Lessons from a Horse Named Joy

Recently we pulled a horse from the back field, where she had been free to run with several other horses for the past few years. There were no rules to follow back in that field, other than those of the herd. She was free to be a horse. A week before she was to go to a new home, we decided it would be good idea for her to get used to hanging out with humans again, brush up on her training, etc.. This young mare was born here and socialized from the start. Our attention had to go elsewhere the past few years, but we figured it would be easy enough to polish her up a bit.

Now is probably a good time to insert that letting a horse run wild, especially a mare, super-especially a dominant mare, is a bad idea. 

Lesson learned. 

One week turned into two as my mom and i took turns working with her, regaining her trust and letting her get to know us again. Then came trailer-loading time, the first for this young mare.

What a nightmare. It was tough.

After two LONG days of coaxing, pulling, pushing, walking, a pulled shoulder (me), a tumble backwards (her), and a bit of yelling (both of us) she finally stepped into that trailer.

Here are a few lessons Joy was so kind to remind of me along the way.

• When you can't find a solution, continue trying until you have exhausted your ideas, your resources and yourself. Take a rest, then use someone else's resources, or just someone else.
• Be quick to notice if something isn't working and switch to a different approach.
• Every interaction means something and affects the relationship.
• Taking a break is not the same as quitting.
• Sometimes breaks are a bad idea.
• Positive reinforcement must be timed just right - otherwise all involved get confused and cranky.
• Body language and attitude communicate more than words. 
• Voice tone matters.
• Always end a lesson on a good note, when some type of progress has been made, no matter how minor or seemingly insignificant. 
• Horses are not above bribery (a good reason to keep food nearby at all times).
• Hang.On.To.The.Rope.
• Good things come to those who work. 
• When all else fails, sedate.

Thanks, Joy, for the refresher course in (common) horse sense. I hope you gained something from the experience, too, and that you load safely and easily for the rest of your sweet equine life. 

The Things We Carry (in our pockets)

You know how you get in a hurry and stick things in your pockets - items like money, keys, cards of various sorts, little pieces of paper, etc.? Sure you do; we all do. Pockets are handy. Once upon a time i would put my i.d. and ATM card in my back pocket for a night of going out (never liked to carry a purse). My cell phone often winds up in my back pocket, as do envelopes, my moleskine notebook, pens, memory cards, lens caps - the list is endless. I am an avid pocket user.

Even now, on the farm, i find myself stashing just about anything in my jeans. This harmless, though not always wise, habit (which i learned from my father) has been taken to an entirely new level in farmville. 

In short, anything goes.

Need a handful of nails, staples, or screws? Pocket 'em. Often i find myself trying to fix or rig something with no one else around. The result - screwdriver in one back pocket, wrench in the other. If it's night, a small flashlight; when i'm out with the horses - hoof pick. (The only tool that doesn't go in a pocket - ever - is my Leatherman. It has a special place on my belt.) Not even feed is exempt. (When socializing horses in the field we stuff our pockets with grain, which is sneakier than carrying a bucket.) 

My dad is the pocket master. I am continually amazed by what he can fit in his pockets AND what he can forget he put there. Commonly stowed items include lag bolts, carter keys, sockets, fence wire, nails and screws. Slightly less common ones include sandpaper, rocks (interesting ones, of course), syringes WITH needles still on them, memory cards for his camera and freshly cut pieces of horse hoof  (um...that last one was actually me...dogs love to chew on horse hoof clippings). If the washing machine is lucky these things get spilled on the floor or set on the bathroom counter at the end of a tiring day. Otherwise, they make it to the laundry room and...well, we're on our third washer in seven years.