My sister and I have 3 horses that we trail ride - - a Morab , a Morgan and a Morgan mix . This blog is all about them . By the way , check out my two books " Trail Training for the Horse and Rider " and " Trail Horse Adventures and Advice . I also have the most adorable , loveable cat named Thunder . I call him a mini Maine Coon . He is the light of my life when things go wrong . He will always listen to me and try to comfort and cheer me up . He does a pretty good job of it , too . A Happy StarryKevin has owned Starry D for a few years , now . He is a really good horse for Kevin . He 's friendly , gentle and usually listens well . Ellen and I have both taken him on trail rides . He has a slow walk , fast and bouncy trot and a gorgeous canter . There is only one problem . He does this " head thing . " When you go faster than a walk , he twists his head out to the side and fusses a lot . We noticed he does it more when he is with other horses , so we thought it was a behavior thing . We used to think it was a Kevin problem , until we found out he did it with us , too . Sometimes it was worse than others . We thought it was about bugs , until he did it when there weren 't any bugs . Kevin rode him in a snaffle , but since he needed just a little more stopping power , he switched him to a Kimberwicki . He stopped better , but he still did his " head thing . " Finally , I came to the conclusion that it was about the bit . One day , when Ellen rode him , she realized that his bit was much too tight . She loosened it . Not 10 minutes down the trail , Starry had his tongue over the bit and was acting like an idiot about it . She reluctantly tightened it up . We tried to get Kevin to try our mechanical hackamore . Ellen got one really cheap at a used tack sale . She liked to use it on Mingo when she took him on rides . My mild 3 - piece bit that I use on him only stops him when he wants to stop . It works fine for me because he nearly always wants to stop - but Ellen just felt more comfortable with something stronger . It took a long time to convince Kevin that a mechanical hackamore has more stopping power than the bit he was using . It bothered him that there wasn 't a bit . Ellen was going to take him out for a ride by herself on a day that Kevin couldn 't get out to ride , so she took the initiative . She didn 't get to give it a good test because she ended up with some riders that only wanted to walk , but she did give it a few good tugs to make sure he wasn 't surprised by the different feel . Starry took it all in stride . He also dPosted by Shaping BehaviorsYou may recall that last month Mingo developed a case of cellulitis caused by a " who really knows at this point . " At the time , we assumed it was the hoof abscess that started to drain a few days before . His leg became very swollen and painful - so painful that he didn 't want me to touch it . This was a big problem because I had to soak his hoof . I would ask him to lift his foot , and he would fly around his stall on 3 legs . I then would try to catch it with the soaking boot . It was a very bad scene . It sometimes took 10 minutes before I got the soaking boot on his foot . After soaking it , we had to repeat the whole routine to get the soaking boot off his foot . He went to the vet clinic for all of his diagnostics and to treat the cellulitis . He came back , and a few days later he was abscess lame again . It was back to soaking and the problem was even worse - even though his leg was no longer painful to the touch . He was afraid it would hurt . As soon as I walked near that foot , he would lift up the opposite hind foot and start tapping the ground with it - putting all of his weight on the bad foot . I learned that if I put him on a lead rope and asked him to back up and I was quick , I could catch his foot . Sometimes he would panic , and sometimes he wouldn 't . This is how I managed to soak his foot . I really needed to solve this problem - absolutely before my farrier could come out , not to mention for Mingo and me . The following weekend , I had Ellen to help me . We decided to approach the problem using the clicker . This is where " shaping " came in . We took Mingo out into the aisle of the barn . I stood by his leg . Of course , he started to tap the ground with the opposite foot . When he stopped and touched his toe to the ground , Ellen clicked and treated . We did this for several minutes . When I would attempt to lift his foot , it would be tap , stop , click , treat . Then , Ellen decided to up the ante . She would only click when he set the whole foot down . Once he was doing that , she clicked when I pushed himPosted by Update on MingoWe left Mingo last month with a poulticed hoof for an abscess and a bottle of antibiotics " just in case . " Good thing I had those antibiotics . I knew that his abscess would probably get worse before it drained . I waited my 5 days , and nothing happened . That day , I took off his poultice , and then I started soaking his hoof . He started to get worse each day . He was limping and walking slower and slower . It looked like the swelling was coming back , too . By Thursday , his leg was swollen like a balloon , and he wouldn 't let me touch it , again . He was back to spinning around his stall on three legs rather than let me put his foot in his soaking boot . I started him on the antibiotics that night and called my vet the next morning . She told me to give him a big dose of bute , keep up with the antibiotics and see what happened . The following day , he was much better , but the swelling seemed worse . He did allow me to touch his leg , so I was able to soak it . Leading brought the swelling down some , but the following day it was back . By the third day , he was walking poorly , again . Still no abscess . I called the vet , and she said to give him another dose of bute . Everything followed the same pattern . Three days later , he was very lame . One very odd thing happened - he starting eating his hay with gusto again . That didn 't even make any sense . Here he has a very sore foot / leg and he is eating better than ever ! The following Friday , the vet came out to see him , again . By now , she didn 't think it was an abscess . To make sure , she did a nerve block . Sure enough , he walked just as poorly after the nerve block as before . Since the bulk of the swelling was above his hock on the inside of the leg , she thought that was the source of the problem . She told me she sees leg swelling like this with horses that have broken their femur , not that she believed that was the problem , but that 's just how bad the swelling was . She said the whole thing was bizarre . She said to keep him on the antibiotics and give him 2 grams of bute Posted by Trail Training Newsletter - 108January 2010Dear Readers , December was a tough month for me due to Mingo and his mysterious illness . I haven 't spent any time out on the trail . I don 't ride Cruiser on frozen , uneven ground - must protect that tendon . We have been working in the arena . Of course , I haven 't been riding Mingo , at all . Someday … Ranger completely recovered from his hoof abscess , and the first day Ellen got him on the trail , he was so hyper that he demonstrated his ability to buck - several times . We have had very little snow , and on most days , the trail is frozen hard . Kevin has been riding Starry on those days , but he keeps him at a walk . We always walk our horses on frozen trail . One day , when it was slow at work , I found an old book on riding and training on the internet . I wondered if maybe we were overreacting by being cautious on the frozen ground . I wondered what people did when horses were a more important part of day - to - day life . I skimmed through the book , and lo and behold , this author exclaimed that anyone doing fast work on frozen ground can be considered a murderer . Although he felt light trotting was okay , any more than that was out of the question . I felt vindicated with my cautiousness . I 'm sure that frozen turf has enough give in it , but our trails are hard enough in the summer . Freezing makes them even worse . Cruiser , back in the day when I would ride him on the trail when it was frozen , would trot a few steps out of exuberance - and then stop on his own because they were too hard . Now give us a few inches of snow … Each day , Mingo is getting better . Yesterday , I took him for a walk down to the river . We did it the day before , and he really seemed to enjoy it , and he did fine with the hill . At the bottom , it is flat and level . I trotted him in hand , and he was quite sound and very enthusiastic . We went back and forth a few times , and he seemed happier each time . The abscess on his pastern finally quit draining , too . It is just a bit seepy . I called the vet this morning , and she said to keep him on antibiotics for 5 more days and bute every other day . At that point , we will see what happens , and then I will really know if I get my present . I had a great ride with Cruiser in the arena , yesterday . Tonight , the farrier is coming out . More improvement for Mingo . After leading him last night , I set him free on the far side of the arena . On the near side is scraps of hay that fall from the loft . All through this mysterious illness , when I would do that , he would either slowly walk to the hay or try to take a fast step an nearly collapse his hindquarters from pain . It was heartbreaking . Last night , he started walking really fast , cantered 4 strides and trotted 5 strides to the hay scraps . He grabbed a bite and then spun 180 degrees . He wandered about and then went back to the hay . I previously trotted him on the lead rope and he seemed about 92 percent . Pretty good , I think . I believe that we just need to heal the bad sore on his pastern , and then we will be home free . Yes , I got my Christmas present that I wanted so much . I got my Mingo back . What a nice feeling to be able to say that he is definitely getting better . There has been some interesting developments , but more on that later . Most of the swelling is gone . Now you really have to look for it . Yesterday , he volunteered a trot , and it looked sound . I didn 't ask him for any more because we were out on the driveway , and it was pretty slippery . I made him stop and walk like a gentleman . The vet told me to decrease the bute and keep up with the antibiotics - - and see what happens next . The real test is what happens when he is on no medication at all . This weekend , he was the best than he has been in 2 months . He 's even gaining weight ! I had the vet out again last week because Mingo was getting worse . His leg was more swollen and he didn 't want to walk at all . She still doesn 't know what is wrong with him , but with a nerve block , ruled out a hoof abscess . She feels it is higher up in the leg where the bulk of the swelling now is . We continued with the antibiotics and put him on bute every day . I have been hand walking him . It helps with the swelling . Overall , I would say that Mingo is doing better . We will see how he goes through the weekend . He is walking faster and with barely a limp at all . In fact , he is walking very fast - faster than he does when he is healthy . He has been bucking with the front half of his body - just out of exuberance . That is an improvement - last week he was only bucking with his head . He still isn 't bucking with his back legs . I have not tested him at a trot . His swelling is down , but there is still quite a way to go . I plan to call his vet next week to see how we should continue his treatment . Cruiser has been very energetic . The cool weather agrees with him . I am only riding him in the indoor arena , now . Once he settles down , he is doing pretty good . I just have to work on my own skills . 9 months of trail riding has made me sloppy . Good thing for me that Cruiser is a very tolerant horse . I had the vet come out to see Mingo on Friday , and the news isn 't good . He was quite lame and swollen . She no longer thought it was a hoof abscess , but to make sure , she did a nerve block . Sure enough - it is higher in the leg - where the worst of the swelling is . She doesn 't know what the problem is . What we are going to do is continue with Bute and antibiotics for a couple of weeks to try and get the swelling down . At that point , there might be a little swelling left , and then we can examine and ultrasound that area . With the bute , he walks pretty good , so I will be hand walking since that brings the swelling down , too . unfortunately , it comes back the next day . His mood is good , he is eating and drinking . This is going to take time . At least it is winter and I 'm not missing any good trail riding . Hopefully , he will be fine b spring . House Cat Tip of the MonthWant to get your cat some new toys for Christmas ? You don 't have to buy the expensive toys at the pet store . Try going to a craft store . My sister bought her cat , Stormy , a whole bag of puffy toys for the cost of a couple at the pet store . Now , when he isn 't pressing the buttons on the radio or stalking her dog , he is tossing around his puffy toys . Thunder prefers cranberries . If you buy fresh cranberries this month , toss one to your cat . Thunder plays and plays with cranberries . Stormy made a face and walked away . Ellen 's dog ate it . Mingo RevisitedMingo seemed to be feeling much better . I soaked his hoof for 8 days - so long that he contracted a fine case of mud fever . I weaned him off the banding , but there was still some swelling all the way up his leg . He was once again playful and interactive . He still wasn 't eating his hay with vigor , though , and he walked stiffly on that leg . These two things were really troubling me . He didn 't want to trot . Finally , I forced the issue and made him trot - serious lameness . Could it be the abscess ? Could he have hurt himself while we struggled with the soaking boot ? What about those nasty moments during loading ? And what about that gash in his hip that he got after he came home . Did he get cast and hurt himself ? I couldn 't tell . It was time to call the vet about the leg . I wanted her to check Mingo 's teeth , too . I called on Tuesday , but she couldn 't get out until Friday , which was the day after Thanksgiving . I was off that day , so it worked out well . On Thanksgiving , Ellen and I went out for a ride on Cruiser and Ranger . It was a beautiful day , which was really a treat , for often the weather is miserable by now . Our happiness was cut short when Ranger came up lame . Now , it didn 't matter what the weather was like , we both felt terrible . She led him home . By now , his limp was very prominent . The good news ? The vet was coming to see Mingo the next day , anyway . We got to the barn mid morning . While we were waiting for the phone call from the vet 's office , we cleaned stalls and I rode Cruiser on the hill . We got back to the barn and found out the vet would be there in 45 minutes . Good - time for lunch . We dashed out to a nearby fast food place . The conversation was pretty depressing . By now , we could tell that Ranger may have an abscess , too . He didn 't want to put any weight on his sore foot . We had the vet look at him , first . She agreed , and started testing his foot and digging . It took her a bit to find the abscess . Oddly , he was most sensitive on him toe , but the actual abscess was on the bar Posted by My Little MingoI mentioned in last month 's newsletter that Mingo was suffering some health problems . Here is the whole story . Mingo hadn 't seemed like himself . He had lost some weight , and there were days that he seemed so out of sorts . I also noticed that he wasn 't finishing his hay all at once . He would eat half of it and then take a nap . Later , he would finish it off . In fact , it seemed like he was sleeping all the time . Sometimes he would be laying down , and sometimes he would stand in his corner to rest . Just about the time I was really getting uneasy about the change in his behavior , the vet came out to give him fall shots . She hadn 't seen him since the spring and was shocked at how much weight he had lost . She had me lead him around , and she watched how he moved . She took his temperature , and it was 99 degrees - slightly high . She suggested a blood work . She was concerned about EPM , kidney disease , internal infections and tumors . She suggested Cushing 's Disease , but his coat had been growing normal , and he was a little on the young side for it . He also had four hoof abscesses back in May and June , ( one in each foot ) and this was possible a symptom of something . So , then I waited and waited an incredibly long 2 days for the blood results . Thanks to the internet , I learned I didn 't want him to have EPM , and that kidney disease is often fatal . Needless to say , I was worried . The test results showed on increased fibriginidin ( sign of swelling ) and low albumin ( not absorbing protein . ) She suggested what every non - trailer owning person fears - taking him to a clinic for further diagnostics . Ugh . I made arrangements for the following week . That evening , the farrier came out to take care of our horses . To my horror , one of Mingo 's legs was swollen . My first suspicion was a hoof abscess . I told my farrier to look for one , but he didn 't find any sign . His pastern on that foot had been stocking up for some time , but it would go away in a few minutes with exercise . This was much worse , but he showed no signPosted by We had a good weekend . Unfortunately , the day my niece came out to ride , we couldn 't cross the river - way too high . We did the hill 3 times . She still had fun . Since we had some extra time , we taught her a little about ground work and leading . She practiced on Mingo and Ranger . We then took her on a long hike and out to lunch at Burger King . Sunday we were able to cross , and my sister and I had a very nice ride . I rode Mingo wioth my sister on Ranger and then took Cruiser out by himself . All the horses and people were so glad to get across . We have been doing the hill all week because of the rain . We have a 4 - day weekend coming up , and we just can 't wait ! My boyfriend agreed to let us have Starry on one day for a long ride with Mingo . We had such a good time with them last time , we wanted to do it again . House Cat Tip of the MonthIndoor cats love to play with outdoor toys . I had a cat who loved to chase acorns , but Thunder wasn 't impressed with them . When I saw one of the barn cats playing with a buckeye , I thought I would bring one home for Thunder . I set it down near his toys to play with later , but I never got the chance . The next time I saw it , it was shredded . Pollie , our dog found it . So much for that idea . I gave him a tiny summer squash , and he was having fun batting it around . I warned him to watch out for Pollie , but when I glanced over , I realized I was too late . He was looking at the bare floor , bewildered , and I could see the dog in the other room eating the squash . My sister 's cat likes small sticks , but her dog will sometimes take them away . The cat and dog sometimes play tug - o - war with them , but the dog always wins . Thunder does like to play with green beans . His favorite beans are the Chinese Yard Long beans that I grew this year . They are about 2 feet long . Kevin 's cats think that these long beans are great , too . My sister 's cat likes normal green beans . She puts one at the end of a stick for him to follow around . The best thing about green bean ? Dogs hate them . Adventures in Clicker TrainingAs I have mentioned in previous newsletters , I have been playing around with clicker training with Mingo . He now goes down the first riverbank like a normal horse instead of molasses in January . I only click him for it once every couple of weeks or so when I remember to bring him a treat . I haven 't tried him on the river ford for quite a while , but I have a feeling that when I do , he will go as confidently as he did in the spring when I worked with him with the clicker . Our new project does not involve the trail . With the shorter evenings , I am taking Cruiser on trail rides and riding Mingo in the big outdoor arena . I like working out there , though I only do it for a few months in the fall . It is too wet and sloppy in the winter , so I use the indoor arena in the inclement weather . My main project that I decided to work on with the clicker is improving our walk / trot transitions . He is fine out on the trail , but in the arena , he feels that trotting is optional . This is something I have struggled with him , forever . When he does trot , often he only trots with his front legs and walks with his hind legs . Finally , towards the end of the session , he would give in and start to work . By then , I would be worn out , and we would quit for the day . It is all so frustrating . Last winter , he had me convinced there was something physically wrong with him - until we started riding on the trail in the spring , and he transformed into a regular dynamo for the first month . We worked a little with clicker transitions on the trail . I would ask him to trot , he would , I would click , he would stop and I would give him a tiny piece of carrot . Sometimes , I use green beans from my garden . It worked fine on the trail , but then again , I seldom have trouble getting him to trot on the trail . To make things easier for me , I trained him to understand a click noise I made with my tongue . I switched , not so much , because it is that hard to use a clicker while riding , but because it was so hard to remember to bring the clPosted by Riding with Our NieceAfter a break of three weeks , we found ourselves riding with our youngest niece , again . It was the most perfect September morning . Fortunately , she remembered everything we taught her . She saddled and bridled Ranger with no trouble , and we were off . Little does she know that we carefully plan ahead of time everything we are going to do with her on the ride . We were determined to get some good cantering in . The last few weeks , we had been practicing cantering Cruiser and Ranger together to reinforce good manners . The last thing we needed was for the horses to decide they were going to go on a race . Mingo , well , he is not a problem . Ellen hasn 't been able to get him to canter for her in years , which is weird , because he loves to canter with me . We got to our favorite section of trail to canter . It is so suitable for cantering that we call it " The Canter Stretch . " We didn 't start cantering at the beginning of it , because that is what we call " The Trigger Point . " They get so excited there that they tend to just take off flying down the trail . We don 't mind , ourselves , but we wanted a positive experience for our niece . When we got to a good spot of the trail and the horses seemed to be in the right frame of mind , I warned my niece , and asked Cruiser to canter . He went into a quiet canter just behind Ranger . He slowly started to pass Ranger , and I told my niece to ask him to canter . He went into the most perfect canter - not too fast - not too slow . After a bit , I brought Cruiser down to a trot so he wouldn 't encourage Ranger to speed up , and we traveled along the trail as happy as could be . At the end of it , where we had to stop for the river , we waited for Ellen on Mingo . We saw them trotting around the corner . Ellen said she gave him a clear cue to canter twice , but he said he preferred to trot . Maybe next time … We met our goal , but we still planned to ride on . The next section of trail is one I love to ride on , but Ranger tends to be a little spooky . We got to a good place to starPosted by Most of September was filled with gorgeous weather and great riding . Sure , it was a little warm for horses with their winter coats , but at least we stayed dry . That ended last weekend , when we went into monsoon season . Of course , we got caught in the rain , again . It was a bad one , and my boots were wet for days … We had two long weekends this month . On one of the days , we took Mingo out with Kevin 's horse , Starry and a longer ride than we typically go with them . They are both such slow horses that it never occurred to us before , but since we were off from work , we had a lot of time . We had so much fun on our ride . Ellen has been working with Starry on his canter whenever she gets a chance . ( Kevin 's back bothers him when he canters , so he seldom does it . ) The trail we took that day has many good places to canter , so we took advantage of it . We put Starry in the lead and put a lot of space between the two horses so Mingo wouldn 't challenge him . At first , he seemed confused with the whole process . She did a number of sloppy transitions , and then he didn 't go very far before coming down to a trot . She stopped and let us catch up with them , and we took a little walk break . Starry was excited from the cantering . His whole attitude changed . Ellen thought it might be a good time to try again . He understood perfectly this time and went right into the canter . He still had trouble with duration , though . Later , on the way home , we were trotting , and Starry wasn 't paying attention . He slowed down to a walk and Mingo got too far ahead . Ellen asked him to trot on , and he demonstrated a perfect canter transition . Of course , she didn 't let him work on duration , this time , and brought him back down to a trot , but it shows that he may have learned his lesson . We enjoyed our ride together so much , that we already asked if we could have Starry back for our next long weekend . Kevin agreed , so now we just have to hope that the rain will stop by then ! My horses make me worry , so much . Last week , Mingo had a big sore on his face . It looked like he scraped it . It didn 't look too bad , so I didn 't worry about it . A few days later , he started itching at it so much , I figured it was a bug bite . Then , it got infected . It swelled up more , and blood and goo just kept draining and draining . We were washing his face at least 2 times a day . I was ready to call the vet . This happened last year on his neck , and it healed up without a vet - but it sure was ugly . The evening I decided to call the vet , I went out to check him first , and it was a little better . There was a little less swelling , and it was draining less - but still continually draining . I decided to wait one more day . Well , I went out yesterday , and couldn 't believe the difference ! It stopped draining , had a scab and the swelling was less by half . What a difference a day made . All that worrying and fretting for naught . I 'm sure other people would have looked at it , shrugged and said it would be fine in a few days and not worried . I wish I could be more like that . But they are my babies ! Maybe his curse is over , now . This started before I did my good deed at my aunt 's . Maybe she decided to remove the pin from the head of the black horse voodoo doll . I had a strange thing happen to me this weekend . I will try to give you some of the background . Years ago , I kept my horse at my aunt 's barn . She has a rental stables . I trained one of her horses for her , and in exchange for my work , she allowed me to breed her . That is how I got Mingo . Right about weaning time , she offered to buy him , and I turned her down . The following week , she kicked us out of her stables . We don 't know why , for sure , but I always felt she was upset she didn 't get Mingo . Since then , we have returned to speaking terms , but we try to avoid contact with her . We simply don 't ' trust her and don 't like her . Life is too short to spend time with people you don 't trust - even if they are family . She is a self - professed witch . I 'm not kidding . We always joked that all of Mingo 's hoof abscesses were caused by her - that she had a black horse voodoo doll , and she stuck pins into it 's feet . The last 2 abscesses that he got at the same time in different feet happened just a couple days after my boyfriend talked to her at the horse show and told her I was out riding Mingo . Coincidence ? Even we were starting to believe our running joke . She still does rentals . Yesterday , I was riding when I saw a fellow that works there . He 's the same guy we saw all the motorcycles with last month . Over the years , he has become a friend . He is still fairly new at horses . He used to rent out a horse every week , but now he takes out the trail rides and cleans stalls in exchange for riding privileges . This man loves horses so much . He asked me if I would do him a favor . There was an unplanned trail ride at noon , and he was by himself . He had to use a horse that they don 't use often , and he has a horrible time bridling him . He asked if I would come over and help . How could I say no ? I didn 't want to step a foot on her property and certainly didn 't want to see her ! Still , when I finished my ride , I drove over . I hid in the barn which is behind the house by a few hundred feet . My aunt is so unpredictable . SPosted by Well , my sister and I were determined to ride . The weather forecast was for thunderstorms at 11 : 00 . That gave us 2 hours and 20 minutes . We decided we would ride an hour and turn around and come home . At the 59 - minute mark , we heard thunder . We immediately turned around . Ten minutes later , it started pouring . When it got real bad , we took shelter in a picnic pavilion . ( Don 't tell the rangers . ) It eased up , and we headed home . By the time we walked down the driveway , it was just a drizzle . The good news ? We weren 't in the barn 5 minutes before it really started to pour ! Even though we couldn 't get much wetter than we already were , we were relieved that we missed the worst of the storm . Cruiser got wet - Mingo got the day off . The weather Sunday was beautiful , but my sister had to work and I rode by myself . I took both horses for a nice ride , but I sure did miss my sister . Here is a new link I am adding to my website . http : / / www . horse - books - pony - stories . com / index . html It is for Sharon 's Corner Bookstore . On it , you will find a list of horse books for all ages - both fiction and non - fiction . What makes this site special , is that they feature small publisher and independently published books ( like mine ) that you may overlook at the big retailers . Sharon doesn 't sell the books . She set up her website just to help authors and readers connect . She directs you to the authors ' websites where you can get more information . Our Other New ApprenticeOur older niece , Sarah , was able to come out with me for her first " real trail ride . " Originally , she was supposed to ride Mingo , but due to a hoof abscess , she had to ride Ranger . The biggest difference between Mingo and Ranger is Ranger you must post his trot , and with Mingo , it isn 't necessary . I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to teach Sarah to post . I e - mailed her the following instructions to read beforehand : How to PostPosting is the most wonderful riding invention since the stirrups . If my memory is correct , it was discovered by the boys who would ride postillion . Back , many , many years ago when there were carriages with four and six horse teams , they would have a boy ride one of the horses as well as a driver driving the team . These horses didn 't do the slow cow horse jog . They did a fast ground - traveling trot . Some anonymous genius discovered that if you rise up and down with the beat of the horse it turned from misery to comfort . When you ride a horse with a bouncy trot , the bounce is not caused by the step up into the air , but when your horse 's body comes back down . On a speedy or big stepping horse , the body goes down faster than you do and you bounce when you hit the saddle . To make matters worse , the horse 's body goes down on one side first and then the other side . This leaves you flying all over the saddle . Not fun for you or the horse . Posting is like dancing . In the beginning , your horse leads and you follow . Later , as you get better , you will dance in time with him . When you get really good , you can lead and your horse will follow you ! As you start to trot , your horse will lift you up into the air . You need to time it so you stay up in the air a beat as his body travels down . This way , you miss a bounce . He will come back up to get you . You will follow him back down in perfect timing - so you miss the next bounce , too . Immediately , he will bring you back up and it will start all over again . It is really tough at first - like riding a bike . Once you lPosted by Clicker Training MingoLast month , I wrote about clicker training my cat , Thunder . I was having so much fun with Thunder ; I thought I would experiment with Mingo . ( Cruiser is very limited with treats , so he was out of the question . ) I bought a good book on clicker training horses , and I worked up my plan . Clicker training is based on 100 % positive reinforcement . When a horse does something you want him to do , he gets a reward - usually in the form of a treat . The beauty of the clicker is that you click at the very moment of the correct behavior . This makes rewarding your horse clear and consistent - something that is incredibly important with horses . Let 's say that you want your horse to step over a log , and decided to give him a reward when he did . If you stop and give him a treat after he steps over the log , he may not understand why he is getting the treat . It may be because he stepped over the log , but it might be because he stopped or because he is standing still . See where the confusion lies ? With a clicker , you can click as your horse is stepping over the log . Once he hears the click , he knows he will get a treat , so the reward is clearly for stepping over the log . A trainer can clicker train a horse from the start to the finish of his career . It applies to tricks , groundwork and riding . It sounded like intense clicker training would be good for winter training , but this is trail - riding season here in Ohio . I wasn 't about to spend a lot of time in the arena , right now . From working with Thunder , I knew that clicker training could work for isolated behaviors , too . I chose a few projects to work on that would help us with our trail riding . I wanted to teach " walk faster " and its corollary " walk down the river bank faster . " I also wanted to reinforce confident walking over the river ford . The first thing to teach Mingo was that the clicker meant " Good boy . " It took about 5 minutes . The book suggested using a cone , but I decided a hammer would be better . I didn 't want him acting silly around conesPosted by It was a Quiet Sunday MorningOne Sunday last month , Ellen and I went on a ride up to the public show ring . We don 't ride in the ring - just all about the trails up there . The horses love the ride , since we used to board them close by , and their enthusiasm is overwhelming . We like it , too , and try to go there once a week . It was a totally successful and enjoyable ride . We were on our way home , when I heard Ellen say , " Uh oh . " This is never a good thing to hear on a ride . We happened to be on the Lagoon trail . It is right out in the open and just a few feet from the street . On the opposite side of the trail is a rock wall with the river below . As I glanced behind me , I saw a couple police cars with their lights flashing . My first fear was that they would turn on their sirens . We turned the horses around to face the cars . Horses are less likely to bolt if they are facing the monster . That is when we saw the motorcycles coming around the corner , and remembered there was a motorcycle rally that was going through the park that day . We were at the absolutely worst place we could be . Ranger and Mingo 's heads were up , and they were very tense . The motorcycles were coming down the street , and there was no end in sight . Ellen started walking Ranger towards them , and we followed . This seemed to help . Just when things seemed like they couldn 't get worse , one the bikers got the idea in his head to honk and wave to us . Then they all started honking and waving ! We stopped the horses right before the trail goes into the trees . Since the trail still follows the road , the trees would have obscured the bikes , but wouldn 't have taken us away from them . We thought that would be worse . As the motorcycles passed us , two by two , we just sat there on our horses , half heartedly waving back with fake smiles pasted on our faces . Before we even saw the motorcycles , we had seen a friend of ours , Dave , down the trail coming towards us . He was soon by our side . He said that his horse , Montana , was doing fine until they started honking . TPosted by It was a disappointing holiday weekend . On Friday , I had car trouble and didn 't get out to ride with my sister . By the time I did , the fireworks were bad enough that I didn 't want to risk riding on the trail . I just led Cruiser around for his glucose therapy . Saturday was a better day . I did get to ride both horses . I took Mingo with my sister up to the show ring and that was fun . I also took Cruiser out for an hour ride . Sunday , my sister had to work and I had to rush to finish in time . My boyfriend 's family was having a get together and I agreed to go . I took both horses out for about an hour . I hate rushing . Next weekend will be better . Last night and this morning were a little tough . Don 't worry - this has a happy ending , so don 't worry . Last night , I woke up to find Thunder , my beloved cat , shaking in pain ! He then threw up . There was a little grass , and maybe hair . I brought him back upstairs , and he was trembling very badly . He started purring really loud - due to the discomfort - this happened once before . He shook so hard . I just held and comforted him . I was so upset . After about a half hour , his shaking and purring gradually subsided , so I felt better , too . I figured he ate a bad bug or something and throwing it up solved the problem . He went downstairs . I waited a bit and then brought him back up . He seemed better - and then he jumped down and started eating ! I went to sleep . He left and didn 't come back . I got up early - and couldn 't find him ! ! ! I searched for 15 minutes . When he doesn 't feel good , he hides - but never this good . I spent 15 minutes looking for him before I heard him cry . I still couldn 't find him . He was mewing every couple minutes . I was in the basement and it occurred to me - the rec room . The door was closed , and he was trapped inside ! He must have pushed the door open and it closed behind him . He was fine and happy - came upstairs and ate . Then he went back down and wanted to go back into the rec room . I left the door open for him . I was so scared and so relievedPosted by We had a great weekend for riding . Friday evening , I took Cruiser out for a fast and fun ride ( gotta keep his insulin in control aka excuse to ride more ) Saturday morning , my younger neice came out to ride again . Her posting is becoming solid . Unlike her sister , she didn 't fly off at the canter . We only cantered a little . She has very little experience with it , and I could see her going too far off the saddle and I didn 't want her to lose her balance . It will come in time . My sister rode Mingo - his first ride in nearly 2 weeks . He did well and seemed to have fun . Cruiser was great , of course . It is unusual for us to take all 3 of our horses out at once - and surprising how well they behave . We decided that home is not the stables but the herd . When all 3 of the herd is out , there is no reason to hurry back to the barn . They just strolled along and took their time . Sunday , I finally got to ride Mingo , myself . We took him and Ranger up to the show ring area and trotted about . He seemed sound . I will ride him again , tonight . I rode Cruiser by myself , and halfway home , it started pouring rain . It quite by the time we got back . At least it wasn 't a cold day . I 'm riding him again , tonight . My garden is growing so well , my sister said it didn 't look like my garden . Usually , I struggle so much . I picked over 100 radishes this week ! I think they are nearly done , now . We are starting to eat small turnips , and the lettuce is great . I had a lovely ride last night on Cruiser . He was in a great mood . We went about 5 miles - trotted and cantered on the way out - walked and trotted on the way home . He offered some gaiting , too , I think to get away from the bugs . It worked . Mingo is healing fast . His front foot is 100 % . His back foot is about 75 % . There is no pain when he walks or trots . It is still warm around the heel and hurts to the touch . I 'm still soaking . I don 't think I will ride him until the weekend at the soonest . I did turn him out to play , and he did some awesome bucks and ran about like a colt . Tomorrow , my oldest niece is coming out to ride with me . It will be her first real trail ride . The younger niece is coming out on Saturday . She was supposed to ride Mingo , but she will have to ride Ranger . She will also have a crash course in posting . She can easily sit Mingo 's trot , but posting is necessary with Ranger . She has never ridden him , before , so it will be a good experience . What a Month for MingoEarly in May , Ellen and I went for a ride up to the show ring . Mingo was stumbling on his back hoof , and it reminded me of last fall when he got an abscess in it . The ride was uneventful - that alone should have been a clue . Mingo still hadn 't settled down for the year , and suddenly , on his favorite ride , he was behaving ? I was suspicious . I brought him home , and put him in his stall . I kept an eye on him , but nothing seemed amiss , so I saddled up Cruiser for his ride . Ellen was going to drive down to the trail and hike out to meet us . I left before she did . When she caught up with me , she told me Mingo was miserable and had an abscess in a hind hoof . He told her he couldn 't even walk , and he was the unhappiest horse in the world . Mingo is known for drama . I hurried back , and Ellen went returned to the barn , too . I brought Mingo out of his stall and led him about . It really wasn 't that bad . He could walk on it , and only favored it slightly , but I could tell it was an abscess . I 've had way too much experience with abscesses . I called my farrier . Last time this happened , I called the vet and my farrier said that was silly because he would have been glad to come out , and he would be cheaper . I left him a message to call my cell phone . This was on Saturday . By Monday , I didn 't hear from him , and that was really strange . I figured he was out of town . ( Turned out , he did call - I just haven 't figured out how to use cell phones , yet . ) I spent my time soaking Mingo 's foot . You should have seen the expression on his face . It was one of plain misery - yet he could still walk very well . Monday morning , I called the vet , and she took a look at it . She said it was ready to pop out of his heel , and she couldn 't find a place to drain it . It must be under the frog . My job was to soak it some more and let it resolve itself . As Kevin led him around , she marveled that he wasn 't favoring the foot at all - just going a little slower . The next morning , Ellen was cleaning Ranger 's stall , and she sawPosted by Our New ApprenticeMany years ago , Ellen and I were blessed with two nieces . The first niece , Sarah , started going on " rides " when she was just two years old . She liked to ride , but her little sister , Missy , was afraid to try . Every time Sarah came out to ride , we would ask Missy if she wanted to ride , and she would shake her head and hide her face from us . One day , when she was five , I asked her again and this time , she nodded . We put her up on Cruiser , led her around and she was hooked . Over the next 8 years , she and her sister would come out to ride about once a month . Eventually , we didn 't have to lead them , anymore . Missy would ride Ranger and Sarah would ride Cruiser . They took a liking to riding down to the river . Sarah graduated to riding Mingo . Finally , Missy went through a growth spurt and her feet reached the stirrups . One day last fall , we let them cross the river , and we went on a trail ride . Now , Missy was really hooked . Missy is now thirteen . Last month , she suggested coming out with us on a Saturday without her mother . Her older sister , being in high school , has a very busy schedule and if Missy waited for her to be free , she would be waiting a long time . I picked her up on my way to the barn . We decided she must be very serious about this since she was willing to get up early in the morning on the weekend , so we decided to put her into training . She is now our apprentice . To accelerate her learning , and she has so much to learn , we decided she would saddle and bridle all three horses . This would triple her speed of learning how to tack up . Since each horse acts different , she would learn that much more . This was great - Ellen and I just supervised . The ride was about an hour long , and very uneventful . Well , Ranger did spook at a chipmunk , twice , but both times consisted of a tiny hop . We did a fair amount of trotting so Missy could practice posting . Mingo and Cruiser were just along for the ride . Cruiser took the lead and Mingo stayed in the back . Everyone behaved so well that were wondering if tPosted by Stormy WeatherI shouldn 't listen to Kevin . Last week , the weather forecasters predicted only a slight chance of thunderstorms , so when we were leading the horses down the driveway , Kevin was sure those big black clouds would pass to the north of us . I suggested just riding up and down the hill , so if it started storming we would be close to home . Unfortunately , I let Kevin convince me to cross the river . I should have known better . I did say that when we got to a particular spot on the trail - only about 10 minutes away , we would reevaluate the weather and turn back if it looked bad . We were trotting along and were nearly to that spot when the wind started blowing really , really hard . I decided right there that we should turn back immediately . It was too late . Seconds later , it began to pour . I shouted to Kevin that it felt like déjà vu , and that I was having flashbacks . I was remembering the time that Ellen and I got caught in a sudden storm with a lot of wind and a huge tree right next to us crashed to the ground - fortunately away from the trail and not right on top of us . The words were barely out of my mouth when I heard a loud crack . I turned Cruiser towards the sound . If a tree was falling , I wanted him to be facing it . I saw a large branch break . I didn 't see it hit the ground because Cruise was startled by the sound and began trotting . He was easy to stop since he was heading towards the noise and away from home . Kevin did likewise . Once the horses were back in control , we turned around and headed home . We didn 't have to ride far , but we got soaked . At least it wasn 't a cold day . We got back to the barn , scraped the excess water from the horses , finished our chores and headed to his house to watch a movie . Friday night is movie night for us . As I have often said , the risk of a tree falling during a storm is less likely than a day or two later . The wind and rain weakens the tree , but it may not fall right away . Sunday , I took Cruiser out on my own . It was very cool and sunny - perfect riding weather . Posted by Long holiday weekend ! Hurray ! We will be riding each day , of course . tomorrow , my 13 - year - old niece is coming out to ride with us . This is the first time without a parent . She has decided that she really wants to get involved with horses , so we are putting her in training . She has so much to learn ! We are going on a regular trail ride . She will ride my sister 's horse , Ranger , my sister will ride Mingo , and I will be on Cruiser , of course . Her older sister is too busy with school , but if you wants to get in the program , I offered to take her out alone this summer in the evenings . I could use the company . Mingo was having problems , but he is doing fine . He had 2 abscesses and a leg bruise within 3 weeks of each other . I 'm not looking forward to that vet bill ! We were concerned that under all that swelling , there was something more serious , but to my relief , he is fine . We have been riding and having fun , again . DeerOur part of the world if filled with whitetail deer . I see more of them on a typical ride than I see squirrels . They terrorize my gardens , and the only way to protect my vegetables is with an electric fence . An electric fence won 't help us on our trail rides . We just have to deal with them . Since we see deer so often , the horses aren 't frightened of them unless they do something sudden . We just need to be alert and spot the deer before the horses do . The other evening , I was out riding Mingo by myself . Since he is still working off his springtime silliness , he was being a little unpredictable . We did some trotting and some cantering , and all went well . When we got to our favorite spot to canter , he became very animated with anticipation . ( If you do the same thing in the same spot all of the time , your horse will want to do the same thing in that same spot all the time . We are guilty of creating a bad habit - but it is such a great place to canter ! ) Right at the moment of his transition , a goose or duck landed loudly in the river that was right alongside us . He leapt sideways into the canter rather than straight , and that was a good excuse to toss in a little buck . No big deal for me - I 'm used to it this time of year with him . He just gets excited - and his bucks are really easy to ride . I just pushed him straight into a canter . He did great , though faster than his usual slow speed . I was enjoying it quite a bit when we saw a deer close to the trail jump forward . We must have startled him , because he took off running and jumping off through the woods . Mingo was startled , too , and came back down to a trot . Since the deer was running parallel to the trail , I thought it would be a good idea to encourage Mingo to follow - staying on his trail , of course . Mingo thought this was the greatest idea in the world ! He kept going faster and faster to catch up with the deer . I couldn 't believe the speed he reached . Problem was - it was at a trot . Once Mingo starts to trot fast , he can 't seem to coordinate a canter Posted by Cruiser 's New SpeedCruiser has always been a speedy horse , and I love him that way . Unfortunately , with a healed bowed tendon , I didn 't think it would be wise to blast down the trails like he loves to do in the spring when he first gets out . Extended trotting can be hard on a bad tendon , so I needed him to slow down for his springtime conditioning . We started out just trotting short sections of trail . When he got too fast , I brought him to a walk for a minute and then tried again . This worked well when we were riding away from home , but when we tried it going towards home , he was fast on the first stride , and he just wouldn 't settle down . I decided we would spend going towards home at a walk for a while . It worked , sort of . Since Cruiser wanted to go faster and I wouldn 't let him , he decided to gait . He has been occasionally gaiting ever since I got him nearly 20 years ago . He would only do it when he traveled downhill or was really excited . I think it is a stepping pace that he does . It 's faster than a walk , but not as fast as his trot , and I have always enjoyed it . He just cruises along on a loose rein . There are gaited Morgans , and gaitedness shows up in Arabians now and then . He could have gotten his skill from either side of his family tree . Well , this spring , he was gaiting a lot - which I think is a good sign since he hadn 't offered it very much in the last few years . I think he has been telling me that he feels good ( and wants to trot towards home . ) A few weeks ago , for the first time when he did it , I told him " Good boy . " He heard those words and accelerated ! I was shocked . I never thought he knew that " good boy " really meant " good boy . " I figured it was just mindless chatter to him . I tried a few more times , and he ended up going faster than he ever did for me at his gait . We were flying down the trail . I was thrilled . I decided I wanted to do this more often - but how could I cue him to do it ? The next ride , I experimented . I learned from Ariel that collection can help , but it madePosted by Trail Training Newsletter - 100May 2009Dear Readers , This is the 100th newsletter . I never would have thought I had so much to write about ! If you have only been receiving the newsletter for the last few years , and you wish you had read the early ones , you can buy my book " Trail Horse Adventures and Advice . " My sister gave a copy of the book to a woman she works with . She had never even touched a horse in her life . She loved the book and told Ellen it is about more than horses . She said it is about philosophy , learning and the lessons of life . She was right , but I never thought anyone would figure it out . We live our life through our horses , and everything about us is reflected in them . If you haven 't bought a copy of " Trail Training for the Horse and Rider , " here is a review from the blogosphere that might convince you to give it a try : http : / / nuzzlingmuzzles . blogspot . com / 2009 / 03 / book - review - trail - training - for - horse . html It sure made my day when I read it . It makes me want to go back and read my book ! I haven 't read any of it since my very last edit - but I have looked at the pictures . There are pictures of Mingo when he was just a little 3 - year - old on his first trail rides . What an exciting time that was . He took to the trail like a fish to water - much easier than Cruiser who was afraid of everything . Those early rides with Cruiser were exciting for a different reason ! Spring has finally arrived in Ohio . We have been trail riding and loving it . The hoses are thrilled to be out of the arena . It was such as long , long winter . We are conditioning the horses for longer and more vigorous rides . Mingo and Cruiser still haven 't ' settled down , but I think they will be very soon . Ranger is acting sensible - except when one of my silly horses is with him . Silliness can be contagious . We plan to take a few more vacation days this month . Our attempts last month were met with rain , so we are due to have some good luck . Last night , after work , the abscess still hadn 't bust out . I soaked him while I cleaned stalls , and went for a ride on Cruiser . When I got back , I turned Mingo out in the arena . He hobbled around a little and thought about rolling , but wouldn 't . I brougth his best buddy , Ranger out to keep him company . Ranger did his best to get him to run . He actually did a slow trot . Then he rolled and walked all about with Ranger . My sister checked him this morning , and he was laying down . His heel felt damp and it was smelly , so it might have busted out . I hope so . I will soak it tonight , and put on his bootie to keep it clean . If I don 't forget my clicker , again , I may do some training . Mingo has another hoof abscess . I had the vet out , but after a thorough search , she said that it must be under his frog , so she can 't drain the hoof from the bottom . I will have to soak and soak and it should pop out if his heel in a few days . Poor little guy - - I wanted him to have some relief . He isn 't lame , and he will put weight on his heel about half the time . My vet can 't believe his high tolerance to pain , but I 'm used to it . I only knew there was a problem because I know him and abscesses so well . Poor little guy . He has such a stoic look on his face . My sister was able to ride with me last night . Since she works evenings and I work days , this doesn 't happen often . I 'm usually by myself . Now and then , my retired boyfriend joins me , but he usually rides in the morning , too . Anyway , Mingo and Ranger behaved their best yet for the year . We trotted much of the trail on the way out and walked home so we could talk on the way back . There was no bucks and no racing . What a relief - - they are finally settling down . This weekend , we plan to bite the bullet and do some cantering together . I had enough time to ride Cruiser and few times on the hill . We got in just before dark - - and just before it started raining . I 'm staying home , tonight , but tomorrow , I 'm going to ride Cruiser . My boyfriend has to babysit , so I will be by myself , but at least I won 't have to watch the Cavs with him . ( Usually I go to his house after my Friday night ride , and we watch a movie . ) I can 't wait until the playoffs are over ! We had a nice , long weekend . The weather was great on Saturday and Sunday . I rode Cruiser longer on both days than I have been . He is starting to settle down . We did take Mingo and Ranger up to the show ring . As expected , they were very , very excited . We didn 't do any trotting until we turned to go back home . Yes , they like it up there so much that they go slower on the way home than on the way out . It 's silly , but I think it is because they lived up there for 4 years . We loved boarding up there , and would still be , today , but the owners of the little place we kept them out went through a divorce and the house ended up getting sold . It was a sad situation . We didn 't have an indoor arena , though , so the winters were pretty tough . Monday , it rained . We got a short ride in between showers . I even managed to take Cruiser on a walk between a couple more rain showers . We then waited for the vet to come and give them their second set of shots . She was early this time . Hurray ! My sister and I then went over my house to take the dog on a long walk . It was sunny when we left , but just as we turned to go home , it started raining like crazy . We could barely see . My dog wasn 't too happy , either . We got pizza from our favorite place and ate until we were stuffed . My sister and I took Monday off for the second round of shots for the horses . Of course it is supposed to be cold and rainy . Hopefully we will be able to get a ride in and the vet won 't be too late . We plan to ride Mingo and Ranger up to the show ring for the first time this year tomorrow . They get so excited up there that we will probably only be able to walk the first time . They used to live up there , years ago , and I think that is a cause of the hyperness . They were never that way when they lived there , though . We have to go up a very steep hill , and then we end up in a small but gorgeous pine forest . Outside the forest , the path goes two ways . One is just thought a mowed field that loops aroung the public showring . The other goes through a really pretty section of the field is growing out . There are a lot of pretty shrubs . It then goes to a wild meadow , past a couple private barns and along the street beside another wild meadow for a bit . Then it ends at the road . The trails are the best condition around . We usually end up taking the meadow trail and riding out to the showring . It is a pleasant and pretty ride . I hope Mingo doesn 't buck . . . Saturday 's ride was disappointing because we weren 't able to cross the river . We rode up and down the hill leading to it 3 times with each horse . We then waited for our niece to come out and take Ranger for a ride . she has just ridden sporadically over the years . The last time she was out was in the winter , and we tried to teach her to post . Posting is necessary with Ranger if you want to be comfortable . She kinda understood , but didn 't really have it . well , she rode down to the river and we let her trot at the bottom . She posted like a champ . Somehow , she learned to post over the winter on her own . She didn 't tell us her secret . Sunday was wonderful riding . We took Mingo and Ranger out for about 5 miles and we were able to do some trotting without them being too competitive . We did walk all the way home , though . We didn 't want to push our luck . I took Cruiser out for about 4 miles . We did a lot of trotting and a little cantering . On the way home , we met my boyfriend on Starry , and we rode the rest of the way together . Starry did some bucking and general silliness , but Cruiser still acted mature . I was proud of him . I am going out to ride tonight , but it is snowing . If it sticks , Cruiser will have to stay inside ( shoes ) , but Mingo will go down trail . He just loves snow . A Happy Starry Kevin has owned Starry D for a few years , now . He is a really good horse for Kevin . He 's friendly , gentle and usually list . . . I figured out what our dog is . She is a Sprollie - - a Border Collie / Spaniel mix . Whether she was intentional or an accident , we will never k . . . I only had enough daylight to ride Cruise on trail . We went with my boyfriend and Starry . It was a very nice ride . When I got back , I d . . .