Cash and Companions and Herd Dynamics

When I first moved Cash from his wonderful home with a herd of 6 or 7 other geldings to the solitude of the acreage, I was concerned that he would be unhappy.  I contemplated this for months before moving him but decided to do it anyway, maybe he would be OK with being alone.  He was NOT OK with being alone!  By about day 4, he was fed up and let me know as much by running, grunting, bucking, grunting, kicking, more grunting ... just generally carrying on like a madman.  I was a bit concerned for his safety actually, thought he might try to climb the fence out of desperation so I kept him confined in his pen which made him even more crotchety.

As luck would have it, my niece was going on holidays at about that time and I was asked to look after her horse while they were away.  So Cash was reunited with his old partner in crime, Benji, and boy, was he excited!  It took all of 5 seconds for them to remember each other.  Then Cash took a look around, realized he was now in the open pasture, galloped full speed to the west, realized "oops!" there's a fence in the way, BRAKES BRAKES!!!  Unfortunately for Cash, it had rained the night before and the grass was super slippery ... he left skid marks in the grass for about 30 feet right up to the fence!  Yikes!  But he got stopped in time and without missing a beat, spun around, ran off in the other direction and hasn't looked back since.  My niece and her family returned from vacation and dove straight into harvest so Benji has stayed with Cash for a bit longer than intended ... but they're not complaining!

About 2 weeks ago, I was contacted by someone looking to board a horse in this area.  She came out to have a look, she seemed nice, she liked the place.  So now her gelding has joined the herd.  And I'm kind of excited to have someone to ride with!

This is Doc ...

So the million dollar question was who will be the alpha?  No matter where Benji goes, he is always in charge.  No debate. At their old boarding farm, Cash was Benji's right-hand man and when Benji left, Cash assumed the role of head honcho, had a pretty big head about it actually!  The word on Doc when I knew he was coming is that he is a bit of a big man on campus.  So, three rather dominant horses in the same pasture.  For a bit I wondered what I had gotten myself into!  But Google reassured me that with a logical plan and some supervision, the herd will sort themselves out.

So for the first day, Doc was alone in the pen while Cash and Benji roamed free.  Doc wasn't happy but put some hay in front of his face and he seems to forget his worries. 

The second day, Benji was in solitary confinement while Cash (the less dominant of the two) and Doc got acquainted.  Benji wasn't happy but Cash and Doc seemed to come to an understanding fairly quickly: Doc is in charge, Cash was OK with that. 

Today, Benji got to rejoin the group, I wasn't quite sure how that would shake out since Doc's true colours are starting to show.  There was some kicking and squealing and pinned ears with Cash as the "buffer" in the middle but it wasn't long before they trotted off to the far end of the pasture to graze for the day.  Last I checked, there was peace.

I'll probably be repeating this process again next week when I bring home my new horse, Cruize.  I am quite excited about it!  I believe that Cruize is quite passive and won't challenge the leaders so the transition will (hopefully!) be easier.  My belief/hope is that Cruize will be easier to ride than Cash  and will serve as a confidence booster which will help me work with Cash more effectively.  And he's just a beautiful horse in his own right that I expect I will enjoy having.

Overall, I am enjoying the herd quite a bit.  I drive out there at least once a day to check on them, take care of their needs, say hello, mess around with them if I have time.  Cash, being my favourite, is loving the attention and his big attitude is coming back down to a manageable size and his friendly goofy personality is coming back.

And just one last funny picture: Lilly the contortionist.  She was being a nut case and I was trying to work so I confined her to her crate for the day.  When I found her this way I literally checked if she was dead or alive or what!  Turns out she was just napping ... and perhaps a little bit of protest at being crated.  Phew!  That's my silly Lilly hehe.

 

The experimental "time audit"

“Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don’t rent them out to tomorrow. Do you know what you’re doing when you spend a moment wondering how things are going to turn out with Perry?

You’re cheating yourself out of today. Today is calling to you, trying to get your attention, but you’re stuck on tomorrow, and today trickles away like water down a drain. You wake up the next morning and that today you wasted is gone forever. It’s now yesterday. Some of those moments may have had wonderful things in store for you, but now you’ll never know.” -Jerry Spinelli-

 

So I've been doing a little experiment this week that I’ve dubbed a "time audit".  Basically I have kept track of every minute of my day to see where exactly I spend all my time.   I don't have all that much on my plate these days and yet I have a perpetual laundry list of things to do (including the laundry!), I never seem to get any of those things done, they pile up, I get tired, the list remains long and overwhelming.  I just don't seem to have the time.

Or do I???

This time-tracking experiment has been a bit of an eye opener.  Only took a couple days to see a pattern developing and its one that I'm not terribly proud of: I waste A LOT of time. I'm a procrastinator.  I'm lazy.  I lack focus. I sleep far more than the average person and I work far less than my bank account requires (the subject of another "audit" and a blog post for another day.)  I was already aware of some of these bad habits but the surprising part was how much time all those less-than-productive activities consume in a week!  And how little time I actually spend on the things that make me happier and healthier.

“Dost thou love life?  Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.”- Benjamin Franklin -

In my younger days I worked a full-time job (plus OT when there were deadlines, which was pretty much all the time), took University night classes, played volleyball 2 or 3 nights a week (plus tournaments/parties on weekend), went on the occasional date, had a decent social life and for the most part, nothing was suffering too drastically.  Fast forward 20 years ... not so much ambition these days.   I'll save the pity party for another time because pity-parties are in the less-than-productive waste-of-time category ... the exact thing I am trying to banish.

“She worked her toes into the sand, feeling the tiny delicious pain of the friction of tiny chips of silicon against the tender flesh between her toes. That's life. It hurts, it's dirty, and it feels very, very good.” - Orson Scott Card -

Ironically, on one if my aimless YouTube surfing sessions a few months ago, I came across this video about proficiency of a new skill in 20 hours rather than the oft quoted 10,000 hours to master it and just yesterday I watched this  one about language learning.  I am a bit of a learning junkie (luv the TED talks ... but they're a double edged sword for chronic procrastinators like me!) so the idea that I could become proficient at something in 20 hours is kind of novel and exciting ... but who has that kind of time???  Turns out that I have at least that much time!  Every week!  The time audit spreadsheet says so!

“We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.” - Maya Angelou -

One of my many "to-do" lists is my "Life's to-do list" (aka a bucket list) and one of the items on that list is to "become a polyglot".  I've always felt a bit sheepish that I am not fluent (or even conversant ... or even anything) in our other official language.  I've signed up for Spanish classes several times but the only phrase that stuck in my little brain was, "dos cerveza por favor!"  I took Arabic language classes when I lived in the UAE and although I spent far more than 20 hours (more like twice a week for an entire year!) I was barely an advanced beginner.  And despite my best intentions to continue on with my Arabic learning, its pretty much gone.  So when I saw this little gem at the library yesterday, I had a light bulb moment:

My next experiment: learn French.  And at the same time, channel all that time spent (wasted!) into something I can be proud of.  So je parle français in 20 hours or less? Mais non ... but its worth the time and effort to try!

 

“You're only given a little spark of madness.  You mustn't lose it.” - Robin Williams-

Footnote: I haven't yet decided what category blogging falls into yet :-( For now, I'm calling it "recreation".

Assorted pictures of the creatures

... and a test of uploading pics from my phone

 Deisel and Lilly chillin' on the cat bed.

 Cash is my new best friend, follows me around when I'm doing chores! Kind of a big suck for luv these days.

He's just checking if the grass is greener on that side haha

Kitty has two beds, access to my big queen-sized bed, a perch by the window and even her very own office chair ... and yet she chooses to snooze in a cardboard box?!

No pictures of Cruize, Stache or Snuggles yet.

MSAR Photos

I managed to steal a few pictures from the article in the Medicine Hat News about our MSAR ride on Tuesday. 

These are the only two that I am in (I think? Kinda hard to tell, its very far away):

That's Cash and I on the right (I think I remember when that photo was taken.)  As I said, the scenery from that trail is awesome, we were right along the South Saskatchewan river.

Cash and I are second from the left, I can tell because we are way taller than everyone else! haha

With a little bit of breathing room since the "run-away Cash" incident, I think it is the right thing for me to bow out of the group until I am a better rider and Cash is a more seasoned horse.  I would rather leave by my own decision than put the organizers in the uncomfortable position of having to ask.  Hopefully I can still be on good terms with the program and the door will be open for me to rejoin when I am better prepared.  I may still volunteer to do other things for the group (I can scoop poop with the best of 'em!)

Mounted Search and Rescue (mis)adventures

I have been a volunteer with SEASAR (South-Eastern Search and Rescue) for the past 2 years and it is a very worthy organization to donate time and energy to.  I have learned so much from the training and from other members on a whole range of skills that I never would have attempted otherwise (for example: who knew that knot tying would be so difficult!)  Luckily we don't get many call-outs for actual searches so we mostly do training, community service, fundraising and the occasional mock search to stay ready.  This year is the first year for a mounted/equine search and rescue team so naturally, being the aspiring 'horse whisperer' that I fancy myself to be, I want to be involved!

Last night was the first ride I have been able to attend with my gelding, Cash.  He and I had a little disagreement last year in which I ended up in the dirt and since then I have been slowly trying to regain my confidence.  Its coming but its nerve wracking at times and frankly, I get intimidated by him more easily now and he knows it / plays it!  We did attend the "bomb-proofing" session where I lead him through the obstacles and the "scary stuff", he did very well at that! 

This ride was an eye opener in some good ways and in some not so good ways:

Good:  I left in plenty of time so I wouldn't have to be rushed.  I was quite nervous about the whole thing, wasn't sure I should be doing it.

Not so good: As it turned out, I did not arrive early.

Good: Cash was awesome to catch when I went to get him.  He likes to play the "you can't catch me" game.  But when I take away his "gelding shield" the game is less fun and he submits much more easily.

Good: I am getting more organized for these outings regarding the trailer, what tack I need, what my search pack needs, driving with a trailer in tow and not panicking anytime I need to back it up.

Not so good: We were conducting our mock-search excercise on a public trail and a guy on a bike came up behind us quite quickly and was not terribly sensitive to the horses.

Good: I couldn't get Cash turned to face the biker quick enough and he spooked a bit as the guy whizzed past.  But it was not a huge spook, just a hop and some fancy footwork.  Since I knew it was coming, it was manageable.  We also passed dogs and a lawn mower and crossed a wooden foot bridge, he wasn't afraid of those.

Not so good: Long story short, my saddle was not placed correctly and when I tried to dismount on the trail towards the end of the ride, he hopped sideways (which is unusual for him.)  Instead of heeding the warning, I tried again to dismount but this time I was nearly off when he hopped and I fell the rest of the way.

Good: I now know the consequences of poor saddle placement and will be more careful of this in the future!  And I wasn't hurt ... except for my pride.

Bad: After I came off, Cash took off and was not about to be retrieved easily (his favorite game!) which was really a dangerous situation for the other riders.  Luckily some of them managed to corner him (albeit along a barbed wire fence!  It was a bit hairy!) and I was able to get him back under control.  We were nearly back at the campground where we started so I elected to walk him the rest of the way.  The reason I was dismounting was to avoid what I perceived to be a dangerous situation coming up ahead and instead I caused an even bigger one :-(  I was embarrassed and humbled but it was a valuable "teachable moment"!

The situation I was trying to avoid was two Arabians in a pasture right next to the trail.  I suspect they were stallions because they were absolutely gorgeous animals and on our first pass, Cash spotted them from a long way off and was extremely interested to the point where he was acting kind of studly himself, arching his neck, prancing.  Cash can be dominant but as far as I know he is properly gelded.  I got off and walked him past the Arabians and on the way back, I was trying to be proactive and get off again to avoid a 'confrontation'.

Good: Of all the places that could have happened, that was probably the best one could hope for.

Good: The run-away Cash incident would have been much worse if I had been using split reins.  Thankfully I had decided to use my closed reins.

Not so good: I had my truck and trailer keys on me and my cell phone in my back pocket.  In hindsight, that was really dumb!

Good: My phone stayed in my pocket (although it started ringing at the exact moment I was running after my runaway steed!)  Another astute rider happened to see my keys laying on the ground (Phew!  I kinda need those!)

Good:  I feel like I made the right judgement call by dismounting when I felt trouble was looming.  I probably looked like a loser walking so much but I honestly think it is better to do that than to risk an accident (even though that particular incident didn't turn out that way.)

Good: Cash did not poop on the trail :-)  Since we were in a public area, we had one gracious volunteer following us on the mountain bike who was scooping up behind us.  She deserves a medal for that sh!tty task!

Not so good: Cash has decided he doesn't like to load into the trailer again. 

Good: Another SAR member asked if she could work with him to get him loaded for the ride home (cuz I wasn't yet winning that battle!)  I was a little skeptical and rattled and tired by that point but I begrudgingly handed him over.  She was amazing!  I learned so much just watching her in those few minutes and I have to say, once he was securely tied off inside, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, everything else from then on was easy.  I was very thankful and a little sheepish for my resistance to letting her try.  I may have another option for riding instructor now, she obviously knows a thing or two and is eager to share!

Neutral: My super light synthetic saddle doesn't fit Cash.  Not even close :-(

Good: My knees sometimes hurt when I am in my big clunky roping saddle for too long.  Yesterday that wasn't the case (possibly because I got off and walked quite a bit.)

Good: Overall this training ride (mini-mock search) was really well organized ... with the exception of some ambiguous wording in the email that sent some of us to the wrong starting point.  Once that was sorted out, everyone seemed to enjoy it and I got to know a few more of the other members.  For the most part the other riders were patient and supportive with this "newbie".

Good: For as much (or as little) as Cash has been ridden this year, he actually did pretty well.  I am quite sure that my nervousness was making him nervous.  There was a lot of new stuff, people, horses, etc. and his reactiveness was not over the top (except when we first encountered the Arabians.)

Harsh reality: I am still too green to be a productive mounted search and rescue team member.  And Cash's natural tendency is to be antsy and forward so I'm not sure he will be the best candidate for MSAR.

Good: I now have a much better idea of what kinds of things I/we need to work on in order to make the grade and what the expectations are for this group.   

Good: The weather was fantastic!  The mosquitoes were minimal.  The views from that trail are spectacular (I did not take pictures but the SEASAR website might have some I can use).

I debated about not going last night, it is foolish to take a horse that's hardly been ridden into that situation. But another member convinced me to give it a try, take it slow, see how it goes.  Cash and I went on several rides last summer and he was pretty good on those so I know he has done them before and done OK.  I'm glad I went and my colleague was really good about looking out for me as best she could!  I learned so much and I challenged myself which I have not done much of lately! But I will have to see how much progress we make between now and the next training ride and then decide if we are ready for more challenges (assuming we are not asked to not come back.)  Although the training rides are a good place to learn, I felt I might have put the other riders in more danger than I intended.

I was pretty calm and 'together' through the whole evening, I didn't show my nerves and anxiety, not even to myself.  But on the drive home by myself in the dark, all the stress that I had obviously been holding in just came bursting through.  I was tired and humbled and weepy ... but not sad.  I had succeeded in getting out there and doing it, for whatever that's worth.