Glory Days

I just wanted to share this picture of my wonderful Christmas present from Best Husband Ever.  I searched around on the internet and found a couple of photos of Nox from a race he won in NJ in 2010.  Best Husband Ever contacted the photographers and purchased a few of the prints and had them mounted for me.  Nox's racing colors (called "silks") were green and yellow.  There is a brass plaque on the bottom that says "Nox - Evenings End" on it.  We have it hanging up in the living room and I love looking at it.  In the bottom photo, you can see Nox's tongue hanging out the side of his mouth!

Nox winning a race in NJ, 2010.

 If you'd like to see the rest of the photos, click on this link: Nox (Evenings End) Racing photos 

Photos 1-6 are of Nox (the last three photos are different horse).  The first picture of the trainer and owner and their families celebrating in the winner's circle with Nox makes me a little sad.  I realize that horse racing is a business and if the horse can't run, he can't make money - but come on!  How could someone let such an amazing horse go?  I'm grateful they did, or he wouldn't be mine now, but do any of those people wonder where their winning horse is now? 

I'm also amused by the picture of Nox stumbling out of the gate.  He's all the way down at the far end of the line of horses, with his nose almost on the ground.  I guess he's always been a klutz!  And he still won the race, despite the stumble!

Its fun to see these pictures of his life before he came to me, but I'm so glad that he's mine now.  I'm very lucky.

Starting the New Year "Right"

I'm so pleased with Nox's progress.  The difference between the way he moved six months ago and how he moves today is amazing. 

At first, I only let Nox trot in straight lines, because circles would put too much pressure on his injured hoof.  As his strength has improved and his injury has healed, I've gradually introduced circles.  The past few weeks I've been "free lunging" him in the indoor ring on days that I don't ride.  Free lunging is when the horse walks/trots/canters in circles around a person standing in the center of a ring, but the horse is not on a line or rope.  It's a great way for Nox to build strength and stamina, and also helps him learn to balance himself in smaller circles than he's used to.

Nox quickly understood what I was asking him to do when I free lunged him the first time to the left (his racing direction).  After one session, he would walk, trot, and "whoa" on my voice commands.  When I asked him to turn around and free lunge to the right, he completely fell apart.  He raced around like a maniac and kept trying to change direction.  A few times he refused to move forward at all. 

Some trainers think that horses do not have any right-to-left brain connection - meaning, if they learn how to do something going in one direction, they cannot carry over that knowledge to the other direction.  They have to start over and learn it from the beginning.  I'm not sure that I believe that.  I agree with other trainers who think that horses have a favored "side', like a human is right or left handed.  Horses are usually more comfortable moving in a certain direction when they are moving in a circle.  As a rider, you can feel that their gait is smoother going in one direction than the other.

Since Nox was a race horse, it makes sense that he would feel more comfortable moving to the left.  The left side of his body is noticeably more muscular than his right side.  I'm sure that he feels very unbalanced when I ask him to go to the right.  It would be like forcing a right handed child to do everything with his left hand - the discomfort would eventually boil over into frustration!

I think that's what happens when I ask Nox to move to the right when I'm lunging him.  Without a rider to help him balance, he feels uncomfortable and acts out.  I've been working with him for a few weeks now, and yesterday he finally walked, trotted, and cantered in both directions calmly.  He's still a little hesitant to the right, especially at the faster canter gait, but he understands what I want and he's trying hard to please me - and that's good enough for now!

         

Last Post of 2012!

Three Things I Didn't Know About Winter Horsemanship:

1) It's warmer in the barn than it is outside... but it is not warm.

2) A horse's boisterous energy increases in proportion to decreasing outside temperatures.
     ~ 30 degrees: Nox has an extra spring in his step.
     ~ 20 degrees: Nox prances around like a parade horse.
     ~ 10 degrees: I saddled a pogo stick.

3) Horse manure freezes rock solid.

Happy New Year everyone!  I'm looking forward to 2013 and the horsey days it will bring!

He's so handsome!



The barn in December.

Brrr...

It's cold.  Really cold.  There's a few inches of snow on the ground and tomorrow night it will be in the single digits!  Everyone else in the barn put blankets on their horses yesterday, so I pulled Nox's blanket out, too. 

I grew up riding horses in very warm places, so the whole concept of blanketing horses is fairly new to me.  It's not new to Nox, however, and he surprised me with his calmness as I flopped the blanket over his back.  I just never know what is going to startle or upset him.  I know that he's worn a variety of blankets and cooler sheets in his racing life, but he's also seen leaves, cats, and poles before - and he was afraid of those!

We had no problem with the blanket and when I arrived at the barn today, the blanket was still securely in place and when I slipped my hand under it, his back felt warm and toasty.  The front panel was a bit frayed, so he's obviously found something new to chew on.

I rode tonight and Nox was very good.  I've increased our trotting workout by a few minutes and he's still holding up well.  He slightly stumbled a few times, but he's due to have his feet trimmed next week and I think his toes are a little long.  (He's also just a bit of a klutz.)  A few nights ago I rode in the ring with another horse and rider.  Nox was a little uppity about it.  I think he feels competitive with another horse jogging around the ring and I had to work hard to keep his focus on me.  It was a good experience for us and I hope we'll be able to do that more often.  I'm usually the only person at the barn in the evenings and it's nice to expose Nox to other horses and riders outside of a racing context.

I hung some garland and a stocking on his stall door, so Nox is all ready for Christmas.  I expect there will be plenty of carrots and apples stuffed in his stocking on Christmas morning - he's been a very good horse. 

Speaking of Christmas morning: this year, I will wake up and there will be a horse in a barn with my name on the stall door.  I must have been very good this year, too.

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope all of your wishes come true!

Nox, wearing his blanket.

Eating snow.

   

Short and Very Sweet

Nox has been very good this past week and he looks and feels very sound.  Two days ago I rode him for 35 minutes (our longest ride to date) and he moved freely without any hitch in his giddy-up.  I even cantered him a few strides!  Today, Nox was just as nice to ride.  I'm very pleased with his progress!

Nox has also been very sweet on the ground and even the stable owners complimented his improved manners.

So far, so good!




Nox, looking intelligent.



Goofballs, together.

The Horse, The Cat, and The Tarp

Nox doesn't like change.  If something in his environment is different than it was the day before, he gets upset.  It took him two weeks to get over his indignation when the stable owners parked the ATV in the corner of the indoor ring and covered it with a tarp for the winter (it usually lives outside next to the barn).  Nox snorted, pawed, and glared at the ATV.  I had to coax him with carrots to stand near it and it was a few weeks before we could ride in that corner without him spooking.

Nox has been fine about the ATV for a month now.  We can ride around and he doesn't even glance over there anymore. 

Until tonight.

One of the barn cats decided that tonight, while I was riding, she would dash through the ring and throw herself under the tarped ATV, making a loud rustling sound as she did so.

Yee Haw!  It was as if Nox thought the tarped ATV was some kind of magic transfiguring machine and the cat would burst from it a raging, hungry lion.  He launched us into the air and we landed about six feet the left.  The next instant we were at the other end of the ring, I was still in the saddle, and he was snorting at the ATV.

I made him stand quietly for a few minutes and then urged him towards the scary corner.  No luck.  He was spooky and mad and I'd lost his attention.  I stayed on until I could get him to walk in a semi-calm circle in the safe end of the ring and walk over a pole.  I untacked him in the ring and let him loose. 

I nonchalantly wandered over to the ATV - Nox only followed me halfway - and rustled the tarp.  The cat wasn't budging, but Nox seemed impressed by my bravery.  He came a little closer and snorted.  I whistled softly and flapped the tarp.  He stepped forward and sniffed.  This game continued until he standing next to the ATV and I prayed the cat wouldn't choose that moment to fly out from under the tarp.

She didn't. 

Nox and I walked calmly away and I gave him an extra long grooming session and some extra carrots in his bucket.

We'll see how he feels about the ATV tomorrow.

The scary tarped ATV.



Nox, worried about it.

Nox, one ear pointed at me, the other at the ATV.
He's not sure if it's safe, but he's willing to go this far, at this point.
He eventually stood next to it.

   

6 Month Anniversary

I've had the joy and pleasure of being Nox's person for six months now!  On one hand, I can hardly believe that I've been a horse owner that long.  On the other, how is it possible that I've only had Nox in my life for six months?!  I'm very, very happy. 

Nox recovered from his barefoot soreness and he's much stronger on his injured side.  I'm riding most days again and his movements feel less restricted.  We're walking and lightly trotting for 20-25 minutes.  A few times he's gotten a little excited and cantered a few strides when I asked him to trot, and although I would love to canter him a few laps and see how his stride feels, I've pulled him back.  I think it's too soon to push him into a faster gait with a rider. 

Nox has also been much sweeter on the ground since I asserted some stricter rules.  He no longer tries to bite the lead rope or my hands, and he stands quietly and calmly.  The poor guy just loves to play with his mouth, however, and since I won't let him chew on things, he's taken to being more insistent about having his tongue rubbed.  He loves it!  Nox will stick his tongue out and move his nose close to me so that I can grab his tongue.  He'll then move his head away, stretching his tongue out.  If I let go, he'll move his head back for me to grab it again.  It's very weird, very goofy, and I love him for it. 

Daniel came out to visit us over Thanksgiving.  We ate platefuls of carbohydrates, made peanut butter bombs, and played with Nox.  Nox and Daniel hit it off right away.  Daniel doesn't have much horse experience but he clearly has a natural talent.  Nox tried to get away with biting the lead rope and Daniel quickly put him in his place.  He was content to follow Daniel around like a puppy, and when Daniel was willing to rub his tongue - their bond was sealed.  It was very cute. 

One by one, my family and friends are coming out to meet Nox.  The stable owners joke that Nox is the most popular horse in the barn with visitors from all over the country.  It's true!

Nox and Daniel, bonding.

     
It's dark by the time I get to the barn these days - the sun sets before 5:00 pm.  The indoor ring has lights but when I take photos they all turn out green tinged.  I probably won't be able to take many good photos until spring, so I'll post a few pics from the summer in the meantime.

One of my favorites.  He looks so happy, and that makes me happy.