Session One

Time flies when you’re having fun…session 1 finished this weekend, and we haven’t added to the blog since April!  So here’s an update from Jen:

 Staff:   Not putting us first because we’re the most important, but because it will help explain why we’ve been busy.  Kris spent two weeks in Russia, but we still haven’t heard many stories from the trip since she’s been doing a ton of long-distance commuting between Colo and Kansas City for family emergencies.  Dani and I didn’t realize how much we rely on her to do the phone calls/emails during the day.  We couldn’t keep up, so now Kris is set up with a mobile office.  On the plus side, we’re getting more experience in running the office-side of things.  I can find most of the forms needed in the office, my fingers are getting stronger and my typing is getting faster.  I can still talk faster than I can type though.  And Dani and I are even more convinced that a time warp exists at the stables, starting at the driveway.  It seems like we try to do quick chores after work, and two or three hours later we’re wondering where all the time went.  Hannah is now an instructor-in-training, so we can teach her all this stuff, too.  Wonder how she is at typing….

Horses are on pasture now!  The horses and instructors celebrated on May 1 when we were able to move from the “dry” lots to the pasture.  Dani and I got stuck more than a few times in the mud, horses were going crazy because they could see, hear, and smell the lovely spring grass, and Peanut discovered that when it was super wet and muddy he could go to the deepest corner to escape.  He just let himself sink down till the mud was over his knees and waded under the fence.  I should have been suspicious when he had more mud than any other horse.  He can be such a mischievous little guy.  The herd spent their first hour of pasture time galloping laps and eating.  We had planned on keeping them in a small portion so they wouldn’t overeat, but they slipped past me and there was no catching them for the next 24 hours.  Luckily they already had their grazing muzzles on.  The advantage of the time in the dry lot was that they all lost some weight, which they badly needed. The downside of the

dry lot was that even more time was spent doing chores, checking fence, and the horses just weren’t happy.  Just ask the volunteers for the first three weeks!!

Volunteers:  Great job, we hardly had to use the parents as sidewalkers, and things went smoothly thanks to all of you!  I think this was the best session ever, and Dani and I needed all that help.  You have no idea how much we appreciated having everything put away, having help catching the horses, and tacking up.  We have had a great barn crew keeping the arena scooped, watered, and toys in place whenever we needed.  While we’ll really miss Cassidy when she moves we’ve got some great 12 year olds in training as barn managers.  We have volunteer training this Thurs.6-8, and session 2 starts up again on Sat. and the Tue.  Sat. classes are booked solid; we’ll need all hands on deck from 8:30-11:30.  We have a record number of Motion classes (four) with most of the riders needing at least 3 volunteers, some possibly 5 volunteers each.  We plan on having two instructors mount riders, the therapist in the arena, and one instructor dismounting.  It’s going to look similar to a racecar pit crew, and hopefully we’ll be just as efficient.  So if you have any friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., bring or send them out!

Horses:  Shane would like everyone to know that he cantered on cue (and on the correct leads) the first time he was asked.  Not bad for a green-broke 13year old being ridden in a halter!  He is being used heavily this year, since we were limited in the number of horses we could bring out until May and the fact that our herd is now pretty young.  The average age of a One Heart horse was something like 16 last year, and this year (until last Thurs. anyway) it was down to 8.   

Rosie has stepped into Rosa’s hooves as the lead mare; she and Bri were not ready to let a six-year old be the lead mare.   

Bri is next in line in seniority, she can be protective to the youngsters, but they also better know when to behave, or she’ll pin her ears and snake her head at them.  Fjord mares can look pretty intimidating, kind of like being next to a tank.   

Kyle was going to possibly make a comeback, but came down with a mild case of laminitis, so he’s at the Lagers’ and on a diet while he recovers.   

Sofie worked one class the first session, but isn’t sure she wants to be a therapy horse, so she’s at the Lagers’ keeping Kyle company until we have the time and staff available for further testing.   

TJ has been semi-retired this session, and is letting us know that he’s thinking it would be nice to have a stall, treats, and fewer horses to compete with.  He impaled himself on a stick in December, and spent the rest of winter receiving antibiotics and recovering.  He went from being the top guy in the herd to the lowest horse for a long time.  While he’s back to his normal self physically, he still tends to keep himself on the edge of the herd if things are getting too rough during playtime.  Speaking of playtime, I can’t forget our adolescent trio.  Rocky had his first rider (volunteer) last week and did well.  With a few more rides under his cinch he should be ready for work.  He also knows how to cool off in hot weather.  I was filling the water tank when he came up with Misty to grab a drink.  He stood there for a few seconds dripping water all over Misty when-PLUNK!  He dipped his entire head up to his ears into the tank.  He did this several more times, and then discovered another fun thing—he could blow bubbles underwater!  At the end he startled himself when he plunged his head in and slashed water all down his front legs.  What a goof!!   

Misty is Rocky’s buddy when she’s in a playful mood, Boomer’s buddy when she’s in a flirty mood, Bri’s buddy when she’s uneasy, and Rosie’s buddy when she just wants some down time.  She has been down to the arena several times and should get a volunteer rider next session.  Some of our friends in BITS (a driving club) recommended going very slowly with Haflingers, and to treat them like they were half their actual age.  That seems to be working, and we’d rather take plenty of time now and have a good horse working for years than to rush things and spend those years wishing we had gone slower.  

Boomer has been down to the arena several times, and has really calmed down since his mother, Sofie, went back to the Lagers’.  Sofie just wouldn’t let him play with the other horses, so now he’s having a blast and learning how the herd structure works.  He’s had a volunteer across his back, but again, we’re not going to rush things.  Misty and Rocky are his buddies, and they can be real pests when we’re out working in the pasture.  Everything is edible, and they like the attention they get when they grab the tools as soon as we put them down.  Life is just one big game right now.  Eat, sleep, play, and maybe have a few min. of work every week. 

 We have two new horses that arrived on trial last Friday, Missy and Buddy.  They are both aged Quarter Horses (in their 20’s) and former 4H horses used by one of our volunteers.  Buddy, a sorrel gelding, has already worked a Motion class with a four year old on board.  His rider was way more comfortable on him as he is narrower than our other horses.  Two of our advanced riders walked right up to Buddy and wanted to know everything about him and if they could ride him next session.  So while we’re still getting to know him he’s already got a fan club.   Missy was tested by our volunteers acting as sidewalkers, leader, and rider.  She’s doing great, and we plan on assigning a rider to her next session.   

Finally, our mighty minis:  Peanut is still our Nutty buddy.  He came down with laminitis two weeks ago after he removed his grazing muzzle overnight.  Nothing looks as miserable as a sick mini.  We caught him before any serious damage was done, but he and the other minis now are in a diet pasture.  The weather just hasn’t done us any favors in the laminitis prevention department this year.  All of our horses (with the exception of Missy and Buddy) are what are known as easy keepers.  They don’t need grain, but give them too much rich sugary grass and they can be in trouble.  We have to keep a close eye on them when we switch pastures or if there is a sudden cool, wet period that promotes fast growth of grass.   

Anyway, Peanut and Dandy are rather disgusted with the new arrangement.  Peanut has always been kept with the big guys because he knows that he is a big horse, and Dandy had just learned that he could boss around some of the big horses, too.  And now they’re stuck together.  Dandy and Peanut have had a few shoving matches, and I think Peanut was in shock the first time when he was rump to rump with someone his own size instead of rump to knee.  For the most part they get along well, just have to figure out who is boss.   

Miracle is our wonder pony for stopping helmet meltdowns.  He will patiently stand next to a screaming, kicking, crying kid without batting an eyelash and let us put a helmet on his head.  All three minis were used in session 1 since we were short on riding horses and long on riders.  Many of our goals can be achieved using minis, and some things are easier to teach with a mini.  And besides, they’re just so cute! 

Misc. Stuff:  Look for the minis at the Miniature Horse Fun show on Sun. June 13 at the Marshall County fairgrounds.  Since Special Olympics doesn’t have a class for non-riders, we are attempting the Fun Show.  We aren’t going to be in the show business, but thought this might be another activity our non-riders could try.  It’s kind of an experiment, so we don’t expect to come home with ribbons and trophies, but we do expect to have a ton of fun.  Peanut will be in the obstacle class and at this point we’re thinking of having Dandy in Showmanship.  He has more time and experience in the show ring than me and my student put together, so having an old pro should help steady my nerves.  But then again, I’m the Designated Worrywart for One Heart, so maybe we’ll throw Peanut in.  Stay tuned…

And finally, we brought a class down to Wildwood Hills Ranch in St. Charles for a real trail ride (no leaders or sidewalkers) or hayrack ride with Mr. Lynn (aka The Cowboy Guy) and his team of black Percherons.  We didn’t get many pictures, but we’ll have to blog about that later.  It was a great, awesome, and hated to leave experience.  But when Lynn says that we’ll have to ride in the pasture because the trails are too wet, I’ll think twice before I say that we’ll ride in the pasture even if it’s drizzling.  Forgot the flat area that I was calling a pasture is a hayfield, and the pasture is a hill that is classified as a mountain in Story County!!!  Dani and I were in ouch mode the next day while teaching class.  And the food!!!  Like I said, more to blog about later.  Many thanks go out to the Wildwood Hills Ranch staff who worked hard during a crazy hectic time to make this possible.  The riders loved it, and the One Heart staff so needed it!

So that’s a little about the last 8 weeks.  I don’t know if anyone missed reading the blog, but I figure I’d better get things going.  If nothing else it’s one more thing off of Kris’ To Do list.  Besides, it’s more fun to type about horses than it is to clean my house!   

--Jen