Category Archives: Wrigley Chronicles

WRIGLEY GOES TO HIGHER LEARNING!






First of all, I want to reiterate how much I wish I had purchased a stock trailer instead of my diagonal haul with ‘tack in the back’ trailer.

I mean, if  you have a perfectly trained trail horse – and that is all you will ever do with your horses (which is what I thought when I purchased my trailer) – then a two-horse diagonal haul is a fine trailer.

But… sometimes things change and not all of the horses you may haul will be mannered, trained and healthy.  So, I’m just sayin’…

Oh, and I think some horses are claustrophobic, just like we are, so get the wider and taller version.

This is my trailer on Saturday. It is fine for a perfectly trained trail horse (like Finn standing on the right) but not so great for a young and hot horse like Wrigley. I would definitely purchase a stock type trailer if I was ever to purchase a trailer again. Just more versatile and more horses feel comfortable inside them. (I don’t know why the photo is ‘wavy’… kinda like it was taken under water).

OK, BACK TO WRIGLEY!

Wrigley was in training in Grass Valley for the last 5 months.  Unfortunately, the trainer and he weren’t a great match.

Yes, he is green broke and yes he certainly knows more than he knew before… but Jerily just didn’t know what to do with him.  She didn’t find his joy or aptitude.  He wasn’t her kind of horse and she probably wasn’t his kind of trainer.

I knew I had to work harder to find Wrig’s muse.  Wrigley is too young and too busy to not have something fun to do.

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Worth a try!

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Beautiful country… 12,000 acres.

 

CATTLE HORSE, MAYBE?

Remember a while back (Valentine’s Day) I went on a group ride at the Work Ranch?  (story linked here).  Well, the Work Ranch (FB) is only about 12 minutes from our new house…  So, when I was preparing and looking for a ranch sitter/feeder, I texted them to see if they had recommendations.

The daughter, Mattie Work, got back to me and she said that she would house sit whenever we needed.  If you remember, on that Valentine’s Day ride, Mattie was my group’s guide.  She was awesome!

Anyway, Mattie came to the new house and met all the horses.

I told her about Wrigley and she said that she’d LOVE to work with him.  Evidently, she has been training ranch and rodeo horses for a long while.

Did she train the horses on her ranch, I asked.

Yes.

Hmmmmm.  All the horses on their ranch were very well trained… so I got to thinking…

She also trains horses at the University of California Cal Poly which is the big AG college in San Luis Obispo (the closest big town).

Hmmmmmm.

So, I asked the questions one asks when grilling a trainer, and she passed.  The next test would be bringing out Wrig and having her hold him and meet him – without me saying anything.

So I did.  I brought his fancy self out.

Mattie said that Wrig was different than any horse she had ever trained (high headed show Morgan), but he was quick and responsive… which she liked, and that he might have fun doing gymkhana or jumping.

Hmmmmmm.

I told her that I didn’t know what Wrig would love, but the fact that she wasn’t in the Morgan world would open up a whole new set of opportunities for him…

Mattie said she would get his ground manners solid (they’re pretty good but he tends to get too close to the human when he’s nervous) and that she’d ride him on their 12,000 acre ranch, daily.   Mattie said she’d use him to gather cattle and all the other ranch chores.  In working with him on a daily basis, she was fairly certain she’d figure out what he liked to do.

How fun!

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Maybe he likes ranch work? Or some type of 4-H type thing like Gymkhana?… He could try all of that stuff there!

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Their arena is HUGE. I doubt I could walk to the other side without huffing and puffing.

SO I DROPPED HIM OFF ON SATURDAY!

Now we circle back to why I wish I had purchased a stock trailer.

Wrig hates to load into my trailer.  He loads into bigger trailers just fine.  In fact, he loaded and offloaded several times on the trip down here.

But, he and I don’t load well together in my trailer.  And, I hate to do it alone because I get nervous and he senses that and blah blah blah.  Besides, it could be dangerous if I got trapped in there with him.

So, I got everything prepared … I had Wrig calmly tied to the trailer, eating…  I had Finn right there with him to make sure Wrig felt secure…  and Mattie came down to help me load Wrig.

She did it on the first try.  A very good start!

I drove him to the ranch.  Wrig was wringing wet when we got there, only 20 minutes later.  Sigh.

Anyway, Mattie took him into the ginormous arena (could land a plane) and settled him down.  Then she put him away surrounded by all the tenured ranch stock.  I could just hear their banter at the new kid.  Poor Wrig, he is a fish out of water on a ranch… he’s only seen a cow from afar, he knows nothing of ropes or riding the range or having a job.

This should be very, very interesting!

My view of the Work Ranch from my truck as I drove away...

My view of the Work Ranch hay fields from my truck as I drove away…

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GREAT NEWS FOR OUR JULY BUCKET FUND GELDING!!!  “READ”, the mustang who was found with a severely embedded halter, has an incredible opportunity!!  He was accepted to Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary!!  He will be forever free!   WE NEED DONATIONS to help pay for the tremendous hauling fees to get him to South Dakota – just a drop in the bucket adds up!  Thank you in advance!!   To read his story, click hereTo donate (Starbucks?  Cupcake money? ) click here!  Thank you so much for your support!

He is on his way to the freedom and peace of Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary as you read this!!

He is on his way to the freedom and peace of Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary as you read this!!




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A WRIGLEY UPDATE! Come ride with us!






As you could probably deduce from most of my posts, the weather in Grass Valley (CA) has been unseasonably, drippy, stormy, soggy WET – which is very good since we are in a drought.  But, it isn’t so good for training horses…

You see, where I live, there aren’t too many indoor arenas because, well, there isn’t really a  need because it rarely storms for more than a day, if that.  Some of the big training facilities have indoor arenas (to avoid the sun), but most people here have large outdoor arena, often with lights so they can work at night when it is cool.

So, the long and short of this is that Wrigley hasn’t had much consistent training because his trainer (who is fearless and awesome – she started BG) has only outdoor arenas.

But recently the weather has been unseasonably sunny, so today was the day to go on a walkabout with Wrigley and Jerily, his trainer!

When I walked outside this morning, LOOK what was there! A good day.

When I walked outside this morning, LOOK what was there! A good day.

MY NEW BOOTS.  FRANKENBOOTS.

First off… can I say that my new boots are very uncomfortable?  I just needed to say that.   Yes, they have hard, stout toes… but eeegaads, they are so stiff, and blocky!  I feel like I am Hermann Munster.  Yuk.  The good part is that I can work around Annie and not worry about her stepping on my feet.  The bad part is … uh… everything else.

You know you have bad boots when taking them off is a priority.

I still have not thrown out my old boots.  They leak and are totally coming apart, but they are sooooo comfortable.  And, they don’t make them anymore.  Waaaah.

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These are my very safe but totally uncomfortable Frankenboots.

A PHOTOJOURNAL OF OUR RIDE!

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Wonderful, hot to trot Mr. Wrigley!  All saddled up and ready!  The poor guy still has his shaggy winter coat and his feet need trimming.  I set that up immediately when I saw his feet.

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Warming up – as you can see, he is lunging himself. No lines.

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Jerily mounts. She has no fear – at all. Wrig is doing well.  She is riding him bitless, which I like.  Not good for a Morgan show horse but very good for Mr. Wrigley at this stage of his training (and brain).

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This is the gelding I was riding, Tucker. He was very sweet and Wrig loves him. They pony together.  You can see my red shirt in the reflection of the silver in the horn.

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Here we are in the ‘Cowboy Dressage’ arena (Cowboy Dressage is big around here.). Wrig was all ears.

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We watch as he does his herky jerky training/learning trot around the field.  Note how Tucker’s ears look like they were dipped in paint.  He had stripes on his legs, too.

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We merged onto another friend’s property and used her arena – but the sand was heavy and wet, so we just walked – well, actually, Wrig tried to climb onto Tucker (my horse) for comfort… but he did well. Eventually, as we all sat in a ring and chatted, Wrig was quite calm.

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We returned without much ado. A good day. This is a photo of Jerily’s 33 year-old mare. I just loved her. She has free reign over the property and walks around all day long.

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She has no front teeth, so her tongue tends to loll outside of her mouth.

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There she goes… off to steal alfalfa from the John Deere.

THANKS FOR COMING ALONG!

newrule2

JEWELRY THAT BENEFITS THE BUCKET FUND HORSES! Every donation counts! Click image to see the new pieces!

JEWELRY THAT BENEFITS THE BUCKET FUND HORSES! Every sale counts! Click image to see the new pieces!

Click here for webpage, click here for Facebook!

ALL PROCEEDS SUPPORT THE BUCKET FUND!

FEATURED!  Gorgeous! I love me some Tahitian Blue this time of year!   Only $38!!
Clear Tahitian Blue Czech Glass beads with Ocean Czech glass and Sky Blue finishing beads, this necklace or wrap bracelet is stunning! Sterling silver handmade heart charm at Tahitian bead closure. 18″

To purchase, click here!

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FEBRUARY BUCKET FUND HORSES WILLOW AND TOM!  FED ONLY ROTTEN VEGETABLES AND FRUIT.  Click here to read their story and donate! Willow is finally strong enough to stand for some body work.  They said she loved it once she realized it wasn’t another vet visit!  ;)

This is poor Willow receiving body work. She was too weak earlier, but today was a good day! Click to read her story!

This is poor Willow receiving body work. She was too weak earlier, but today was a good day! Click to read her story!




HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth... if you like this, please pass it around!