One Small Step.. One Giant Leap..

Today was a HUGE day for Moon, and of course I forgot to take pictures..

Anyway.. Here's an update of what's happened since the last blog.  Moon continues to pack on the weight, and is showing more of her personality.  It's amazing how much energy you can have with a little bit of nutrition.  She's been put out with the big herd in the big pasture.  She hasn't found her place yet in the new herd, but she seems to like the space.  According to Heather, she's almost smiling as she jogs over the hills that just keep going and going and going..

She is starting to stand up for herself more.. one of the other horses bit her neck to say that he was over her, and she came back and kicked him pretty good, as if to say "I don't think so!"  We shall see where she ends up. :-)

Like I said, today was HUGE for Moon..  Since she's feeling more energetic, and has put on more weight, we've decided that it's time to start testing to see how she'll do with tack.  Going into this, we knew that she was trained at one time, and she raced.. however, we have no clue when the last time she was ridden..  It's been at least two years, because her former owners told us they never rode her (or did anything with her).

So, things have been going really well with her lately, I decided I was going to introduce her to some tack and just take baby steps with her and see how things go.  I brought the saddle pads to her first, let her smell them and rubbed them all over her body.  She twitched her ears a little bit, but I gave her a cookie, and let her know everything was fine.. and she just stood there.  No problem.

Next I brought a dressage saddle up and let her sniff it.  Touched her with it.. No response.  Lots of praise as I put it on her.  The same thing happened as I brought the girth and put it on.  It seemed like it all was old hat for her.  So, I took her for a walk around the arena and played with the stirrups on her sides.  She flinched a little, but not much.  No blow ups.  "Ho-hum.. I can do this.. I just want to be a good pony.."

Since she did so well, I decided to test my luck even further.. Bridle and bit time!  I found a bridle with a snaffle   bit in the tack room and brought it out for her to check out.  She just looked at it, as if it say "Ok, now what?"

What happened next totally floored me.  I put the bit to her lips and started to pull the headstall up to her ears.  When the bit touched her lips, I was totally expecting to have to fight to ease the bit in her mouth or do a couple tricks to get it past her teeth.  I barely put it past her lips and she practically said "Ah!" as she opened her mouth so big!  She had no issues as I adjusted the bridle to the right fit. Once that was fixed, I took her around the arena some more and she did great.

We walked up to the mounting block, and as Heather held her I stomped around and walked up and down. She was a little leary of this, but never panicked.  She only looked for reassurance that everything was ok.  Once, we showed there was nothing to fear, she was fine.  We figured that this was enough for one day.  Tacked her down, gave her cookies and hugs and put her in a stall for lunch.  

The little pony did BRILLIANTLY.  I'm amazed at how calm and accepting she was to all that we did today.  The next step will be to lean over her and maybe sit in the saddle.  Will she buck?  Will she rear? Will she try to lay down? or will she just keep doing like she has been?

Stay tuned..

A Step In the Right Direction

Wow!  I've got followers now!  Thanks for the warm welcome to the world of blogging.  I hope you enjoy the stories I share.

Moon is continuing to pack on the pounds, and keeps filling out.  You can see what she looked like when she arrived at the farm in my previous post.  She's starting to look more like a normal horse, and the appearance of being extremely long bodies isn't as bad.

This first picture was taken last Friday (9 days after arrival)

The next one was taken yesterday (17 days after arrival)

Her thrush is gone.  The rain/sweat rot is improving.  We're treating it with a Listerine mixture to kill it all.  When I brush her, it's flaking off like a bad case of  dandruff.  Her hair is growing back nicely, and it's white and BLACK, not white and brownish-dingy tan!!

We think she's found her herd with a handful of the more low key horses at the farm.. One of them is Diesel, an OTTB (Off the Track Thoroughbred).  Moon and Diesel were put together yesterday to see how they'd do.  Around a half hour after we let them out, Heather and I were sitting by the barn talking and suddenly we heard the thundering of running hooves coming from their pasture.  We look up to see Diesel cantering around from behind the hay barn, looking behind him whinnying for Moon.  She's following not far behind with her ears back as if to say "You'd better let me win!"  It was really cute.  A few minutes later, though.. he charged her and let her know he was going to be the big man on campus.  *Sigh*  I wish she'd stand up for herself.  It'll be cute to see if we have any more "races" like that.

After all that excitement, she kinda hung out by the water tub, and limped a little bit.  It seems she might've over done it with the cantering-being a little out of shape.  She hasn't been able to really stretch her legs out much before she got here.  It's was a little bit of, "Oh! My achin' bones!"

I came up to the farm today for the weekly Pony Party.  I rode one of the lesson horses, Doodles, for a little while because I have a bit of a project to work on with him.  He's learning to neck rein.  He's getting it slowly.  He needs to build up some more muscles, and loosen his neck.  It'll be an on-going project with him, but we'll get there.

I grabbed Moon out of the pasture after we were done tacking down to check how she was feeling, and brush her down.  She seemed to be feeling pretty good and not ouchy.  So, I figured I'd work some more lunging with her for a little while and see how it went.

We worked walk, trot and (briefly) canter.  She had a couple issues with reverse(switching directions), but she's really getting it. 

When she gets into her groove of trotting, she seems to zone out a little, like a person would do when taking a jog.  So, I switch things up on her to keep her engaged. Don't get me wrong, she has BEAUTIFUL gait.  I just want make sure to keep her attention.

My husband and I talked on our way home and kept going on about how easy she is to work with and handle.  We cannot believe that someone would not care about and just give up such a sweet animal.  It just amazes me.

That's about all for this week.  See ya on the flip side. :-)

To the Moon!

Now, we come to someone who is going to be a regular subject on this blog-a little mare we're calling "Moon".

Back story:
Last winter, I received an email from one of my friends in the SCA that our local group had a handful of people going to a horse farm for a fun day of riding.  They knew I enjoyed horses, and hoped we could be there.  Unfortunately,  I wasn't able to attend because I had a soccer game at the same time, and I was bummed, because I was going through pony withdrawal.  I found the farm's website, and found out that the fun days were a weekly thing.  So, I made arrangements to come out for the next weekend's "Pony Party". 

We went to the party the next weekend and it was COLD, but found that there were some really cool people there.  So, we decided to make it a weekly ritual to come out and go riding.  This starts my relationship with Iron Ridge Sport Horses (draftswithdots.blogspot.com).

Over the weeks and months, I've become part of the "Barn Buddies" up in Whitesboro, figuring out different ways to come up and help out at the farm: Bathing horses, helping with photo shoots, riding, etc.  Wherever I could help, I would do what was needed.

I also found out that in addition to their breeding program, Heather has a soft spot for her "Second Chance" horses.  These are horses that have gotten in a bad situation and need a new home.  When she has the room and the time and resources, Heather takes in a couple of rescue horses that need to rehabilitated and retrained and then eventually rehomed with families who will love and take care of these great animals.

Heather and I had been talking, and we have similar ideas when it comes to training, and what horses makes certain horses great.  Her expertise is in the English style, and I know more about Western riding.  So, we started discussing teaming up and rescuing a couple of horses that would be good for both styles, and "flipping" (retraining, rehabilitating) them and then finding them new homes.

So, I started looking on different websites for prospects.  If something piqued my curiosity, I'd text Heather, and then if she said "go!" I'd contact the owner to learn about the horse and see if it might be a fit with the program.  My first two really promising prospects were busts.  The first one, the owner was supposed to bring her to the farm.  They never showed up.  Ok, I guess they really didn't want us to have her.  Oh well.. It wasn't meant to be..  The second one, the owner found a friend that wanted the horse.  So, we were happy as long as the horse was safe and in a good home.


They say things happen for a reason, and that's what we figured when these prospects didn't work out.  Outside life started happening for everyone.  So, the timing wasn't right at the moment.  We won't go after one of the rescues unless it's a deal we can't refuse.

Third Time's a Charm

I was surfing on Craigslist at lunch one day, and I come across this ad that basically says:  "Registered APHA tobiano mare needs home."  I open up the ad and see this picture.  She's registered, has been raced, has a ROM (Reward of Merit) for racing, and has a speed index of 84. http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/ms+moon+treasure

So, I contact the owner to find out more about her, and how much they are asking for her.  They basically said, the first person to arrive with a trailer, can have her-FREE.  So, I send Heather a message asking her what she thought.. I knew she wasn't really in the market, but it's FREE, and she's not far from the farm.  "Sure!  Find out more, and I'll work on the trailer logistics".


So, I text back and forth with the owner.. "How big is she? When was the last time she was ridden? How is she with her feet?  What is her personality like?"  They said, supposedly she's broke (She used to race), but they hadn't ridden her in the 2 years they'd had her.  She's had no problems, except for maybe being "too sweet".  Okay... Heather and I both thought "What's WRONG with her?  Why are they getting rid of her?  If you've got this sweet little pony, that has some decent bloodlines and has done well performance wise, why would you just give her away?"  Answer: no pasture, and food's too expensive.

By the end of the day, Heather's decided that this little girl is probably going to be a good prospect for the Second Chance program.  Before she even arrived, we'd decided that we're going to call her "Moon" and it fit, because there was also a full moon that week.  So, they made the arrangements to pick her up.  The owner said first person here, gets her.  When there is a free horse on the market, the kill buyers are also trolling.  Heather made sure she beat them.  I told them I'd be up after work.

Here is the story as Heather puts it, with pictures of how she looked:
http://draftswithdots.blogspot.com/2011/09/she-once-was-great-and-will-be-again.html
When we arrived, I looked at her and thought, "Wow!  She's got potential, is a nice size and she's really pretty" (remember in my previous blog I mentioned about the Paint named Penny?  Yeah, this one's going to be prettier!).  Basically, this girl was tired and thin and beat up.  She was low man on the totem pole, and the other horses bit her a lot, and she was covered in rain rot.  She wasn't terrible looking, but she needed some help.  We had gotten her in the nick of time.  She needed some TLC. 

She was loving on all the girls.. She's not too crazy about guys at first.  She wasn't too sure of herself, because we think she was pretty much ignored at the other place.  Not so anymore!  She's going to put on weight and muscle and we're going to make her into a lesson horse!

Moon seemed to relax pretty quickly once she realized that she was safe at Iron Ridge.  They've put her on a refeeding program to bring up her weight.  It's amazing to see the progress that she's made in such a short period of time.  We could notice a difference in two days.  In a week, we think she's already put on about 50 pounds . 

Last Saturday (after being at the farm for three days), she got to go out in the arena and stretch her legs.  The arena is about 5 times the size of her last home, so we figured this would be good for her.  Once we showed her around and then let her loose, she had a roll.. The rot was itching and she needed to stretch..  She got up and trotted over to the fence because there were new friends (some of the other horses) to meet.   When we saw her movement, everyone's mouths dropped.  Sure, she didn't have the strength to keep it up for long, but she had an AMAZING trot. Heather asked, "Have you thought about dressage, or Western Pleasure for this girl?"  Hmm.. maybe.. we'll just have to see.

Another thing that was really cool happened when I let her go in the arena.  She stayed right by my side.  So I tried a little experiment.  When I'm in the pasture with Perk, I can put my hand over her nose and lead her where I need her to be without a halter.  I figured I'd try it with Moon.  That didn't work out so well.  Then I just lightly touched her under her chin with my finger tips, and she started following me.  I figured it was a fluke, until I led her in figure 8's. WOW!

Yesterday, she had been at the farm for 10 days, and is still doing nicely.  Since she's putting on weight so quickly, I decided that I would try to lunge her briefly, just to see if she remembers anything, and to slowly start building up her back muscles.  (Yes, she's been dewormed and has sand clear).

She didn't do half bad!  She had done lunge work in the past.  She needs a little practice, but she did quite well.  I learned that her signal for "Woah" is to put your hand up ahead of the direction she's goig  We also think that she was probably lunged for a warm up for her races. At one point she got into her rhythm into a beautiful trot and turned everything out until we said "Woah".  Once we started switching things up on her, she paid attention and also did GREAT!

Today was Pony Party Day, and we had a really nice turn out.  I decided to bring her out to see how she would do with all of the excitement.  She was a little nervous, but all in all did well.  I walked her around the arena.  Gave her some lessons in patience, while I brushed her, and worked on footcare work.  She got a little bath, and rain rot treatment before going out into her new pasture.

At this point, the plan is to continue bringing her weight up, and gradually work at building her muscle back.  Probably in about 3 weeks, we'll see how she does with a saddle.  Right now, she has no muscle on her back to protect her spine.  Sitting on her, or putting a saddle on her back would not be comfortable.  So, once that back is filled out, we'll try to lay across her back and see what she thinks.

In the meantime, she's also meeting new friends, and will eventually be part of one of the herds.  We're not sure which one yet.  She is EXTREMELY submissive, and got in a tiff with one of the draft babies, and got some nasty kicks.  She'll find her place.

Part of this blog is going to document the progress that we make with Moon and see where she goes. We have high hopes for her.

Until then.. I have one last bit of interesting information to pass along that I got from the APHA on her history.  They have been REALLY helpful.

Ms Moon Treasure: She was born in 1997 (I don't remember her birthdate, but I know it's on her papers).

She has had at least two babies that are also registered Paints: Ms Broadway Moon and McDonalds Rockette.  She was supposed to have a 2011 baby, but none has been registered (She doesn't look like she's weaned recently, and she was just in heat this week. So, we don't THINK she's pregnant.)

She has a Reward of Merit for racing. She was raced 13 times and placed in 6 of those races.  Third-2, Second-3, First-1.  She's earned over $2,400.

I know this is a shot in the dark, because there are so many horses across the world.  If anyone who reading this is active in the Paint world (or has connections to it), and maybe might know this horse from her past (or her babies), please let me know.  I'd love to learn more about her.

Until next time..

Every Little Girl's Dream-Their Own Pony (Perk's Story)

I've been enamored with horses for as long as I can remember.  Any excuse to go riding at my aunt & uncle's farm, or those cheesy pony rides at festivals, I was there!  I had books on horses-anything from breed information to "The Black Stallion" series; I had all of Barbie's horses, and My Little Ponies... When a birthday, or Christmas would come along, and my mom and dad asked me what I'd like for my gift, I almost always said "I want my own horse."   Different reasons were given (mostly, we didn't have the room at our house), but it just wasn't feasible.  However, I could go to the farm any time I wanted, and ride their horses as much as I'd liked.  So, I did.  :-)

Fast forward to sometime around my 14th birthday.  Mom and Dad call me into their room to talk.  "Hey Rae.. Do you still want your own horse?"  What?  Are you kidding me??  After being told for so long that it wouldn't be possible to have a horse, I'd pretty much given up the idea. "Uh.. Duh! Yeah, I still want a horse!"

It seems that Mom and Dad had talked it over, and they thought I was old enough to take on the responsibility of caring for a horse, and they were going to make it work.  So, my birthday present that year would be that we would find the perfect horse for me.

We looked at A LOT of horses.  I remember a handful of them, but honestly most of them blurred together.   The ones that stick out were:
A Buckskin Quarterhorse named Bo.  He was really nice.  I can't remember why he didn't work out.  I think he was sold to someone else before we could make an offer.
A Paint mare named Penny.  I LOVED her.  She was flashy and pretty, and cool.  but a LITTLE expensive..  so.. that didn't work out.
A black stallion, which I'll mention again in another blog.  He was too much for me (and I was NOT comfortable around stallions, because of some bad experiences when I was younger..).
A Paso Fino.. yeah.. way too little for this girl.  lol
A National Show Horse that had some gait issues..Nope, not gonna work, either.

Fast forward again into sometime that winter.  We were going to check out some more horses this weekend.  It was cold, wet and icky!  Typical Ohio winter, and the snow was starting to melt a bit.

I can't remember where exactly the first place we went to was located, but they had a red barn.  They had a couple of chestnut horses for sale.  They were really spirited.  I don't know if it was because they were cooped up in the barn all winter and needed to stretch their legs out or what.

Next, we went to a farm just outside of Vermilion.  They had this sweet sorrel filly who was almost 2.  She was young, and only halter broke.  The owners wanted her for cutting or reining, but realized they had too many horses, and only so many butts to put in saddles.  So, they had to downsize.  My mom talked with the owners, and their daughter took me into their barn to check out the rest of their horses.  They had a palomino that was just about ready to have a baby.  So, I hung out for a while taking it all in.  Then it was time to go.

We checked out one other horse that weekend, but I can't remember anything about it.

At this point, all of the horses are starting to blend together, but those red headed fillies were sticking out in my head.  One big problem.. none of them weren't broke to ride.  So, I figured the search would continue.  A couple nights later..Mom called me into her room.  She asked me if I liked the filly from Vermilion, because she thought she'd be a good fit.  Plus, we could learn how to REALLY ride together.

So, we made the call to go look at her again the next day and make an offer on her.  Admittedly, at that point, I didn't remember her name or anything, but I remember seeing her the second time.  It was a COLD Ohio day, and their farm was right along Lake Erie.  The owner brought out the little sorrel filly for Mom and I to check out.  Her name was Perk, and she was perfect.  So, I took her up and down the driveway, and talked to her, and get to know her a bit.  We started developing a connection right there. When we came back and we were all talking, and I was still holding the lead rope.  Perk was nuzzling against my arm or something, and the owner says "She KNOWS she's YOUR horse."  I just smiled. Needless to say.. SOLD!! 

(Insert all the girlie squealing you can imagine..)  I'VE GOT A HORSE OF MY VERY OWN!

Next stop..I need tack and supplies, because we had SQUAT in that department.  Mom and I hit a tack auction and got some awesome deals on a saddle, lunge line, halter, brushes... you name it, we came back with a carload of stuff.  Now, we were set for when Perk would arrive at our friend's farm where we'd be boarding her until we got our barn and pasture built.

Once she arrived, I'd go over and visit her and play as much as I could.  I'd lunge her to help build her muscles until her legs were strong enough to hold me on her back.  About a month after she arrived, I laid across her back to see how she handled the weight, and we continued that for another month until her ankles didn't dip.  Mom said she was ready to begin learning to ride.  We had a lot of lessons, but overall she was pretty easy to break.  She loved to please.

One time we came out to ride and I was in the pasture outside the barn with a couple other horses that were on property while mom was tacking up.  Perk could hear me talking to them and would NOT listen to Mom.  She could not get the bridle on, because she had her head out of reach trying to figure out what I was doing.  So, she yelled out "Rach! Come and get your horse!".  I walked in the stall.. put my hand on her nose, and got the bridle on with no problem.  "Yep!  YOUR horse."

Training wasn't all candy and rainbows.. You see.. Perk lived up to her name.. Miss Perkocious Bar.  She was definitely precocious..and did I mention she's a red-head?  She's extremely smart and has some personality..and when she doesn't want to do something.. she DOES NOT WANT TO DO IT.  We had some um..discussions.. about walking water..  We have video of me trying to take her into a creek..and she tried to push me in.. I remember lunging her one time, and she didn't want to listen... you know.. the tail flicking, head tossing tantrums?  It ended with her biting my arm and she got popped in the nose.  She hasn't bitten anyone since.

One of my favorite memories of riding her while we were boarding at the farm was sitting on her back and eating mulberries right off the tree.  She was even eating them, too.

Finally, we got our place set up to have horses.  So, we wouldn't have to drive somewhere to ride.  We have a barn with stalls (complete with name plates on the doors-thanks to one of my grampas) and a pastures.  Oh! and Perk would have a pasture buddy, too!  Mom found a 17 year old Palomino gelding named Shiloh (I'll talk more about him in another blog).  Now we can go riding together!   Our neighbor with a dairy farm had a great field with hills and stuff that was perfect.  Life was good.

Fast forward to fall of my freshman year of high school.  We'd had Perk and Shiloh at the house for a couple months.  Mom and I had just gotten back from a ride and were putzing around in the back yard and we decided to play pony tag.  She tags me and takes off with Shiloh into the paddock and then the pasture.  I followed.

However, when I took the right turn into the pasture, Perk took the corner through the gate too close.  There was less than 6 inches between the gate and her saddle.. not including my knee.  KA-POW!!  The side of my knee rammed the hinge of the gate while we were going through (I can't remember if I was cantering or trotting).  OH MY GOD, the PAIN.  I couldn't scream, because I didn't want to spook my green horse.  So, I brought her to a stop as I'm going "Oh CRAP, OW OW .. This HURTS, OW!!" (Oh yeah, I also wouldn't cuss in front of my parents either at that time.. lol)

Mom jumps off Shiloh to see if I'm okay.  Dad and Tom run from the back porch to help me.  They heard the crack from the house.  Tom was ready to take me to the hospital..my leg has to be broken.  I'm leaning over Perk's neck, trying to figure out how the heck I'm going get off of her while my leg is on fire.  Someone helps me slowly to the ground and up to the house.  I'm walking, so my leg probably isn't broken.  No need to go to the hospital.   Ice Pack and elevation time.  I don't remember who put her away. I look down at my leg.  My new jeans are toast-ripped from the shin to my thigh.  Underneath, my leg is turning PURPLE by the second.  The gate I went through.. yeah.. it's toast, too.  I BENT the METAL hinge, and it won't close now.

I had the bruises for a month.. It took me a couple weeks to get back in the saddle, but I did.  Unfortunately, I've never gotten the feeling back in the side of my knee.  To this day, I have a numb spot the size of a softball, and periodic problems with the lymph glands in that leg.


One summer, my cousin stayed with us because she had a job close to where we live, and she brought her 1/2Arab-1/2Thoroughbred/morgan cross to be trained and learn some manners. Perk and I love to go running in the fields, and play, and Mom and I have raced each other..   My cousin starts to brag about how fast her horse is.  I've seen Perk run in the pasture, and I know that she's pretty fast too.  I've been racing against the "old man".. and Kelly is about the same age as Perk.  So, one day while we're riding, we decide that we're going to race down the field that's next to the house and see who's faster.  It had a perfect, flat straight away that's about 300 yards long.

So, we race.. Kelly and Sue pull ahead at first, and I tell Perk to get him. ZOOM!  I had never felt Perk go this fast before.  She likes to race.. she also doesn't like to be behind..Yeah, we won! (happy dance)  Woo hooo!  Of course, this is also the time that I figured out that she could turn on a dime at speed (remember the cutting and reining that her previous owners had planned for her?).  At the end of the straightaway, I must have put my left leg on her (we had been working on legging), and she took a 90 degree left turn RIGHT then. I got a quick lesson in physics that day.  Had I not held onto her neck, I would've kept going straight while she turned.

Besides the accident (which was NOT her fault), Perk has become an amazing horse. We have had a blast together.  Anytime we have a new rider come for a visit, we put them on Perk, because she'll take good care of them.  She's awesome.  My dad-who doesn't ride, but he loves the horses just the same-has ridden her a couple times, too.  She can be as mellow as you want, or kick it up a notch or two for people who know what they're doing.

She'd also become of my best friends and my confidante.  I've told her plenty secrets.. cried in her neck when my heart's been broken..she's always been there.  She's always had my back.  She knows when people aren't good for you and she'll let you know.

I had a boyfriend for a long time that NOBODY (friends, family..nobody) liked.  I brought him home one time, and we went riding.  He had never been on a horse, so he went on Perk.  He liked to show off-even if he didn't know what he was doing,  was comfortable on her so he decided to go faster and canter.  I tried to warn him that she was going through a phase where she liked to buck a little when she went into a canter.. he wouldn't listen.  So, after a couple of seconds of cantering.. she put her head down.  gave a little hop and off he went.. right smack dab in the middle of a fresh pile of poo.  The running joke now is that not only did my friends and family not like this guy... neither did my HORSE!

As I've gotten older, I haven't been able to see and ride her as much as I've liked.  First, I went away to college and would come home a couple times a semester..  Then I wound up moving away and getting married. While I've been gone, she's been a lesson horse, and she had a baby, who looks like a carbon copy of her, named Risco (named after his grand Sire Risco Perk).  She's never forgotten me, and my mom says that everytime she sees a blonde girl she perks up wondering if it's me.  I saw her a year ago after being gone for 6 years, and she nickered at me asking where I've been. 

Perk is now 22 years old, and living with my parents in North Carolina.  I miss her a lot.  Now that I've gotten settled and have some connections of a place to stay, she will eventually be coming to live out the rest her years with me in Texas, but only after she's done helping my mom train her new young horses.