The Cody Chronicles: Darkest Before Dawn

TRAILER SESSION 3

As I pulled into the drive this afternoon, I noticed the back door to the horse trailer standing open. Did I leave the door open? Why is the door open? Am I losing my mind? Then, I saw the windows open also. And it clicked. Mr. Trailer is here.

Mr. Trailer, also known as JR, had Cody loaded in the LAST stall of the trailer. The ONLY way Cody can get out is to back out. This should be interesting. I had visions of Cody spending the night in the trailer.

Mr. Trailer hooked up two 25-foot long lines to Cody’s rope halter, pulled on a pair of thick leather gloves, and proceed to wrestle with this 1,200 pound beast. If Cody would just take one step out of the trailer, he could learn that he can do it! Well, he did take one step out of the trailer. It scared him to death and he jumped back in. After a while of more patient waiting, and wrestling with the long lines, he stepped both back feet out of the trailer, only to jump back in again.

This went on for a long while, and finally, Cody exited the trailer! It wasn’t pretty. I was sure the horse was gonna suffer a fatal injury trying to get out of there. “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” Mr. Trailer reminded me.

Mr. Trailer stuck with it, and had Cody confidently loading into the trailer and backing out with less and less help each time. Now I am hopeful that Cody can learn to back out of the trailer like a normal horse, and that someday the “Turn and Burn” will be a distant memory!

Thank you Mr. Trailer.

I would have taken pictures, but the camera would have caused Cody to put on a show! So here's a real nice pic of Cody hangin' out in the barn.

Real Chicks Drive Sticks!

I've always driven a stick shift. Driving is just boring the other way. Especially in a powerful muscle car. Plus, it keeps my husband out of the car...he says driving a stick is too much work. The real reason is that he's not as good at it as I am!


After driving around in a dixie cup with wheels for a week, I can say without abandon...I LOVE MY CAR!





I love the heaviness of it. I love the feel of the leather wrapped steering wheel. I love the power. I love the way it goes "nah..naaaah...naaaah" when I take off. Show me a Hybrid that can do that!


I've always melted for muscle cars, don't know why. One of my favs is the '69 Camero.




Here is the 2006 Mustang GT...love of my life..



Yes, I am a lucky girl! If you see someone driving a Mustang GT like a grandma, it's probably me. Hubby says I've gotten more mileage out of my tires than any Mustang owner ever.

Happy Trails, and remember...
Real Chicks Drive Sticks!

Cody Chronicles: Ugly In The Beginning

"Back out? Make me!"






















TRAILER SESSION 1

It’s time to show JR what Cody does with the trailer. From the day I brought him home, the horse refuses to back out of the trailer. Thankfully, I have a wide three-horse slant load, so there’s plenty of room in there for him to turn around and come out front-ways. This is not ideal, but since he loads nicely for me and I’m just trying to make it through the day with this herd of horses that have enslaved me, I let it continue.

Actually Danny and I have tried, to no avail, to teach him to back out of the trailer. I got as far as getting him to place one back foot out of the trailer. That totally freaked him out. Back in he jumped. To turn around and come out the way he likes—where he can see what’s coming.

After JR’s first session working with Cody in the trailer, I learn that Cody is claustrophobic. And I’m an enabler. I really thought I was over the enabling thing… apparently not. Watching the whole event was rather traumatic. I saw Cody looking scared, mad, frustrated, terrified. In the end, JR had to let the horse turn around to get out of the trailer. But it was only Cody’s first session with the trailer. I’m thinking—maybe it’s just fine to leave this alone. It doesn’t really bother me.

Well, as it turns out, Cody is not as comfortable with the trailer as I thought he was. Just because he jumps in and trailers quietly does not mean he enjoys the experience. He would probably prefer to stay home. All the time. As he tried to tell me when he then refused to get on the trailer! We are trying to teach him to just “step” up into the trailer, not “leap” into it with both front feet at once. That’s how he likes to do it, which really has never bothered me…but in order to teach him to back out…we need to not let him get totally in. That was the plan.

TRAILER SESSION 2
Cody’s plan was to not get in the trailer at all. Never since I’ve owned this horse has he ever refused to get in the trailer. And now, after getting freaked out about backing out of the trailer, he is getting belligerent. After an hour of trying to “send” him into the trailer, “lead” him into the trailer, “pull” him into the trailer, “beat” him into the trailer, and "beg" him to get in the trailer….I asked Danny to help me and with both of us encouraging, Cody hopped on the trailer in his usual, unconfident leaping fashion. Yay! He got on! We did this a couple more times to make sure he was no longer resistant.

I really want to give up on this trailer-unloading thing. Who cares if he doesn’t back out or load in a trailer with me standing on the ground simply pointing my finger at the door? He gets in, rides, and gets out. That’s all I need him to do. I don’t want to create a new problem trying to solve another. Here I go again…enabling.

Well, I’ll try again tomorrow with “sending” him onto the trailer and see how that goes. I’m learning that there are some things I may just not want to learn!

Cody Chronicles: Be Careful What You Ask For

Cody is a wonderful horse. He’s the kind most people want—easy going, friendly, a little on the lazy side. Plus, he’s mighty pretty to look at. His bald white face holds one striking ice blue eye and one deep brown eye. The brown eye I call his kind eye. The blue eye is beautiful, but freaky. Horses just aren’t supposed to have blue eyes.

Cody pretty much gets away with everything because he flies just under my radar.
Working full time and owning four horses makes me feel like I’m a mom with too many kids! At some point, I just don’t have the energy to care about every little thing they do—I’m just trying to make it through the day!

While Cody is a good horse, especially for me, I recognize that there is room for improvement, so Cody is the lucky horse that I resolved to “brush up” this summer.
His list of character defects include:
• behaving like a two-year old child when asked to stand in one place
• refusing to back out of the trailer; he must turn around and come out facing the front
• recognizing me as his leader and learning to show me respect

On the latter, just because a horse is well behaved and not causing trouble does not mean he is respectful of you. There is a difference—like the difference between a child saying “yes ma’am” and “yeah…gimme a sec.”

In comes JR, an all-around cowboy who specializes in helping people with horse issues of all types. After two sessions with me he stated, “The main thing you need to really work on is RELAXING and STAYING CALM.” Intuitive! If you know me very well at all, you probably think it’s quite humorous that I paid someone to tell me that. Everyone knows I am high-strung, wound pretty tight, and that I tend to overreact most of the time.

Okay. Relax and stay calm. JR is right. I need to work on this. People take medication for this. Now, just how am I supposed to relax and be calm when I’m sitting on a 1200-pound beast that can inflict a lot of pain upon me? I’m not sure where to start with this, but I’ll let you know how it goes.

More from the C Lazy U

Photo by Lynne Norris

The C Lazy U is an incredible place. Nestled in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, just outside Granby, Colorado. It is truly God's country. The staff is superb. They really know how to make your stay special. The food is phenomenal. Breakfast served at 7, lunch at 12, dinner at 7. I'm talking gourmet, fresh, delicious meals. Anything you want, they will try to please at the C Lazy U.

It was wonderful to have an opportunity to ride a horse in the Rockies. The sage brush and prairie dog holes make it difficult to do much more than walk and trot. The hills were killer, but so are the hills in Middle Tennessee!

My wrangler was a cute cowgirl named Julie. She had "honor your horse" tatooed on her wrist. No kidding. So she would always remember. And honor our horses we did! We got off and walked them up the steepest part of the slopes so they would not have to carry our weight. I was huffin and puffin, but honoring my horse! Here is a pic of Jules...the "honor your horse" wrangler.


Here is a group shot of the crew after a long day of shooting:


Here's a shot of me below the "garden of the gods" rock formation:


This kind of freaked me out..to come upon a horse skull out on the range. I'm used to seeing cattle skulls, but they are a lesser creature. We eat them. Horses should have a kinder fate, I think...than rotting in a pasture. But if you have to rot away in a field..there's no prettier place, I suppose, than this one.


Here's a nice shot of Rick Simms shooting the "God Cares" music video with Jeff Slaughter. (photo by Lynne Norris)


I just love the way this shot captures the essence of the ranch. (photo by Lynne Norris)


This is "Dakota"--my mount. I can certainly walk faster than he can. At least until the barn comes into his view. Good thing I know how to do a one rein stop! I love, love, love grey horses...but Dakota, you ain't got nothin' on Cody. Riding someone else's horse can sometimes really help you appreciate the one you own.


Here's my tip for you if you ever visit a dude ranch:
Make sure your wrangler is skilled at taking photos. You know, the basics...like how to not chop off a head! Nice shot of me, but not quite the same without Dakota's pretty head.


All in all, a fun time was had by everyone. I hope I can go back to C Lazy U with my husband as a guest someday. Maybe if I win the lottery. (JK-I don't really do the lottery.)
The END

VBS 2010 is on the way!

I always have a great time preparing the marketing materials for LifeWay's Vacation Bible School. The theme for 2010 is Saddle Ridge Ranch. Right up my alley! I went on location to the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado for a brief video shoot. Enjoy the show!

My silly life with horses

Summer is here and it's time to get busy training, riding, and enjoying my horses. Being the "Type A" that I am, I needed to have "goals" for the summer. I can't just be happy feeding, mucking, and hopping on a horse. I must have a PLAN. A REGIMINE. And a TRAINER.

My wonderful horse trainer this summer is a cowboy called "JR" who can simply do anything with a horse. As long as the horse is alive, he can fix any problem!

Although I ride English style, I am all cowgirl at heart. So, I knew JR and I would get along just fine. JR asked me to bring a list of the things I wanted to accomplish to our first session, and then we could come up with a game plan. The process of making the list got me thinking...that I ultimately wanted to ride my horse bridleless in a beautiful reining pattern--like
Stacy Westfall!

Oh my...I didn't write that one down. I settled for a few basic things like..."get the horse to go when I want." What I really desire is to have the magic..a way with my horses that lets them read my mind, and the desire in the their heart to please me.

I didn't write any of that on the list either. I'm sure JR knows that I want to be just like him someday.