The horses (and staff of CRA) made it theough the cold snap this past week. Took some adjusting to the lovely single digit Wisconsin weather but all is well. Heat wave today with 40° temps means chores are more enjoyable and blankets can come off the riding horses!
All the horses enjoyed the extra protein block this past week. Extra protein helps the horses maintain their body by assisting in the break down of nutrients. Luna and Donkey get grain daily but everyone else generally only gets grass hay. They were a bit spoiled with a few flakes of alfalfa this week. We stay away from alfalfa due to high sugar content. Sugar can make inflammation worse, and we have 2 seniors in the herd that don't need extra issues.
I was a bit late with breakfast....
Bear is very impatient.
You want to lose your mind? Get goats.
Criminal escape artists.
But look at that sweet face!
Jimmy Mackeroy AKA Jimmy Dean was (like all our goats) a sale barn rescue. He was so small when we got him and now he's a big ole chunk.
Moved the grain area from the front of the barn to the back, and apparently I need to put up a few more gates.
Such an important skill for all horse people to learn! Lunging. Making a horse move their feet. This itty bitty kiddo is one tough cookie. She went from being very shy, timid and cautious around horses to loud, outgoing, eager and practically fearless.
Cece always struggled with asking Zolli to move out, or change directions. Here you can see she does it just fine. She always used to say she wasn't big enough, so we discussed energy. You don't need to to be "big" to control a big horse. Your energy just needs to be big. With work and practice, Cece overcame her concerns with being small and showed Zolli she had the right energy to ask her to do what she wanted.
This was my first ride on Luna in about 9 weeks. This was 8 days after her mesotherapy session (i will post about that next.)
In the video you can notice a few things:
1.) She head isn't in the game. I believe this was because A.) She had not been worked in a while and B.) she was expecting pain, because that's what ahe got used to for so long when carrying a rider, so not having pain, initially I think she was confused.
2.) You can see her stretching her head down. She's not truly engaging her hind end as she should and she was still very stiff in the neck, but we continued working over the next few weeks and she got more fluidity back and she has been more engaged mentally.
3.) You can see me giving her a very loose rein and offering more leg to allow her the option to bed into the turns, which she did a few times and other times she did not. I wanted her to have the choice so she can retrain herself that those movements no longer caused pain.
She still has monthly chiro and or body work (red light therapy or massage.) And she lost alot of tone so she is on grain and worked often.
Here is rider Aurora again, and let me tell you, this video makes me smile. Aurora worked hard all summer to keep her hands down and use her "jellies" to hold on. She even got the hang of posting the trot. And every now and then I would test her muscles and make her ride in an English saddle, which she learned to love.
On this particular evening I surprised her stepdad with a riding opportunity. It was wonderful to watch them ride around together, knowing all the progress that they have made together!
This family has begun the search for an equine companion of their own and I am so blessed to be a part of their search for their very own unicorn 🥰
And PS, yes, Aurora said we had to put on Zolli's favorite song while they rode.
We really go all out in our lesson program at CRA. Safety of the rider is our most important goal, followed by our requirements of a good seat and soft hands.
This is rider Aurora in early July. I believe she started lessons with me the end of June. Her parents were very supportive of her riding and did lots of training (homework!) at home to help her build up the muscles needed to have a good seat. I am very impressed and thankful for the initiative they took in supporting their daughter.
This video was one of Auroras first times trotting. She did fine on the leadline but was just so scared to go by herself (Zolli is a big horses but is oh so gentle with kiddos.) Claire stepped in and offered a bit of support and by the following week Aurora was solo!
We dealt with alot of pests at the farm. Coons and chucks were the main trouble makers. Very thankful for my side kick farm dog ready to eliminate the naughty critters.
Summer was a whirlwind of work and play. CRA became home to TAC Livestock and we managed to buy, feed/doctor and rehome over 200 calves between May and October. The farm gained goats, a donkey and we had a few horses come and go for training. Summer camp brought some new faces to the farm and many of those new faces stayed with me all summer. The next few posts will be updates on all the amazing changes CRA have seen and the amazing people we have worked with, taught and helped.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of calves in the barn. Snoozy time is always adorable. 12 sleeping moos
