Rosie is attached to me much more intensely than the average horse. That is wonderful in many ways. When I do work with her on her driving or lead her away from the other horses, she never even looks back. She is so happy to be doing something with me and has an "Nah Nah--mom loves me best!" attitude about her.
But, I'm noticing that Rosie's attachment to me is detrimental in some ways. Obviously I can't be with her all the time. Don't get me wrong--She's not a nut case--she can stay by herself in the pasture and barn alone or with Jerry and she is fine. But, when she leaves home, she has to ride in a horse trailer--and I have to drive the truck. She can't fit in the back of my SUV like my dog (although, maybe if she hunches over, lol). She is perfectly happy to walk in the trailer and will stand quietly--as long as I am in there with her. The second I leave, she is pawing, anxious, pooping, peeing, sweating, whinnying.
I had surgery on my knee two years ago. I couldn't go out to the barn for a couple of days and had my trusty teenager friend, Michaela, care for the horses. Rosie was OK for the first 24 hours, but after that she paced the fence line looking at the house all the time. I went out on the porch and talked to her, but that wasn't good enough. The second day, I asked Michaela to set up some lawn chairs on the path to the barn. I figured I could walk out with my cane, stop and sit along the way, but eventually make it there. And I admit, I was having horse withdrawal too--you know how it is when you are used to touching horses every day and suddenly ... don't.
I hobbled out to the barn and thought that Rosie would be happy to see me. She met me at the gate as always, but she behaved as if it wasn't any big deal. Hey, I hobbled all the way out to see you, you ungrateful little runt! But I know she was happy to see me because she stopped pacing the fence. I still only walked out once a day for the next few days, but she was fine as long as she saw me that much.
May of 2017 I went on my first vacation since I've owned Rosie. I'm generally a home body but I had an opportunity to go out to Colorado and Wyoming and had a great time. I called Michaela to check on things after the first couple of days. "Rosie won't warm up to me. She walks away when I try to pet her." Sigh ... I hadn't thought she would do that because she knew Michaela and previously had been comfortable with her caring for her after my many surgeries and when Michaela helped me around the farm. But, it was different this time--I was no where in the picture ... not even talking to her from the back porch or hobbling out and visiting her once a day. When I returned, she was depressed and kind of "out of it" acting. It took her 24 hours to get back to herself. The difference was dramatic.
So, that attachment is great because she lets me do anything to her, trusts me when I do training with her, and is just plain fun to be around because it's so clear she loves me and wants to be with me. That is so special that I can hardly put into words how great that feels as a horse person. Where it is difficult is when I need to trailer her, leave for vacation, leave her tied to a trailer or in an unfamiliar stall at clinics or events. When she is in unfamiliar territory she wants ME.
I'm going to do more things with her to increase her confidence and show her she can handle the unfamiliar even if I'm not right there--I'll tie her somewhere safe and walk a short distance away and come back--approach and retreat in reverse. I did that with her in the trailer last evening and that didn't go well. She never seemed to get much better. So maybe it's best to stay away from the trailer because she already has a bad association with being left inside the trailer. Maybe neutral turf is a better idea.
Rosie is doing great with her cart training. I hitched her to the cart by myself the second time and led her around without any problem whatsoever. I'm waiting for my new adjustable cart footmans loops to arrive from Patty's Pony Place in Canada. I can't hook up the breeching correctly until I get them. The footmans loops on my cart are placed too far back for the breeching to work properly. Once I have them I can start ground driving her without worrying about controlling the cart when I have her hitched--I've been worried about the cart running up on her without the breeching so I have to be right beside it to grab on when we stop. Should be soon. I'll post a pic of her hitched. She looks absolutely adorable!!!
Babe is doing well but she has her usual wet-weather scratches problem on her white hind pastern. I have a lime-sulfur dip solution that I mix up and apply 3 x week and it helps, but really nothing will make them go away until the weather dries up. She is just prone to them and all I can do is keep it from getting worse. At least the dip keeps them from spreading. She's had them so bad before that she had to take antibiotic tablets and I had skin scrapings done and consulted with the dermatologist at Cornell vet school just to make sure we were treating her appropriately. It loves her and hangs on for dear life. She's healthy, not immuno-compromised ... she is just prone to picking it up, probably from the soil when she gets a cut or scrape.
Jerry ... oh Jerry ... he is such a peach. That little guy's goal in life is to always be a good boy and never rock the boat. He's so easy. He just looks cute, behaves like a prince, and puts up with Rosie all day. He's in his 20's and I'm glad I can give him a good home in his senior years.
I better knock on some wood when I say this but I haven't had a body part break in over a year--this is a record for me since this all started in 2011-ish. I'm thinking of trying to ride again. I LOVE the mini's and they will always be in my life, but I really do miss riding. Especially trail riding. I've never been one to want to ride for hours and hours or ride fast, so I'm thinking I might be able to work myself up to easy 1-2 hour trail rides, which will be perfect. I'm really hoping my body can handle it. Hmmm ... What do you think??
Unfortunately, while my body was falling apart and I kept hoping to ride ... eventually, Babe's knees were becoming arthritic. Now when I think I can try riding again, *she* is the disabled one and is retired to the pasture. She does fine out there where she can decide how much she wants to walk, but I think it would be pushing it to ask her to carry a rider and go on my terms. She definitely couldn't do the hilly trails around here safely and comfortably.
So, my attempt at returning to ride will take some planning sans my trusty steed Babe. My first plan of action is to get in better physical shape, lose weight, and get stronger. Riding when my body is weak and out of shape is likely asking for an injury, or at least for it to be painful and then I'll get discouraged and disappointed. After I feel I'm stronger, I'm going to hunt down a place to take casual riding lessons or find someone with a beginner-type horse to start out with. I want a very safe horse and someone to guide me along when I start out. Things aren't what they used to be in my riding world, so I have to be smart and thoughtful about this if I want success. If riding lessons work out ... then it's time to go horse shopping.
I'm excited about the possibilities. Life should be pretty interesting the next few months! Stay tuned!!
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