2012 Spring Cattle Drive

My goal this year was to ride Dexter at this year's cattle drive. However, when we got the call that we were moving cows this weekend, I just didn't feel he or I were quite ready for that kind of pressure. In the end, I took good old reliable Jack and had a wonderful ride. Jack only gets to work cows once or twice a year and in earlier years he was always just OK. However, I'd say the past 3 years, he has been awesome so it only took me 14 years to get him really great! Early on, the herd split into two groups with the faster cows/calves up front and the slower cows/calves lagging behind. At one point, we were riding along the trail, visiting with Lyle who was driving the mule team and wagon. Suddenly, Lyle noticed the herd had found a break in a fence and they were all heading into a neighbour's field. We only had three riders, Nikki, Gord, and myself and one quad driven by Everett aka "Eye Candy". Everett blocked the break in the fence to prevent more cows from coming into the field, while Krissy, who was riding in the wagon, found a gate we could open to get the cows back up to the trail. It was hard work for Nikki, Gord, and I to get the cows back on the trail but we managed to save face and get the job done before the trailing herd caught up. I am really glad I had Jack under me because I think it would have been a lot to ask of Dexter at this stage of his training. As it turned out, we got the entire herd safely back to the summer grazing ranch and in a couple of weeks we'll be heading back up to Water Valley for the branding. It is much easier on all the animals if the weather is a little on the cooler side. Other than the occasional sprinkle of rain, we had pretty reasonable weather for the 14 mile cattle drive. The creek was pretty high and other than the back of the wagon getting a good cleaning, none of the calves floated downstream and we riders, managed to keep our feet dry. Another great horse day! Tovie and Jack and Gord and Magic

Jack's progress continues

Gord and I took Dexter and Magic out to Wareabouts today to go for a ride with Rob and Sharon. It was a perfect early spring day and all the horses did really well, even over the creek that had huge blocks of ice break under their feet. It really is the perfect place to ride; with rolling hills, lots of creek crossings, bridges, and fields; not to mention great riding companions. There are even some challenging obstacles set up back at the ranch to further test your horsemanship. After the ride, I went to visit with Jack. I haven't seen him for nearly 3 weeks and was pleasantly surprised that he showed interest in my presence. In fact, it was the first time he ever made an effort to approach me. During the 3 weeks I played with him previously, he would allow me to approach but he never once offered to reciprocate. It was very exciting and I called Rob to come watch Jack follow me around the arena. Rob mentioned that earlier that day when he approached Jack with the halter, it was the first time that Jack offered to come towards him and that overall, Jack continues to get more comfortable around people. After doing TTouch over his body, I tried approaching his face and for the first time ever was able to do some TTouch on his jowls and forehead; as well as some ear work. Rob needed to change the dressing on Jack's injured leg and he asked me to "lead" him to the stall and Jack willingly complied. It was fun for Rob to see Jack being led without a halter and rope and I told him that is exactly how I caught Dexter; without a halter and rope. In fact I never tried to halter Dexter until I felt he was already "caught" without it - very cool to feel Jack doing the same thing. Rob has done a wonderful job of tending to Jack's leg and it is healing well, although he will be left with a nasty scar. Jack still wouldn't let me do TTouch on the injured leg so I can't wait for the next visit to try again. In the past, I have found TTouch a wonderful way to show a horse that there is no longer pain associated with an old injury. Happy Spring! Tovie & Jack

Meet Dexter - my new trail horse

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Dexter and I are now going under saddle thanks to the patient tutelage of Rob Kroeger at Wareabouts Training Stable. Dexter and I had 3 weeks with Rob before he was completely healed and ready to take all his clients back.

It was like being at horse boot camp and I loved every minute spent at Wareabouts. It is a beautiful setting right along Ware creek - hence the name Wareabouts. The owners of Wareabouts Training Stable, Peter & Sharon are very easy folks to be around, as is Rob. There is an atmosphere of tranquility that is the perfect environment to train horses, and as I was fortunate to experience - train people too.

The really cool thing about working with Rob is that he knew the "old" Dexter as well because I can assure you that if he didn't, he wouldn't have believed a word I said. Dexter was calm and adapted to everything we asked of him - even being in a strang environment. Dexter made himself at home the very first night; while Rob says it isn't uncommon for horses to take several days to a couple of weeks to settle in.

Most of the horses on the property were taking turns keeping Jack company in the adjoining stall. Dexter was so relaxed, that Rob shared that honour with Dexter as well. To my knowledge, Dexter hasn't ever been in a stall but again he took it all very calmly. Needless to say, it was very reassuring for me to discover Dexter's adaptability to various situations. On one of our rides up a steep hill, I was following Rob on Wa Wa, and Linda on Lady when Lady's feet slipped out from under her. She was able to regain her footing without mishap. Then the same thing happened to Dexter; his front legs slipped right under him and when he lurched forward, my feet must have come out of the stirrups. The next thing I knew, I was standing and watching Dexter's little head sliding down the hill right out from underneath me. Where is a camera when we needed it? Rob and Linda said it looked very elegant in slow motion and there I stood on my feet - completely unscathed. Dexter's slide was stopped by trees and when he got back to his feet, I led him up the rest of the hill and he was completely unperturbed by his experience. Dexter and I still have a lot of work to do but we have built up a lot of confidence in each other over the past three weeks so the rest will be fine tuning. This is shaping up to be a great riding season. After last year's dismal riding season, I will be even more grateful. Tovie & Dexter