark!

Lucy in her boxing run. I just love her look of concentration, Heidi’s light hand, and how Heidi is right in the middle of the saddle. Photo by Colleen.

I am really enjoying the Buckskin shows.  The prices are great.  The atmosphere is very positive with tough horses performing well. The people are congenial, kind and helpful.

I was super proud of my crew! I am looking forward to the NMBHA Get Ready Get Set Training Series, Part II, Mar. 3, Bosque Farms Rodeo Arena.  The class list is the same as the Feb. show and is posted on the NMBHA Facebook page!

A Trip to Rio Rancho Verde in Arizona

 By Patty Wilber

Last weekend we went to Rio Rancho Verde, a horse camp, in Scottsdale, Arizona with some friends. The facility was all it was cracked up to be, and unlike our trip to the Cold Bore Ranch, last year, the weather was goldilocks (just right).

We drove through snowy rain and thick fog on the way through Gallup, NM and Payson, AZ so were pretty happy to drop down into warmer and drier!

The facility is situated between the Tonto National Forest and the 30,000 acre McDowell Sonoran Desert Preserve. The Tonto is right out their back gate and the McDowell is just up the street, so there is more than enough riding to last someone weeks!

We set up camp with full hook-ups for the Shuert and Kingsbury living quarters trailers and just electricity (so we could plug in our little space heater) for our weekender.  The spots were easy to pull into and the whole place was beautifully maintained. The horse pens were fantastic with automatic waterers that our old guy, Cometa, LOVED.  I have never seen him drink so often!

The horse pens were wonderful. Penny and Cometa are in the middle of the photo.

The Shuert’s got a spot with a deck and a grill and that is where we hung out a lot. They also brought their propane fireplace which was fun to sit around!

After we got set up, we rode out into the Tonto for 3.7 miles.  We avoided the teddy bear cholla and caught a gorgeous sunset!

Patty S and Zima.

Me and Jim on Cometa and Penny. Picture by Patty S. or Amber.

Friday, four of us rode to the Rio Verde.  We got verbal directions from Joe, one of the owners, and Bill turned on his Onyx Hunt to help us verify. Joe told us it would be a five to six hour ride, and he was spot on.  We went out the back gate, down an arroyo to a really big arroyo and took that all the way to the river. The big arroyo is heavily used by off-road vehicles on the weekends.  We rode it on a Friday and it was still pretty busy.  Fortunately, they are really loud and it was a wide canyon in most places, so there was plenty of room for us to get out of the way. Also, the drivers were respectful of the horses and the horses were darn mellow most of the time!

Jim and Cometa in the big arroyo on the way to the river.

Me and Patty in a side pool on the Rio Verde. Picture by Jim.

We ate lunch at the Rio Verde and rode back on the uplands.  I found some pretty rose quartz up there! Bill’s Onyx Map program helped us pick the right Forest Service Roads to get back, but we also had a good landmark to ride towards in Granite Mountain.

We were getting pretty close to the end of the day when we spied other riders, and lo and behold!  It was the Kingsburys!  They had skipped the long ride to the river, so it was a treat to meet them for the last few miles.

You can see all the open land right next to Rio Rancho Verde! That is Tonto National Forest land. I did not turn my Equilab off right way when we got back so the time is slightly off.

On Saturday we decided to go into the Preserve.  The advantages of the Preserve included no motorized vehicles, a nice map, and really well marked trails. We were given some tips by Joe and using our map, navigated a nice loop with some interesting features.  This area had a fair number of cyclists and hikers.  All were respectful of the animals and more than one took our pictures.

The saguaros were fantastical.

Amber and Richard on the short ride to the Preserve. These two big saguaros were fun to ride and drive between!

Me and Jim by the crested saguaro! Photo by Patty S.

Another amazing saguaro. There were also big California barrel cactus and the soft and fuzzy-looking (it is all a ruse) teddy bear/jumping cholla that break off if touched and seem to jump onto one’s person. It takes pliers to get them off because if you try to pull them off one hand with your other hand, both hands get stuck together. We’d had experience with them years ago and steered clear. Richard accidentally stepped in a woodrat cache of them and spent a good amount of time pulling them off of his boots (with pliers).

Amber and Richard leading the way, heading toward Granite Mountain. It is indeed granite, whereas the ride to the river was through sedimentary rock.

Coyote Canyon Trail. Photo by Jim.

Coming around Granite Mountain. Photo by a random hiker!

Again you can see how Rio Rancho Verde is surrounded by riding galore! you can also see Granite (the larger) and Cholla (the smaller) Mountains that we rode around. It was a superb day!

The last day, the Shuerts and Wilbers tried to make a short loop in the Tonto but we misunderstood the directions and kept going up the canyons that ended in fences and had to backtrack a lot, so we did an out and back. It was nice to do a ride before we had to head to NM, so the last day felt like part of the adventure rather than just a long slog home.

We got to the house about 8 pm and this was the first year since we started our January Arizona weekends that we did not come home to snow.  In fact, the weather all week has been great!  The better to get Gino, Gette and Luna ready for the New Mexico Buckskin Horse Association all-breed training show on Sunday in Bosque Farms!

Our crew for the show will have six riders and seven equine, including Patty S. and Zima, who were on the Arizona jaunt.

Zima. Photo by Patty S.

Happy Friday!!