'My' Gang

[Stern]

Well, for those of you who remember September, I started volunteering with our local therapeutic riding group... That sounds much more honorable than what it actually is. ;- ) I scoop poop, and sometimes either groom the horses or take them out to the arena and chase them around to exercise them.

Anyway, I've been promising you some pictures, so here they are! :- ) We took the 'big girls' out to the main arena (As the group shares that with the ranch that it's located on, we were lucky to have some time in there), and the minis went into 'our' arena (Which we don't share, but people tend to use it anyway... We have the total right to kick them out, though, which we didn't have to do.)

Anyway...

Name: Fanci
Nicknames: Fanc (Fanz)
Breed: 75% Peruvian Paso (25% something else), according to her breeding papers.
Gender: Mare
Info: Fanci is my girl. :- ) She's the 'lead mare' in the 'big' yard, and more active than Callie. She's lovely, and while she's a bit spirited at times, she's never as much as moved a muscle to hurt anyone.


Name: Callie
Nicknames: Cal, Calliebear
Breed: Mustang
Gender: Mare
Info: Callie is very, very lazy. She's a pain to get moving, but once she does, she looks pretty good. :- ) If she and Fanci are in the arena together, the key is to get Fanci to move, as Cal will follow suit. She's very food obsessed.

Also, she's our improved 'California Edition (Cal-E) Mustang'. (Look it up, it's actually a car!) Way better gas mileage, but only one horsepower. ;- P

Name: Blaze Breed: Mini (-shrug-) Gender: I think he's a gelding. He's male, for sure. Info: Blaze is the only male horse we have. He's pretty neat, and rather silly.

Name: Cookie Nicknames: Brat Breed: Mini Gender: Mare Info: Cookie really is a brat. Since she and Blaze are seperated with only a gate, naturally, whenever I go through that gate, she tries to go visit Blaze... So, I usually end up haltering her and tying her out in the shade in front of her 'stall'. :- P Since she's so food obsessed, she doesn't even mind (There's a bunch of good grass).

[Deleted]

Aw, they're all so cute and adorable!

[Joel]

Aww, so very adorable!! I like Fanci as well, seems like a nice mare. (: I also do adore Blaze. Silly people (or horses) are unique like that. xP I bet you enjoy working with the horses as a volunteer.

[Stern]

Feb 3, 2013 16:45:01 GMT -8 @carlos said:

Aw, they're all so cute and adorable!

I know, they are. :- D Especially when they decide not to be greedy, bratty, or otherwise a pain.

Feb 3, 2013 16:50:43 GMT -8 Joel said:

Aww, so very adorable!! I like Fanci as well, seems like a nice mare. (: I also do adore Blaze. Silly people (or horses) are unique like that. xP I bet you enjoy working with the horses as a volunteer.

<3 They are. Fanci's my favorite, although I think Callie is actually the nicest, if you ask around. Fanci is just more willing to do things sometimes. I do love working with them, it's been really neat, and I'm hoping to keep doing it for the next few years. -nods- Especially on nice days, when we take them out into the big arena, it's such fun, and yet such a pain. :- P Mostly fun, though.

Regards,
Stern

[CaraGenie]

Do you have any idea how old Callie is? You should try some tail-pulling exercises on her before you work her (which is literally standing behind them and slightly to the side if she isn't comfortable of you standing behind her, grabbing her tail (gently of course) around the middle to top of her dock and pulling until you see her back lift), I did this with a really lazy school horse before his rider tacked up and mounted, she told me that he'd never moved so well.

In that photo,she just doesn't look "happy" in herself.

[Stern]

Feb 6, 2013 15:35:52 GMT -8 CaraGenie said:

Do you have any idea how old Callie is? You should try some tail-pulling exercises on her before you work her (which is literally standing behind them and slightly to the side if she isn't comfortable of you standing behind her, grabbing her tail (gently of course) around the middle to top of her dock and pulling until you see her back lift), I did this with a really lazy school horse before his rider tacked up and mounted, she told me that he'd never moved so well.

In that photo,she just doesn't look "happy" in herself.

I honestly do not know. I can ask the boss, though, if I see her the next time I go.

O.o That sounds interesting, actually. I shall try it the next time I go, though! I'll let you know if it has any effect. :- )

I don't know, she really didn't seem too happy either. :- \

I probably won't be going back until the 17th, but when I do, I'll let you know how that worked out for her! :- )

[Deleted]

OMG. Blaze is like the cutest thing I've ever seen! They're all so cute and adorable and pretty, but I love the ponnnyyy <3

[Stern]

More pictures! :- D These are all from today (2/17). We didn't make them run today, so you see them as lazy as they usually are. :- P

Blaze and his new hair-style... I doubt he can see out anymore, he has such a lovely mane.


Cal, and her amazing treat-sensing abilities. We had carrots, and she knew it.




Fanci trying to get at a treat from my friend who was home from college.


And one of our alpacas. looking over for once.

[Stern]

Anyway, update!

-points up- The alpaca is Terra (Yes, like Terra-cotta). Her daughter Aurora and her son Rodney are the other two that are part of the program... They're all not too happy with people, though. They're getting sheared in... Four days, I think.

Cookie (The leopard mini) went back to her original owner's place. She had Cushings Disease, which Four Seasons just doesn't have the funding to deal with (As a lot of their lessons are free or cheap), and her old owner is able to provide for her... It still means that Blaze is all by his lonesome, though. :- \ He was being a brat today, just to make up for it.

[Stern]

More updates! :- ) These are actually from a while back, but I finally remembered that I'd asked someone to take them, and went to find them. This is the first time I took the girls into the round pen.

Fanci's up first. :- ) She's my favourite by now, definitely. She's better behaved, and she's the alpha mare in the pasture (Oddly enough, she's the only one that joins up with me, though.)


And, like I said, we always end our session with her pretty much joining up, even though it's not the intent of it. X- ) It's kinda fun, though, and it always amazes Laura (The lady I volunteer with).


Callie, on the other hand... Nope. She hates running, hates me when I take her into the round pen, and is generally a brat. It's hard to even get her to canter, she tends to stay at a trot, pain in the butt that she is.


Next time I'm going, I'm going to try taking Blaze out into the round pen (Since he's all on his own now, we need to work with him a bit more). If that doesn't work out, I'll probably stick him into the arena and take Fanci and Callie out. I'll try to get more pictures of him, too.

[Cortney Smit]

How is Blaze handling being by himself (even though he's not really by himself)?

Even though she may only be trotting, Callie has the body language that says she wants to get away. I'm guessing that Fanci freely joins up with you because she sees you the way that others see her, as the alpha mare, and respects that you are going to protect her by allowing you to be in charge. Possibly something that Callie struggles with. Is she bullied by other horses, is she really submissive toward them or is she a complete cow toward them and fights everyone?

[Stern]

He's seeming to get on alright. He shares a fenceline with the girls, so he isn't isolated. I don't know what the plan for him is, no one tells the volunteers anything.

Not really, actually... She and Fanci get along well for the most part (They're the only two), Fanci protects her personal space if Callie starts crowding, but otherwise things seem to settle really quickly. Callie's not overly submissive, nor is she all too awful back... She just gives Fanci a bit more room, from what I've seen.

Since the round pen is in view of the yard (where Fanci was at the time), maybe that has something to do with it? As in Fanci was around, Callie didn't need to worry about any one else to take care of her?

[Stern]

More pictures! :- D Yay! There aren't any of them being worked, because I can't take pictures while watching them X- P

Dinnertime for the girls. X- P


Blaze all alone.


The alpacas got shorn (Sheared? Shaved? Haircut). :- ) They look so weird now.




The newest farm dog, Jojo. :- ) She's grown so much already, I remember her as a fluffy little ball, and now she's this lanky... thing. X- P Cheeky, too.

[CaraGenie]

Shorn is the correct term.

Thanks for the photos

[Stern]

Okay, good. :- ) Sorry, my laptop was showing it as being spelled wrong. So I wasn't quite sure.

Not a problem! :- ) Trying to get Jojo to hold still was fun. X- P I'm going back on Thursday, so I might be able to get more pictures for you.