Trail Mix

I hope my U.S. blogger friends enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving!

Well, Gem and I are back in weekly lessons.  So far, so good!  I think we both needed a break from the running around in circles routine.   I feel so much better about my riding!  I think this year is going to be our year.  :-)

The weird weather of late has made the terrain for our trail rides interesting....lots of mud one day and completely dry the next.   High winds have ripped all remaining leaves from the trees, changing how everything looks.  Some large branches and a tree have fallen in the forest, forcing a change in the route we normally would take.  Gem and I now regularly lead the trail rides.  His strides are so much larger than the other horses, I would always be adjusting his speed and in spite of that, he would end up with his nose where it shouldn't be.  :-)  It's more relaxed with him leading.

The Sunday before last was a gorgeous day.   A few others joined DH's Mom and I out on the trails.  It was muddy!  I will say that my anxiety level raised a bit when I saw just how muddy it was in places.  But, I took deep breaths and focused on where we were going.  Gem was great.  I am not going to say that he didn't try to go into the shrubs to avoid the mud, but I did gently restrict him from going too wide around the mud. :-)  He and I have got to learn to deal with the dreaded mud, right?

DH's Mom and I were leading the group, with DH in front of Gem and the others quite a ways back, gabbing.  Gem, DH and I saw the mature buck at the same time - if my ears could have stood forward and erect, they would have!  :-)  The buck bounded across the trail in front of us.   As he did, DH and Gem did a little tuck of their butts and stopped; equivalent to a little teensy tiny sliding stop kind of motion, I'd say.   DH's Mom, who did not see the buck, turned around and asked me what DH slipped on!   The buck stood a little ways away from us, watching.  He was so well camouflaged, that only one of the others in our group could see him!  I was very thankful that neither DH, Gem or I freaked out.  :-)

That same ride, we met up with a few of the young ladies on their horses playing tag in the field.  Gem and I were leading and coming up to the opening of another field when all of a sudden I heard thundering hooves coming up from behind me.  One of the young ladies horses appeared to my right about 30 feet away at a gallop and jumped over a crumpled portion of the rock wall to join the herd at the feeding station.  I could feel Gem start to power up.  You know what I did??  I actually sat back in my seat, created a slight tension on the reins and told him "easy".  I then turned him towards the wall bordering the golf course, did a 1/2 circle and walked back to my group.  I was so pleased with myself!!  Apparently, one of the young ladies was riding bareback and decided she had had enough; she dismounted, pulled the headstall off and then smacked her horse's butt with one of the reins to get her to move.  WTH?!  Geez.  Apparently, Gem wasn't the only horse that reacted to the crazy galloping.  DH's Mom explained to me later that when a horse takes off like that, other horses interpret it as danger and that they should run, too.  I am glad that Gem didn't.  :-)

Gem eating my helmet after our ride

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Yesterday was windy and bitter cold. I wore my winter jacket and tights for the first time.  We decided to go through the "swamp" for something different because it appeared frozen.  Well a lot of it was, but there were big patches that had frozen mud on top, but mush underneath. Gulp.  Again, I took deep breaths...and, at DH's Mom's suggestion, I hummed....a lot!  Gem led us, cracking through ice and sinking up over his hooves.  I tried hard to concentrate on what trail we would take next and not the sucking noises as hooves were pulled out of the black goo.  While the other horses were having issues with the ice and mud and had to be kept calm, Gem was pretty darn good!   And, frankly, so was I!  In fact, we stopped to give the others a chance to get it together and he stood in mud eating some remnant leaves off of trees!  Yay!  DH's Mom congratulated Gem on being the only horse that remained fairly calm during this episode and me for not screaming like a girl.  :-)  A little further on the trails, Gem stopped, ears forward.  Two Bambi deer bounded out of the bushes in front of us, white tails flashing.   Gem watched them for a few seconds as they made their way deeper into the bush and then he walked on.  No fuss.  Whew!

These experiences over the last couple of weeks have helped me realize how trustworthy Gem is.   Instead of approaching trail riding as an accident waiting to happen, I have started to relax.   Each time he reacts in a sane way to a "different" situation, my confidence grows in him....and in me.  I like it!!  My goal of loping in the small field and perhaps going out on my own is within reach....I can feel it!  :-)

 

Penning (Warning: may be disturbing to some)

Unfortunately, I am not referring to this type of penning:

I am actually referring to the penning of wild animals that will become the target for training hunting dogs to kill. There are those out there that live trap raccoons, rabbits, fox and coyote and sell them to secluded, illegal "training" facilities.

Live trapped coyotes waiting to be sold to a facility.

In turn, a hunter will pay a fee to the guy who has the illegal set up to have his hound dogs "trained". A wild animal is released into a confined/fenced area where it cannot escape and the dogs are set loose. The wild animal is run to exhaustion and then is then ripped to shreds by the dogs. So, let me be clear here: Someone traps the animals and gets paid for them. Someone gets paid for allowing someone to enjoy watching how well his dogs are trained based on how they run an animal and rip it apart. Did I mention that this activity is illegal? Money makes the world go 'round. Wildlife penning has the same underground culture as dog fighting. Sigh.

As a wildlife advocate, I not only find this cruel and disgusting, I find it deeply disturbing and creepy. What kind of person thinks that this activity is acceptable? Wildlife penning is a blood sport and is just wrong, plain and simple. Indiana is currently considering legalizing penning. I would urge anyone who would like to work towards putting an end to penning in the U.S. to sign the petition below or, if you live in Indiana, contact your state representative and tell them you want this blood sport stopped.

http://www.change.org/petitions/urgent-help-ban-the-brutal-practice-of-penning-of-coyotes-foxes-indiana

I guess you can tell I am worked up. :-) Sorry for the non-horse post, but education is key in having these types of activities stopped. Thanks in advance for supporting wildlife!!! My next post will be happier, I promise!!!

Caw!

Every morning, I sit at the kitchen table and have my first cup of coffee while I glance over the newspaper. My seat at the table faces out our patio door into the back yard and I can see the field over our hedge. I initially picked this seat when we moved into this house 15 years ago, because I was able to watch the dogs when they were outside, making sure they didn't get into too much mischief (those of you who have terriers know what I am talking about!). In the spring and summer, I can enjoy looking at my garden, in the fall my mornings are filled with the gorgeous yellow, red and orange of the trees in the field, and in winter, this seat now allows me to enjoy the birds at the 3 feeders I have set up.

Every morning, between 7:20 a.m. and 7:45 a.m., hundreds of crows fly over my house and across the field to an unknown destination. Sometimes a few of them will sit in our trees and torment the dogs (and humans!) with their cawing and gesturing. This morning ritual fascinates me and I have, over the years, asked people who live in outlying towns if they know the secret place where the crows hang out during the day. No one does. This morning was particularly magical; the crows were flying through a light snow and it looked like diamonds were floating down against their dark wings.

I really like crows. They are actually one of my favourite birds. They share my favourites listing with Cardinals. Chickadees and Goldfinches. As a young person I never really paid much attention to crows. Like a large portion of the population, I guess I was subconsciously buying into the historical bad press that crows and ravens represented nasty (actually any black bird or black animal gets a bad rap).

Many years ago, I worked on the ground floor of an office building, looking out on to a greenspace with some trees. Very nice. One day, I happened to notice two crows outside my window. It was hard not to notice; one was screeching at the other. I thought they were fighting over food because the slightly larger crow had a piece of bread in its mouth. She would let the other crow hop over to her and then she would fly about 10 feet, very low to the ground leaving the other crow screeching at her. This went on and on, with the slightly smaller crow hopping all over the grass chasing the crow with the bread. Initially, I thought was some sort of cruel game. She started flying a little further away, and eventually the smaller crow started flapping his wings and flying a few feet. It dawned on me; she was trying to teach her youngster how to fly!! I watched this lesson for about 20 minutes. Eventually she got her youngster to fly up to the lower branch of one of the trees and gave him the bread. They sat there for a while and then she flew off low to the ground, with her youngster right behind her. After that incident, I looked at crows with different eyes. How can a bird this loving and responsible towards its young, have such a bad reputation?

Crows are smart and are problem solvers. I personally have seen a family of crows working as a team trying to figure out how to open a snap-lid garbage can. :-) They live a long time and mate for life. If one of the mates dies, the other will remain single forever. They mature slowly and live in family groups, with the youngsters helping raise the newer chicks. What I witnessed when I saw the mother teaching the youngster to fly was just another day in the life of raising their young. I think it's part of human nature to focus on the negative; yes, crows and ravens are opportunistic and will feed on garbage, other birds' eggs and crops. But, they also eat crop-damaging bugs and rodents and help keep other small wildlife populations in check . In nature it's all about balance. Crows actually share a lot in common with another one of my favourites, coyotes. You can find out more about crows here.

That day so many years ago when I watched the mother crow reward her youngster for his effort has stayed with me. It changed the way I look at the wildlife around me. There aren't many crows around the stables, but when I do see them I smile and know that they are helping the barn cats keep the rodent and insect population in check . Cats and crows seem to get along. Perhaps they understand that they are working together. I think the crows around the stables also enjoy observing what we are doing as we work around or ride our horses; we're sort of like their TV. :-)

If you are disappointed that this post was not about my adventures with Gem, I apologize! :-) I haven't been able to ride for the past week due to weather. But, I hope the next time you see a crow, you think of their intelligence, how majestic they are, their sense of family, how important community is to them and how mysterious they are. Crows, in my book, are very cool.