Cows, Crutches, And Mud! Oh My!

   Yesterday Diva and ushered in February with a few firsts of our own. It was the first time in 6.5 months that Diva was on cattle (For real! Time flies!) and it was the first time I have really went in the pen with any livestock since my broken ankle. I had been cleared to start walking the day before but it wasn't as easy as I had hoped for and frankly I was feeling a bit down. I know there are probably a lot of people that will say I am crazy for even thinking I could do it but to them I simply say, if you want something bad enough you will make it happen. For safety sake I took my crutches with me to use as balance support over the muddy, icy terrain and I didn't go in the pen with any sheep as they are much more likely to run into you than cows are ;-). See, I am ambitious but not stupid :-). I have to give a shout out to Kelly, Rae, and Jessica for toting my chair around and other items so that I could rest as much as possible while still getting a good view of the action. It was slow getting from point A to point B with the mud/ice mixture and as the farm's namesake implies, Keepstone, there are many rocks in the fields! Slow and steady wins the race so they say and I suppose if you judge by the fact that I was able to participate at all, and suffered no extra pain from it, then I did indeed "win".

    Diva had a small amount of sheep time when she went in the pen with Jessica and Rae to help Myst on what was only her 3rd sheep exposure ever. Myst just turned 6 months old so she has all of the enthusiasm and little self control that comes with that age ;-). The intent of putting her on sheep was just to maintain her enthusiasm and I can say without a doubt that she is enthusiastic and committed! Jessica is going to have a handful with the little red rocket ;-). Interestingly enough she was also VERY focused in watching the cows and showed no fear when she got up close. Good puppy! Anyway, Diva was happy to fetch the sheep around with Rae and I managed to snap a picture or two of it happening. 

    When it was our turn on the cows I went in with very little expectations other than to stay safe, have fun, and let Diva drive the cows  around a bit to ease back into working. She did a great job of working away from me and applying appropriate pressure but lacked speed when going out to cover. I am certain that a large part of that is her fitness level. After all with no training of any kind for 3 months we are both a little soft ;-). She was comfortable going to head, driving, and took direction well but she was also keeping an eye on me. At one point when I was getting ready to just start yelling I made the choice to call her in to me, praise, and pet her a second. This is something I need to remember to do more often because it makes us both feel better. Immediately after, she went back to work and put in more effort. Her weak points with cows have not changed so I know that this spring I need to make a plan for helping her create space on the fence to pull them off. Before my accident she was doing much better so I know its in there. Being unstable and on crutches forced me to pick a spot and stand still which has brought out in glaring fashion the fact that I do move my body to support the commands I give Diva. My spring training list now includes working on really proofing her directional commands, getting her inside flanks faster and more square (this is more for sheep than cattle), and more pen work with cattle to learn to create space on the fence. All in all though I was proud of Diva for the work she did, especially with the time off. I think we have a great chance of getting her AHBA championship this year!

   The highlight of the day (for Diva and I anyway ;-)) came when we were watching Rae and Catcher work the cows. The little Belted Galloway was running the arena fencline wanting to get in with his friends and as he came down towards where Jessica, Kelly, and I were watching I let Diva get after him and push him back where he belonged. The first encounter Diva did well and you could tell she had a blast putting him in his place. Of course he didn't learn his lesson so a few minutes later he was back coming at us again and Diva really gave him hell! It's not to often that Diva really gets gritty but she was in his face, very close to hitting his nose, and totally serious. "Belty" decide that was not something he wanted to tangle with and turned tail. Diva drove him away and when I called her back she was grinning from ear to ear. I seriously wish I had the good sense to pick up my camera while it was happening but I was watching in awe and forgot! Kelly, Jessica, and I were all smiling at her show of confidence and power. She certainly wasn't going to let that cow come rushing up on her Momma's bad leg :-)!