WW: The last hack before the world froze
Sunday afternoon the temperature began to drop from a balmy 45° to what would become the low of 12°. The wind kicked up fiercely, and all the animals were full of themselves. In this crazy weather, Guinness, the dogs, and myself went for a long hack...
 |
| The corner at the end of the world. |
I so wish I could ride with my dog :( Looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteWith encouragement from Liz @ In Omnia Paratus, I put my black dog with otherwise decent recall in an e-collar. It has made all the difference. He used to be ambivalent to me once I was on horseback (like he knew I couldn't touch him), now he comes when I call and stays within about 50 yards of us at all times. Once I feel comfortable that the little one can be contained with the collar (she's a wild DEMON off leash), I'll start with her too. It's been amazing, and the dogs really love it because it means adventures they otherwise don't get to have, and freedom to sniff at leisure.
DeleteLove your corner at the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteMe too. At that spot (which was hard to capture due to the wind and the ball of excite I was sitting on), you can see all the way from Indiana into Illinois. The land flattens out completely, and past those trees, there is NOTHING for a long, long, long way.
DeleteI am definitely not brave enough to try to ride a horse while holding a dog leash, yikes. The only one of my dogs that is active neough to think trail rides would be fun is the beagle and there is no way in hell I'm chasing that hound through the mountains after he gets on a scent. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell ... true confessions ... I'm not holding that leash. It's a retractable (so it stays out of legs and off the ground) that's tied with twine to a clip, and clipped to my d-ring. I hold it a lot at the beginning to remind my dog to heel a bit, but overall it's hands-free. It's not safe, though. Especially with any other horse or dog combo. My dogs are trained to turn left and right on command, have a solid "GIT!" trained in, and know to always travel on my side of obstacles (sign posts, trees, trash cans) so as to avoid getting tangled. They are very leash-line savvy. They are also supremely aware of the horse and staying out of the way of feet. So, it's as safe as I can make it.
DeleteI completely get the prey-driven dog! There's a reason that little white one is on a leash! It's deer season here, and they are EVERYWHERE. We've scared up a herd of deer every single ride for the last two weeks. She'd be GONE.
looks like a great, albeit chilly, ride!! glad you got it in before the temperatures sunk even further :)
ReplyDeleteMe too! So cold out there right now! They're forecasting windchill lows tonight of -25. Brrrrrrr!
DeleteBe freeeeeeee Sonka, you well-behaved husky! Lyra, tough luck chicky. lol
ReplyDeleteYou got it! :) BTW the e-collar has worked a miracle with that black dog. I called him off a herd of deer the other day with zero problem. He's learned I can "touch him" from horseback, and his recall is as close to 100% as I could ask now. :)
DeleteAwwww yisss
DeleteLove these pics :) Didn't realize that my Sunday ride would be our last one for this week...BRRRRRR
ReplyDeleteBrrrr indeed!!
DeleteI would love to take my dog and Simon out hacking like that.
ReplyDeleteHacking with my dog was always a dream of mine.
DeleteI can't even fathom those temperatures. It was in the 30s here last week (for about 12 minutes) and we all freaked out. :0) I wore a short sleeved t-shirt to school today and played tag with my students after lunch for PE. I was actually sweaty when we went back inside. Wimpy Californian! :0)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Well 30s is low for you guys! The low tonight is a windchill of -25, and it's currently 0°
DeleteWhat good dogs :) and being from California, 45 is not balmy! I feel like my bones would freeze at anything even close to 15...
ReplyDeleteOh, your bones wouldn't freeze. They might feel like they are, though. :) There's a certain kind of deep stinging pain that happens when you get cold at these temperatures. It hurts, but it's more of an ache. I'm talking about this because my idiot dog covered the bare top of my foot in snow on a walk this morning, and I thought it was going to freeze off completely.
DeleteWhat a fab corner of the world to be able to have on your hacking route. When I get things settled with the flat and save some pennies again, I hope to find myself a pooch to come hacking in he woods with the girls and myself. It will deff have to be some kind of herding dog, although I do love terriers & beagles etc - not going to be possible for me to chase after it if it were to take off after a boar or deer scent!
ReplyDeleteAllow me to help you swear off a Sib, then! They are constant run-away machines, if you let them! :) Schnauzers can make pretty okay barn dogs, but for ease of training, I think you're looking for the labrador, retriever, collie type!!
DeleteEee I can't wait until you can get a dog!!!! Definitely go with a herding breed. Jackal is a Beagle mix and when he catches a scent he can go totally deaf. It's so annoying!! I have to keep him on leash unless we're in a fenced area. To think I thought going with something other than a Siberian Husky meant I wouldn't have to do that. I shouldn't have gotten a hound, but that's what my hubby really wanted. I love him though and I wouldn't trade him for the world, just like I'd give anything to have Storm back. My next dog will definitely be a breed that is trustworthy off leash though!
DeleteBird dogs make a pretty good compromise for the herding/hound dilemma! Hounds are notorious nose-runaways! My uncle had beagles, and those little guys would end up all over town if they got away, and they were immaculately trained!
DeleteI didn't know you had a Sib! I love them dearly, but the ability to have a trustworthy dog is definitely lacking there. I feel like I'm more aware of my surroundings as a result of owning these guys, from constantly surveying the landscape for anything that might grab their attention and get them running!
Oh yes. I got her as a birthday present to myself when I was a teen and I had her for twelve and a half years. She died in February and I'm still heartbroken. There are tons of pictures of her on my other blog. Here is a direct link to every post she was tagged in http://myfarmerlife.blogspot.com/search/label/Storm%20Glory
DeleteOh wow! She's beautiful!! What a wonderfully long life, too. So sad to lose her.
DeleteThank you! She was the most beautiful dog I've ever had in my life. I miss her a lot, but I'm so happy I had all those years with her. :)
DeleteYou're crazy! I'm so sick of the below freezing temps and it only just started ugh. I'm glad you got a ride in. I love that you can take your Siberian Husky out on a long leash like that. I was always afraid of the horse getting tangled in the rope so I didn't take mine out with the horses. We walked separately.
ReplyDeleteI know that fear! I wouldn't do this with any other horse or anyone else's dogs! I've basically done all the training I can to mitigate the risk, but can't get rid of it completely. Sometimes it's the only way to get three energetic running breeds exercised properly in a day, though!
DeleteYeah I tried it over and my Siberian tried to stop while we were running (horse was trotting, she was running) and she skinned her paws. I was so upset I never did it again. She loved going with me on my bike though. I could take both dogs that way as well. :-)
DeleteWe bike sometimes, too! My black dog doesn't like running at speed on leash, and ended up dragged behind the horse (In a wet hayfield, thank god, so he was actually totally fine and popped right out of his harness!). He's slower on the bike too. I don't like taking both dogs on the bike at the same time, and usually just use it for the younger and more energetic white dog when she's murderously full of energy and I don't have the time or ability to run her.
DeleteMy two have skinned their paws on occasion. It sucks. I've noticed that if I keep the running miles up to 10 a week or more, their paws get much tougher and have no problems. We run primarily on asphalt and concrete, even in the summer, and have no real problems. It's all about keeping up those calluses! In fact, the only discomfort the two have had for the last couple of years has been when snow packs into their paw hair and feels funny. They'll stop mid-run and nibble it out of their paws!
I was biking on asphalt so they did build up calluses. The reason I stopped doing it on the horse is because the horse could stop or take off unexpectedly, whereas a bike I can control. My horse wasn't exactly unpredictable, but I had Storm on a fairly short leash so she wouldn't get tangled up and I didn't want to risk it. If I'd been comfortable using a long leash it would have worked just fine, but I'm too chicken I guess lol. I'm glad you have a system that works for all of you! Exercise keeps them happy. :)
Delete