Keil Bay's response to yesterday's blog post

Had to come report the Big Bay's reply:

This morning he is in Salina's stall, looking at the back door, which I have open because I'm doing some cleaning and the weather is nice, whinnying at the top of his lungs.  Once. Twice. Three times.

I think I know what it is he's saying. :)

first day of spring is officially here

And it has dawned colder, grayer, and much less spring-like than yesterday. So I'm going with the thought that at least here on November Hill, yesterday was the first day of spring.

It was sunny and warm without being hot. I spotted one fly but there are notably no carpenter bees out yet, which makes me wonder what winter weather we might still have in store. The carpenter bees seem pretty savvy about calling it correctly.

I woke up yesterday determined to get in a leisurely groom and ride with Keil Bay no matter what else had to go undone to make it happen. After breakfast tubs I let him eat a little hay in the barnyard while I did a few small barn chores, and then brought him to the barn aisle. He's shedding now, and his winter coat is holding on to all the dust he's packed in by rolling, so I went at him head to tail with four different combinations of brushes and curries. This felt so good to him he licked and chewed and soft-snorted with great satisfaction.

He requested a sheath cleaning and got one. He requested an under the tail cleaning and got one of those too.

He got a face wash with a warm wet cloth and even loved that!

I was happy to see healthy hooves, even with the on/off saturated ground we've endured the past two months.

Since I forgot to bring out his sheepskin saddle pad, we rode with the one dressage pad that happened to be in the tack room (I keep them inside after washing). It was the first dressage pad I bought when Keil Bay came to live with me, and it is as soft as a rag now - no tears or damage but so soft it doesn't stand up at all at the withers. I use it as a cover for his saddle when I'm washing the actual saddle cover.

But I figured it would be a good test of current saddle fit - and of general back comfort on his part.

We had a long ride at the walk with a little spontaneous trot thrown in by Keil once we'd warmed up. For the most part it was wonderful. There were no noticeable issues. The wind gusted a little as we went into the arena, but it was no big deal. Keil was soft, alert, and warmed up into a really beautiful stretching walk. We did changes of direction across the diagonals, a few 20m circles, a few 10m circles, serpentines, and just a little bit of leg yield. Everything felt terrific.

Sometimes when we ride at just the walk the entire time it feels like we're not in the arena but traveling together, on a journey out in the world someplace, alone with the landscape. There were birds singing and squirrels rustling and we watched and listened and walked on and on. The way I imagine it might have been before automobiles, when people traveled on horseback.

The only question being: do we travel well together? And yes, we did. 

I was happy to see that the saddle pad didn't slip at all, and the dust pattern was balanced and even from front to back and side to side.

Most of the ride we were kept company by the handsome chestnut Cody, who stood with his head hanging over the arena fence, his eyes on us the entire time. I considered getting his halter on and letting him pony along with us, but knew he'd get his own ride later in the afternoon. It felt like he intuited that we were indeed "traveling" and wanted to be with us along the way.

It was one of those days, not unusual, where I kept noticing how handsome the Big Bay is, how expressive, how cooperative, how perfect. And on this first day of spring I feel again that I'm the luckiest woman in the world to have this horse as my equine partner.

I sure hope he feels the same about me!

connecting with horses via the heart

This week I tried something new. While standing with Keil Bay a few days ago, as he hung out in his stall after breakfast instead of going out to graze with the rest of the herd, I blew softly into his nostrils and waited for his usual response - he blows softly back.

An idea popped into my head. As I stood in front of his stall door, and he hung his head over, I focused on my heart beat and on his, meditating on the two synchronizing and beating together.

I was just playing around, as I do, to see what happens. I had no idea this little exercise would be so powerful.

Keil became perfectly still as I did the meditation. After about 20 seconds, he let out a long, soft breath, and then became still again. Each time I purposely allowed my mind to drift from its focus on our heartbeats, he nudged me gently until I re-focused.

We did this for about 5 minutes, and then I gave him a big hug and walked away to do some chores, thinking he would head out to the field. A minute later, he was whinnying at the stall door for me to come back. I did, and we did the heart meditation again, with the exact same response.

He actively wanted to continue doing this exercise, not leaving the stall and calling me back when I left him.

Yesterday I tried this again with both he AND Salina, but from a distance, 10-15 feet away, when they were otherwise occupied and not interacting with me.

As soon as I focused on our heartbeats, both of them would stop, get still, and then turn to look at me. And then they both lowered their heads slightly and began to lick and chew.

I also tried it with the pony in a grumpy pony moment and he pricked his ears forward and then he too licked and chewed.

It's St. Valentine's Day today, with all kinds of focus on love and hearts and romance. My husband and I will go out to dinner to celebrate, but the main focus around here will be exploring this new technique with the November Hill herd.

Heart equines, all.

February

With all the crazy weather we're having lately (70s one day, a few days later ice and temps in the teens, high winds, etc.) there hasn't been much riding going on around here. I've been trying to keep horses and donkeys comfortable, clean, warm, and happy, with all the usual help from my dear daughter and husband. 

Salina has been really wanting to be back with the big boys the past two weeks, and we've compromised by allowing her some turn-out with the entire herd each day. This give the donkeys a chance to go off duty and have some wild donkey fun - usually the two of them running like mustangs all over the farm, making metallic sounding squeaks that sound like machinery of some kind and not two little donkeys.

Salina is bossing the pony and hanging out with Keil Bay, and occasionally shifts allegiance over to Cody for a bit. Usually by the time her next meal is served, she's ready to come back into her paddock and barnyard, and the donkeys are just as happy to come with her.

As you can see from the photo, the kittens are growing up. It happens so fast! They are now trying out all the possible sleeping spots in the house, fitting themselves into spaces probably not quite meant for cat naps, which seems to be a major criteria for cats choosing favorite spots. Pixie loves this pot, and she might as well enjoy it now, because she's going to be too big for it soon enough!

I woke up feeling off today, so am hanging out on the bed and watching the horses outside my window. And reading. And playing on the iPad.

For anyone who loves reading and books, head over to Jordan Rosenfeld's blog every day this month. She's counting down the days until her novel, Forged In Grace, comes out, and celebrating with a literary quiz question or two every single day. The winners get copies of different books every day. This Wednesday (February 6th) the winner will get a copy of my Claire Quartet collection. So far, the questions are fun and the giveaways are great! 

Here's the link to go play and win: Jordan's blog

Happy February! 

at liberty with the Big Bay

Keil Bay was so caked with mud yesterday I went out earlier than usual thinking it was going to take longer to get him clean. Just as I went out the back door he was at the water trough giving himself a shower with his hoof, which basically re-constituted the mud and made a real mess halfway down both sides and the saddle area was drenched!

I decided we would just focus on the grooming and see if his back dried off by the time we finished. In the midst of the grooming it became clear he needed his sheath cleaned, and since the temp was in the mid-60s, and we're looking at several really cold days this week, I figured we'd just go ahead and do the full spa treatment.

He was fully cooperative with the sheath cleaning but once I finished that and the first once-over groom, he untied himself two times, indicating he was ready to be done. But I wanted to get every tiny chunk of mud off, and still had his hooves to pick, so he had to wait me out.

When I finished it was just starting to get dusky out. We went for a quick walk in the arena and I found that daughter had left the lunge whip out there - she'd been free lunging the pony - so I took Keil's lead rope off, picked up the lunge whip, and asked him to walk on.

He was incredible! He used the entire arena to walk, using the diagonals to change direction each time so we were working both ways exactly equally.

After he'd warmed up at the walk, I did two trot steps and he lifted his back and went into his gorgeous floating trot. We alternated walk/trot for awhile, and then I did two canter steps - no response - but when I called out can-ter! he did a lovely transition into the canter and did this beautifully many times in each direction.

By the end he did a bit of gallop with a big buck thrown in going both ways, and then we did a few more walk/trot/canters each way and finished up in the near-darkness.

I don't do this a lot with Keil, but it was such a joy to see him move and feel his energy as he transitioned up and down at my request.

When I took him out to the front field he didn't want to leave me but stood there after I removed his halter and kept his eyes on mine. "Go on and have your hay with your buddies," I said several times, and finally he did.

There's no walk from the barn aisle to the barnyard through the gate to the backyard and into the house better than one that ends a good time with the horses and donkeys. And that's just about every single time I take that walk, so I'm celebrating today. I'm lucky I get to be part of the November Hill herd.

herd dynamics: jealousy in July

Last week I was doing barn clean-up while the horses were in with their fans and hay. Our usual routine during this time of year is to rotate the three geldings one at a time through the end stall on Salina's side of the barn - in the afternoon I close the sunny end of the barn and that stall feeds to the grass paddock at that end - so each gelding gets an afternoon to himself, the other two geldings get to share the three stalls on their side of the barn, and everyone gets a little change of routine which seems to keep them happy.

Since Salina's pressure wound is still healing (it's much better but she has had to regenerate skin tissue over the hip point which is taking time) and she is on limited night-time turn-out, I like giving her that entire side of the barn so she can have her choice of stalls, barnyards, etc. The donkeys stay with her at night when we bring her in, so it gives them more options as well.

Keil Bay and Cody have become extremely close buddies over the past year. They've always enjoyed grazing together, but this year I've noticed that Cody enjoys going into Keil Bay's stall and they stand in there and nap together during the hottest part of the day. It also effectively shuts down the pony's favorite thing to do - which is run Cody out of whatever stall he's in, and take over Keil Bay's stall, which makes Keil really angry. (this was why I started rotating them to the other side of the barn, to give each one a break from the pony!)

But when Cody and Keil Bay are in one stall there is no room for the pony to squeeze in. He can't chase Cody out if he has to get past Keil Bay to do it. And he can't horn in on Keil's space if Cody is already in there.

I had to laugh when I witnessed this new dynamic. And I noticed that the pony and Redford had become grazing buddies - Redford goes through the fence during the day to head out and graze with the pony. But for whatever reason, maybe just because the pony and Keil were the first "pair" to live here together, Apache Moon has not given up trying to get that best buddy spot back.

The day I was seeing all this last week was also a day when I rode the Big Bay, and while I was tacking up, he and Cody had a mutual grooming session over the stall door. I noticed the pony watching this closely - and then he came into Cody's stall and chased him out, right at the time when Keil and I were heading to the arena.

When we got back to the barn and I put Keil in his stall, Apache was watching and waiting and managed to beat Cody in there.

But instead of being bossy and taking over Keil's best fan spot, Apache started a very meticulous mutual grooming session. He was so obviously doing his best job, using his lips and teeth gently, moving up and down along Keil's neck (which he has to reach up to do) and paying close attention to what Keil Bay wanted. It was only a moment before Keil reciprocated and the two of them stood there for nearly half an hour.

Cody was in his stall looking left out.

Salina was by this time in her stall getting her first lunch. When I let her out, she took one look at the pony taking over Keil Bay (he is her favorite too), marched briskly to his stall door and started flagging. The pony lunged at her from inside the stall. She didn't back up, but she had to turn her head to keep clear of the pony's bared teeth.

Apache had lured his best buddy back and he wasn't letting even the boss mare stop him.

I admit, the next day I let Keil spend the day with Salina on her side of the barn, with both stall doors open so they could intermingle as they wished. Salina got a full body bath and we soaped and sponged and sprayed all her favorite spots. The donkeys were happy to go out with Cody and the pony. And Keil Bay and Salina got some senior time together.

I'm still fascinated by the connections they each make and how they reconfigure as needed when they feel the bonds being shifted.

As an aside, Keil and I had several nice rides last week. The nicest thing was how absolutely good my body felt in the saddle. We walked, did a little sitting trot, and for the most part Keil Bay led the ride. He found a nice figure 8 pattern using the entire arena and when the sun came out from behind the clouds, he headed for the shade offered by one or the other of the big oak trees. I rode on the buckle with one hand on the reins and enjoyed my relaxed body and the Big Bay's lovely stride. It was another of those days when it felt like we were back in time, riding because that was the way one got from one place to another.

Right now Apache Moon has come to my window to remind me that yes, it's time for breakfast tubs!

And this just in, research on Monty Roberts' round pen training method.

I'm not a fan of training methods that use the "make something so unpleasant they do what you ask" pressure - it's not anything I'd want anyone using on me. Certainly does nothing for developing a relationship built on partnership, and this research seems to address that aspect of this kind of training.

bald-faced hornets and heat waves

Popping in briefly to share what I think is a fascinating example of how the larger ecosystem of November Hill works.

After a mild winter, in spite of using fly predators and fly strips and doing all the things one is supposed to do to reduce flies around the barn, we were still seeing what I consider a lot of them.

We used Summer Whinnies for Salina and Keil Bay as needed, liberal amounts of my summer of 2012 fly spray concoction, fly masks, and even with all this, I still felt there were just Too Many Flies.

Suddenly we noticed a new face around the barn.

These bald-faced hornets were around the barn doors, inside the barn itself, and although they didn't feel aggressive to me, we researched them to find out what we were dealing with.

As it turns out they are considered quite docile in terms of hornet personality, and I found several mentions online of these hornets hunting flies. So when I went back out, I started observing. Indeed, they were in the barn hunting flies. We decided to let them stay and see what happened.

A week later, in spite of rain and heat which usually make the number of flies explode, my sticky fly strips are nearly empty. The Summer Whinnies are in the tack room, clean and ready but not needed. The horses are happy and not fussing.

And the bald-faced hornets have moved on. I saw two yesterday.

We hoped to find their nest, but thus far haven't found it. These nests are pretty stunning to me, and I'd love to see one:

Now that the hornets are gone we're dealing with the heat wave that seems to be affecting much of the United States this weekend. Yesterday it was 101.8 in our barn aisle, and needless to say, we're doing a lot of cold hosing, feeding extra salt in the feed tubs, and keeping a close eye on all of us as we move on with routine during this extreme heat.

It is day two of a five-day wave, and we're moving slowly, taking our time with chores, keeping cold drinks in the barn, and of course doing no riding. 90 degrees F will seem like a cool spell after this!

Hope all are faring well as we move into July!

two new hanoverians on november hill!

Sorry - I could not resist that title!

The two new Hanoverians are Keil Bay and Salina but wearing their bright white summer whinnies really does make it look like we have new horses out there. Four white stockings each adds some flash and of course the real purpose for the whinnies is that they are super at keeping flies off the legs.

I went into full scale battle this weekend, hanging more sticky strips, putting out a trap with attractant, and also gratefully getting the latest batch of fly predators in the mail. This is when I wish I could hire a huge crew of frogs to come in and feast for a long weekend, effectively wiping out the entire adult fly population on November Hill. I would pay them well!


We had a huge rain yesterday afternoon and things cooled down quite a bit. This was writing weekend, so I've been editing like crazy and enjoying the company of D. It was an all-writing, no-marketing weekend and just what we both needed right now. Sitting on the front porch while the rain pelted down was like a tonic - and this morning we had gray skies and a nice cool breeze which extended the effects of the rain and cooling trend.



I was thinking tonight that I might get my version of the geldings' "sport cut."  I'm feeling like short hair, at least for a season, might be a good thing. More on that if I actually go through with it!


I was going to say that I hope all are staying cool - but all are not yet dealing with the heat ... so ... hope all are happy, healthy, and enjoying May.

another week on November Hill

Last weekend we finished the last of the April birthday celebrations - April is our biggest birthday month here, and we have ages ranging from pre-teen to forty-something as a result! Lots of good food and green grass has been consumed.

I started this week with an early morning chiro and massage appointment - a rarity as I almost never schedule anything in the mornings that requires me to leave the farm. It's just too hard to get out of the driveway before afternoon. But this was all the massage therapist had so I took it, and once I got in the car and set out, I enjoyed being out in the world and on my way to something useful and nice all at the same time.

I've been struggling with changing my daily routine around, and this early appointment helped kick-start that process a bit.

On Tuesday Moomintroll (fanciful polydactyl feline) went to the vet and we discovered he is suffering from hyperthyroidism. We're relieved to know what's going on (ravenous appetite, weight loss) and will be starting treatment soon.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I did my last day of barn chores in the mid-day time slot. At two p.m. I was in the bottom of the front field, it was 90 degrees out, and I had a moment where I wondered if I could even make it up the hill to walk through the barn aisle and into the house.

Today I started the summer season routine: get up an hour earlier, get dressed, and have coffee in the barn. I did barn chores with the herd around me in the still shady barnyard. By the time the heat set in they had eaten, were munching hay in clean stalls they picked for themselves, with fans on, clean water in their buckets, and doors open so they could find the cool spots as the day progressed.

I've been hanging water bags in the barn openings this week, an experiment to see if they help with barn flies, which we seem to have more of than usual. I have double+ the amount of fly predators coming every three weeks and although we don't have the black clouds of flies I've seen in some barns by any means, we have more than our usual share.

I'm not sure yet if the bags are helping - of course I muddied the water by hanging sticky strips up too! But I did get lots of assistance as I perched precariously on the stepladder with string and bag and the need to hold on to something and only two hands. The handsome and helpful Cody came and stood by me so I could feel his neck against my hip. He helpfully nudged each bag to make sure it was secure after I hung it. And he gave his seal of approval to all so that no one seemed the least bit concerned by bags of water hanging every foot or so along the back shelter.

I was in by noon today, feeling quite chipper and eager to get the a.m. riding piece in place so I can start the day with one of my favorite things. 


Which brings me to this question: has anyone used the Cool Medic vests? I'm thinking about getting one and would love to know if they stay cool - as opposed to feeling warm and soggy after the first few minutes. If you know, please share!

too much to write about this week!

The chiropractic work was wonderful. Salina had one big adjustment and several small ones, but she pretty instantly felt relief after the big one. It was as usual quite impressive to see how big a difference our chiropractor can make in only a few minutes' time.

Cody had a few small things going on.

Keil Bay had a few things - notably his right pelvic joint. Notable because it's usually his left. Just like it's usually MY left. But when I went to the chiro myself in May she found that in fact my left was fine - it was my RIGHT that was rotated. Once again Keil Bay and I align in the same ways. :)

Keil as usual was in bliss within moments of the doctor's arrival. When he came into the barn aisle and she put her hand on his back, he lowered his head, closed his eyes, and started licking and chewing. BEFORE she even did anything. He knows what's coming and when she'd done about half of her work on him, he turned his head to her and licked her hand.

Yesterday was the biggest and best day of the week because we had a very special birthday here. Rafer Johnson turned FOUR years old! I'm sorry I don't have a birthday portrait to share. My camera is broken and it's just been crazy busy here this week so I haven't had a chance to get husband or daughter to take one. I have delayed the birthday treats - it is so hot and so miserable out I feel like we should wait until the heat breaks to celebrate properly. But Rafer got to bring Salina and Redford into the back yard to graze last night and tonight, and I noticed that Rafer helped himself to some cherry tomatoes from the veggie garden.

It's so hard for me to believe he is already 4 years old. He remains a soulful, intellegent, loving donkey who never fails to bring not just a smile but a deep sense of peace and contentment to my days. Happy birthday, Rafer!

Redford celebrated by making a very clear and intentional jaunt down the lane to the cul de sac. I ran for halter and feed bucket but by the time I got to the driveway with them he and husband were already back, with just a lead rope around his neck. He is an adventurer but a sensible one.

We had hoof trims today and it was brutal in the heat/humidity. All I want to do is get through these next few days and the weekend and get back to the low 90s again!!

There is absolutely no riding going on here in this heat. I wouldn't ask a horse to wear tack or bear weight in these conditions. We're hosing and keeping them as comfortable as possible. And hoping for a break.

Hope everyone is staying cool and taking care of your horses!

busy week in the heat

Of course the week we have the chiropractor coming out and then the trimmer the temps decide to skyrocket. My favorite way to spend the very hot days is with nothing at all on the agenda.  And now the weather forecast has these high temps stretching into NEXT week.

Hopefully as July rolls out, a more moderate weather mode will roll in. At least that's what I'm focusing on right now!

The reward at the end of this week is going to see the movie Buck in my favorite theater - it's an old one, in a very horsey little town, and assuming I make it through the heat wave all week, I'll be spending an afternoon browsing tack shops, consignment shops, getting chicken salad at the ice cream parlor, and seeing what sounds like a terrific movie.

I'm sure I'll be blogging about Keil Bay and his chiropractic appointment. Salina and Cody are on for one too, but it's Keil Bay who will swoon when he sees one of his favorite people coming to the barn. I've been telling him this was on for the past month. I'm not sure he believed me. So I can't wait to see his face. Keil Bay LOVES getting adjusted!

pony pony pony!

I had an entire blog post ready to write about how the pony, who is trying hard to step into the role of herd leader, and is a good example of everything we humans DON'T want to do when joining with our horses. He is bossy, pins his ears at the other horses, sneaks into their space and then tries to bully them out of it, has no qualms at all about nipping at them or shoving them with his nose or hind end, and basically, this summer, has been a huge pain in the you know what to his herd.

I've been watching him, curious about his methods, which in some ways remind me of humans engaging in bossy, demanding, I want to make you do this just because I CAN kind of behavior.

The real herd leaders here, Keil Bay and Salina, each have their own style of leadership. Salina tends to be a bit more punitive than Keil Bay, but all she really has to do to assert her role is to flag at the geldings and generally, they listen.

Keil Bay is incredibly benevolent. Although he will sometimes lunge toward one of the horses he usually behaves like a good friend. He will share his stall, his tub, his hay pile, and he is highly sought after by each of the other equines for company.

When I look at the herd it's Keil Bay I would most want to emulate. He has a presence that is based in respect and his good nature.

So of course today the pony shifted gears. It was his day to be on the near side of the barn. Instead of barreling in and stirring up Salina, he cheerfully went to the end stall and stayed put while I served breakfast tubs. He joined me as I carried out the empty tubs, doing his best to help clean them out.

He came up to help as I was cleaning water troughs, standing with me as I worked.

At one point when he decided to walk through the barn aisle, and was in fact halfway through the barn doors, I called out "No, Little Man, don't go through there. Stay over here!" He stopped, backed out, and walked a few feet away to graze.

Did he intuit my negative blog post and do a 180 just to throw me off track? Did he turn over a new leaf? I have no idea. I do know he was very happy to have his turn on the near side of the barn, and Keil Bay and Cody were so happy they stood together in Keil's stall on the other side and communed in the peace of three open stalls and no pony.

We were all very happy that the temperature was in the mid-80s yesterday and today. Next week when it hits the triple digits (why oh why did I look at the 10-day forecast?) we'll see how the Little Man's cheerful demeanor holds up. Today though, I enjoyed having a painted pony who seemed quite content with his role in the herd.

unrest on the hill

We made it through the July 4th craziness with not much fanfare (on the 5th I had to make a drive up the lane in my pjs to stop some very late night fireworks and was helped by a sudden thunderstorm that rolled in out of nowhere), but have had lots of little chores to do here this week that have taken up all my time.

Salina has been going crazy with a very badly placed tick bite (the bite itself happened over two weeks ago) and in the process scraped up the wrinkly flesh right between her hind legs. I'd been washing it and gently scratching it for her each morning, using a calendula tincture which had helped it to heal. I realized late one evening when she went out that she was backing herself into our reclining bonsai pine tree and using a section of dead branches to very indelicately take care of that itch! We spent that evening pruning the pine tree of all its dead branches, cleaned up a few other trees, and ended up with a fairly large pile that needs to be burned. Which we couldn't/wouldn't do yet because of the dry landscape.

I was afraid she would back into the pile itself and get tangled up, so we rotated the herd to the front field. She immediately went into the copse of trees up top and found a new place to rub on - I had visions of her impaling herself so she had to stay in with the donkeys that night as it was already dark and we couldn't see to prune!

That area got taken care of yesterday so she was able to turn out as usual last night.

We've had rain Tuesday night, rain yesterday during the day, more rain last night - it's finally starting to catch us up to where we need to be for grass to grow again. But between fireworks on Tuesday night, thunder and lightning several days in a row, us pruning at odd hours, and Bear Corgi going on a wild chase last night in the dark, the herd has been stirred up.

Our wildlife neighbors have been stirred up as well. Yesterday I heard a crow cawing while I was doing chores in the barn. Cody was standing in the end stall nearest the house looking out so I walked to where I could see what he was looking at. The crow - I actually think it was a raven because of its size and the shape of its beak - was perched on the fence post right by Cody's back door, looking and cawing. Cody seemed to be communing with him. If I'd had my camera, it would have been a fabulous photograph!

Later in the evening I saw a doe and tiny spotted fawn right by the fence line. They didn't run, but stood so I could see them. The doe seemed too small and young herself to have a fawn. Husband said maybe the deer herd who share the property around us are having a teenaged pregnancy issue!

It's been a bit of a hectic week here.

I'm declaring today the official end to unrest on the hill. It's time to get back to the lazy days and nights of summer!

a few little odds and ends

I'm home from my writing workshop and was of course drawn immediately, even before my tire tracks crossed the November Hill property line, back into the whirlwind of activity here on the hill.

First, Salina had a middle of the night accident of the very scary kind, scraping around and right up to the edge of her remaining eye. Both upper and lower lid were swollen, and I was frankly ready to call the vet. But it was evening, she was eating and drinking just fine, the scraped area had been cleaned and protected by a clean fly mask, and I decided to implement my eye routine and wait for morning.

One dose of banamine, then alternating doses of arnica and symphytum until bedtime, plus a thorough rinsing with an herbal eye rinse containing calendula, goldenseal, and eyebright.

Limited turn-out with her donkey boys in the grass paddock and barnyard.

By morning the swelling was almost completely gone and now we are very close to being back to normal. The scrape is scabbing and she has not missed a beat eating and drinking. She's still on limited turn-out just because I'm being extra careful. It's fine with her, but the donkeys are getting a bit stir crazy and both went on a little donkey adventure yesterday and today to break the monotony.

In other news, Dickens now has a battle wound - a split ear that has healed as fast as he got it - and the pony is walking around with his own personal flock of birds again. Everywhere he goes, they go.

We are in need of rain, on the one hand, but on the other, there is no grass to speak of and so these easy keepers are doing fine without the sugar.

My first sugar baby watermelon appeared to be ready yesterday. I picked it, chilled it, and then we cut into it. Alas! It was not yet ripe. But equines got a nice treat and even Keil Bay, who would not touch the melon, enjoyed smelling it as I doled it out to the rest of the herd.

We have made a dent in the fly overpopulation using plain, old-fashioned sticky strips. Between those catching the adults and the fly predators targeting the larva, I think we're getting back to a manageable number at this point.

One of the barn fans lost a blade, fortunately encased in the cage of the fan, but according to son, it sounded like machine-gun fire going off in the barn, and when he got out there all equines had abandoned the vicinity and were waiting for help turning the hideous noise off! He unplugged the one fan, replenished hay in mangers, and they went back in without fanfare. This is one reason I would never leave them closed in without one of us in earshot. And while I wish they didn't have to deal with a broken fan on a hot day, it did relieve me that they simply vacated the barn and stood calmly while someone fixed the situation. 

The summer solstice came and went as I sat by a rushing mountain stream working on Fiona and the Water Horse, book two in the Magical Pony School series. My hope is that the heat and dry weather so early in the season means we are in for an early and long-lasting autumn season.

Meanwhile we are considering doing a rain dance and finding ways to stay comfortable. After we make it past the fourth of July and the possibility of fireworks, it's one long slide toward my favorite season.

horses, baths, and field maintenance

It seems like every time I go out to ride lately I end up bathing a horse. Or two. That's what happened yesterday when I went out to ride. Salina came and stood by me, I looked her over, she seemed itchy, and since it was a warm day with a warm evening predicted, I shifted gears and bathed her.

She stood and stretched her nose forward, enjoying every moment of her bath. I used a very soft-pronged curry in one hand, soapy sponge in the other, and ended up removing about another half-pound of shedding hair. The bathing part is actually not what takes the time - it's the rinsing. I'm not sure why, but she seems especially hard to rinse - the shampoo seems to really cling to her coat and skin. Fortunately she loves being rinsed, so after a moment's difficulty when Keil Bay sauntered down the grass paddock and she was determined to go with him, I just dragged the hose and finished her rinse under the holly tree.

We got into it together, the sound of the water, the flow of suds off her back and down her legs, the cooling. Even when Keil got bored and led the herd back up to the barn, through the aisle, and across to the big barnyard, Salina and I stood entranced and connected by that stream of cool water.

I was still planning to ride, but when I got to Keil Bay, he too seemed itchy. In his case, he had a few ticks attached in the groin area, and he was fussing (by walking away) each time I tried to get them off. So I got his halter and a lead rope and we went to the bathing area for his first real bath of the year. Keil likes being bathed too but he is very nudgy as he tries to pull my arm with the hose to different parts of his body - do this part, do that part - mostly he just wants me to hose right beneath his jaw, but carefully so he doesn't get sprayed in the face.

Yesterday, though, he stood nicely while I sponged and did tick removal (easier with soapy hands and skin), rinsed him thoroughly, which took about 1/4 the time it takes to rinse Salina. You're done, I told him, but he followed me to the barn where he clearly expected to be treated for his time. You can see with Keil Bay how the expressive horse gets rewarded for being expressive, and thus it blooms into even more expression.

All through his bath he kept presenting his muzzle to me to be kissed, and when he comes along to the feed/tack room and stands patiently, it's absolutely impossible for me to not give him a handful of something. Yesterday he got a handful of alfalfa pellets for my interrupting his grazing to get bathed, and then he got a handful of oats because... well, just because he asked and I love saying yes to the Big Bay.

By this time it was dusk and I still hadn't checked and refilled water troughs.

With springtime and growing season there are many more chores to be done.

The week before last I cleaned and dragged the arena, last week I mowed buttercups, this week it's rotating/dragging fields, and the next big thing to do is weed-eat.

And grooming gets more detailed. Brushing, bathing, checking for ticks, dealing with biting pests, and managing the heat... all this is partly why spring is NOT my favorite season. But right now it's still more my favorite than this long, cold, wet winter we just came through!

On another note, we have a certain kind of cicada emerging right now by the dozens. They are everywhere, and anywhere there isn't a live cicada, there is the shell of one. These are like no cicada I've ever seen - they have golden wings and red eyes, and resemble little insect demons. Is it a coincidence that the leaves, every single leaf, on the squash and cucumber plants are now simply gone? All that remain are stems and blossoms.

May! I can't quite believe it but it's here.

the craze for the green has begun

Every spring we hit the day when the day/night temps get close enough together that I deem we can open up the front yard to the equines. We usually wait until the sun is down and then turn out in groups of 2.

At least two weeks ago the equines were asking for this to happen - lining up by the fence outside my bedroom window, hoping someone would come take down the tape so they could go through.

Finally, yesterday, it happened. Salina knew it before anyone even took the tape down. She started walking and then trotting and then PIAFFING in the paddock, whinnying so loudly she signaled the mare across the lane, who began to whinny back.

Rafer Johnson got so excited he let himself into the front field (currently off limits), and Redford began to pace along with Salina.

When my husband opened the tape up, Salina went into her biggest, most ground-covering walk down the hill, followed by two trotting donkeys. Keil Bay, who had originally been slated to be one of the first pairs, was allowed to go ahead and make it a foursome. He started into the barn aisle at a big walk, but emerged out the other end in his floating trot.

At one point he had so much grass crammed in his mouth he gave himself a coughing fit.

They got 25 minutes on the very thick, lush grass.

Meanwhile, Cody and Apache Moon were absolutely certain there had been a huge, devastating mistake. Somehow they had been forgotten! They proceeded to gallop at full speed up and down the paddock, then incorporated the back field into their circuit. They galloped, bucked, spun, trotted, and generally did everything they could think of to get our attention. Just about the time they ran out of steam, it was their turn to go graze.

Last night, around 9 p.m., the moon was shining down on a painted pony and his handsome chestnut friend, and from our front porch the only sound was the tearing of grass and the lovely, satisfied chewing sounds of two equines in heaven.

quick update on Spalding Fly Predators

I just spent at hour plus on the telephone with Larry Garner, who works with Tom Spalding to run Spalding Labs - the company that has supplied fly predators to November Hill since 2005.

When I received an unsolicited Parelli catalog in the mail last week, I was concerned when I got to the last page and found a two-page ad for Spalding Labs, who I feared might be endorsing Pat and Linda Parelli's work.

Many readers might remember my pledge to investigate the companies I do business with and vote with my credit card when it comes to companies endorsing riders, trainers, and/or training methods I feel are damaging to horses. The hard part of this pledge comes when you learn a product you love is in some way affiliated with a rider/trainer you can't abide.

I emailed the company on Sunday and received a quick email response yesterday (Monday) from Mr. Garner, who said he had tried to call (they had our old phone number in my account info, my fault for not updating!) and would I please call him to discuss my concerns.

Today I got around to that - he was on another call but someone (Crystal, a very nice woman) corrected my telephone number in their system and said that Mr. Garner would call me right back, which he did.

He was very candid and said that they have entered into a one-year advertising experiment with the Parelli company, purchasing advertising in the Parelli materials. He said that the Parellis have used Fly Predators for years and were thus interested in selling advertising to Spalding. Mr. Garner said in that sense, by paying for advertising, they are "supporting" Parelli, and he does not want to try to mask that fact.

He went on to say however that they are not endorsing Parelli or the work the Parellis do with horses. He asked what I had seen that brought me to my conclusions about the Parelli training methods.

We had quite a long discussion about horses and training and ethical concerns. Mr. Garner has lived with horses for 50-odd years and he described some of his own ways of working with them to me. I didn't ask permission to share those, so I won't, but I will say that what he shared matches what many of us have shared in blog posts and comments. I shared some of my herd stories, we discussed various issues in the world of high-dollar horsemanship, including round pen work, dressage, 3-day eventing, and more, and by the end of the call, I felt assured that Spalding Labs is in the business of providing non-chemical means to control flies for horses, other animals, and people, and that they are not in fact endorsing any horsemanship methods at all with their advertisement in the Parelli catalog.

I appreciated the honesty, and the sincerity of Mr. Garner's statement that they want to keep my business, and that they also want more horses to enjoy non-chemical fly control.

In addition, they are staying abreast of the latest in fire ant control via a kind of fly currently being studied by the USDA. At some point if this fly is approved for introduction in the US, we may be able to order fire ant predators as well.

Mr. Garner kindly put a hold on my 2011 order, as I requested in my email Sunday, so that I could talk with him before this year's shipments started. I asked him to release the hold and send the fly predators out asap.

If you have any concerns about the Parelli advertisement, I encourage you to contact Spalding and ask to talk with either Tom Spalding or Larry Garner. At this point I am comfortable continuing my relationship with the company (for which I have only ever had excellent service AND results) and I have a feeling Mr. Garner will be looking for some Parelli videos to see for himself what I described in our conversation.

Salina turns 28 - we celebrate her spirit and her wisdom

This weekend Salina is having her 28th birthday, and helping me begin a series that looks at living with the senior horse.

The lovely Salina came to live with us when she was 23 years old. Late one night I was browsing online and came across a photo of her. The moment I saw her face, her slight tilt of the head as she looked directly into the camera lens, I thought "therapy horse."

Salina is a black Hannoverian mare who was imported from Germany as a brood mare. She has one white sock and a very fine crescent star. Salina also has one eye, and when she came to us she had fairly severe arthritis in both knees. But with regular but light work, no stalling, and some supplementation for her joints, she was able to teach us a few things about riding before we retired her completely at age 26.

Salina carried us through our first dealings with a hoof abscess. She taught me about mares and that being centered in my own body and self is the key to success when handling her. She taught me about mirroring and partnering and how both horses and people as they age can have bad days, bad weeks, and that there's nothing wrong with moving slowly when you need to do so.

Salina is why we were led to Rafer Johnson and Redford. She taught me to listen to my gut when dealing with the vet. Sometimes what I know about my horses is more relevant than the vet school knowledge. She taught me about the power of the maternal instinct, and on a daily basis now, she is my partner on November Hill, keeping her eye on everything in the neighborhood, pricking her ears to show me where to look when there's something I need to see.

Salina has come to my bedroom window in the middle of the night to wake me up when something was amiss. She stood by Rafer Johnson's stall when his leg was broken and kept him company, and in my opinion, her presence is why he healed so quickly.

Salina soaks her own hoof when she has an abscess brewing, takes hand signals from her blind side, whinnies a beautiful song in concert with Keil Bay for breakfast, and constantly mirrors the humans around her.

Salina led me to learn more about equine nutrition, and she taught me how to properly give paste wormer and other medications from tubes. She has done more to lead me in the right direction when it comes to working with and living with horses than all the books I've read, all the lessons I've taken, and all the geldings put together.

Salina has been a therapy horse. She has guided a number of clients through stuck places. But even more than that, she has been my therapy horse, my teacher, and my guide into middle life. There is no way a tray of home-made horse cookies and some apples can acknowledge all she gives to us here on November Hill.

Over the next few weeks I'll be working on a series of posts about some of the things I've learned as a result of seeing that late-night photo and making the decision to bring Salina to live with us. I'll also be writing about the difficulties of living with such a beautiful spirit as she moves closer to the end of her life. It's very possible Salina's next big lesson for me will be teaching me how to say goodbye to a wise and wonderful and magical goddess. It won't be easy, but I know it's a lesson I have to learn.

Happy birthday, Salina. We are so incredibly grateful for the years and the lessons.

two new series starting tomorrow

I'm not sure if it's spring that's pushing me to organize, or if I'm being taken over by the "series Borg," but lately I'm thinking of all my blog posting in terms of themes and ongoing posts that relate.

On the November Hill Press blog I'm doing a series on The Writing Life. It's about writing, of course, but several people have emailed me to say they think it is applicable to all artists and to life in general, so even if you're not a writer you might go check it out and see if it appeals.

I have put the mystic-lit blog on hiatus because I felt I couldn't keep up with three blogs at this point.

And in an effort to corral my helter-skelter posts here on camera-obscura, I decided today I am starting two series, at least for a few weeks, to see how it goes. I will inevitably end up posting other stuff too but the series will keep me more focused than I have been lately.

The first one is a series on living with the senior horse, and all the issues that come with that. Salina's 28th birthday is tomorrow and I'm becoming keenly aware of time passing for her, and of the ways in which her journey is informing my own. I want to write about this because I need to make some sense of it for myself. There are ways in which it is both difficult and transformational, and I want to focus on exploring those ways.

The second series is completely different. As I've been writing about at least weekly, spring is here for many of us, and for others it is on the way. I am getting far too caught up in farm management tasks and want to get caught up in riding the Big Bay (and Cody) instead. For the first several years we lived here, I had riding lessons in our arena at least twice a week. I rode 3-4x/week and sometimes daily. The past two years I have seen a huge decrease in my riding time. Some of that has had to do with physical events - injuring myself doing a yoga move (opening the root chakra is nothing to mess around with, believe me!) and falling down the stairs two different times. It also has had to do with the death of my father, which put me in a very cocoon-like state in a lot of ways, and also focused my attention onto my own aging process.

This year I have felt more physical changes than I ever have. I know some of them are related to aging, but some are related to not riding as much. And it's time to take that last piece OUT of the equation.

So - I am going to post twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, using a series title I have not yet come up with, but it will be a post reporting on my rides during that time period. I'll do a little report on what I did, how it went, what was best about the rides, and what I want to do during the next ones.

But! This isn't a series of posts about me riding - it's also about anyone who wants to participate in this with me. I invite everyone to post about your rides during that time frame. You can elaborate or if you already blog about your work with horses, use the comment as a way to check in and feel free to link to your posts on your own blogs.

And if you don't ride, you can also feel free to check in about something you are doing that is meaningful and important and that you're putting into a prominent place in your life by making sure you DO it regularly.

I think I need a little camaraderie. Sort of like what I got from riding lessons being on my calendar twice a week. But free. And online.  I think I might call it Lessons in Riding.

Whatever it ends up being called, I hope you'll join in the conversation.

springtime and horses and chores

I spent some time yesterday raking out a number of compost piles in the front field. The horses have rotated to the back full time now and while the front field rests I'm getting all the compost mounds spread out, doing some fire ant patrol, and hopefully cleaning up some branches that need trimming and clearing. I also need to rake up the sweetgum balls and the pine cones! I do a few swipes a day and am making slow progress with that method.

We had a big rain last night after several very warm windy days during which our county was on a wildfire alert - and I just had a weather alert pop up as I am typing this saying that tonight we are having a frost alert! It is never dull here when it comes to weather changing suddenly.

This morning it is beautiful. Everything is clean and sparkling, and I've already done muck duty so can now go back out and finish my compost spreading. The grass grew overnight - it always amazes me when we get a rain this time of year and the grass literally shoots up behind it.

I went through the back field earlier this morning, cleaning it up a bit as the herd finished breakfast and came out to have hay. There wasn't much mucking to be done back there as they were in last night due to the rain, but before they came in, they must have had a big party with the jumps. Every jump was knocked down, the trot poles were all askew, the flowers on my jump standards were torn apart, and the pinwheels were tipped down.

Everything is back in place now.

The carpenter bees have notched down their wild kamikazi flying a bit and there are increasing numbers of butterflies wafting by.

On a different note, I am seeing flies, and the pines are beginning to shed pollen, which means water trough duty is going to get more rigorous again. It's time to start tick check too.

I wrote on Facebook this morning that as much as I love the rhythm and routine of seasonal farm chores, rotating the horses and donkeys, and working on the pastures, I must have been a farmer in a past life. A friend noted that she thinks I'm one in THIS life, which made me laugh.

When I get one of those cute little blue tractors with all the attachments and a three-bay shed to park it all in, I'll officially declare myself a farmer. Meanwhile I'm just channeling some farmer energy a few hours a day.