Adventures of Nancy and Dylan

Time to Catch Up

2010-07-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has happened over the last few months. To be honest, I did not have the heart to write about it while it was happening. For those of you who have been reading Dylan's Corner on my web page at www.goldencrossranch, you know that Dylan was diagnosed as chronically lame and cannot continue with his role as the Golden Cross Ranch horse - it would be too hard on him to participate in the trail rides and doing the obstacles. The good news is that I found him a great home and he is doing great hanging out in the pasture and checking cows. The bad news is that I miss him terribly and no horse can compare. But isn't that true about each horse we are blessed to own througout our lives? Each one is unique and special in their own way. They each leave a unique hoofprint on our hearts, just like our other critter friends. I had the most wonderful black German Shepherd imaginable, and we were together for a full fourteen years. Nikki is gone now, but my big goober black and tan German Shepherd Luke is just as special in his own way. Life goes on but wonderful memories never cease.

So I am currently engaged in a search for my next equine partner - Oh, the stories I could tell! It seems that everyone has their own definitions of terms like broke, good disposition, well-trained, not spooky, and well, the list goes on. To give you a small idea, we drove an hour and a half to see a gelding that was a mare when we got there. This gentleman knew we wanted a gelding, but I suppose he figured I would fall in love with his horse once I spent time with her. What really happened was he lost integrity with me right up front. How could I trust him about anything else he said? And then there was the herd sour horse that started calling to his pasture buddies so his owner starts shouting his name and says “See, he answers to his name!” Or the horse that refused to leave his pasture where his buddy remained to ride in the adjoining field. The owner informed me that the horse knew she didn’t own that land and that they weren’t supposed to ride on it which is why the horse refused…

But enough stories...horse shopping is never easy but I have learned something from eavh horse that I have met. And I have also learned something really important from my friend Suzanne. She suggested that I be still and let God handle it. God knows my desire for a horse and He also knows which horse will be perfect for me. Her comment that perhaps I should follow Scripture and "Be still and know that I am God" and give Him control instead of trying to force the situation sounds like wonderful advice - so I'm sure gonna try! I'll keep you posted on the search...

Lessons Learned

2010-02-14T13:07:00.001-08:00

Well, we got the sad news that the oak tree that stood near our mobile home on our property in North East Texas crashed over from the roots with the weight of the snow and destroyed it.

We are very blessed to own 50 acres in such beautiful country and we have been working on our mobile home on and off for about three years now - it was our hope that it could be a place that we could use or offer to other people to use who needed to destress and enjoy the country as a getaway. This is our dream property - where we'll one day bring Dylan and our other horses and live full time.

We are praising God that nobody was hurt. And as we struggle to make sense of why this happened, we can only find that God in His infinite wisdom is providing for us in ways that at first don't seem to make sense, but when one starts looking deeper...one can clearly see His care for us. The tree fell over at a time when nobody was living there. It is only material things that was destroyed or damaged, not precious human lives. Praise God!!!! We have been putting our finances into this project for awhile now. While the initial loss is dismaying, it still occurred before we continued to put more labor and money into it.

And I think there was another lesson for me personally. I have always had a fear of harsh weather - especially tornados. My biggest fear of moving to our property is that of tornados taking out our mobile home. I NEVER expected the oak tree that we sought for shelter and shade would be the vehicle for the destruction of our home in the country. So my lesson is, to not be anxious about things beyond my control, but to put my trust in God. He has a plan for each one of us and the only shelter I need to seek is in Him. I was so busy being afraid of the tornados when the real danger was something I never suspected. Life can be like that too. We need to keep our eyes open for the real dangers instead of taking false security in avoiding the ones that have not even materialized. Does that mean don't seek shelter if a tornado comes? Of course not! But don't waste time worrying about things beyond your control when a God that loves you so much that He sent his only son to die for you, is in charge. Praise God!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

We have had quite a stretch of wet and snowy weather - very unusual for Texas this time of year. Dylan is originally from a ranch in Montana and lived in Minnesota for four years, so he is probably feeling much more at home than his native Texas friends. My kids and I decided to be adventurous and make the trip to the barn this past Thursday despite the constant snowfall and Dylan was there to greet us - looking adorable in it. He has a loafing shed with plenty of shelter but would rather be out in the snow - silly horse! Two nice big round bales are keeping him and his pasture mates in plenty of hay - essential for them to keep warm.

Looks like it will be awhile before we'll be doing any riding or working on our Golden Cross Ranch products at the barn - it is going to be very muddy for the next couple of weeks. But like I told Josh - that just gives us something to look forward to and helps us appreciate the time we do have to do our outdoor activities. And you can't help but be in awe of God's beautiful creation covered in a beautiful blanket of white. Nine inches of snow in Texas - now that's a miracle!

Farrier Field Trip

2010-01-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time again - Dylan usually gets a farrier visit every six weeks or so. Since hooves typically grow out slower in the winter months (a lot of a horse's "growth" is directed at developing those winter woolies during that time) it had been more like eight weeks. He has front shoes because we have been patiently waiting for a couple of cracks to grow out of his front hooves.

I am homeschooling Josh this semester and thought it was a perfect opportunity for a field trip. AQHA has a wonderful program for youngsters called Junior Master Horseman. For anyone with kids, it is well worth checking out - we have had a lot of fun with it. They have their own web page: www.juniormasterhorseman.com. The day before the farrier visit, Josh got out his handbook and we studied the section on hoof care. He learned all of the parts of a hoof and even did an activity with aluminum foil and a spoon to beat out a "horse shoe" to the shape of the pictures provided. He was well-prepared for his visit with the farrier.

When the farrier arrived he also had a great handout for Josh that described not only the parts of the hoof, but legs and shoulders. The first thing we did was look at Dylan's rather muddy hooves. It has been freezing temps here in North Texas and the pasture is churned up and quite hard with frozen mud. While we were pleased that the cracks had finally grown out and Dylan could go barefoot again - we decided that considering the rough state of the pasture that we would do one more round of shoes to keep him comfortable until the pasture was in better shape. Decision made - the farrier turned his attention to Dylan and Josh.

Our farrier is a natural teacher and did a great job. I had to laugh at his first question for Josh: "How many legs does a horse have?" Of course he said four, and the farrier said, "Well, let's think about that. Yes. the rear legs are indeed legs but what about the front ones? See, a horse has shoulders, and humerus bones, both which are part of arms. So wouldn't we be more correct to say he has two legs and two arms?" I never thought about it but it makes sense!

Josh had a great time and learned a lot. Mom learned a lot too! And Dylan was his usually patient and sweet self. We are so blessed that our farrier is such an awesome guy who is so great with horses and kids. Josh's assignment is to write a report on what he learned. Did you know that cows can wear shoes too? Or that shoes can conduct electricity?

So Much To Be Thankful For

2010-01-01T10:47:00.001-08:00

We had quite a scare coming back from our Christmas trip to Alpine, Texas where we visited family over the holidays. We drove about 500 miles and got home Sunday night. Monday morning on the way to returning our rental van, I checked voice mail on my phone and heard the words that strikes fear into every horse owner's heart - Dylan started to colic around 8:00 that morning (I got the message about 10:00 right as we pulled into the rental car place). We checked in the van in nothing flat (everyone at the rental place was very concerned and facilitated our quick departure)and raced to the barn. Dylan was already much better - we are friends with Jesus and his family - they live on the property and take care of the horses - thank God that Jesus noticed Dylan rolling in the pasture and immediately brought him up and have him banamine. Jesus walked him and Dylan got better so quickly that when I called the vet he just gave me instructions over the phone for his diet and care over the next couple of days. Dylan loves being in the pasture but with the nasty weather and his close call we decided to keep him in the pole barn, under Jesus's watchful eye since I live forty minutes from the barn. Yesterday I took Dylan for a walk just leading him and I could see he was back to his old self. This New Year's morning is a beautiful day and so we turned him back out into the pasture.

It was very scary over the last few days and we are so thankful for Dylan's speedy and uneventful recovery. It was also a timely reminder during this tough economy that we still have so much to be thankful for. Money may be shorter than the past, but we are long on the love of family, friends, and of course our faithful four-legged friends. With the start of a New Year it is good to reflect on the many blessings we have received despite the uncertainty of the future - and resting in the peaceful assurance that God is in control when things (like Dylan colicking) seem out of control.

I pray for each of you a blessed New Year filled with joy and the eyes to see how truly blessed we really are...even when it doesn't always feel like it. "Thank you Heavenly Father for caring for your special horse Dylan whom you created and love - and for giving us more time together here on earth. I have so much to be thankful for - Help me this New Year to see the blessing of the gift of each new day, and to use that day to bless others in your Name. Amen."

Merry Christmas from the Golden Family

2009-12-22T07:19:00.001-08:00

Wishing you all of the wonderful blessings of Christmas as we celebrate our dear Savior's birth - Merry Christmas!

Having a Ball!

2009-12-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

Dylan and I played with the 30 inch ball that we are thinking about offering as part of our fun kit. We try each item before we add it to our kits and I thought it would be fun to take Dylan in the arena and play ball Thursday. He took to the ball pretty much like everything else - great boy that he is. I started with just a halter and introduced the ball to him. He sniffed at it and gave it the "eye" but pretty soon decided that it wasn't anything to worry about. So I spent a few minutes getting him used to it bouncing off his shoulders and his back and rolling up against his legs. Nothing seemed to bother him so I next took my four foot training stick and waved it around him, getting him used to the idea that I wasn't going to ask him to lunge just because I was holding it and waving it around.

Time to hop on and try playing "polo." I used the stick to hit the ball and soon we were chasing the ball around the arena, herding it by hitting it with the stick - which wasn't very effective. I am going to try a broom next time so I can swat the ball better. But we had a great time and Dylan showed off his ability to understand the task at hand and ride herd on the ball. It was a great time of focus for both of us - we became a real team as we concentrated on moving the ball across the arena. I plan on recruiting some other folks so that we can play horse polo in the future - I think that would be a lot of fun.

The only problem I have now is deciding whether or not to include it in our fun kit. The whole idea of our kits is portability - grabbing your tote bag and heading to the barn. The ball is portable when it comes packaged - but once you blow it up I don't think you would want to deflate it. That would take a long time and I also don't know if you would want a ball that is dusty with arena dirt in your car - so the best place to store it would be a tack room. Does that take away from the portability idea of the kit - or is the 30" ball still a good idea to include in it? What do you think?

Desensitizing Work

2009-12-14T11:49:00.000-08:00

We finally got a long enough break in the rain to allow the arena to dry up enough to use, so I asked hubby to come along and take some pictures of Dylan and I using our desensitizing kit. I must say it was really convenient to just grab the tote bag and go - everything was ready to use and easily available. If you haven't heard of desensitizing before, it's just a fancy way of saying "getting used to something so it doesn't bother you any more." Since horses are prey animals, they are generally on high alert for things that could eat them (or what they perceive as something that could eat them, like the dreaded Walmart bag floating in the wind) so it is a great idea to work with your horse and get him accustomed to things that he may find frightening otherwise. We often introduce things to our horses so that they become familiar with the object and eventually lose their fear of it. As with people, horses are very unique and some are more afraid of different things than others. Each horse needs to be approached with sensitivity and allowed to progress at their own rate when doing this type of work.

We began our session in a halter and leadrope. I always spend just a few minutes lunging Dylan in both directions to A. Get his focus on me and out of "pasture" mode. and B. To check and see how he is feeling and if he is sound. 2-3 laps at a trot in both directions usually tells me all I need to know...and Saturday Dylan was very attentive and obviously feeling good, so we could begin our workout.

First I showed Dylan the bandannas, letting him look at and sniff them, and then I proceeded to rub them on his forehead and neck. Whenever he got a little tense I just slowed down and took my time - not removing them, but showing him that they wouldn't hurt him by my relaxed attitude. When he became completely relaxed, I tied them to each side of his halter. I lunged him a bit more with the bandannas on , letting him get used to their presence. Pretty soon he ignored them completely, which signaled to me that it was a good time to start our tarp work.

Just as I do with everything I use to work with Dylan, I allowed him to explore the tarp and satisfy his curiosity before actually subjecting him to having it used on and around him. After Dylan looked satisfied - I start doing with the tarp what I did with the bandannas - rubbing it over him, throwing it up in the air near him, flopping it around, all the while talking to him in a low reassuring voice and gauging my actions to his comfort level. It's okay for him to be tense at first, but that does not cause me to remove the stimulus. I am very attentive to how much pressure I am putting on him and his acceptance of the object - so that I slowly increase pressure only after he accepts and relaxes where we are at.

Pretty soon Dylan finds the tarp pretty boring so it is time to try to walk across it. Taking on a confident attitude, I begin leading Dylan like I would normally do going anywhere, and he senses my expectation that we are definately crossing the tarp. So after the slightest of hesitations, he does! What a great boy he is! Repeated crossings soon become old hat and Dylan is ready for something new.

We do the same with the poncho (the two bandannas, the tarp and the poncho are the primary tools for the desensitizing kit) and Dylan is as accepting of the poncho as he was of the tarp.

Now I think there are two things that contribute to Dylan's willingness and the great job he does with all this stuff. One, he is well-broke. I don't know much of Dylan's past, but I know that he used to be a ranch horse and so he has most likely received some thorough training. But there is definately another factor. Ever since my ribs healed enough, I have been working with Dylan consistently. My goal was to create a special bond of trust, respect and affection with him. That is how I got the idea for all of these kits - this is all stuff that I have been doing with Dylan these past months. And his response has been awesome! He has given me my confidence back (I flew off my previous horse in February and hit really hard - which is how I broke my ribs) and we are progressing so much in our relationship - we are becoming true partners.

But from what I have learned this past couple of years is that A. It is a process - it takes time to build a real relationship. As my husband Phil says, it takes "time on task" and B. You have to have the right partner FOR YOU. My mare wasn't that partner (I sold her to a great home where she is understood and loved) and it was so important for me to come to that realization so I could devote my energies to the horse that is meant to be my partner and have FUN with him. I am so thankful that I decided to sell my other horse and take my time to find the horse that was truly a good fit for me. That changed everything!

So back to our session! After working on the ground, I decided to hop on and see how Dylan would do with these scary objects with me on his back. I transferred the bandannas to his bridle and played with both the tarp and the poncho. Dylan did great! This is the second time we have done a session like this - using the items in the desensitizing kit, and Dylan takes it all like an old hand. But one thing I notice - even though Dylan is obviously fairly comfortable with bandannas, and tarps, and ponchos, I can sense that the time we are putting in together working with these things is building trust between us. Because even if scary things aren't very scary - it all boils down to trust. Someone else can approach Dylan with a bandanna and his response would not be to freak out, but he would move his head up and tense. Because while the bandanna itself no longer scares him, he does not know if the person holding the bandanna is trustworthy.

So no matter if you have a greenbroke horse or an experienced ranch hand like Dylan, desensitizing can be a very useful way to help your horse contain his fear and get used to scary things, and also a wonderful way to build trust between you. And both will help result in a safer horse that you can have fun with!

Welcome and Reflections On Blog

2009-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our blog! I have been blessed to own my wonderful black gelding Dylan since late May of this year and we have been through many adventures together as we have been getting to know each other. Throughout this time, we have been doing many things in order to create and strengthen our horse-human bond. We have been using many different items to accomplish different objectives and through these efforts we have created specialized kits that we use for different areas of horsemanship. This blog is an attempt to share our progress with you, and hopefully to inspire you to work towards a similiar relationship with your own horse. I can't describe the feeling of joy and content I experience when Dylan and I are really in synch - but if you are a fellow "horse" person, I know you understand the feeling I am describing. We have created a variety of products that are offered on our web page at http://www.goldencrossranch.com/ in order to help with this process. We would like to share our journey with you, and would like to hear about your journey with your horse as well!