Simon Cannot Stand on 2 Legs

Wednesday afternoon I was picking out Simon’s hooves when he tried to stomp a fly with one of the three hooves he still had on the ground.  Normal he is quite talented at standing on two hooves, but he got something wrong this time and started to fall over.  To catch himself he smashed the hoof I was holding up into the ground, with the pointy, iron shod toe, smashing directly into my big toe (I did have jodhpur boots on) 

Ouch. 

No really, major ouch! 

I hopped around for a few minutes, feeling like I was going to barf, but managed to get him tacked up and climbed on for a ride.  I cut is short as my boot started to feel uncomfortably tight in the toe region, and pulled my boot off. 

Here is a photo of my broken big toe, which is very hurty but appears straight and a little purple, but is otherwise in good order. 

Salty Simon

 Following up on yesterday’s blog post, I pulled Simon out of his pen and tied him to the trailer several times during the weekend.  

Not the most flattering photo, it makes him look short necked and looong backed.

When I first traveled with Simon I brought along a small stall/travel sized salt block and put it in a small bucket for him to enjoy throughout the stay.  He immediately dumped it and smashed the salt into the ground.  I did not replace it knowing that he would just do it again.  I thought about buying one of the much more costly Himalayan pink salt blocks that comes on a rope so I could tie it up and prevent him from destroying it.  But they are quite pricey.  I am glad I did not indulge because I was at a horse and tack auction last fall and they had these same blocks up for auction.  I bid and picked one up for $2, new in box.  A fraction of the retail cost!  Score. 

 

I have since kept it hooked up in the trailer for Simon to enjoy during trailer rides.  He does tend to get in a few licks when we get back to the trailer from a trail ride, although I am not sure if Simon licks it because he feels the need for salt, or because it’s just something to do.  Regardless, it was a good purchase that gets lots of use. 

I kept the salt on a rope hooked up to the trailer for him, along with a hay bag and a bucket of water.  He spent a lot of time licking the salt, as well as bashing his bucket around, blowing bubbles in the water, pulling out the hay and dropping it on the ground, and other such nonsense.

Simon The Entertainer

Memorial weekend, my mounted games team took part in a USMGA competition in Ranson, West Virginia at the Jefferson Fairgrounds.  A lot of the competitors, including teammate, Carol Ann, and I camped out at the grounds with our ponies.  Carol Ann and I erected temporary paddocks for Simon, and Carol Ann’s pony Zeke. 

Zeke and Simon in their portable pens

We usually camp at our competitions and we put the ponies in portable paddocks when the grounds we are at permit it.  It saves the cost of a stall and bedding and it also allows our ponies to move around and stretch out a little more.  Our fence is electrified, although I forgot to turn mine on for most of the weekend and Simon respected it just fine anyway. 

Cowboy barrowing some much needed nap time in Zeke’s pen

It is nice to wake up to a happy pony face and a welcoming nicker, although Simon woke us up the first morning at 5am.  He had dumped his water bucket and was tossing it around and kicking it continuously.  Like an alarm clock.  I eventually had to get up to stop him.  He would stand with it underneath of him and then alternate knocking it with his front and back hooves.  Every time I filled up his bucket he would take a quick sip and then dump it and begin tossing the bucket around.  I took it away from him after the first night and offered it to him frequently throughout the day so he would stay hydrated and quiet. 

5am wake up call from alarm Simon

He also managed to drag his feed bin, which was left just outside of his pen, into the enclosure and stomped it.  And he did the same with his lead rope.  He looked very smug when I got up. 

In typical Simon fashion he attempted to entertain himself by entertaining us all weekend.  He would lay down and graze, roll around and then look to see if we were watching.  On several occasions he would flop on his side and flap his tail.  He nickered at us continuously, and meticulously spread every flake of hay I gave him all around his pen. 

One day I left his navy and yellow petal boots on between sessions and he pulled the petals out with his teeth.  When I went to get him ready for the next session I found 6 ripped up petals on the ground and several destroyed but still attached.  I learned my lesson on that one.  Cha ching.

 

I believe Simon enjoys these events and being able to be as close to us as possible.  He certainly enjoys the extra attention and I am sure would happily attempt to force his body into my tent at night if I would allow him.  He is such a people pony.

Cub Run ~ Runkles Gap, After the Burn

Simon happy to greet us in the morning.

Simon spent the night in the dog yard and nickered at the house every time he heard me or Rich in the house.  Rich put up a saw horse and bin of dirt to keep him from pushing his way into the actual house.

I find it a funny that Simon is in the dog yard, and Daisy is in the background outside of the dog yard. You can also see part of our garden in the background behind the dogyard in its own fence.

In the morning we got tacked up and headed off to one of our regular quick ride spots, Cub Run at Runkles Gap.  It had burned due to arson recently and had just opened back up.

This is what Cub Run looked like while it was burning. 

Upon entering National Forest there is a fire road that bares off to the right.  Below the road is mostly private property.  Above the road is National Forest.  It mostly burned above the road.  The fire only hopped the road in a few spots, and we could see evidence of the forest service cutting the forest to prevent it from spreading on that side where it did skip over.

It was a nice, relatively short ride.  I am interested to return sometime this summer and see how the forest recovers.

Rich took a turn riding Simon.

We saw this turtle crossing the fire road.

There is a lot of dumping at Cub Run.  You can see tons of bottles here that survived the fire.  Gross.

We stopped at this swim spot on our way back out.

Power Damn Road Hack

Rich standing with Simon and holding my helmet for me.

One and a half weeks ago I took Simon on a road hack in McGaheysville.  We stopped and said hello to some neighbors along the way.  Simon got some carrots and lots of pats.  We rode the back roads and came up to Power Damn.  It is a place just a bit from our house that we can put in our tubes, and float down to the boat landing for pick up.  It’s also a place that people like to go for a dip and get their fish on.  Power Damn is an old damn that is being rebuilt.  And since last fall, they have closed the parking pullover so it won’t be the best put in any more, since we won’t be able to leave a vehicle there while we float.

 

The bouncy foot bridge

Simon and I headed down the short foot trail to the put-in spot, so we could see if anything had changed.  It hadn’t.  Along the path there is a foot bridge that crosses over water flow.  It was too muddy for Simon to go through the creek bed, so I hopped off and we jogged over the bouncy bridge.  Probably not the safest thing to do.  I doubt it was designed with a pony in mind.  But Simon is a sturdy thing and fully trusts me so without bulking we crossed it just fine.  We also recrossed it successfully on our way back to the entrance.

After inspecting our usual put in, and ascertaining that nothing had changed, we popped in the damn entrance.  There are no signs about no trespassing, and I believe it is community property.  So we jogged along the gravel and dirt roads in the area, checking it all out.  We eventually came out at a nice walk in spot to the river.  So we walked on in and Simon had a good time pawing the water and splashing himself with the chill water.

I saw a couple random, uncracked eggs on the ground. A little smaller than a chicken egg.

Then we had a nice canter along the river, following the vehicle path along the side.  We went for a little while before deciding to turn around and head back home.  There were dark clouds approaching in the distance and it was going to be dark before too long.

We set a good pace and were in sight of our driveway when the sky opened up and dumped on us.  Rich ran outside and helped pull off Simon’s tack and get him settled into the dog yard for the night.  His job was to mow it down, since it had reached near hay mowing heights.  Simon got to work and we went inside to get dried off.

Here are some images from the ride.  It was fun and I look forward to following the river road a little farther in the future.

And old part of the damn

This is where we rode into the river

along the rider edge

Teaser

I have been busy getting in lots of ride time, and have a couple adventures to write about.  But to hold you over until I actually get time to compose these posts, here are some photos of Simon and I at MGAA Mid-Atlantic #1 at PG Equestrian Center the weekend of April 28th. Photo credits to Ryan Crowley who is kind enough to share his art and include Simon and I in it.

Enjoy!

Simon and I taking it easy in the Bottle Shuttle Race.  We are picking up that bottle from the top of the barrel as we turn around it.

Simon and I in the Litter Race.  We ride down the field, turn around the litter and scoop one up with the stick, then ride back towards the start, dropping the litter into a waste bin.  The litter are old style water bottles with the ends cut off.  Its much harder to do that it appears.

Simon and I completing the 4-Flat Race.  We had collected a colored flag, and need to slide it into a small slot that matches the color of the flag.

MGAA Mid-Atlantic #1 ~ 2012

Team Old School
Zoe, Carol Ann, Linda, Krista, Kim
Photo: Genevieve Arens

 This past weekend was the big season opener for the east coast mounted games season. We kicked it off with the first edition of the MGAA Mid-Atlantic Series held at the Price George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Simon and I rode with our team, Old School, including usual team members; Linda, Kim and Carol Ann. We also asked our friend Zoe to join us for the weekend with her pony Cheyenne.

I started off the weekend with a lengthy hack around the grounds and then joined up with teammates and friends for a a nice little practice on Friday afternoon to help work out some of the silliness.

Photo: Genevieve Arens

Apparently it wasn’t enough because the first session on Saturday started out with Simon a little full of himself. This is typical of Simon, and something I just need to expect and work through until he grows out of it. He did a few little rears (I suspect his hooves are only going one or two feet off the ground) and some leaping starts and a few slow take offs when receiving hand offs. We also took out the end barrel in bottle shuttle, which I am blaming on Simon’s silliness and lack of focus. I managed to reset it relatively quickly without needing to dismount, and proceeded on. The rest of the session was pretty clean with very few mistakes team wide.

Photo: Genevieve Arens

Simon took a little lunch time nap in his portable corral while I took my turn as an assistant referee for the intermediate division.

Nap Time
Photo: Me

Photo: Genevieve Arens

We returned for the afternoon session with Simon in full effect. He moved out, he stopped, he turned, and I felt like we were a well matched pair with great communication and a worthy member of our team. I did miss a flag put in the 3 Pot Flag race. It was totally my fault and Simon was right there, ready to help me pull off a quick correction. Otherwise the session was pretty clean for Simon and I, with just a few other mistakes throughout the team.

Zoe lookin good in Navy and Yellow
Photo: Genevieve Arens

That night we had a fun potluck and social affair at our camp site. We got in lots of laughs and took down some good eats. We also took the moment to invite Zoe to be an official member of the team and she accepted! Yea!

Simon first off the Line
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

Zoe fits right in with the four of us and is such an upbeat, easy going person. She is fun and a real joy to have around. She is also a good rider and an asset to have in races. I am thrilled she accepted and is going to be sporting navy and yellow with us. So yea, Old School is now a 5 man team!

Hand off to Kim
Photo: Genevieve Arens

Sunday we woke up from a night of rain to a warm sunny morning. We hit the field feeling good and the team rode very well. Simon and I had a snafu in the Ball and Cone race, which is generally a pretty strong race for us. He is a true fossil pony, and will stand nicely for me to complete technical tasks like balancing tennis balls on the tops of cones. But Sunday, although he was stopping and standing, he kept turning to face the cone when I would lean over to place the ball, thereby putting it out of my reach. We were eventually successful, but it took a few attempts to reach the cone and ate up too much time. I was rather disappointed in this race, but overall, we had a very clean session with just a few mistakes team wide.

Simon waiting for the call to the start line
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

The 15 race session blew past in no time and we found ourselves in a solid second place at the end. The other teams were fantastic. Particularly our friendly favorites, Time Flies, who rock the pink and black gear. They are a fantastic well practiced team, who have a few members that can pull off vaults and reach items floating in buckets of water without dismounting. Two important skills our team very much lacks. Time Flies gives us a real challenge. They push us to try harder, practice more, and push for additional speed and accuracy. And the best part, they are fun and friendly and nothing but enjoyable to ride with. Which is common in the adult division where teams cheer each other on, compliment well pulled off skills and give occasional high fives amongst each other.

Team Time Flies
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

An excellent weekend, with lots of friends, fun, ponies and games. Old School grew in members, and together we have a real challenge to push for this season.

Simon and I got home late Sunday, but I decided not to take our customary Monday off, and we had a nice hack and got in a little technique practice for myself.

Moving into the changeover box for the start
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

In general I am seeing improvement in Simon.  After the first session I was very pleased with his starts, and noticed in some photos that he was out front of the other ponies quite often.  He also has picked up the pace since last year and made the end of the lane in line with the other ponies, and even ahead on some occasions.  His end turns have improved and he has not lost any of his excellent stopping or standing skills.  He has also improved slightly in bending poles, which is one of his worst races.  This weekend he did not drop his shoulder into any of the poles and he even had a lead change around one of them.

The next two weeks I will be going heavy practicing Ball and Cone, flag puts and turning around barrels.

With the first installment of the series behind us, we have four more to up our game and catch Time Flies.

Photo: Me