Watching and learning

Lightning

Today I watched as Ben worked with Lightning. Many of these things I am learning to do with Mezza.
Captured with camera are giving/flexing work with the head, and a lot of desensitization work with tying and throwing/spinning ropes.

Next time I'll get the camera out faster, as I missed a lot of the asking for the turns on fores and hinds!

Scout

Today Scout got a walk, grooming treatment, followed by Sore No More and icing (no, not the kind on the cake!)  He gave me quite the look, but did well with the ice and water in a bag!

His inflammation is mostly gone, although the lower back is still sore. We need to start working a little more, even if it's on the straight as in ground driving, or just walking and trotting, as you notice he's lost most of his rump muscles!

A 3-equid day

Today was drier than yesterday--so yesterday was cleaning and short turnouts (and mud)!
The weather was sunny today, and things will be drying soon (yeah!!) so I took advantage of it as much as possible and got some nice time in with both Mezza and Hoss.

SCOUT

Scout gets the "picture of the day" along with a short grazing turnout (note the grazing muzzle). He's lost at least 50 lbs. since last summer, although he continues to get inflammation in his back when I ride him. It is nearly gone now (there is a slight bit on his top line in front of his pelvis). I think icing, along with Sore No More, will take the remainder out and then I'll do groundwork with him until he seems comfortable before I try riding again)

MEZZA
Mezza and I found the round pen dry enough to work on several different things:
• Walking and trotting in-hand at side (from both my left and right)
• Backing in-hand at side (from both my left and right)
• Whip-sacking out
• Longeing at walk and trot using sidepull
• Suppling turns using the long line
• Accepting my fingers in her mouth from both sides (of her mouth)
• Ground tying so I could pick her feet

Her trotting at side on my left is improving steadily, but we still need practice. It was interesting to note that during the whip sacking she was more concerned about the whip on her left side--which is not her usual pattern. She never moved away, but was tense on her left at first, and was not tense at all on her right.

She is great with me putting my fingers in her mouth. In case I must be able to open her mouth for a judge during showing at halter I need to keep practicing it. This will come in handy for much more things.

When I finally went to put her back after an hour, we got to practice one more thing: walking through the large puddle at her gate. At first she went right through it, but wanted to run ahead. Upon asking her to do it again at a slower pace, she wanted to come into me. After about 5 times, she was keeping a nice distance, but was still not walking as slow as I'd like. Think we need to revisit that one!

HOSS
Hoss got his turnout in the morning while I cleaned--glad I put the turnout sheet on him as he rolled in a muddy spot out there and it saved time not having to clean most of his body!

We are getting better at the trailer--that is AFTER he decided he didn't want to go stand at the trailer (he balked, I asked, he balked) soooo, I asked him to trot around me a few (too few) times. So he balked again, and then I asked for more.....OK, he was a little cranky at first when he cantered in a few circles, but when I gave him a chance to stop and come to the trailer he didn't miss a step!  And he stood like a rock (OK, he moved once) while I tacked up and picked his feet.

We had a short (25 min. or so) but sweet riding session in the outdoor. We have tons of things to work on, including collection, but it is going well. What I notice most, is now as long as my expectations are clear, and I am firm about them, he will comply with little or no problem. This is building my confidence, and in turn is making our relationship a lot better!

Thank you to all the people who've helped me with both Hoss and Mezza--it is really starting to come together.

Mezza and the obstacles

Today Mezza and I worked on several things in addition to our regular walking, stopping, turning and backing etc. ...
We practiced her walk and trot in-hand at side, and her right "eye" side is doing so much better!

We also tacked up and played in the field with the obstacles, which she really did enjoy!  There is more work to be done on keeping her out of my space when she's unsure of something. But we had a good time and she now has several new objects to add to her list of "friendly" things.

I wish I had video of her rolling with my saddle on! LOL-- I asked her to turn and take her circle in the sand the other direction and she gave a good bounce, did an uncoordinated turn on the hinds and her feet slid right out from beneath her!  Tom had just groomed the sand in the area, and it was really loose--when she went down, instead of getting up she decided it felt so good she'd roll over--I could only laugh (and ask her to get up before she continued to roll with the saddle).

Hoss & Scout trailer around the block

I loaded up both Hoss and Scout today, and trailered them around in a big circle (a couple of miles).
My stomach didn't complain as it had been in the past weeks, and both boys loaded smoothly and stood like champs. Hoss waited patiently to be tied while I tied his hay net in first!

Scout of course appreciated the hay net because the holes in Hoss' are bigger, and he can sneak out hay from it where it hangs just below the bottom of the trailer partition.

At the unloading, Hoss couldn't quite wait for me to untie, so he got to load back up!  I think I saw him form the words "Oops" as he realized I wasn't going to leave it at that.  We'll keep going to nearby places and practicing, but this is soooooo much better!

Hoss & Scout Time

Today Hoss got out for a ride, and Scout got a walk and some in-hand work.

HOSS
Hoss and I practiced a few "focus" circles around me in the small field at the walk, along with turns on the fores from the ground, and some in-hand backing to loosen up those hocks. He'd been great at the trailer, not wiggly, and he also stood like a rock while I wrapped his lead rope around the saddle horn.
We practiced going over the ground poles, the fake "bridge" the wagon-wheel "spokes" and then trotting off to the other end of the field before coming back to negotiate obstacles a second time. After getting a decent half pass each way, we headed out of the small field and practiced opening and closing the gate to the big field with a side pass to the right.

In the big field we practiced trotting out, half pass, walk to trot and trot to walk transitions and some backing and some "whoa" followed by standing with loose reins. He did a great job!

I think his legs are a bit stiff, he had trouble getting a really nice extension, even going in what I know was his favorite direction. So I made sure to put some liniment on his hocks when we finished, and bucket washed his sweat off.

He got rewarded later with some time to graze in the field!

SCOUT
For Scout, since his lower back has been sore (I rode him last week on April 28th, in a bareback pad, and only at the walk and trot) and it sored up despite having had both the chiropractor out 10 days earlier, and giving him only in-hand and light groundwork for 11 days after his hock injections.

So today I again took him on a walk in-hand to the little hills at the east end. We practiced going up, down, stopping halfway, did turns on fores and hinds at the top, and I also asked for some circles around me at the walk while I was at the base of one of the slopes. This meant that Scout had half his circle on a slope, and the other half on the  level. I wanted to see how he reacted.

Going left, he was much more comfortable, although turning and coming down the slope seemed more difficult. Going right his body seemed stiffer as he went up, and as he started to descend on the curve (this was not super steep)  he was very uncomfortable in his rear end/legs. So I only asked for two circles to the right, the second one I did not ask him to come down, I went up to him. I believe he is quite uncomfortable, and I need to get the pain and inflammation out of the lower back! We ended by watering down his lower back with cold water and putting on liniment and Sore No More.

At this point I wish we could figure out what is really going on in that back/pelvis of his! This problem has been continuing for a year now, and I believe that he needs to be evaluated above the stifle. A friend has suggested acupuncture, which I think could help. I also want to know what is at the root of the continuing pain!

Mezza "at side" work

May 2, 2012
This occurred yesterday, actually. I got home just in time to clean up and go off to a meeting, after which I was too ready for bed!
I put out the tack and everything in the barn, planning to tack her up in there after we spent a little focus time in the round pen. Being that there was another horse in the round pen, I looked after our two first, and when I came back to get Mezza it was later than planned, and I was plumb tired!  She was also a mess!

Thus, it was the perfect day to practice some stalking, and ground tying for grooming. She did well at this--she is learning that if I leave her to do her own thing for about 10 min., then come back, if she blows me off, I will stalk her and she'll have to move!  She is learning (and I am too) that if she can come in and stay with me, focus, and follow directions, I will quit sending her off!

Thus, we finished stalking (after a few initial tries, where I had to send her back out). Then she followed me to get her lead, and then after going back in the the center I asked her to "stand" and pulled gently down on the lead at the same time. I had to ask her to move twice when she lost attention and started to move herself off. Otherwise she cleaned up and picked up her feet very well :)

I was psyched, so we worked on the walk and trot by side--one both sides. She is a pro even at the trot in-hand when she's on my right, but the off side needs more work. Her backing at side when I back is getting real good, as are her turns on fores and hinds. I will try to get video soon! She was out for 40min.

Hoss & Scout: Trailering

Today signals another step forward for me and Hoss, my husband's horse!  He loaded and traveled beautifully with Scout, my little Mustang. For me this was a great repeat of several weeks back, when Ben loaded Franky, and I loaded Hoss and took the two of them to the Indiana Equestrian Center.

Here's the video from that earlier ride:
Hoss at the Indiana Equestrian Center, April 2012

This time, however, I was on my own loading both horses and trailering over. I called my husband after Hoss loaded, delighted to tell him I was on my way with both horses, who had each loaded without hesitation!  This was terrific, as a week ago I'd easily loaded Hoss to take him to Roxboro Park, but I was so nervous about taking him alone, and driving to somewhere I was not familiar, that when I unloaded him to ride on the group ride, he was in a full sweat, very anxious, and quite a pill to tack up!  The ride went well, but I ended up with a stomach ache, and it took a good 30-45min to load him for the drive home! I learned that he will load and travel well if he can have confidence in me.

So, we've been working on the loading and standing in the trailer in the meantime, so that he will stand quietly while I tie, hook the butt rope, and close the trailer door. I got some good help from Ben once last week on communicating to him that I expect him to load, or he won't be standing outside the trailer getting rubbed--he will be working!  He isn't afraid of the trailer now, although he will feed off of my lack of confidence if I have any. Therefore I will work on trailering within my comfort range for awhile, and build up more confidence so I'm ready for the longer trips!

Enough said. We had a wonderful time and so did the horses!

OOps!!