The Weekend Off

Drove to Durango yesterday for some shopping and rafting with Brenda and family. Bought some nifty boots and jeans and had a 2 hour float down the Animas River. In the photo it looks like the water was rough but 90% of the trip was just floating along. We even had the opportunity to get out for a quick swim.

Catcher is doing OK in his latest temporary home. I think he's wishing that he was in the big 15 acre ravine with the other two horses but sorry Catcher-roo it's just not safe for you.

He's being kinda bad due to his constant desire to be with the other 4-leggers so I need give him some reminders today that even though he'd rather be else where he still can't step on his human.

Today is pack up and organize the truck day so that we can get an EARLY start tomorrow. Not doing a full 500 miles but creeping up and over the pass will take a LONG time.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Pagosa+Springs,+CO,+United+States&daddr=CO-196+to:colby,+Kansas+to:Williamsburg,+Missouri,+United+States+to:US-421+N%2FS+Michigan+Rd+to:White+Pigeon,+MI,+United+States+to:Stratford,+Ontario+to:45.265886,-79.212284&hl=en&geocode=FcqvOAIdHimf-SlJtAebbts9hzF_FfhBzBaGew%3BFTiURQIdpl7j-Q%3BFf0hWQIdJxD6-Skfeqn058sKhzE2OZbkFHCnCw%3BFX7gUQIdyb6I-ikTippPn2bchzECnby_MNvfBA%3BFZR6YgIdHqLb-g%3BFdrJfQIdxS_l-ikl10aeh_4WiDFXHl0M-comhA%3BFbXClQId9FIs-ymzl7SR-a0uiDHQHSPHKHsDBQ%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=4&mrsp=7&sz=14&via=1,4&sll=45.256764,-79.224472&sspn=0.042474,0.073557&ie=UTF8&z=14

Monday: 452 miles
Pagosa Springs to Colby, Kansas (back over Wolf Creek Pass)
http://www.tinacres.com/

Tuesday: 534 miles
Colby, Kansas to Williamsburg, Missouri
http://www.banbarenterprisesllc.com/

Wednesday: 504 miles
Williamsburg, Missouri to White Pigeon, Michigan
http://www.circle-j-horse-b-b.com/

Thursday: 334 miles
Border Crossing
White Pigeon, Michigan to Stratford, ON

Friday: 205 miles
Stratford, ON to Back of Beyond!
End of Catcher's trip.

Level 1 achieved

Last day was yesterday. Sigh. I would have liked another two weeks. Or four. I did acheive my Level 1 and got my red string.

Catcher loaded up and we moved to Hartland Ranch for the weekend. We'll start home on Monday Early.

Monday night we'll be in Colby Kansas, Tuesday in Missouri just west of St. Louis. Wednesday night in White Pidgeon Michigan. Thursday in Stratford (maybe we'll take in a play) and Friday night we'll be home.

See Facebook for more photos...

Last Full Day of "school"

Catcher-"roo" had a great day yesterday. He was the demo horse for the circling game and showed his true playful character giving everyone a great show. They called him tigger for a while due to his bounce but then came up with Catcher-roo.

Another funny thing that happened was that when I finally got Catcher to stand with his two front feet on a pedestal he reached down and grabbed the end of my belt. Then pulled upwards. I was laughing but also in danger of getting lifted off my feet. He did finally let go but it was a good laugh.

He and his next door neighbour (see photo) have been playing little escaping games. The Curly horse next to him has discovered how to undo the chain and rope that block Catcher's exit point. So far Catcher has only gotten out once but Twasi spent most of last night wandering about.

Off to play!

Almost done : (

I've been very bad at updating my blog! Days are long and I'm pretty tired by the time I get home.

Catcher ended up with a mild case of pneumonia due to the wear and tear of travel combined with his existing cold. I had the vet in last Friday because Catcher was running a fever and had a VERY low energy level. The vet put him on antibiotics and by Monday he was tearing around like his normal 3 year old self. He may have over done it a bit because yesterday he was a bit quieter.

I'm delaying my trip home by 3 days to give him more recovery time and have found a nice (but expensive) place for us to stay over the weekend.

The course has been like an immersion into horsey language and I know I've learned alot. I'd love to be staying for another 2 weeks but reality calls!

I'll try to post some photos soon! Off to school now.

Day 4 of the course

Is it really day four already? I *think* it's Thursday. Time has become some weird thing that I've lost track of but seems to be flying by. It's wonderful to be so immersed in something that you really have no idea of what day it is.

Catcher and I are having some interesting times. He is still slightly under the weather. His cough has not cleared up but his runny nose has. I've gotten lots of support and we're currently taking his temperature twice a day to make sure he doesn't have a fever. He's eating and drinking well but if he doesn't stop coughing soon I'll need to call a vet in to have a look at him. Other than the cough and slightly lower energy than usual he's bright eyed and happy to do what's asked of him.

We're doing what most people do as they learn. Two steps backwards, one step forwards. We fix one thing and break another. One thing that is very clear is that it's ME that needs to do the learning. Catcher already knows how to do all this stuff if only I can learn to communicate it clearly while maintaining his trust.

Weather has been great. A bit hot and dry for us but clear blue skies. The ride into the campus takes about 30 minutes in the morning. 15 downhill and 15 uphill. The first day or two the altitude (7000 ft) really bothered me but I think I've gotten used to it!

For those of you who really aren't clear on what I'm doing here perhaps Pat Parelli's 45 P's will help:

Pat Parelli Proudly Presents his Provocative and Progressive Programs and the proclamation that Prior and Proper Preparation Prevents P-Poor Performance, Particularly if Polite and Passive Persistence is Practiced in the proper position. This Perspective takes Patience from Process to Product, from Principle to Purpose. The Promise that Pat Plans to Prove is that Practice does not make Perfect, only Perfect Practice makes Perfect and, isn’t it Peculiar how these poor Prey animals Perceive People as predators prior to practicing the Parelli Programs.
© PARELLI NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP, INC.

Day 1 of Horse Behaviour and You (or me) : )

5:45 Rise and shine. ohhhh, nice sunrise over the mountains!
6:15 Off to the centre
6:20 Feed and Water for Catcher
7:00 Feed and Water for humans
8:00 - 9:00 Groom Catcher
chat with the humans of neighbouring horses
9:00 - 11:00 Class room learning
pep talk by Pat
Horsenality discussion and videos
11:00 - 1:30 simulations
demos of different horsenalities with horses
1:30 - 2:30 lunch
2:30 - 5:00 Different play stations with Catcher
Big green ball, tarp and pylons.
Tried to teach Catcher to fetch a pylon
Jumping up and down off raised land
going through scary things
into the pond
And most important learning how to teach Catcher to respect my space!
5:00 - 6:00 free time, water Catcher, rest
6:00 - 7:00 feed the humans
7:00 - 7:30 dinner for Catcher and tuck-in
7:30 - walk up the big long hill to the truck

My condo is very nice although a wee bit Christmassy for June. It's like the people who own it were here in December to decorate and haven't been back since. I can't complain though as it has everything I need and then some. AND it's only 3 miles from the centre. Tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike there which may be more work than I anticipate due to the 7000 feet of elevation.

Catcher is doing really well. Some of the horses have changed their personalities due to the new environment, etc but Catcher is his normal self and making all sorts of friends with his playful extroverted nature. He doesn't seem to have lost very much weight on the trip but does seem to be suffering from some dry skin. As are all of us who aren't used to this climate. There have been lots of sunburns on both human and horse already.

I'll put a few more photos on Facebook today.

We're here!

Really too tired to write tonight so I'll make sure I update you all on our last couple of days soon.

We arrived today on time and in good shape. Catcher came through the trip in good shape although he was pretty pissed off when I loaded him in the trailer this morning.

Put some photos on Facebook but will post some here tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone's support!

Day 4: Proof that you can't plan for everything

OMG what a night. My room here is in the basement and very quiet. At 12:15 I woke up to a noise that sounded like howling wind. Howling wind in the basement?

I quickly grabbed my sweatshirt and raced upstairs to hear HOWLING winds, lashing rain and continuous thunder. Lightening flashed everywhere.

Yes, a hurricane and Catcher's out in it. Is he smart enough to use the shelter? Or maybe that would be dumb given the force of the wind and he's smart enough to stay out. I stood by the backdoor of the garage in a panic. Wanting to go out but knowing I could end up in the news as one of those pet owners who perishes trying to save their animal which of course survives.

I wander around the house looking for the owners to discover that they've taken shelter in the basement at the advice of their storm alert system. Oh man.

I stood at that door for about an hour until the wind finally settled enough for me to venture out.

I found Catcher frightened and shivering at the far side of his paddock. Thank goodness he'll follow me freely as I was able to lead him into the shelter. Once inside we discovered mostly dry ground instead of the 6" of water everywhere else and dry hay. To my surprise Catcher started to eat as I rubbed him encouragingly. After about 30 minutes he stopped shivering and I started.

Each time I tried to leave the shelter he'd follow me but I wanted him to stay in as it was still quite windy and raining. Hmmm. OK I can curl up on the dry hay. Eventually Catcher stopped eating and actually had a nap! This is good. I stayed in there about 2 hours and eventually shivered my way back to the house at 3. Still worried but not quite so much.

This morning Catcher seems fine. He's dry and warm. Ate his breakfast and seems in fine spirits trying to steal the basket as I wandered around the paddock trying to clean up after him.

I'm happy we only have a 6 hour day!

Day 3: Reporting from Knoll's B&B, North Platte Nebraska

We survived another day and another 900+ km. It seemed to be touch and go there for a while but here we are safe and sound.

The day started off well. Catcher seemed to have had a good night based on the fact that he'd finished his bucket of water and all his hay. Based on the sawdust on his side he'd been relaxed enough to lie down at some point. All good things. Although I supposed the keen observer might say that I must not have left enough hay for the obviously hungry horse! There was also an automatic waterer in his stall so he may have been drinking from that too but I was happy with the entire bucket.

We got underway around 7, or 8 depending on which time zone you'd like me to use. We had some heavy rain during the first hour and I could see lightening off to the side. Fortunately we drove out of the storm. Unfortunately it was quite hot on the other side of it. High's of 30. Catcher seemed very restless during the first couple of hours but I wasn't too concerned as he'd done that on day 1 too. (I have to refer to the days by number now as I have no idea what day it actually is any more.) I stopped after about 2 hours to check on him and discovered a sweaty restless horse. Perhaps not unusual given the heat but he'd been fine the first two days. He was eating though and seemed not overly upset so off we went again.

I must say that the rest stops in the US are great. Basically large parking lots divided into truck, trailer and car parking with really clean restrooms and little parks. Of course you're not allowed to walk on the grass nor are you allowed to walk your pet on the grass but I assume someone makes use of them. The other good thing is they are placed approx 45-55 miles apart so you can make lots of stops or space them out.

Stop # 2 revealed a still restless sweaty horse. He was eating hay though so no big cause for concern. The terrain was rolling and generally trending up hill . After talking to Tom I discovered that I was approx. south of Winnipeg. Somehow I thought I'd be further west, that it would be flatter and that there would be fewer towns and less traffic. Sometime during the day we passed Omaha and then Lincoln, NB. After that it did become flatter. By the way, the speed limit seems to go up by 5 mph every other state or so. It's now 75.

Stop #3, or maybe it was 4 since I had to stop for gas somewhere, hmmm. Catcher is chewing up the padding on the inside of the trailer and has it down to the plywood underneath. Poor guy must be really bored. There were also flies in the trailer driving him a bit crazy I think. He's definitely got the rough end of the trip. There I'm sitting in my nice air conditioning listening to the Lost Symbol and he's stuck in the heat with flies and noise. I was quite worried about him actually eating the stuffing out of the padding so I duct taped it up. Of course then I was worried about him eating the duct tape. He did drink some water on the trailer for the first time though!

After this stop I decided it was time to just get to our overnight and set my mind to it. Flat roads, less traffic, vrooommmm. Of course I don't stop thinking about things and quite willing to admit to my mistakes (this time) I made a call to Deb and asked her to see if she could revise my route for tomorrow so that we could do a shorter day. This might mean being late for the start of our class on Sunday but c'est la vie. Better to arrive with a sane happy horse. Deb pulled through for me and quickly found Cactus Creek. http://www.cactuscreekusa.com/welcome.html . This should turn tomorrow into a 6 hour day and Sunday 4-5 hours.

The place tonight is nice. Everyone has been great along the way. Catcher might be a little lonely tonight as there are no horses to keep him company but he has a nice little paddock, a run in shed and lots of hay and water. I need to sleep now.... I'll put some extra photo's on Facebook.

Day 2: Reporting from North Liberty, Iowa

Dreamed about forgetting buckets last night. Pretty weird.

When I woke up around 5:30 I was able to look out the window and see Catcher still standing in the corner of his paddock grazing. He hadn't drunk any water overnight and wasn't interested in any this morning which was kind of worrying. No problem loading and we got underway around 6:50. The border crossing was mostly uneventful but took about 45 minutes. The border guard didn't really know what to do with my paperwork so had to get some help. I almost got sent over to cargo but got lucky when someone appeared with the correct stamp.

Today was LONG. We took 69 south onto 94 then onto the I80 which we stay on now until the far side of Nebraska. Traffic was heavy, especially around Chicago. Mostly it's all big nasty trucks. Can you tell I have a real dislike for trucks now? I stopped about every 2 hours to check on Catcher and offer him water. He's eating lots of hay but I don't think he's drinking enough. We pulled into the 7A ranch at 5:30 after 10.5 hours on the road. Spent about 1.5 hours making sure Catcher was settled in. Tonight he's in a snazzy barn that has big stalls with outdoor runs attached. He has no direct neighbours but there are 4 other horses close by. He had his dinner which I added extra water to and he drank about 1/3 of a bucket of water. Hopefully he drinks more overnight.

I'm feeling quite numb and have a little bit of motion sickness or something happening. Everything seems a little wobbly. The hotel is nice, except there is no trailer parking and I had to back the trailer up all over the place trying to park it. Hopefully no one was watching ! Now I'm off to find a bank machine (on foot so I don't have to move the trailer again) then an early night because tomorrow is a VERY LONG day too. Those following on a map, tomorrow's stop is North Platte Nebraska.

Day 1: Reporting from North Liberty, Iowa

No internet access last night but Catcher and I had a good day yesterday. We had a great send off at Back of Beyond and got under way around 9:30. Catcher seemed very restless in the trailer for the first little bit causing some interesting sways and lurches so I stopped in gasoline alley to check on him. After that he settled right in and found his trailer legs. His favourite position seems to be on an angle facing backwards. I noticed, as we passed through Toronto and down the 401 towards London, that he isn't very keen on big trucks. Who is! I felt bad for him knowing how big and loud they must seem in the trailer.

The 401 was nasty. Lots and lots of trucks but when I pulled off onto the 402 just past London I knew heading for the Sarnia crossing had been the right choice. What a relief! Smooth pavement and only a little traffic. The B&B was only about 3 km off the highway and very easy to find. Sue and Bob were great! The whole atmosphere there was very relaxed and Catcher settled right into is paddock. Unfortunately he doesn't like town water. Something about the choline smelling funny I think he said. I even tried our Orange Gatoraid trick to no avail. Fortunately I had filled up two 25L containers of water before leaving and he drank some of that. Note to Deb: try Red on some town water before going!

What was really cool is that I could see Catcher from my bedroom. And hear him. Cathy if you're reading this he coughed 3 times over but the sniffles have dried up. Catcher did have a run-in with Gunner the dog. The poor dog was sniffing Catcher's water bucket and Catcher decided to chase him. They did a couple of laps before the dog escaped under the fence.

There were 3 other horses there but they were in a paddock about 30 feet away. Catcher spent most of the night standing in the corner of his paddock as close to them as he could get.

Sue and Bob made me a wonderful roast dinner then we relaxed around the campfire. Both Catcher and I were well taken care of.

And away we go....

Up bright and early today and likely will have to be every day for the trip in order to make the long hauls before dark.

All is packed and I'll be heading off to pick up Catcher in a few minutes. It may be a couple of days before I have internet access again.

I'll keep you all updated as I can!

One more sleep...

Finished up a multitude of projects for work today. Phew, I hope all that goes smoothly for Mary Ellen who is taking on all my "stuff" while I'm gone. Thank You Mary Ellen!!!

Packing and more packing. I think I have too many things with me but since I don't have to pay overweight baggage I guess it doesn't matter. Or does the extra gas it costs to carry extra boots count as excess baggage charges?

Have not heard how Catcher's cold is today. I'm going to assume that no news is good news and keep on working towards departure in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon by this time I should be here: http://www.maefield.ca/ Thursday morning I'll make an early run for the border. From there it will either be a 5 hour drive back home or a 24 hour drive (not continuous) to Pagosa Springs.

T-2

Packed up the truck with all Catcher's food for the trip last night. What you can't see in this photo is that the entire back of the 6.5 foot bed is full of hay, feed, shavings, etc.

I have my bike safely stowed in the tack section of the trailer. Since all I need for this course are 2 ropes and a halter the tack section is being used for misc. transport of stuff.

Catcher's nose is still a bit runny but he seems OK. It's a wait-and-see game until Wednesday morning now!

T -3 Maybe?

Catcher has a cold....

Why couldn't it be me rather than him?

Catcher didn't seem very sick today and his vet wasn't overly concerned other than the fact that they won't let a horse with the sniffles over the border. This morning he was coughing badly and his nose was very runny. He is now on antibiotics and something to break up the mucous. Poor Cathy at Back of Beyond gets the worst of it having to put this and that into his food and take his temperature again in the morning. Cathy, if you're reading this, Thank You!!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be pack the truck full of hay day and I guess I'll just continue along the pathway to departure with hopes that Catcher will recover quickly. Less worrying than the border crossing would be putting a sick horse through four days on a trailer, I won't do that. Cancelling would be disappointing but if that's the way it goes c'est la vie.

I'm almost packed although I seem to have WAY too much stuff. All the overnight stops on the way down have been confirmed, I did eventually book a hotel in Ohio. Snacks and food are ready for the trip since I won't be able to stop for meals. I wonder if I could plug my cappuccino machine into the truck? : ) I now have a 2 ton hydraulic jack and a machine to blow up flat tires thanks to Deb and Dave. Now I have these things I assume the universe will be nice to me and I won't actually get any flats!?!?

Everybody cross your fingers that Catcher gets over his cold quickly!

Willpower (and Horsepower)

Today I came across a quote from Winston Churchill:

"All great things are decided not by machines or gadgets, but by willpower; whoever has it will finally prevail."

It struck me that this is what will get Catcher and I safely to Colorado. Not the truck and trailer but my planning and willpower! But, don't get me wrong, the Truck and Trailer play a VERY important role : )


Willpower defined:

* The strength to act, or forbear from acting, in the pursuit of a goal.
* Self discipline, Training and control of oneself and one's conduct, usually for personal improvement.
* Self control, the ability of a person to exert his/her will over the inhibitions of their body or self.

T-4 and still packing

This morning Catcher passed his health check and I was given his health certificate. Next step is to get that down to Barrie for stamping on Monday. Norma, Catcher's vet, even supplied me with a pile of first aid supplies and Cathy at Back of Beyond has been wonderful at advising of things I might need/want to make Catcher's trip easier. Everyone has been offering help where ever they can.

Still on the list of things to get are a hydraulic jack (which Dave is picking up for me Thank you!), stable boots and hmmm, I wonder if I need anything for myself?

For those who haven't been in touch with me for a while you might be interested in the route map that looks something like this:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=wyoming,+ontario&daddr=US-6+W+to:W+Maple+Rd+to:41.106261,-101.005554+to:Oak+St+to:7110+W+Hwy+160,+Pagosa+Springs,+CO+81147,+USA&hl=en&geocode=FeZxjwIdc_ga-ylJsm9jJXkviDECh32X0EzDCA%3BFSDFfAIdusiH-g%3BFSoSdgId2otF-g%3B%3BFVbwPgIdPjOp-Q%3BFdP5NwIdAImd-Sldo1qD4889hzHQhN7J2WgXnA&mra=dme&mrcr=1,2&mrsp=3&sz=10&via=2&sll=40.989228,-101.218414&sspn=0.637506,1.154938&ie=UTF8&ll=41.553811,-91.922607&spn=0.632017,1.154938&z=10

This map actually starts from my 1st night stay as I assumed I could find my way from Port Sydney to Sarnia without a map.

I cleaned all the extra stuff I'd been storing in the trailer this morning too. I'm hoping I can put my mountain bike in the tack area of the trailer leaving the bed of the truck available for hay, feed, shavings, etc.

Phew. I think I should have taken Monday/Tuesday next week off work because there seem to be a million things to do between now and Wednesday morning.

For those who know about my soon-to-be-homeless state, I found a place to rent! Woohoo. The universe has been kind to me because Catcher can move there too!

T-5 days to departure

I've decided to start a blog for all of you who are asking about my upcoming trip to Colorado. I'll update it as I can during the trip.

With only 5 days left to recheck my travel plans, pack up the trailer, clothing, and all the equipment for myself and Catcher panic is not far off. Catcher's final vet check is tomorrow morning. The result of this should be a health certificate that I then have to take to Barrie on Monday to be signed by a government vet. This is required to cross the border into the US with a horse.

The safety on truck and trailer have been completed, roadside assist by USRider is purchased, accomodations have been booked, oh except for the hotel I need in Ohio. For some reason I keep putting this off. Catcher has a place for the night but I may be sleeping in the parking lot of a Wal-mart.

Deb is trying to get me maps from CAA. Akaash has organized an Equine Canada passport for Catcher. Cathy at Back of Beyond has taken amazing care of Catcher so he's as ready as he can be. Cathy is also organizing food, hay and other necessities Catcher will need for the trip. I still need to make a trip to a tack shop to get a few more first aid supplies.

I'm sure I'll forget something but I'm hoping all the necessities are covered.