Life with Fonzie 10 days in...

When Fonzie first arrived, we put him in a wooden rail paddock and had our very easy going gelding Jack, in the paddock beside him for company and they quickly became friends. My only interaction with Fonzie the first couple of days was to go in and scoop poop, hang hay bags and observe. Fonzie was extremely standoffish toward me and showed very little interest in food which actually started causing me concern.

Every couple of days I switched out the horse in the neighboring paddock to give Fonzie a chance to get to know each horse away from the herd. Finally it was time to introduce Fonzie to Skeeter and let these two dominant horses get acquainted safely. The paddocks are situated near my open bedroom window, giving me comfort that I will hear any commotion. Early one morning I was awakened to Fonzie racing around the paddock and whinnying loudly and Skeeter had pushed the gate open and was long gone. Since Fonzie's introduction to the other horses had been uneventful, I made the decision to turn Fonzie out to the pasture with the rest of the herd and watch them closely.

It was a breathtaking sight to watch Fonzie race around the perimeter of the 14 acre pasture with head and tail held high; and the other "Boys" racing close behind him. After a couple of laps and a couple of squeals however, the excitement died down and they all went back to grazing peacefully. I was actually quite surprised how welcoming our "boys" were - even bossy Skeeter.

Every now and then I notice Navar going over to check Fonzie out but Skeeter and Dexter, side by side, run interference between Navar and Fonzie - quite fascinating. It is almost as though they are protective of Navar.

Knowing that catching Fonzie had been a challenge on occassion, all my efforts to date have been to create draw. Even after putting the halter on him, all I have been doing is scratching his itchy parts, giving him a treat and then taking the halter off and leaving. That strategy is working well because every day he is showing more interest in me and other people. Now I am starting to ask him to move hips and shoulders without a halter and he is yielding nicely without feeling the need to leave.

Wendy wasn't sure how often Fonzie had been inside a barn so the last couple of days I have been bringing him into the barn for grooming and goodies. It helps that he and Jack have become buddies; and Jack is always happy to come into the barn to keep Fonzie company.

I worry a lot when introducing new horses so it is a huge relief to see the herd settled for the most part, and without any injuries.

Fonzie seems quite content to be one of the "boys".

Tovie and the "Boys"

Aggie Days 30th Anniversary - April 8-12, 2015

As a Stampede committee member of Draft Horse Town, I decided to help out with Aggie Days this year and had an absolute blast. Many thanks to Gord, friends and past students who came down to volunteer - it wouldn't have been as much fun without you.

I was asked to read a story and one of my friends recommended a little book about Farmer the Horse. It is a true story about a draft horse, named Farmer, that lived on one of the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada in the 1920's. Farmer was sold to a man from one of the other islands and one day someone left the gate open. Farmer managed to find his way down the entire long island and then swim 4 kms across the ocean to return to his home on the smaller island. We thought it would be fun to have Magic be there for the reading. Although we ended up getting bumped from the reading corner for lack of time, Magic was a huge hit with kids of all ages as he patiently permitted them to pet and feed him little bits of hay for 5 days straight.

The two igallop machines we are also very popular with the "Kids". If you've never seen an igallop - it is an abdominal/core exercise machine that simulates a horse walking. Ellen DeGeneres has a funny YouTube video about the igallops. We thought it would be fun for kids to feel what it would be like to ride a horse and we were right - the kids loved it!



Draft Horse Town featured a trivia contest throughout Aggie Days and the prize for the contest was an opportunity to come out and enjoy an afternoon with our "Boys".  Melissa Malejko won the contest and is very excited to come out with her family to spend some up close and personal time with the "Boys".

Tovie, Gord, and Magic

Spring Fever Outbreak...

Since my last entry, so many wonderful things have happened in my horse world that I've wanted to share. My only excuse is that I am technologically stunted and last year this blog site changed drastically. I would login to write something up only to shut it down in frustration because I couldn't navigate the page easily anymore. Here at Just Horsing Around, last year was our busiest year yet and so taking the time to figure out new technology was easy to forego.

For those of us that don't have access to an indoor riding arena; it is easy to ask too much of our horses too soon. Our horses have been happily hanging out with their buddies over the winter, with little to no interaction with us. Combine that with the high sugar content of new spring grass and preparing our horses to do our bidding can sometimes be a daunting task. The amount of work required varies from horse to horse but effective, purposeful ground work will connect you and your horse before you mount up - saving you a world of hurt.

Every spring you will hear stories from folks that pulled their good 'ole reliable horse out of the pasture, saddled-up, and as soon as their horse lost sight of its buddy or something spooked them - all hell broke loose.

Several years ago, I attended a Jonathan Field clinic in May with my horse Nugget. It was during that clinic I learned one of the best lessons of my life. Jonathan taught me how to read my horse - when he wasn't ready to ride, but even better - when he was. Nugget had been my primary riding horse for a couple of years, without any major problems; but that day it took me 3 hours of intensive, purposeful ground work to get Nugget's mind in the game. The good news was that I never had to work that hard with Nugget again.

Whether it be neglect due to busy lives, or weather, or too much sugar in the new spring grass; learning to read your horse and knowing what exercises you can do to help them get in the game with you will boost your confidence the same way it did mine.

The only cure for spring fever that works for me is to get outside and play with my horses - safely!

Happy Spring
Tovie

Calgary Stampede - Lady and Colt

Earlier this year I was invited to join the Draft Horse Town committee for the Calgary Stampede. The theme for the Calgary Stampede 2014 was Horse Power.

The Stampede poster for 2014 was a beautiful Belgian Draft Horse named Lady. This was the first time a draft horse has been depicted on the Stampede poster. I had the good fortune to meet the artist, Adaline Halverson. I learned from Adaline that the creation of each Stampede poster is a very secretive process. So secretive in fact, that even the owner of Lady did not know his horse was the 2014 poster horse until the painting was revealed to the public.

As a result of being involved with DHT committee, I was asked to present Lady to the public daily during the 10 days of Stampede. On Father's Day, June 15th, Lady gave birth to a beautiful colt so I suggested we hold a contest to name the colt. Lady's Man was the winning name and the winner, Chris Tracy, will be bringing her family to spend an afternoon with me and the 'Boys'. We look forward to having them out.

This was my first time volunteering for the Calgary Stampede and it was so much fun that I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to volunteer their time.

Ya Hoo!
Tovie, Lady and Lady's Man

Dollar Found His Forever Home

Nearly one year to the day that I brought Dollar home, he found his forever home. Unfortunately Michele's life took a turn that prevented her from committing to Dollar so he was advertised on Kijii. The ad invited folks to spend time with him to make sure he was a horse they would enjoy and he would come with a money back policy that if they weren't happy, they were welcome to bring him back - no questions asked. He has been gone for approximately 6 weeks and we received a lovely note from his new owner just the other day. Alf wanted us to know how much the whole family loves Dollar and that they have been happily riding him every other day. He still has trouble with the trailer but they are continuing to work on that.

All I ever wanted was to find Dollar a home where he would be loved and appreciated. His new home is in Priddis so hopefully I`ll get a chance to visit him.

I made the decision to donate the profit of the purchase price to the Dare to Dream Horse Rescue organization to thank them for supporting my teaching efforts.

This situation was a win-win for so many folks. The original owner of Dollar now has horses she and her daughter are enjoying; I experienced the joy of helping Dollar become a reliable riding companion; His new owners are extremely happy and proud to own him; and Dare to Dream benefited from his sale. Most importantly, Dollar is loved, happy and well cared for.

During Stampede I had the opportunity to listen to William Shatner talk about his love the American Saddlebred horse. I was not surprised to learn that the breed was very popular during war times because of their incredible bravery and friendly temperaments. That pretty much reinforced my feelings about Dollar.

Have a wonderful summer!
Tovie and Dollar

Happy 2014 - Chinese "Year of the Horse"

Here at Just Horsing Around, every year is the "Year of the Horse".

2013 was a memorable year of horses for us; with highlights ranging from galloping alongside a group of giraffe on a 5 day horseback safari in Botswana, to helping Dollar become a reliable riding companion. Life doesn't get much better. Although our riding season got off to a late start due to all the rainy weather; Gord and I enjoyed some wonderful mountain rides, and rides around the "hood", with our good friends.

A big thanks to Henry and Brenda Fehr - owners of Dare 2 Dream horse rescue for their generous support of my work with their volunteers. It has been a true blessing to help well intentioned beginners with their journey toward great horsepersonship!

I am constantly rewarded with the truly caring students who come through our barn door to participate in our courses. I appreciate their desire to be the best horseperson they can for the pure joy of developing trusting, safe relationships with horses.

As for the "boys" - it has been a tremendous year for them as well. When Dexter got injured slipping up a steep river bank in the mountains, Skeeter became my "go to" horse. His personality makes him the most challenging of all our horses, but you couldn't ask for a better mountain horse. He is also the horse we loan to friends who want to come with us. I fell in love with Skeeter all over again this past year and he reminded me why we bought him in the first place.

My wonderful old appy "Jack" has never looked better. Last year we struggled to keep weight on him and the vet confirmed why when we had his teeth checked last spring. We were all shocked at the mess we saw in just one year and our vet even asked if we had absolute verification of his age (which we do). Our vet suggested we give him a good summer and humanely put him down in the fall as he was no longer processing his food properly; and that could lead to colic. Over the summer Jack thrived on grass pasture and was back to his old self. Thanks to the loving care of Lisa, a friend who leases Jack, she researched feeding options and we decided to give it a try. Starting in early fall, we starting giving Jack, what we call, his pablum twice a day; A combination of Step 6, beet pulp, and senior horse crunch, soaked for at least 12 hours. Jack makes it very easy for us to help him. Once I've put out the feed bags for the other 6 horses, Jack always follows me back to the barn for his "special" meal. It is almost as though he knows hay is no longer good for him.

Dexter - what can I say - I LOVE THIS HORSE! Jen, one of my favourite students, thought so highly of her experience with Dexter, she strongly felt his registration papers needed to be on our wall of fame, with the other boys. She spent a couple of hours researching online to find the registered breeder, and after two long years, I received Dexter's registration papers; indicating me as his registered owner. Folks often say you can't ride the papers and I agree, papers aren't everything; but I must admit there is a certain pride having my name officially attached to such a wonderful horse.

My baby Navar is just the sweetest horse ever - so sweet he makes your teeth hurt. When I bought Navar as a yearling, I met both his dam and sire. The dam was 16.1 and the sire was 15.3 so I was convinced that he would be at least 15 hh. However, we have been marking his growth progress on a window jamb. To date he is 14 1 1/2 - just under official "horse" size. Since it is the year of the horse, I have complete faith that he will make it to 14.2 hh. Initially I was disappointed that he wouldn't be bigger however, as I get older, I'm thinking 14.2 will be just about perfect.

Dollar seems to have found his perfect person with Michelle and as long as she thinks a horse will fit into her busy life, I couldn't be happier.

Magic is his same old perfect self and Gord is happy having only one perfect horse.

As for me - having only one horse would be the same as having only one pair of boots/shoes. I like the choice of sneakers for comfy, lazy days and red high heels for racy, exciting days.

I hope to hear about your successes and wonderful updates or if you are stuck, I look forward to helping you progress with your horse.

Happy Year of the Horse!

Tovie, Gord and the "Boys"

Dollar Finds His Perfect Person

Dollar has been for sale since August and while folks have been interested; we were committed to waiting for his perfect person to come along. When I help folks with problems they are having with their horses; and learning what they paid for those horses, it surprised me that it took so long, but it has definitely been worth the wait.

Last weekend was cold and snowy and a perfect weekend to devote to making my Saskatoon jam. Then I heard the ping of an incoming email - a response to Dollar's ad. As I read the inquiry, it turned out to be from Michelle - one of my first students. Michelle came for lessons when Just Horsing Around started up in 2007; and someone I also connected with on a personal level. After taking my initial course, Michelle went on to take riding lessons and had finally come to the point that she felt ready to commit to buying a horse. Since Dollar's ad didn't indicate who the seller was; Michelle had no idea it was me selling Dollar. However, once I confirmed it was her and she learned it was me, neither of us could wait for her to come meet him; and hope that it would be a perfect match.

For Michelle - it seemed like love at first sight but it was Dollar's reaction to Michelle that sold me. He was relaxed and calm and not pushy or fidgety - a testament to Michelle's calm, kind demeanor. Despite the obvious connection, we have arranged for Michelle to lease Dollar for a while to make sure he is indeed the right horse for her. I wouldn't want anyone to feel stuck with a horse they aren't enjoying because if the person isn't having fun, neither is the horse.

For purely selfish reasons, I couldn't be happier to have Michelle as another barn buddy. It also means that Dollar will get to stick around; and I will have more time to spend with Dexter, Navar and Skeeter.

Congratulations to Michelle on her "first" horse - may Dollar bring you all the pride and joy he brought to me!

Tovie and Dollar