We woke up to white stuff on the ground.
I guess it's official...autumn is over.
This also means that the hoses out at the horse's bath area were frozen solid so Farm Girl had to bring Pixie up to the back porch to give her a bath.
We had a gig today and we wanted her to look her prettiest (on a white horse simply being clean means pretty). She was being used for a little girl's princess party. Her mother requested a bigger pony for some of the bigger kids but seeing that I don't have a pony for older kids I offered to bring Chase instead. I could have slapped my mouth shut the moment I suggested it though because I only have access to a two-horse bumper pull and Chase has refused in the past to load onto anything smaller that a livestock trailer. I thought Chloe would be a better choice to take to the party as she is the quietest horse on the property and besides she takes to new surroundings very easily. Chase hasn't been off the farm in two years. But when we tried to load Chloe on the small two-horse trailer, she absolutely refused. Thinking I would have to disappoint the mother and only show up with Pixie, Farm Girl suggested we go ahead and try Chase. It took a couple of attempts, removal of the divider, tempted with sweets, and finally the old-fashion but highly dependable "haul" method.
If you don't know what the haul method is (and I really don't know if that is a proper term but that's what I refer to is as) is when you hook a leadline, or my preference the lunge line, to one side of the trailer then run it along the back of the horse's behind and urge him into the trailer with slow amounts of pressure while someone inside the trailer hauls the defiant horse inside. Chase felt the slightest touch of the lunge line on his derriere and he instantly moved away from the pressure and followed the leadline which Farm Girl was at the other end of inside the trailer and stepped right into the trailer. Instead of breathing a great sigh of relief and hooking him up quickly, we actually backed him out and did it again and again until finally he went willingly into the trailer on his own. The idea is to show him that there is nothing to fear inside the trailer and to encourage him to go in on his own.
If you don't know what the haul method is (and I really don't know if that is a proper term but that's what I refer to is as) is when you hook a leadline, or my preference the lunge line, to one side of the trailer then run it along the back of the horse's behind and urge him into the trailer with slow amounts of pressure while someone inside the trailer hauls the defiant horse inside. Chase felt the slightest touch of the lunge line on his derriere and he instantly moved away from the pressure and followed the leadline which Farm Girl was at the other end of inside the trailer and stepped right into the trailer. Instead of breathing a great sigh of relief and hooking him up quickly, we actually backed him out and did it again and again until finally he went willingly into the trailer on his own. The idea is to show him that there is nothing to fear inside the trailer and to encourage him to go in on his own.
Which he did by the time it was time to load up and go. We could have tried the haul method with Chloe but Chloe hasn`t been on our farm long and there is a certain amount of trust the horse must have for his owner before this can work. Besides, at this point Chase was making us very pleased and we decided to stick with him. The next challenge would be to see how he behaves off property. Farm Girl used to barrel race Chase and I can tell you that he wasn`t always the most relaxed horse at the shows. I realize now that was because of the lack of trust Chase had for his new young owner. Since then the two have bonded so well and really have learned to understand each other. Nevertheless, we were both nervous when we unloaded him. He called out initially looking for the rest of his herd, but eventually he realized Farm Girl was right there with him and was by far a better substitute. He totally relaxed and gave kids young and old a fun ride around the yard.
Pixie of course delighted the very young and gave them rides and let them groom her.
Have I mentioned how much I love my Pixie??
Anyway, Chase and Pixie did wonderful and were a big hit. This gig was the end of gigs this weekend and though I love what I do, this weekend was torture for me as I was suffering from a severe cold and flu and being out in the cold with laryngitis is not fun my friends. My bed and rest are calling. I'll end this post with one of my favourite photos taken this weekend. It has nothing to do with any event but rather home life.
It's a photo I took of Oldest with our four goldens. Isn't Jewel getting big??