Cob Jockey

You know, I actually thought I might sell Disco to Maude a couple of times. As late as a few months ago, even. It was on the table.

And one of the big reasons was that I wasn't sure I could give him as good of a life as he had up there. It was not a guarantee that he would be able to be turned out with Connor again when he got home, and he was really living the good life with Maude, turned out with his pregnant harem. I couldn't - wouldn't and won't - keep him in solitary confinement just for the sake of one or two foals a year.

 

It was weighing on me more than I thought, because when I turned him out with Connor yesterday for the first time and absolutely nothing happened, I had tears in my eyes.

Disco ran past Connor and started grazing, then they eventually worked their way toward grazing next to each other. It was completely anti-climactic.

Of course, I knew Disco would try something at some point, which was why I first tried them together on a day that I was spending at the barn. An hour or two later, I heard "EeeeeeeeeeEEEEEeeeEEeeeeEeEEE!" and ran out to see Disco trying to mount Connor, and Connor telling him to f*** right off. 

What happened next would, I knew, determine whether or not I could keep them together. Would Disco persist, like he had when he was a yearling? Or would he respect Connor enough to not try that again?

I got my answer almost immediately: Disco slunk off to a corner of the pasture and started grazing facing away from Connor, who stood his ground. All looked well, and they were as quiet as could be the rest of the day, so it wasn't until later when I realized that Connor had, ahem, landed a kick on Disco's (retracted) man parts, and that Disco was taking this lesson (and the associated pain) VERY seriously.

Do I feel bad for him? Absolutely. Am I grateful this happened? You bet. No permanent harm was done, and Disco learned a lesson that he's not going to soon forget.

As always, we are taking stallion life one day at a time.

I am still somewhat in shock over this video my barnmate Leah sent me yesterday.

I have never, in my nearly 13 years of owning this horse, seen him groom another horse before. Hell, I've never even seen him appear to LIKE another horse before. He is the true neutral, always the one that gets put out with new horses because he is non-reactive, both positively and negatively. Doesn't like em, doesn't hate em, just sniffs noses and then goes off to graze. And he is the loner, regularly choosing to be nowhere near the rest of the herd in turnout.

Normal Connor. Choosing to be two paddocks away over the hill where he can't see the rest of the herd in this photo.

So this is...it brought tears to my eyes, honestly.

He has groomed me before, many times and very gently, when I'm currying him, so I guess that tells you just how much he generally prefers people to horses, lol.

I had noticed his eye sort of softening toward her the last couple of days after he steadfastly ignored her in the beginning. A little more aware of her. A little more willing to spend time near her.

 

But I never would have guessed that he would start to like her that much. And I am so happy for him 💗

So far, so good on Connor and Disco being turned out together. At least as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure Connor would agree, lol.

I'd love to be able to leave Disco with his geriatric QH babysitter friend, and I do still turn them out together in the indoor in inclement weather, but Geriatric QH is turned out with mares, and that won't work for Disco for much longer.

Geriatric QH loves playing bitey face. Connor does not engage like this.

So far, Disco has yet to put holes in any of my blankets (knock on wood) and Connor has yet to put any holes in Disco. Although that's not for lack of trying on Disco's part. He's pretty good to Connor out in the field, but I've issued a moratorium on the two of them being turned out together in the indoor when the horses stay in because he's just a flat out unrelenting pest to Connor, to the point that I feel bad for him.

Connor: "I'm trying to get away from you, dammit!"

It's good and bad that Connor doesn't want to play with him. Good, because I don't mind Disco being told to get in line and knock that biting stuff off by a benevolent dictator that won't kick his lights out. But it's also bad, because I know Disco still wants to play and Connor is 0% interested in that.

It wasn't my original plan to put them in the pasture I ended up putting them in - it's our only one without a Nelson, it doesn't have a run-in shed, it's a long walk (maybe 100m?) from the barn, and it's the only one that requires walking outside of the confines of the barnyard/fencing, so if a baby gets particularly fractious to handle, it could be a problem for our co-op members. But so far it's working out great for everyone.

Good baby. PC: Austen

Long-term, I think this pasture may end up staying Disco's pasture permanently. The plan is still to keep him intact as long as he lets us, which means I need a turnout space for him that's electrified and as far away from mares as I can get him.

This pasture is across the driveway from the next closest turnout and is big enough to keep two horses on mostly year round without destroying it. It has also had solar top strand electric in the past, which BO is okay with me re-running, and I think BO and I have struck a deal to go halfsies on a run-in shed for this field too.

Grass isn't awful for late December in Indiana. PC: Austen

With a run-in shed, my options open up dramatically. I can turn him out on an opposite turnout rotation from the mares when they're in heat if necessary. I won't need to worry about my boys during overnight thunderstorms on night turnout. If he gets too hard to handle, the co-op members can just leave him out there. And it even opens up the possibility of me just leaving the two of them out for a night or two if I'm on vacation or if I just can't clean my stalls on a particular day.

Lots to figure out yet, and turnout is always a moving target, but this seems like a great path forward for everyone!

I mentioned last week that I'd been traveling a lot.  One of the reasons my trainer is so valuable to me is that when I travel, even in the middle of blanket change season, I can just leave, not get updates and not have to worry about anything.  I usually ask for weekly updates on the weekends though.

On a Sunday in between two weeks of travel, I asked how he'd been the past week.  "Well, he's been great under saddle, but we're having a bit of a problem in the field..."

I expected a "hard to catch" relapse.  I did not expect her to tell me he'd turned into a Tiny Terrorist.

Not pictured: Connor, stage left, being a tiny terrorist, we thought due to being turned out with a mare.

She said, "I've had to switch him into solo turnout in the paddock I was resting.  He started going after [low man turnout buddy he's been with for months] all of a sudden.  Last week he was running them so hard I was worried one of them would go through the fence.  He can't keep up with them, but he'll wait until they slow down and set them off running again.  I also watched him walk up to [another buddy] and rip a huge chunk out of his turnout sheet with no warning."


I had, and really still have, no idea what to make of this.  It's so unlike him.  He's always been the easy going one that we can turnout anywhere with anyone and he's chill.  And it's not like this is a new turnout situation or new buddies for him.  The last addition to that field was over 6 weeks ago.

But, that said, the longer I think about it, these past eight months are the first time since we've had him (6+ years) in which he's been turned out with more than one other horse.  Maybe he's struggling with herd dynamics?  Maybe he's just a dick?  Maybe (my trainer disagrees with this theory) the baby WB has been picking on him (I've noticed a lot of bite marks on C's neck lately) and Connor is taking it out on the other guys?  Maybe it's Napoleon syndrome?  Maybe he's always been this way and we've just never noticed before?


So, Connor's back on solo turnout, more for the safety of his former buddies than anything else.  I don't feel as bad for him this time though, because at the last place, our only solo turnout was very isolated - he couldn't see or hear the other horses unless they were inside the barn.  At this place, he shares a fenceline with three geldings on his left and two on his right, so I'm sure he'll be happier.

That beautiful winter south central Indiana landscape /s

Anyone else ever had a horse just flip a switch in turnout like this before?  I am so baffled.

My trainer moved her horses and gear to the new barn a few weeks ago.  You know when you introduce a new horse to a facility/field and everything is bananas for a little while?  

Fellow boarder, me and my trainer looking on at the Labor Day cookout we had at the barn while our horses ran around like idiots.

He's sexy and he knows it?

For a few years now, Connor has been turned out in a paddock on the front of our barn, by himself.  He's still hard to catch unless he's out by himself, so it's worked out well for everyone. Connor gets to hang his head over the dutch door and watch the barn activity during the day, which he loves, and the barn workers don't have to block out their afternoon to catch him.


But obviously it would be better to get him onto pasture where he can see other horses, and for a few weeks now the barn staff have been turning him out in a bigger paddock where he shares a fenceline with another horse.

They weren't trying to catch him at first, choosing to open  the gate and let him run into his stall at night. (Ok'd by me - I am still royally embarrassed that my horse is such a PITA of the barn staff, so I'm happy to let them manage him however makes their lives easiest).

Playing hard to catch in July 2014: Photo by my mom.

They did that until I showed them that he can be reliably caught with Mrs. Pastures Cookies.  I call him, he comes to the gate, I give him a cookie, I open the gate, give him another cookie, I clip the lead rope to his halter, give him another cookie.  If you don't make him believe he's going to continuously get cookies for the next 10 minutes of his life, he'll take the first one from you, spin and bolt away while figuratively yelling "Na na na na na na!".  Jerk.

Minutes after this picture was taken he ducked underneath two strands of hot wire like a cat and ran into his stall in the barn.

When I got back to the barn after CrossFit Regionals, my Mrs. Pastures supply was surprisingly low.  I confirmed with FBR that the barn staff had been using them to catch him, and that my cookie supply hadn't just walked off.  Guess I need to start buying stock in Mrs. Pastures!  Anyone have a supplier?  Want to buy in bulk with me?  Ha!

Connor's current stall is on the left, and his paddock is out that dutch door on the right.  Best part?  (Besides my tack locker and the wash rack being just outside this picture)  He comes to the dutch door when you call him!  It makes me feel kind of lazy, honestly, but it's working out great for all involved, including the pony who gets to hang out and watch the action inside the barn while turned out.

I did turnout/feeding/stalls on Sundays for so long, I wasn't sure I would remember what life was like before I started.

Things I get to do now that I'm not doing stalls anymore.

Stalls gave me the chance to own Connor three years before I should have been able to afford it.  I'm also, if I do say so myself, pretty damn good at it.  Gotta use that Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies degree somehow, right?

Overall, not doing them anymore has been a positive change.  I get to stay out late on Saturday night, sleep in on Sunday, and spend more time with my husband (who flies out every Sunday night or Monday morning, and flies back every Thursday night).

Sometimes, I miss it though.  I miss moments like this now:

And I miss out on the day-to-day details of Connor's life:


Although I really don't miss doing 17 stalls + feeding + turnout in the snow/subfreezing temperatures!  It took about an hour longer in the winter - and it was already a 4-5 hour job, if you were fast.

That bird is sitting on ice.

Days when chores were HARD.

(I do miss it when I get my board bill each month...)

I still try to do Connor's stall on Saturdays and Sundays, if I get out there in time.  I know how important just one less stall is to the girl that took my place, and I also like to keep an eye on his stall patterns.  It's weird not knowing him in that way anymore, and it helped me feel involved in his care, even as a full boarder.

Even now, I can't leave the floor dirty.  Must...sweep...

I got to train my replacement, and I told her "I'm constantly thinking of two things when I'm here: What could possibly go wrong in this situation, and what can I do to mitigate that risk?"  My example was, don't turnout the middle field horses first, which is separated from the track by coated high tensile wire, and then send the big field horses down the track, and run the risk of the two groups playing over the high tensile, getting a shoe stuck in it, and getting hurt and/or pulling the fence down.  It's never happened in the history of the farm, but I know it's possible.

My replacement is a good, responsible kid that I really respect, but we all know as equestrians that it takes time and a few mistakes to really think in terms of risk and the important details all the time.

Things I miss out on now.  Can you tell this is an eventing barn?

I firmly believe that just like every restaurantgoer should be waitstaff at some point in their lives, every full boarder should be a barnworker at some point too. You never see the barn staff the same again after you've been there, and I try to be their easiest boarder if I can help it, and I know (hope) they appreciate it.

Have you ever done stalls before?

Excuse me, is that a treat you've got there?

Ponies must be free!  Let me out!

Reality sets in.  Again.

Due to the arrival of a new horse at the barn, Connor is now getting turned out with T, who was gelded last summer but has still been on private turnout for a while.  He's a sweet Lusitano with a serious heart of gold who loves ponies and loves to play.  Jackpot!  My normal loner pony has been replaced with this social creature:



...which results in this:



I see some shredded blankets in my future, but they're so happy together, I don't mind too much.