Stumpy-necked Month Old Grade Foal: $4,000!

Sometimes there will appear to be a lull in stupidity in the Wisconsin horse world. I become slightly optimistic during these times. I think, "Gee, it's probably just that I haven't been paying attention, or that the weather has kept the real idiots inside, but maybe, just maybe, people are getting better!"

But no. It always turns out I really haven't been paying attention. Today, I present to you Crystal Ackerman!

Awww, what a cute thing to teach your horse!
Until he reaches 600 pounds and tries it...

Crystal is from Fennimore, WI, and she's a strong contender for a gold medal in stupidity. It's like there's some Backyard Breeder Olympics I'm unaware of.

Check out this Craigslist ad, where she's selling a month-old foal. Nowhere does she say anything like, "he can go home with you after weaning in five months." Uh, well, maybe she would clarify that part once someone contacted her and agreed to pay...  
HOLY CRAP, $4,000?!
Four thousand dollars?
Four thousand dollars?
For a yet-to-be-registered draft mix baby?
For this stumpy-necked, untrained mutt?
Dear God, why?!
Ohhhhh right, because it's part Gypsy Vanner. *massive eyeroll*
And if she truly believes that thing is worth so much, why keep it behind barbed wire?! If you had an expensive car, would you habitually drive it on rutted roads covered in bits of glass?!
Good job capping those T-posts, I guess?! How pointless.
My mind is officially boggled. Click the ad below to see it full-size.

 This foal isn't the only animal Crystal is interested in making a quick profit on. She also put up a bulldog puppy for sale-- at seven weeks old. (Reminder: 8 weeks is considered the minimum, to ensure the health and proper socialization of the dog.)

Besides horses and bulldogs, Crystal also breeds Great Danes and chinchillas. Apparently, she also considers herself qualified to train. Just look at these incredibly safe techniques! See more on her website.

Well hey, let's try to end on a positive note, shall we? I guess we can say that all of Crystals pictures show her umpteen animals as being healthy and in clean environments. Oh, and she has a nice sticky butt when it comes to riding. Good job Crystal, I marginally accept you as not absolutely the worst horse owner ever.

See, I can be nice!

Recent Rides: A Brief Update

Lest this blog wander too far from its intended purpose, I have to give you a brief update about Annie's progress:

First, I HATE burdocks. Annie has a particular knack for sticking her head directly into them, and also hates having her mane and forelock messed with, a combination that makes us both very unhappy during fall. I know, I know, if I weren't so lazy about pasture maintenance... Annie now has a ridiculous haircut, because I just couldn't get all the forelock burs out without some collateral damage.

It's a bur-icorn!

As for riding, Annie and I have been riding for short distances, but fairly frequently. We don't go more than 1-3 miles, walk and trot under saddle, but I usually lunge Annie for at least 20 minutes before a ride. She's doing much better about traveling straight and listening to subtler leg cues. Twice now, however, she's started to move during mounting-- something to keep an eye on. A horse that walks off while you mount is super annoying.

Tonight was our first ride in about 6 days (I've been at a conference). Foolishly, I didn't do any groundwork with Annie before the ride; I was too excited to get into the saddle. A six day vacation, no lunging, no groundwork? What was I thinking?! She was fractious, energetic and a bit spooky. It's unusual to see Annie upset; it's sort of like a mean Golden Retriever. It just doesn't happen much.


What made matters worse tonight is that Annie has become convinced that there's a CORN MONSTER.

I EAT HORSES! RAWWR!

The farmer who rents the crop land on the farm hasn't harvested the corn yet-- so the dry stalks surround both sides of our road in a quaking, rustling mass of DEATH. The merest hint of a breeze makes it sound like there's an army of evil dire-rats coming towards us. A full-blown gust really spooks her-- and I don't blame her. The corn does start to look alive and malicious. We made it past the gauntlet into more open roadway, as we have every time for the past few weeks, but it was unnerving because we hadn't prepared well enough. At these times, I'm extra glad I'm wearing a helmet.

On the way back home, it got pretty dark (damn Winter) and a combine started up behind us as we entered a wooded part of the road (dark, more rustly noises). I made it about a quarter of a mile in the saddle before I had to dismount and walk her home. She was just really nervous, not naughty, and I probably could have stayed on-- in fact, in my teenage years, I would have. Now, though, I'm cognizant of my own mortality, and of how much things can really hurt. I don't even want to think about bolting home on a dark concrete road at top speed, around a blind curve.

My helmet-- a lifesaver.

Therefore, Annie and I walked. That didn't mean she got out of work, however. Any time I felt she was being unreasonably forward, I made her whoah, back up, and start again. I always want a horse to follow at my shoulder or just behind it; when they're very frightened, I make allowances and let their head move forward, but under no circumstances do I allow a horse to walk so far forward that I'm walking at the base of their neck or at their shoulder. I've been knocked over more than once making that mistake, when a horse reacted to something.

A horse WILL avoid running into you if at all possible when it spooks, but if you're dead in the way, you can become a pancake pretty quickly-- your own safety is the best reason to teach good leading habits.

Good! Nose at handler's shoulder.

Okay-- horse rather too forward.

Future human roadkill.

If Annie didn't whoah or follow nicely, I made her circle, and circle again, until she was calmer. We stopped several times just to stop and stand, despite the distractions; I think this is one of the most important, least-taught skills a horse should know.

When we got home, we headed directly down to the barn-- and then at the last second, we turned back. I made her do a couple of circles and figure eights, then stopped and stood again for a while. THEN we went "home."

The message you want to send is that being back at the barn doesn't mean an end to work or obedience, being scared is okay but being naughty is not, and that you expect good manners all of the time.

I was disappointed in our ride tonight, but it was my own fault due to lack of preparation-- and I did manage to teach some good lessons during it.

As for my own training program, I woke up extra early and power walked two miles before work-- and then had ice cream for supper.

*sigh*

A Horse of a Different Color: Annie's Past & Backyard Breeders

I did promise to return to the topic of Annie's past, her neglect issues and injury, and since I'm not ready to reveal any master endurance racing fitness plan yet, this seems like a good time to do that.

I call Annie a "rescue horse," but I didn't get her from a horse rescue. I was almost done with college when I saw an ad on Craigslist (who can resist browsing horses on Craigslist?). It said something like, "Yearling paint filly. Has an injury in her hip, but really sweet. Halter broke. Don't have enough time or money. First $100 cash takes her, or she goes to auction next week."

Well, I thought I'd just "go look."

Riiiiight. If you're a horse person, you know there's no such thing.

When I got there, I found a ribby, wormy, shaggy filly in a dirt paddock. She had a strange patch on her left hip; when I asked what it was, the owner informed me that so many flies were attracted to the pus draining from the filly's wound, she (the owner) had decided to superglue a gauze patch over the top.

Do you know how fast I took that filly home?

Pretty fast.

Annie's condition was the result of bad breeding, bad management and just plain bad people.

The lady I bought her from said she gotten the filly from a breeder-- a "backyard breeder." This guy had bred a whole bunch of horses, and left a bunch of them together in a rusty, broken roundpen surrounded by junk. While being bullied by other horses, Annie got herself impaled on one of these rusted pieces of junk. The lady brought her home, glued gauze over the top of the wound and left her.

While I feel a healthy amount of hate towards Annie's second owner, the breeder who brought her into the world deserves most of my (and your) anger. Backyard breeders usually seem to think that any "colored" horse, regardless of its breeding, conformation or temperament, can be sold for a good profit. As a result, these people are breeding countless spotted/palomino/buckskin/cremello foals, many of whom meet a fate worse than Annie's. You merely have to visit any local horse auction to see a dozen of these "colored" foals, now mostly unhandled yearlings and two-year-olds, sell to the local slaughter buyer for $100 or less.

Color alone means nothing. Conformation, temperament, training and registration mean more. Breeding for color alone is irresponsible, and dooms thousands of horses to slaughter every year. We have enough unwanted horses in the United States-- let's not make more of them, even if they are PINK.

Anyway, back on topic:

After a lot of food and TLC Annie looked a lot better. Wormer and Equishine supplements made her look and feel a lot better, and the Equishine reduced the neglect-related swelling of growth plates in her legs. However, no matter how many times I cleaned out the wound in her hip, it wouldn't heal. The half-dollar-sized hole closed up to the size of a dime, but it continued to leak thick yellow-white pus. The vet came out and prescribed antibiotics for a month. The wound was less pussy-- but refused to heal. Meanwhile, Annie's personality blossomed. She became interested in people, curious about her surroundings and extremely affectionate.

After another cleaning by the vet, an ultrasound to try to figure out what was going on with the wound and another round of antibiotics, Annie went in for surgery. Despite being on a trailer ride just once before in her whole life, and NEVER having been in a stall before, she was extremely well behaved for her trip to the vet's. She came home two days later with a wound the size of a golf ball in her hip. The vets had removed a bone chip, chunks of necrotic bone and other infected material.

It took a long time for Annie to heal-- and in the meantime, her wound had to be cleaned daily, and she was on several medications. She hated her Bute (an oral pain medication), but was otherwise a very good girl.

I spent the next two years taking her for walks, working on her ground manners, teaching her to lunge (or "longe" if you prefer) and getting her used to a saddle.

At two years old, she had matured into a gorgeous young lady:

At three years old, I sent her to a trainer for 30 days of saddle training:

Adam Hoon at Pine Dance Ranch, near Lodi, WI. A great trainer!

...and now, at age 3.5, I ride her regularly around my farm. We're taking things slowly, in part because I'm lazy, but also because she's not done growing yet, and I don't believe in pushing her too hard, too fast. She sometimes still "drags" her left leg a little but seems to be in no pain and was pronounced sound by my vet. Only time will tell if the old injury will impact her performance in a serious way.

This May, Annie will turn 4 years old, and be eligible to participate in under-30-miles Competitive and Limited Distance rides. I hope to ride her regularly over this winter, working up to ten mile rides, then move to fifteen miles in early spring. From there we'll do a little trailering to area trails, and maybe even some overnight camping. Then we'll try a "real" event, probably a 15 mile Novice Division ride in Palmyra, WI, in May or June. Fifteen miles is the shortest ride offered at official events-- it's for newbies like us. By the end of the riding season (Sept/Oct), we should have worked up to 25 and 30 mile rides. 2013 will be the first year we'll be eligible to ride over-30-milers, but we probably won't do more than a couple of 50 milers. In 2014, I'll push Annie to do more 50s, and at least one 100 mile race. 2015 is our goal Tevis year. I'll be 29 and Annie will be 7-- about the same age, comparatively. That year will be scary. It may be necessary for us to travel out west a few months in advance of the Tevis in order to acclimatize to the higher altitudes, which can seriously affect the performance of horses and riders who aren't adjusted to the lack of oxygen.