More Daniel Fun

So... Danny isn't as good when I try to lunge him in the pasture without a round pen. :) But he tried. We did some trotting again and he even walked over some poles. Although at one point he did turn and kick out at me. NAUGHTY boy!! He got backed halfway across the pasture! But he was quite good otherwise.

Then today we went for a trail ride. It was cold and windy and gross and nasty! But Dan didn't mind...He's a Virginia baby! He was bouncy the whole way but was pretty well behaved with the micklem on. :) I may have to buy one after all. It was a good outing.

Super Smartie pants

So.... that boy is way too smart!!! His third time lunging and he's doing it better than Fleck ;) He went both directions and was good both ways. He has pretty much figured out "walk on", "And trot", "And walk" and when I square my shoulders at him, he stops and faces me. :) :) :) He's also getting the hang of staying out a bit farther on the circle. Sweet!!!! So I did just a few minutes of trotting, mostly working on the transitions and then quit. He was so good I decided to try a bit of long lining. I really have no idea what I'm doing, but... I put the lunge line through his halter so I had a line on each side and I stood behind him. He was good and just stood still. Then I said "walk on" and tapped him with the end of the lunge line. No kicking at me :) Bonus!!! And he took a few steps. Then turned and looked at me like "Um....????". Lots of praise and we did it two more times. Only a step or two each time, but... progress :)
Whoo hooo!!!

He's such a good little boy! I'm so excited about riding him!!!!

Good thing he's sooooo smart!!!

So... I ran out of time yesterday to do any lunge/long line work. Bad Mommy... Today I fed and finished unloading the hay and apparently... I left the barn door open or almost open when I left. And I went to Aiken (I had to deliver Midget and her pal to their new homes.. so no Fleck or Dan with me). So.. it was about 7 hours before I got home... at least... When I got home I saw Fleck and Roany, but no Dan. Oh well... I had to change and then I was heading out to play. Well.. when I got out, they were all in the front field. BUT... the tack room door was open... Oh man..... This is what greeted me. MANNNNNN.......  He pooped about 5 times, flung my supplements everywhere, tipped over 3 bales of hay, ate some hay, ate the hay cubes, ate some beet pulp, ate some grain, ate some chicken food... ARGH..... Luckily the soaked hay cubes filled him up because there wasn't much grain missing. At this point I'm assuming it was Dan. Who was out front grazing happily with the other two.

So... I went and grabbed him and we headed to the barn. He came along quite happily.. not caring that the other two were still in the front field. Good pony!!! I groomed him quickly and then we went to work. He was SOOOOOO good!!! He seriously did awesome! We started with desensitizing to the lunge line. He didn't care. Then we did yielding to pressure. He was great. Then we did walking and we even got a big circle. And we even did awesome going to the right!! He was so good. Then we added in "and trot!" and he did... and he even started getting the hang of "Annnnnnndd walk..". :) What a smartie pants!!! So he got lots of cookies and then went back out to play while I rode Fleck. Once I turned him loose, he went galloping off to the front field and did a few laps. Hee hee.

He only got half his dinner but ate great, drank, and all three of them were happily munching hay an hour later, so... fingers crossed there is no side effects from his adventure.

Wheee... I'm in for a wild ride!

So... Daniel went to school today.... He's soooo funny. He's such a good kid, but such a little "dennis the menace" too!. ;) You can just see him thinking.... "hmmm, what if I do this.....???"... "Muhauhuahua!!!". hee hee.. But he really is smart too!

Beth and I started to teach him about lunging so we can go to long lining. We put the micklem bridle on him. He fits perfectly in the horse size!!! He didn't care about the lunge line flapping all around him, tangling up in his feet, or flipping over his back. Go me! Then we introduced lunging. It was a little tricky without a round pen, but he was getting the hang of it. Only... he's already so one sided!!! I ma going to make a big effort to get on his right side more often! I can't believe how one sided he is.. and I feel like I haven't done much! But it's all good... I'm going to fix it. So yep.. he was pretty darn good. Beth started out saying that he was naughty and needed a "come to jesus" meeting. But by the end she was saying that he's going to be a GREAT eventer and had great gaits.. BUT..... she foresaw a good bit of ..... disagreements... in our future. Hee hee.. Yep, I have a feeling it's going to be a wild ride, but totally worth it! :)

Oh.... but you know... I really don't think he's going to be that bad. He hauled with Fleck to Ashland. Sat in the trailer while Fleck and I rode and didn't fuss. (Granted, he had Sunny in his trailer parked next to him, but still) and then walked away from Fleck (who was definitely fussing!) to the upper ring and stayed mostly focused on the job. Yep... I got myself a good one!


Oh my... he's getting so grown up!!! I'm so proud of my little boy!

Oh.... I can't believe I almost forgot!!! He really is a GOOD kid!! After "school" I unloaded them at home and he was standing right there next to the trailer..... conveniently lined up with it. So I climbed up on the wheel well and stood up there next to him. And lightly tossed a leg over him, while still standing on the wheel well with the other and hanging onto the trailer. He didn't react, so I casually eased my butt down on him but not putting full weight on him. No reaction..... :) So I ever so softly put all of my weight on him. He turned to look at me and I told him what a GREAT PONY he was... and got off! I did it twice! He didn't seem to mind, although I didn't give him much of a chance to do anything as I was quick. BUT... he also was completely free... no halter even! So... definitely a good boy!!! I cannot wait until I get to get on him for real!!

Future Eventer for Sure!!!

So... poor Danaroo. He REALLY needs to be worked more. I MUST make it a priority!!! 

So... today I put them in the big pasture again and he was racing around and showing off. He was having a ball. I finally got the water trough in and was putting the hose on the new water spigot (yay!) and of course.. he had to come up and play. He then grabbed the electric fence with his teeth and pulled it! (It's not on... it's broken). So I yelled at him and went about my business. Then I left to put the hammer back and... Danny's chewing on the hose. So I chased him off and headed back to put the hammer away... and I look back and Dan is running laps again. Only this time he's bounding up and down the creek bed and bouncing around in and out of the trees!! Eeeks... Then.... I kid you not... He turns and jumps the electric fence .... three times!!! Just jumped right over it.. then did a little gallop circle, jumps back over it... then does a little lap, and jumps back over it again!!! Now, that fence comes up to just below my boobs!! He may have taken it over a sagging part the third time, but... jeesh!! And he cleared it.... With no effort... just hopped on over it. 

SWEET!!!!! I've got an eventer on my hands!!!!

So tomorrow we'll do some in hand work and I'll order my long lines!! Let the games begin!

1.5 years old

So... Daniel turned 1.5 and.... he is officially 15.2 at the wither and 15.3 at the butt. PERFECT!!! That means he'll most probably be 16.2 at the smallest, which is perfect... but hopefully not much more than 16.3 or 17 hands. :) 

He didn't get to celebrate his birthday today really, but he celebrated yesterday with his swim in the lake ;)
 

Danny entertainment

So... I got a new phone with a cool camera in it, so... I had to take pictures :) 

Enjoy!

Well.. he IS from Virginia.....

Danny was a naughty goof ball today!!! heee hee... The kid cracks me up. I decided to take him and Fleck for a ride since he hadn't been out in a while. Unfortunately today was the first cold day we've had in a while. Lately it's been almost t-shirt weather, but today was windy, overcast, and a high of 45 degrees! But we're eventers... we're tough! So we loaded up fine and got there and both boys were groomed. I decided to throw the bareback pad on Danny and even cinched it up. He didn't care. :) So then we were off. (I did take the pad off Dan). 

Danny was a bit naughty... He kept tossing his head and trying to break free, run ahead, canter instead of trot.... But... he crossed all three creeks without any issues and we only had one "stop and plant" and that was when we met another horse and we were leaving them. And I know I'll appreciate the forwardness soon enough :) 

So then we came out at the lake. So I thought, fine, let's play for a bit and then we'll take the long trail back home. So Danny splashed and carried on... and then laid down for a roll. Goofy baby horse.. it's Cold!!! So then he splashed some more... and then next thing I know.. he's heading into deep waters! I was so surpised (and kinda curious) that I let go of the lead rope... and he went for a big long swim!!! Like... SWIMMING swim!!! It was only his little head that was emerged. Hee hee.... Hilarious!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtLYav9xaXk  Here's the link.  

So he gets out and goes bucking around a bit, but then stopped to eat grass so I was able to catch him. Then I decided since he was now soaking wet and it was chilly.... we'd stick in the sunshine. Only he was feeling good and kept trying to buck and be silly. The little turd finally got the best of me and broke loose.... and went streaking and bucking across the cross country field. Ooops!! Luckily it was just us and I caught him after he had a little jaunt. I decided that was enough fun for now and we would just head home. No more excursions without some better control... either the chitney bit (chutney...why oh why can't I remember what that darn thing is called!) or a bit perhaps. 

So we got back uneventfully and since Dan was wet I threw Fleck's fleecey on him. It didn't "fit" necessarily, but it worked. So then we headed home. 

And of course that night it was supposed to drop into the upper 20's, but by then Dan had dried off. I did put Roany's size 76 blanket on him... A teensy bit big but it fit!! Enough for him to wear it all night and not get tangled up. 

So yep... another FUN exciting adventure with the Danaroo!

And.... while he wasn't being naughty... he was being super cute... He kept wanting into my pockets. hee hee...

 

Such a beautiful day!!!

Today was a GORGEOUS day...... Perfect long sleeve t-shirt weather, gorgeous fall colors, and two of my favorite guys to spend it with! 

I took Danny and Fleck for a trail ride at Ashland and we had a blast. Danny was pretty good although he managed to chew Fleck's name of his special lead rope. Doh! We had fun though. We did a long ride through the woods and in some open fields and then finished at the lake. Dan crossed the creek without hesitating this time too! 

I love my boys!

 

I sat on Dan!!!!!

Hee hee.... I went out for bed check tonight.... and Dan was down for his snooze. I snuggled a bit and then thought... hmmm.. he's so conveniently right here... So I hopped on!! hee hee.... He didn't care. He kinda looked around and sniffed my leg but was like "oh.. okay". It was awesome!!! He already takes up my leg quite nicely :) 

I got off... and then got back on again. Hee hee. I couldn't resist! So... I've backed Dan :) 

ha ha!! I have a feeling it'll be a bit more ...eventful..... when he's not half asleep ;)
 

GOOD baby!!!!!

Danny boy was GREAT today :) I'm so proud of the little pipsqueak! I'll be honest... I haven't done much with him lately. He's just been... a horse. But today I decided to do a bit of work with him. Partly because I had time and partly because he made it blatantly clear he was bored and wanted to play! 

First he got groomed and then he wore a bridle for about 10 minutes. He chewed the whole time, but didn't really do anything else. It's Roany's old bridle... it is cob sized and it fits him everywhere except the noseband. That barely fits! I'm not really sure why... I don't feel like he has a big nose???? Oh well. Then I put his new Chifney bit in... (or is it Chutney?? Why can't I remember that?!). It's the ring/bit thing they use for stallions and racehorses. I didn't have the crownpiece for it so I didn't make him wear it, just put it in his mouth. He did not like that much better than his bit. But you know, at least this way I can have some control when he gets bouncy. 

 hee hee.... Goofy boy!

Then I put his regular halter on and we did some in hand work. He's a bit off from where he stepped on his heel bulb and it's now sloughing, but he was good. We did the "you stay at my shoulder no matter what" game.... I sped up, he followed. I slowed down, he followed. I halted, he halted. I turned left, he turned left and I turned right, and he stopped and let me turn around him. We even did a few little short trots and he behaved!! (Without the chifney... hee hee... he's trying to prove he doesn't need it, I guess!). No turning at the trot yet... baby steps again! 

So then... I took him to the round pen and did two circles each direction of "lunging" on the lead line. Just at the walk. I was aiming to get him to respond to my body position and also to learn to respond to voice commands. He was good so I took the lead off and tried it with him loose. At first he bounced up and came at me - wanting to play! Not menacingly. I growled at him and chased him back and then made him back up. Even though it was play.. I am NOT a play friend. So then he went left and then right with my body positioning and then I got brave and asked for the trot. :) He was pretty darn good!! He took a few canter strides at first, but then trotted and then walked when I asked. I did each direction for less than a circle really. Then I asked him to halt by squaring my shoulders and he did. Then I looked at him and he lowered his head and licked his lips. Then I turned to the side and he walked up to me!!! YAY!! So he got TONS of praise and then dinner. 

I'm just so proud of him. And a little bit of me too. Maybe, just maybe, I can create a nice solid citizen of a horse.  

Oh, and then after dinner we were snuggling... waiting on Roany to finish eating. And I started scratching the insides of his ears, like how Fleck likes it. He was enjoying it. :)

 

So long sweet summer

Dan and Fleck and I hit the trails again today. Dan was REALLY good! I swear, sometimes I think he speaks English. We started out in the XC field and Lucy was driving around. He was good but started to get a bit cheeky, being out in the open field. I told him to behave himself so that Lucy would continue to let me bring him. And he settled down and behaved. Then we hit the woods and he was so much better than last time. He only chewed on his lead rope a few times and when I pulled it out of his mouth.. he got the hang of it and quit trying. And he stopped and planted... and after about 10 seconds, he yielded to pressure and carried on. He tried it a handful more times, and each time, the planting lasted less and less time. By the middle of the ride, he would move on as soon as the lead started to get taut. AND... we crossed four creeks with only a plant at the first one. And that was farther back, not even at the creek. So whoo hooo! Progress!! I don't think he's scared.... I think he's stubborn. Ha!! Imagine that!! But he's smart too and figured out that it's not working, so why bother.

Then I was giggling at him and Fleck because anytime Dan got a smidge ahead of Fleck's barrel, Fleck would whip back with her GRRRR face and snarl at Dan. Hee hee... I couldn't help it.. .it was funny. Even though Danny really didn't deserve it today. I don't think he chewed on Fleck once!

So we did a smidge of trotting but Fleck's other hind shoe became loose, so... we walked the rest of the way. I told Dan he needed to pay attention to the scenery because one day it would be just me and him and he had to be on the look out so he could protect me like Fleck does. And Darn if he didn't... he seriously started looking around. He almost even spooked at the waterfall! And not that I want him spooky... but I think he focuses on just Fleck and it doesn't dawn on him to pay attention. To the point that when it's just him and I... I get the feeling the trails are going to suddenly be scary because he didn't pay enough attention when we are out ponying. We'll see though.... who knows!

Anyways... after our trail ride I did a little bit of in hand work. He was decent... especially considering it's been awhile. He is really good about staying with me at the walk, but once we start trotting, he still gets carried away. But he was better... I stuck to a nice slow jog and he did pretty good... aside from the sudden blow to my thigh. I honestly don't know where it came from... not sure if it was aimed at me or I was just in the way of a "dance move".... ??? It didn't hurt bad, but he got backed up halfway across the ring... and through the water puddle I might add. :) Which, earlier he had walked through without skirting around it, so yay.

So we finished on a good note, he loaded right up and home we went. It was a good day!



Trails again

So nothing too exciting but Dan and I had another fun trail ride with Fleck. We met up with Christina and Sham. Dan was pretty good. His new game is to take the lead rope in his teeth and pull back. Argh... so I had to rip it through his teeth a few times so I could get some leverage. But otherwise he was good and wasn't too goofy. We went to the lake again and he splashed around a bit. Then him and Sham were sniffing and starting playing with each other. It was cute... Sham would grab his lower lip and hold on... and Dan would grab Sham's bridle and shake. Then when we got back to the trailers and Sham and Dan tried to play again, Fleck got all big brother protective. :) Cute!

 

Splish Splash....

We had another fun trail ride! Dan behaved himself very well. We went with Arwyn and Kelli. We did about an hour of trails and Dan was pretty good. Fleck only had to get after him a few times. Then we went to the cross country field and hung out in the water while Kelli and Arwyn played. Dan was good about getting in and out and going up the bank. Going down the bank was a little tougher. He stopped and planted and said "nope" at first, but then after some careful consideration and some prompting by me... he said okay. It was so cute.. he hunkered down like he was going to launch.. and then calmly walked off the edge. Hee hee.. He got lots of praise and was so proud of himself. Then Kelli let me hop on Arwyn and both boys behaved themselves while Kelli held them. Dan just grazed and didn't pull away or get too nosy. And I had a blast on Arwyn. Then we went back to the trailer and Kelli took off her saddle for a swim. I left Fleck's saddle on... just in case Dan decided to try to pull me off!

The boys had a blast in the water. Dan is learning how to splash and play and seems very comfy in there. We then headed home and rinsed off. Dan loaded right back up and hauled great.

It was a most fun day!

Dan meets kiddos

So... the other day my friend brought her kids over for some pony time. We let them feed the horses and even ride Fleck. But I was so proud of Dan!! I was a little worried so we were being super careful but Dan was great!!! He didnt' spook at the kids, didn't try to hurt the kids.. He just wanted to smell them! hee hee... (although they apparently did not appreciate that!)

He was even really good about taking cookies from them. They did the typical kid thing of holding it out and then pulling back as that giant nose came at them. But Danny didn't get greedy or nippy. He was such a good boy.

I'm so proud of him!!!

Smart Cookie

So.... we are back to work with Danaroo and he's got a new game :) It's called "stay with me and you get cookies... move too far ahead or behind and you get whacked with a lead rope". hee hee.... But really... if he stays by my shoulder... whether I speed up, slow down, turn, turn into him, stop, or do whatever.. he needs to learn to stay by my shoulder and match my pace and direction. If he does... he gets cookies and pets. If he doesn't... like he gets ahead of me... he runs into a twirling lead rope. I don't smack him with it... but he walks into it and smacks himself. I like this game!!! Dan, not as much. Ha! But really, he's getting the hang of it. So far we're really good at the walk. I'm aiming to translate it to the trot. I think it may help things. And... quite frankly, he's QUITE good about cookies... despite being a baby boy and oh so mouthy. So far, he's allowed to be fed cookies because he's being very good about it. Once he starts getting nippy he gets cut off.

So we've been playing that new game.... and then the "touch it" game. I hold something up or point to something and tell him to touch it... if he touches it with his nose, he gets praise and/or a cookie. He likes that game!

So yep.. it's back to work. We've done some more trail rides too and added in a bit more trotting and some logs. He's having fun. He's even starting to look around and notice his surroundings more. Rather than just chewing on Fleck. That makes Fleck happier too!

So yep... not too much excitement. But a happy boy!

Oh, and the chickens are braver and out and about now, so Dan has learned about chickens... and presumably... Roosters!

 

Brain Surgery!

So.... I was awfully worried about Danny and his castration. He only had one descended testicle and he didn't wake up well from his anesthesia the last time. Now granted, he had two testicles at one point... and Dewey did the same thing but once he was sedated, it popped back down. So... I was highly optimistic that he would do the same. And I was hoping that because it would be a quicker surgery, he'd wake up well. But I figured I'd play it safe and do it at UGA. That way if he didn't drop the second one... he could go straight to surgery and would only have to wake up once.

I dropped him off Monday morning and he was scheduled for surgery Tuesday morning. I came home with the empty trailer and Fleck about had a fit. He was soooo mad at me! He came screaming down the driveway following the trailer. Then realized it was empty, neighed, looked at me, at the trailer, back at me, the trailer, back at me. It was so sad! He was like "what did you do?" "Where is he!??". Poor guy.

And I should have been more worried, but I just knew in my heart he was going to be fine. For better or worse I think Dan and I are meant to be in it for the long haul. At least I hope so. Most of the time anyways ;) Just kidding...

So Tuesday Fleck and I had our dressage lesson so I decided to take Fleck to UGA with me and watch Dan's surgery, then we could go lesson and then hopefully take Dan back home with us. And that's what we did!

Dan did GREAT!!! It couldn't have gone any better. He went down smoothly an Dr. Mueller was able to pop testicle number 2 right up there. The gelding was routine and quick. He woke up perfectly. He waved his head around a bit and laid back down. Then he got himself sternal and stood there for a good bit. Then one good heave and he was upright. Yay!!!! After about ten minutes we noticed he had found the anesthesia hose and was flinging it around the room!! Ha ha.. That's my Dan... now back to your room!

So Fleck and I went and had a good lesson and came back and got the little rug rat. Him and Fleck were so happy to be reunited. Dan did well afterwards and seems to be suffering no ill effects. I'm hoping the lack of testosterone will improve things.

Our second FEH show

So I let Dan have a week off after the FEH show at the ARK. We didn't really work on anything, but he still had to behave for the daily stuff. Well, that might have been a bad idea. I finally decided that since the second show was coming up quick... I should get back to work. Unfortunately real work got in the way. But we got to it... and Dan was a big ol' butthead!!! He just didn't want to cooperate and only wanted to play. Sigh... So we tried again the next day and made a bit more progress. But it wasn't looking good for the show. They did have a professional handler, and I struggled with the decision on whether to use the pro or do it myself. Part of me wanted to do it myself. That's the whole point right? I mean, I'm not showing him to sell him or even for his show record. It's the whole bonding experience. To get Dan out and about and exposed. BUT.... it might be nice to see if the pro could do a better job than me. I really went back and forth pretty much up until 2 minutes to "post"! I finally decided to just man up and do it myself because the whole reason for doing it was to have US do it together. Probably not a good idea. Oh well... I'm not sure it wouldn't have gone much better with the pro. He was just naughty. I mean, he wasn't horrid.. except during the actual Judged part. ha!

 

He was decent for his bath at 0-dark-thirty. He was decent hauling by himself and then with May. He was decent for his braids, which did NOT look good. Last time they were too long. This time they were too short and kept popping apart! Oh well. But then it started falling apart. I think that there are some things I could have done that would have made it better, but I'm not sure that they were options. They put us in stalls and pretty much told us to stay put until it was our turn. Which... I understand... you don't want a bunch of babies running around getting each other riled up. And last year, that was the case. But.. that meant that Dan was locked in a stall, freaking out about May leaving him, and then he had no "warm up". I think if I could have jogged him around a bit and loosened him up... he would have been more wild?!? hee hee.. I don't know. I think it would have helped May for sure.. maybe not Dan so much. But anyways, he was okay but screamed for May the whole time. He stood still for a few minutes then started dancing and knocking over flower pots. Argh. Then we really didn't even walk the triangle. He sorta jigged it. Then our attempts to trot the triangle resulted in him cantering and spinning around me in circles. We finally got a few strides of trot and gave up.  But then... little turd.... I walked him back to the stall and he walked, stopped, trotted, stopped all in hand BEAUTIFULLY down the lane to the barn and past the barn. Really baby horse? Really?! I honestly think it's not that he doesn't know what to do. It's that he just wants to show off. Only he plays instead of showing off that lovely trot of his.

Sigh... so we got last place. 6th out of 6. The funny thing is... he got better scores on his comformation from this judge, so had he cooperated, he probably would have done better. We ran into the judge as he was leaving and thanked him. He said that he would have scored Dan better but he didn't really ever walk or trot.. so he couldn't judge us. Then he said "You know, you really ought to practice with him.. so he knows what to expect". Really dude? I almost kicked him. Argh... Oh well....

I do think hormones may be playing a role, so...after he was so naughty at home that Thursday... I called UGA Friday morning and made an appointment for him to be gelded. Ha!!! Take that Danaroo!

But anyways.... I was a little frustrated... and I'll admit it... I had myself a little cry over it. Not sure why, but... I did. BUT... a friend made me laugh.. she said that Dan was practicing for his XC. I thought, you know... they did say Future EVENT HORSE... which means cantering and jumping and galloping... So Dan was showing it off!