Snowy Fell Ponies at Willowtrail Farm

I’m sure glad I worked six ponies yesterday because today the weather dictated something different.  Prior to this week, we were at 67% of normal for snowfall and 50% of last year.  For us that means two feet instead of four, and we haven’t been complaining since last year we felt like there was nothing to do but plow snow, shovel snow, or rest from doing one or the other.  This year I’ve been enjoying having more time and good weather for ponies.  Today, though, I had to say hello to winter.

We got somewhere between seven and nine inches; it’s hard to say because it came in with so much wind that in places there was no new snow at all.  Earlier this week, we got five inches, so we’ve definitely made up for lost time, which is probably a good thing since hay prices tend to be affected by snow pack.  These have been the biggest storms we’ve had since November, which just demonstrates how mild this winter has been.

Sleddale Rose Beauty hiding in the shed

I kept thinking that the storm would blow out, and I would be able to work a pony this afternoon.  But when another wind gust hit the house full of snow at 2pm, I resigned myself to the task before me that I was avoiding:  house cleaning.  When I finished my time running the vacuum cleaner, the sun came out and I was able to snap some photographs of snowy ponies.  But by the time I put the camera away and went back out for my reward, snow had begun to fall again.  Nonetheless, I jumped on Mya the Wonder Pony and rode down the driveway.  She was very patient with the snow pelting us in the face.

I’ve probably lost my round pen.  It had just gotten good footing again; we plowed it two weeks ago, and that made it very slick.  About four inches of snow is perfect for footing, and I had that for about four days.  But with this week’s foot, we’ll be back to slogging or slickness of we plow.  No worries; I hear we’re due another storm Saturday night, so footing will return.

Willowtrail Liberty

The ponies, of course, have been quite opinionated all day.  My stallions have been very busy running about, and my appearance with hay has been met with enthusiasm by all my hooved friends.  As is unfortunately usual, the storm did finally move out at sundown.  The skies have cleared, and it has dropped below zero, so the ponies will be happy to see me in a few minutes when I go out for bedtime feeding.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, so I’ll look forward as I go to bed to working several ponies, after I shovel a little more snow.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2012

Sitting on a pony's back for the first time is always a special thrill for me. Note that when we start moving, I'll be wearing a helmet.

I am fortunate to now be working with my third licensed Fell Pony stallion.  This one is my homebred four-year-old Willowtrail Black Robin, and this week has been especially rewarding because I’ve sat on his back each day.  For me, it is always a special thrill to sit on a pony’s back for the first time.  I won’t start asking him to move with me on him until I’m confident that he’s okay with me being there and that he’s listening to me.  We’re very close to that point.

As I’ve worked with Robin, I’ve been reminded of working with my first stallion, Midnight Valley Timothy.  My friend Doc Hammill, the workhorse clinician specializing in gentle horsemanship, commented in a phone conversation the other day that so many horses he sees are inattentive.  That word started bouncing around in my brain, and I began seeing where my ponies demonstrate inattentiveness when I’m working with them.  Then, recognizing that I have some responsibility here, I noticed when I’ve been inattentive, too.  I have found that stallions especially are very observant and notice when I’m not focusing my attention on them, so they then become inattentive as well.

For a good portion of Midnight’s first year with me, when he was still not mature enough to ride, I walked him to pasture each morning and back each night.  Looking back I was very strict on these walks about not letting his gaze wander or his attention be distracted by other things and not letting him play with the lead rope or get nippy.  I circled him if he wanted to speed up, and I disengaged his hindquarters if he got too rambunctious.  When things got really exciting, I backed him down the road to our destination.  At the beginning and usually in the morning when he was hungry, it often took us twice as long and at least twice as many steps to get to pasture, but over time we developed a solid relationship, and he became well-enough behaved that I felt confident taking him to a stallion parade where we demonstrated our on-line skills before an appreciative audience.

Today Robin and I turned a similar corner.  We’ve had some sessions with impressive airs above the ground and twice the speed on circles that I was asking for.  Today, though, he was light and responsive, changing gaits only when I asked, and starting to understand that we could have fun together moving about instead of him moving about on his own agenda.  It’s an important milestone in our journey toward ridden work.  I’m very excited.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2012

Lunesdale Silver Belle

I’ve been fascinated recently by the dominance games that seven Fell Ponies are playing in my largest paddock.  My two year-old filly is pushing my 25-year-old around.  My four-year-old gelding is pushing his grandmother around, while she still pushes my 5- and 7- year old mares around.  And yesterday my eight-year-old mare, who is at the top of that herd, decided to try a dominance game on me.

Usually when I appear in the morning with buckets of vitamins, Lunesdale Silver Belle meets me at the fence to be haltered and tied.  Yesterday, though, she was standing and waiting where I usually tie her.  I could have just gone to her, haltered her and tied her since she was, in theory, being accommodating of the routine.  However I was mindful that ‘he who moves loses’ in equine dominance games, and by me having to ‘move’ to her rather than she to me, I would have been letting her win the game.

So I undertook the “catch me” game.  Ellie needed to catch me rather than me her.  I walked into the paddock with the halter and lead rope and began watching her reaction.  This process was made a little more challenging by the three young ponies who came to me wanting to stick their heads in the halter.  They followed me around for the next ten minutes while I moved around Ellie at a distance of fifteen feet or so, stepping away slightly when she looked at me, and moving closer when she looked away.  When it was clear that she really was testing my leadership, I moved in closer to her hind end and began encouraging her to turn and face me.  It was then even more clear that she was testing me, as she kept her hind end pointed my way despite occasional whisper-touches by the end of my lead rope.  After about five minutes of this, she moved off rather than come to me.  I followed, making arcs around her hind end, again stepping back when she looked at me and moving closer when she looked away.

Still working through a curtain of two to four young ponies, Ellie eventually stopped again near where I usually tie her, but this time she looked at me with more interest.  Then she swung her hind end around and stood facing me.  I let this be a win for me, recognizing it wasn’t a slam dunk.  I didn’t get her to come all the way to me, but by turning and facing me, she acknowledged my presence and my leadership.  The rest of the herd was hungry enough that it felt like the right place to quit.  It will be interesting to see what dominance game Ellie will choose to play with me this morning!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2012

Dee McVicker’s article “The Foundations of Fitness” in the July 2011 issue of Equus distinguishes between cardiovascular fitness and musculoskeletal fitness. (1)  “[The] average horse needs only a three- or four-week exercise regimen to achieve cardiovascular fitness, but it takes much longer to condition his tendons, ligaments, and bones…  Over time, beginning around five months and perhaps taking a year or more, bone tissue will respond by increasing in density.  Ultimately, the horse will develop harder bones that are more resistant to fractures.”

Likewise, when a horse quits working, he or she will stay fit cardiovascularly longer than structurally.  Injury from overuse is an ever-present possibility since cardiovascular fitness gives adequate energy and a false sense of overall fitness since the underlying strength to support sustained effort may not be fully developed.

In addition to considering the two types of conditioning, horses differ from humans in the rate at which they return to fitness.  “What’s unique about the horse compared to the human is that they don’t decondition as fast and they recondition much faster,” says Jeannette Mero, DVM.  McVicker expands on this idea:  “Since horses hold their fitness for extremely long periods of time, a horse who was fit in the previous year will take less time to get back into shape than one who has never been conditioned.  And the fitter he was, the faster he’ll make a comeback.”   This explains why I’ve always been able to bring my work ponies back after a winter off for summer season.  And why it’s going to take me a lot more time to bring one of them back who didn’t work at all last year.

The good news is that by keeping my ponies in paddocks rather than in stalls, they are able to keep themselves somewhat fit all the time.  McVicker states, “A horse who is on 24-7 turnout will become fitter in substantially less time.”

I was fascinated by the emphasis on slow work, mostly walking, for a significant part of the conditioning period.  James Hamilton, DVM, is quoted in the article:  “Cantering is good for cardiovascular endurance but it does little for muscle strength ….So the canter should be low on the list as far as conditioning goes.”  McVicker adds, “It is safest to add distance first, rather than increasing speed.”  Another veterinarian involved in endurance riding, Dr. Melissa Ribley, says, “We rarely gallop or canter our endurance horses until they have been in training for a couple of years.”

I also took note of this statement:  “Larger, heavier horses do better if you spend more time walking before moving on to extensive trotting or cantering exercises because their bones and joints are supporting extra weight and are more susceptible to injury.”  While my ponies aren’t large by draft horse standards, they are heavy for their size, so this advice might be applicable.  And certainly when first starting a pony this is important advice to consider.  Since Fells, for instance, are typically started at four but don’t finish maturing until eight years old, taking into account strengthening of their musculoskeletal system might mean slow work for quite awhile.

Two things that were mentioned only briefly in the article are quite important in my experience conditioning my work ponies.  The first is to pay attention to how tack might fit differently as body condition improves.  In work ponies, collar fit is especially important and will certainly change both with the seasons as well as with condition.  Second is the mental part of the work.  When my ponies are in regular work, they know what’s expected and they don’t mess around.  For the last year, though, the only job I’ve given my gelding is eating, and now he thinks that’s what’s expected of him.  It is going to take regular work for several weeks to get him back into mental working condition.

While the article suggests that six weeks is the maximum for getting an equine athlete fit, I think that’s only partially true.  As quoted above about bone density, positive change starts at five months, well beyond that six week threshold.  It definitely pays to keep a horse fit year to year and not lay them off like I’ve done with my gelding.  And for those that I’m starting, I shouldn’t expect too much resilience too soon.  I’ve got my work cut out for me.  Fortunately, it’s heavenly work!

(1)    McVicker, Dee.  “The Foundations of Fitness,” Equus, July 2011, Issue 406, p. 33.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2012

• “…the minty flavour stimulates appetite and aids digestion.” (1)
• “Spearmint is a gentle way to ease any digestive discomfort in horses. It can help to reduce symptoms of diarrhoea and flatulence. Mint for horses can also be a valuable treatment for colic, or a supplement for horses with a tendency to develop colic.  Spearmint for horses has powerful antiviral and antiseptic qualities and can be helpful in ‘drying up’ a mare from lactating after weaning.” (2)

Mint’s use as a digestive aid reflects my friend’s intentions with his pony.  I wish these products were available stateside!

Recent research has revealed new potential benefits for horses from mint.  Researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada found that mint extract given to horses with arthritic knees reduced inflammatory markers in the joints.  The sample size was small, and the mint used had been specifically bred to produce twenty times the normal amount of rosmarinic acid, also found in oregano and rosemary, so the researchers called for more study.  The research was summarized in the February 2012 issue of Equus.  (3)

Just doing this thinking about mint gave me a craving for my favorite tea:  Tazo Refresh.  It is a combination of spearmint and tarragon, which also happen to be the flavorings in my favorite lentil dish for lunch.  It’s not lunch time, but I think I’ll make myself a cup of tea!

1)  http://www.medipetcare.com/lincoln-mint-equine-supplement-digestion-aid-for-horses-p-103.html
2)  http://www.pegasushealth.com/herbs_for_horses/spearmint_for_horses
3)  Barakat, Christine and Mick McCluskey, “Minty relief for joints,” Equus, Issue 413, February 2012, p. 8.

Nobody has it better than equestrians

Any equestrian should be able to say this.  Being able to spend time with horses is definitely better than otherwise.  Yet it was an American football coach who is credited with the statement, “Nobody has it better than we do.”

The Super Bowl of the National Football League is coming up this weekend.  In the run-up to it, I was hoping for a match between the Harbaugh brothers who coach the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Before the last game that the 49ers played, a rookie on the team was asked about his coach.  He said the coach consistently articulated one message all season:  “No one has it better than we do.” Apparently the message made an impact, since the team had a dismal season last year and made it to the playoffs this year.  Since this coach was previously at my college almamater, I’m especially proud to have had that association with him after hearing this message.

• If we are healthy and physically fit, no one has it better than we do.  There are lots of people who face illness, injury, or disability on a daily basis.
• If we have daily interactions with loving family and friends, we are more fortunate than those who do not.
• If we have electricity and hot running water, there are lots of people who don’t.  I once lived for three months without them.  Every night I give special thanks for my hot shower!
• If we have enough food to eat, there are lots of people, even in this most prosperous of countries, who go to bed hungry.
• If we live in an incredibly gorgeous place, there are lots of people who don’t like where they live.
• If we woke up this morning looking forward to our day, we are luckier than many people who face the new day with dread or don’t wake up at all.
• If we get to share part of each day or each week with horses, there are lots of people who wish they could and aren’t able.
• If we have loyal canine companions, there are lots of people who can’t have pets and want them.

Definitely, no one has it better than I do, since I have ALL these things!  Sure, I sometimes dwell on the troubles, the negatives, and the issues that I face.  But if I honestly look past them, I can see blessings.  And if I choose to focus on those blessings instead, the other stuff doesn’t seem as daunting, and sometimes solutions even present themselves.  I really have nothing to complain about.  Indeed, no one has it better than I do.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2012

I follow the current recommended protocol for worming, which is to perform fecal tests and then deworm only if test results indicate it is necessary.  About a year ago, after a positive fecal test, I asked my veterinarian if the wormer he was recommending had any side effects for dogs or fish.  He looked at me like I was crazy but politely responded no.  I then told him of my first use of a chemical wormer, but he said he’d never heard of canine or fish toxicity at all.

An article in the recent issue of Equus magazine helped me understand that my memory was accurate after all, despite the vet’s reaction. (1) The article’s author had received similar responses from veterinarians, so apparently canine ivermectin toxicosis isn’t a well-known problem.

It turns out that ivermectin is often used in canine worming medications as well as in the treatment of mange, so it’s understandable that vets wouldn’t consider horse dewormers based on ivermectin to be an issue for dogs unless they are consumed in very high doses.  Unfortunately, there are certain breeds of dogs that carry a genetic mutation that makes them highly susceptible to ivermectin toxicosis.  And many of us have these types of dogs – shepherds, collies, and other herding breeds – because they are such good companions in our equine lifestyle.  The mutation is at its highest incidence in Collies at 70% and in Australian Shepherds at 50%.  My loyal canine companion is an Aussie.  In other breeds the incidence is much lower, from 5 to 30%.

The symptoms of canine ivermectin toxicity are alarming, including sudden blindness, aggression, and incoordination.  If you use an ivermectin-based chemical wormer on your equine friends, and you count canines as companions, too, I highly recommend getting a copy of the article in Equus so you can take appropriate precautions for your situation.

1)                  Langmesser, Karenna.  “A Danger to Dogs,” Equus, Issue 413, February 2012, p. 51.

To successfully achieve that goal, I realize that I have to invest in my physical health.  This isn’t an unnatural act for me, as I’ve been athletic most of my life.  But my body doesn’t forgive transgressions like it used to.  Recently I’ve had some pretty annoying pain in one hip from a tight hamstring.  I’m sure it’s related to feeding last winter in deep snow.  When I first had ponies, I was feeding small bales.  Then they became hard to find, so we changed to one thousand pound bales.  Last winter the bales were fifteen hundred pounds.  When we were bringing in one bale a week last winter, I realized I was carrying more than 1500 pounds of hay every seven days.  Trudging through our record snow pack, it’s no wonder my body started to complain.

I knew I needed to strengthen other muscles to let that hamstring relax.  I investigated Pilates because friends and family had found great benefit from it, but it seemed like a lot of work.  I had toyed with yoga, doing a little routine some nights, and it did seem to help, but I never got very serious about it.  Then last month I saw on a social network that someone had married horsemanship and yoga, and it was even a type of horsemanship that I study.  (1)  The marketing information promised positive results in as little as two weeks with just three thirty minute sessions a week and ‘mastery’ at four to ten weeks.  Though I was skeptical of these claims, I decided to give the DVD a try after an equestrian friend said it was a type of yoga that she had personally found beneficial.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that the marketing claims were accurate.  I did indeed see benefit within two weeks with only three sessions a week, try as I might to fit in more.  In just that short time, I found I was walking taller when I hadn’t even known I wasn’t standing up straight!  Now I definitely notice improved strength and that annoying pain in my hamstring is nearly gone.  Thank you ‘modified half-pigeon’!  I’ve also been surprised where else tightness has manifested that I didn’t even know I had.

Yoga has always seemed like more than a physical practice to me, and I have indeed found that on the days I spend that thirty minutes, I have more peace of mind.  That can only be good for everyone in my life, ponies included!

The instructor on the DVD repeats often that “it’s your practice,” and I’ve definitely come to appreciate the wisdom in this instruction.  There are parts of the routine that I find especially beneficial so I take more time for them when I can.  For me, spending a few more moments stretching after the core strengthening series is important, and taking a little longer on ‘upward facing dog’ really helps me stretch my abdomen.

As a young person in school, soccer was my sport of choice, and I even got recruited onto my college team.  After graduation I was a runner and was thrilled when I won one race while on a business trip.  Then I got into aerobics and enjoyed the combination of dance and fitness.  I also went through my mountain biking, cross country ski machine, and martial arts phases.  At this stage of my life, though, yoga seems to provide the right balance of stretching and strengthening to complement the physicality of my equestrian life.  It’s given me greater hope that I can be like my senior friends who still enjoy their horses.  Even if I don’t make it to eighty, at least every day right now is good!

1)      http://www.fluidityconnection.com/yogaforriders.html

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2012

Number 3 states, “Look for an activity that raises your heart rate and requires a lot of coordination.”  Horseback riding (at a trot or above especially), skidding logs, or moving manure all meet this one in my opinion.  Number ten is “Learn a language,” and I admit this one’s more of a stretch.  But for me, learning to understand how horses communicate so as to communicate more effectively with them requires me to make decisions differently and evaluate emotions more honestly, two things that learning a language require.

Numbers 19 and 21 are related from my perspective.  Nineteen says “Refine your thinking:” use both fast-and-automatic and slow-and-more-effortful thinking modes.  Twenty-one is about taking academic classes.  I am enrolled in regular horsemanship study.  When I’m engaged with my ponies directly, I often act quickly and automatically, and when I’m studying new material, I slow down and spend more concentrated effort.

Number 22 says, “…viewing art reduces stress and lets you focus on what really matters.”  I consider my ponies to be works of art, and taking time to watch them interact with each other or with their world can be very relaxing.  There’s nothing more peaceful for me, for instance, than the sound of hay being chewed.  I’ve been known to collapse on a hay bale after feeding at the end of a long day and just listen to that sound.

Number 24 instructs, “Write by hand.”  This is one of the easiest for me since I’ve been keeping diaries since I was a child.  I have four journals by my bed; I write in at least one and usually three of them each night before I go to sleep.  One of the journals is about my ponies where I record breedings or farrier work or training sessions or moving them between paddocks or treating them for some health concern.

Number 28 is “Delay gratification.”  Waiting eleven months for a foal comes to mind as does waiting for a Fell Pony to mature!  Training of any type is an exercise in patience and being rewarded down the road for effort put in consistently.

Number 29 recommends, “Become an expert.”  Our brains perform better when we are doing something we know well and enjoy.  Equines give us so many opportunities to become experts, whether in caring for tack or grooming or performance or breed conservation.

Number 30 advises typing out your opinion about something because it helps you understand your own thinking.  The internet makes this so easy now, with social networks and blogs and chat rooms and the ability to write on-line reviews.

Number 31 is entitled, “Get out of town.”  It goes on to say, “Getting in touch with nature helps the brain to recover… Spending just a few minutes on a crowded street impairs memory and self-control as your brain processes all the stimuli.”  What a great reason to spend more time with our equines!

The three ways to increase your IQ that I think are important to any equestrian are #6. Sleep a lot, #16.  Eat yogurt (probiotics), and #20. Hydrate.  Because being an equestrian is an athletic endeavor, these particular brain boosters seem especially pertinent to the overall health of an athlete.

In Begley’s article, Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychology professor says, “No gimmicks.  If you want to get a lot out of reading, read a lot; if you want to get better at remembering errands or birthdays, practice remembering errands or birthdays.  No shortcuts, no cross-training – no Sudoku.”  I guess I’ll just have to spend more time with my ponies to improve my IQ.  I can think of worse ways to nourish my brain, like #14:  play violent videogames!

1)      Begley, Sharon.  “Buff Your Brain,” Newsweek, January 9 & 16, 2012, p. 28.

I have to pass through the Torrin gauntlet to get to Lily.

The phrase ‘running the gauntlet’ has come to mind recently where my ponies are concerned.  It means to pass between two lines of soldiers for punishment or to be attacked on all sides.  Fortunately my experience has been much more pleasant than this definition:  I’ve been ‘forced’ between two ponies to accomplish my objectives.

My first objective has been working Lily daily.  She is housed with Torrin and Mya.  I have also been giving Mya regular attention, so Torrin has been feeling left out.  When I show up to fetch Lily, he comes to greet me and since he’s dominant, Lily is pushed out of the way.  Torrin then follows me, wanting to stick his head in the halter intended for his female friend.  Getting to Lily has required that I run the ‘Torrin Gauntlet.’  He’s been very persistent, so I’ve had to invent little games to play with him so that he feels acknowledged before I take Lily to our date.

The Shelley & Apollo Gauntlet at the fence

My second objective involves feeding Shelley and Apollo.  We recently changed the hay storage for their paddock so that now I have to enter their paddock to feed rather than throw the hay through the fence.  It’s clear they much prefer this arrangement.  They meet me at the fence, expecting some sort of greeting, then they follow me to the hay shed, expecting some sort of game.  I’m afraid I’ve set their expectations about this, since I usually try to teach them something on our journey, like respectfully picking up their feet for me or moving sideways or backwards with a touch or disengaging their forequarters or hindquarters.  I’ve focused mainly on Shelley since she’s had less of this sort of work than Apollo has had.  Which means that not only do I have to run the Shelley & Apollo gauntlet at the fence, I also have to run the Apollo gauntlet to get to Shelley.  It can be quite comical to distract a stallion with one hand while rewarding a mare with the other.

Yesterday my gauntlet ponies had a connection.  I finally felt sorry enough for Torrin that I took him to the round pen for a short session.  It was incredible.  Halter and lead rope, bareback, and he was nearly perfect doing figure 8s at the trot.  I’d forgotten how much he ‘got’ the training I gave him years ago.  After I put him away, I went to feed Apollo and Shelley.  Their paddock is adjacent to the round pen, and they watched my work with Torrin.  When I greeted them, I told them to pay attention to Torrin and be like him in absorbing training.  I then walked to the section of fence where I go through to feed and Shelley presented herself in line with the fence to be mounted.  It was incredible, like she had understood what I said and was doing what she could to demonstrate her desire to be like Torrin.  I couldn’t resist, so I did hop on her back and sit there for a moment, telling her how good a girl she is.  No halter, no saddle, and with Apollo being his normal teasing self.  I was grinning from ear to ear as I threw Shelley and Apollo their hay.  I’ll run gauntlets like this any time!

(c) Jenifer Morrissey, 2012