Preparations for showing Mezza...and more

I woke up early today, and headed down to the Indiana Equestrian Center. It was the first Colorado Stockman's Horse Association Show of the season, (3rd Sunday each month, starting in May). I walked around as trailers pulled in and folks got busy preparing their horses.

The halter shows and the showmanship were what I really wanted to watch. Dawn and her daughter, Jennifer met me at the bleachers and we sat with a small group of people who helped fill us in on some of our questions.

The show was not crowded, and the weather was great--not too hot yet. We were surprised to see all the halter and showmanship horses had leads with chains!  Although they did not put them over the nose or through the mouth, they still ran the chains underneath and up against the chin of the horse. Almost every horse we saw was well mannered though, and I only saw 2 individuals really tug on those leads.

For Mezza to compete in halter, she will be in a class of mares 3 and under. Today there were no 3 and under, only 4 and up. The halter class is judged entirely on the horse--their conformation, how well muscled they are, and how well they present to the judge. We watched real close at how the handler moved around as the judge walked around the horse!  The horse also needs to square up, something to work on, as Mezza loves to cock a foot when she's relaxed.

Next we watched the showmanship classes. These are judged on both the handler and the horse. There is a short pattern the handler takes the horse through before stopping for the judge and letting them inspect the horse. The horse must walk, trot, back, stop and in this case pivot on the hinds for the judge.

Eves dropping and asking questions gave us some information--some of these kids were taking lessons on showing their horses in halter and for showmanship. No wonder the horses were quite calm and the youngsters did quite well.

For showing Mezza, we talked about trying the Novice category, as this was new to us all.

Then we headed out to go and collect horses. Mezza was going to be introduced to the equestrian center and actually riding in a trailer (instead of just loading) while Jennifer would enter Boo in some of the Western classes and Dawn would bring Luna, Mezza's dam along for an outing.

Things went well!!!

Mezza got a minor 'focus' workout in the round pen while Dawn and Jennifer got the trailer all hooked up. We got to practice loading and unloading Mezza and I got her brushed up while Boo got a bath. Luna got a grooming while the last tack was loaded in the trailer.

Mezza hopped in and took her place at the front (see feet beneath Boo's stomach in photo).

We wondered how Mezza would react to everything at the center--to our amazement she was quite calm, did not pull and walked around with or without the other two horses with no concern! We were happily surprised, to say the least!

Jennifer enjoyed riding Boo in a couple of classes, and took home a first and second place. She thought Boo would have appreciated running barrels over the show classes, but hey, it was a nice day for a ride anyway!

And Mezza, she enjoyed alternately standing and watching all the action, (along with getting quite a bit of attention for folks), taking walks around to see everything, and yes, of course the wonderful grass!

The entire experience can be chalked up as a "non-event" something that my Equine Studies teacher, Damian, says means that I've done my homework. I think we all got a good grade for the day!
Many thanks to Dawn Dooley for her collaboration with today's events!!

About Scout

 Scout
This is my little Mustang that I bought in April, 2005. By 2006 he looked really good, had filled out and was in good shape. I had to put shoes on his fronts, as his hooves didn't grow fast, and his soles were thin. In 2007 he started to go lame on the front after going barefoot in the winter. We shod him again, but he needed pads for awhile. Later, I believe the next year, he developed a "hitch" which I thought was in the rear. That did not get confirmed by x-ray until early 2010, and he was found to have some pretty good arthritis in his left hock.

Scout just after I got him in 2005

Scout, early 2010

Scout, December 2010 before fight

  

Currently, Scout has very little muscle on his left side, and lots on his right (I noticed that he really looked uneven when ground driving him last week, and Jill, a friend who works at a vets commented on it after I asked if she would look at him). She said he's obviously been carrying the weight on his right side for some time. I'm perplexed because since last August we've given him injections in his left hock about every 4 months (August 15, Dec. 16, and April 17). His left rear leg seems better (he will back without swishing his tail), but his lower back continues to get inflamed, and his turning ability with the back legs seems worse. 

This has been a problem ever since his fight with our other horse in January 2011, although the arthritis in his left hock has been an issue since early 2010. (He received one injection for the hock in March 2010 or April 2010, followed by an injection of Legend several months later.) I was told to ride him or work him lightly every other day, and Bute him with 1gram of Bute beforehand. This seemed to be fairly successful before the horses fought. If I had followed up earlier with another injection late that year it might have helped. However, everything went to  H.... in a handbasket after the two horses tangled, and from late Dec. 2010 until summer 2011 Scout had no injections, only chiropractor work, a lot of working from the ground, and little riding as he was quite sore. He was also overweight, and insulin resistant. 

In August the hock was re-evaluated and found to have gotten a lot worse. Scout was in his own run now, not sharing with the other horse, and we could control his feed intake. Treatment began again on the hock. Initially it looked like this was the key! But, his front shoes had been left off for X-rays, and when those weren't put right back on he became sore on his fronts. His soles are thin. So, we put bar shoes and Equipack on his fronts. This helped his fronts, but he continued to be bracy and sore.

Therefore, Scout and I are trying a test of sorts. Every other day I will walk or exercise him straight (from the ground, not ridden) as I've been doing for some time--ground driving, walking up the little hills at the east end, or long lining in really big circles or on the straight at walk and trot. In addition I will add 10 minutes of longeing him in a circle to the left mainly at the trot, and if possible over one or two poles.

The photos I've posted are from two different dates. The first ones show Scout in late summer 2009, before he'd started to put on weight.

The second set shows Scout as of yesterday, May 18, 2012. He's lost a lot of his additional weight, but is quite sore in the back just in front of the LS joint.

I want to see if this will help the left side. I'm hoping it will. Probably I will need to do this about three weeks at least to see a change?  If he gets sore instead I think I'll know sooner than 3 weeks that it's not working, but I don't really know what to expect. Right now any time I ride him I sore his back up, even if all we do is walk with a little trot, which may be because he still won't load the left side and walk evenly, or because it's just so much weaker he can't. We may need to rule out damage in his pelvis if this continues. 

I worked with him on this yesterday (Friday the 18th) and since I'm writing this Saturday, the 19th (behind as usual!)  I checked him today. His entire back, both sides, from the base of the withers to the LS joint is really sore. However, I also gave him a dose of Ivermectin yesterday evening, and the weather changed abruptly as well, and I think that might have had an effect.  So today I put Sore No More all over his back along both sides of the spine and gave him a paste electrolyte. He seems to be eating and drinking well.  I'm not ready to jump to conclusions yet.

If anyone reads this and has any ideas, please let me know. 

A good Friday!

Mezza and I worked in the round pen on stalking today, walking and trotting in-hand, before going to the barn to work in the stall.

Today's stalking went really smoothly--Mezza circled me 3 or 4 times at an easy lope before she started to look at me. I had her continue on a couple laps, she can get high headed when I don't let her come in when she asks, but this time she simply tried to circle closer and I pushed her out and kept her going a few more laps and then stepped forward and back--she sucked right in and we stood facing each other and I pointed and wiggled the tip of the whip and she headed out in the correct direction. Asking for her to come in and turn with her left eye on me was no sweat, asking for her to step in and then turn from the right eye still takes two tries most of the time. After about 3 turns she is trotting, watching me, and she was really relaxed, except with the turns from the right, where she initially stops, doesn't turn in toward me when I step out and back, but tries to run past without turning, so I make her continue and try again. It was taking two tries, but the last one was really good, so I let her just stop and stand, and the she walked right in very calm.

We practiced our turns on hinds, fores, backing and then her walking and "whoaing" and trotting at side. This is all coming along pretty nicely.

After that we headed into the barn where Mezza and I walked in and out (forward) of the stall with the higher step several times before going to the stall with almost no step to practice backing. We still went in and out forward a couple of times, then worked on coming part way in, standing with the fronts in, then backing out. Finally we worked on coming in completely, standing (almost invariably she'd come in and as soon as her hinds were in she'd swing them! She therefore got a lot of practice with partial turns on the fores so she'd like up straight. I found it easier to practice asking for one or two steps back and then stop her when they were good backing steps so I could rub her. Then I'd ask her to step forward (towards me at the back of the stall) and we'd practice again. When the steps back got less crooked, then I stopped asking her to move forward and simply gave her a rest and a rub after one or two steps. We completed 3 backs out of the stall. It probably took us at least 20 minutes. I am really proud of her! That was all for her for the day.

Hoss, Scout and Mezza time

The weather was nice today, even though it threatened to rain at times.

I loaded Scout, and then Hoss without a hitch, although Hoss looked like he wanted to back out shortly after loading, so I untied the rope and waited. He did not back out, so I rubbed him and retied the rope.

I met my husband at the Equestrian Center, where he rode Hoss and I walked Scout. We practiced walking Scout by Hoss' side, as if he were being ponied. No ears, and Scout didn't get scared!  Loading coming home, Hoss did back out part way, so I back him out all the way and we trotted circles each direction for a few minutes. He loaded right up and did not back again.

Once home, Hoss wanted to back as soon as I started untying. So I stopped untying and relaxed, guess what, he relaxed too!  We just stood there together! So I asked him to back out and stand right out of the trailer, then I asked him to come back in... he did, no hesitation, and promptly started eating from his hay net...was I happy or what!?

Later I worked with Mezza, and Ben gave me some help with stalking her and assessing her head carriage, before I let her come in. I get over eager to let her come in because she's asking, and then have to send her back out because she won't stick with me--LOL she needs to show more than an "ask" that head needs to be down, and the eyes soft as well as her ear on me. She usually won't lick and chew until she's stopped anyway!

I also worked on her walking and trotting at my side, from both sides, with stops, and backing at side. This is coming nice now, even from the off side.

And, this was our first day in the long lines!! She could have cared less at my flipping the rope over her butt!  Ben has shown me several different ways to desensitize with ropes and whips

Mezza and the stall

Working on entering and backing out of a stall as an aid in learning to step down from higher up and follow through with the hind feet.


Today was really busy out at the barn, with no turnout or round pens open. My initial idea of introducing the long lines got trashed quickly, as I wanted a round pen for that introduction. Since I didn't think Mezza had been out much that weekend, I decided that I would practice with her first with some in-hand work in her pen, and, if her focus was good, I'd then work on in-hand work and desensitization in the outdoor arena where there were already two other horses at work. She needs to get used to working around other horses if we are to show her in either showmanship or at halter, and she has been getting better about refocusing when she gets diverted.

The time went well. She never got jumpy, she simply paused from time to time to watch someone go by on horseback, or check out a horse in long lines. As for the desensitization, that work is progressing along with the dressage whip, which she is tolerating around her ears now, though she still doesn't like it.

Not so sure about this flippy wavy thing!

Hmmm, this really is not quite so bad!

What is even better is that we finished the day by working again with her in the stall, where she had to step up to get in and step down to get out. We worked on that a bit, and when she was stepping out and not hopping I took her to a stall with almost no step up and worked on the backing out.

Hopping out with the hinds initially

Mezza finally walking out nicely

Stepping out with the hinds!

Backing out was not as easy as I thought!  After I'd introduced her to this stall, and moved her around inside of it, I practiced walking her in and stopping her with just her front feet in, and then backing her out from that point. That went smoothly, so I brought her all the way in, with her back feet just in. It was not nearly as easy to back her straight!  I ended up staying at her front, and correcting (overcorrecting it seemed) each step backwards. She also scared herself once by stepping sideways right within the entrance of the doorway and hitting the door's edge. Backing straight really matters!

Possibly next time I work it, I will try for one step back, then bring her forward, then ask for two steps back, then bring her forward and really get more confidence into her backing. It will make all the difference in the world for a trailer!

Backing out of the stall is scary!

A little more...

Yeah!!!

"Mezza" work

May 10 started with a fair amount of practice on older "stuff" including our turns in-hand, rating at walk and trot in a short circle over ground poles, and longing on a longer line over ground poles.

Mezza in hand, practicing the walk and whoa from the off side.

Practicing one form of the back from the off side.

 

Longeing tacked up over ground poles.

The link to the longeing video: Longeing Mezza indoors over ground poles

Desensitizing to the dressage whip

We did a lot of work with desensitization with the dressage whip, which has a small piece of white plastic back left on the end of it. Mezza did NOT like it tickling her ears, and wasn't too keen on having rubbed along her neck, especially when she saw it out of her other side! We practiced this for a while, and she calmed down, but will need it repeated for some time yet. Unfortunately in the video, we are far enough away that it is really hard to see the dressage whip at all!
I need to make sure I'm much closer to the camera for that!

The thing I wished to have gotten photos of was when I took her back into the barn where the stalls are. We practiced entering and leaving one of the stalls which has a good 6-inch step up into the stall. I'm trying to mimic stepping up into a trailer, since she had so much trouble stepping out of it last time we practiced. My friend, Jerry, suggested checking the stalls to see if one had a step up, and yea, I found it.

She stepped right in, and then I let her briefly explore the stall before moving her around in it, asking for her to turn her front away in a circle, then her hind, etc.  Then I asked her to step out and she started to then hesitated. I stood outside the stall as she explored the edge with her muzzle and gingerly with her front feet. She finally hunkered down close to the floor, and extended one front foot--slid it out over the edge and let it extend to the floor. I thought she would end up on her belly! She didn't. As soon as the foot found the barn floor she brought the second foot, and did a small hop out with her rears. I was proud of her, and she was obviously feeling good about it. I rubbed her, and then took her back in. She came out much better the second time, but still with a bit of a hop. The third time she wasn't sure she wanted to go IN to the stall. So, we did a bit of pressure and release. Coming out, no problem. Ditto for 4th time. We went in and out of the stall about 5 or 6 times, with her finally just stepping in and out with me.

The I gave her a break and took her up to the front of the barn for about 10 minutes before we came back for a "review" which she passed with flying colors! I'll need to repeat this for awhile. Then I plan to work on backing her out of several of the stalls, beginning with one that has almost no step up.

In the end I learned not to leave my camera and tripod set up in the indoor arena without supervision--even if it is on the opposite side of a fence!  One of the youngsters turned out in the arena was curious enough to put her head through the fence and tried chewing on my camera! LOL, it survived, but has teeth marks!  A good lesson to me.

Setting goals

I've made several goals for working with horses (and myself) this summer.

Goal 1: Working with Mezza, the 2-year old filly, and getting her showing at halter at local shows
Goal 2: Getting comfortable riding, working with, and trailering my husband's horse, Hoss
Goal 3: Learning how to pony Scout (my Mustang) off Hoss

Goal 1: 
I've begun chronicling my sessions with Mezza, and that is going well. There is still tons to do and learn. Always an adventure. You can check out my notes on progress with her on posts on this blog.

Goal 2: 
Working with Hoss, is under way, thanks to many people!
A little background on Hoss and Scout: Since January 2011, Hoss and Scout have been separated after two intense fights one month apart, in which they stopped fighting only after Scout became so sore he could no longer kick. Scout, who once was the dominant horse, is now the submissive horse, and Hoss, once the underdog, and easy-going guy, has now become much more assertive, sometimes aggressive around other horses.

Therefore my husband and I are now learning how to become better herd leaders. We understand that we need to insist that in our presence, these two horses will not fight, and that each will have good manners with us as individuals as well. For me this has been an ongoing learning experience. Over the past two years I've taken riding and ground lessons with Hoss from Damian Ficca. From last summer on, I continued working with Hoss mainly on my own, with occasional help from two other trainers--Lisa McNamara, who has helped me with lessons on Scout, and Jill Wolf, who has provided assistance with preparation for trailering.

Then in late winter of this year, when Hoss injured his left front foot, I spent quality time in the barn with the horse that hates being indoors--cleaning, changing and wrapping his foot for over a month. I guess this was my preparation for furthering our trailering work. At Horse Expo this past March, I was able to watch Mark Bolander at one of his clinics. He spoke about the horse having to have confidence in us. Later I talked to him about that subject in regards to trailer loading, and realized it was myself who lacked confidence that Hoss would stand quietly once loaded and not back out. I lacked confidence because I didn't have the tools and understanding of how to proceed if he did back out....I'd gotten him in by just asking nicely and he went in. But when he backed out, he'd then decide he didn't want to go in...now what, the pressure and release I was using apparently wasn't enough(?)

Enter Ben...I've been watching Ben work with a young horse named Franky, and seeing how Franky responded to what Ben asked. Ben is patient, consistent and clear. He has commented and helped me on some sticking points I've had with Mezza. So, I asked him to explain to me what he would do on the trailer loading with Hoss. He had seen Hoss step into the trailer and stand quietly with me, and I told him that it was me tying, getting out and closing him in that worked him up and started him backing. Ben offered to help me, and that has given me the tools I needed for this.

What I've put to heart...
Long story (not too short), when the horse becomes confident in us, and when we've done enough ground work, are consistent, clear, and patient then we (or I in this case) can ask him to perform a realistic task. Hoss was no longer afraid of the trailer as much as he lacked confidence in me. And with guidance, I learned to show him what I expected, and how to watch his reaction and adjust mine. I am now able to load him, have him stand while I tie, put in a hay net, get myself out, put up the butt bar and close the door. Best yet, I know that if he has trouble and backs, I can ask again, and he can rest in the trailer if he needs to work outside it a bit. I used to think that working a horse when they weren't paying attention, or responding well meant I'd done something else wrong. I now realize it is all part of the process, whether it's stalking, or having to put on/release pressure in one way or another, this is how they learn--it doesn't mean run them into the ground!  However, a second thing happens when they work, if they are really uptight (and this applies to us too) the physical work takes care of all the adrenaline and chemicals our bodies release into our system--and suddenly when those are worked away, we (and the horse) start to calm down and think! As long as I am confident, Hoss now loads well--just walks right in and waits.

Scout has been sore about every time after I've ridden him since last year. So I keep going back to
groundwork until he seems better, and than I try again. At this point we will stick to ground work
until he can move well for longer periods on a circle and his muscles have come back on his left side.

Goal 3: 

Ponying Scout

My third goal for this summer has been to get comfortable ponying Scout, my little (and sore) Mustang using Hoss, my husband's big Appaloosa.

This past Thursday was the first day I actually practiced this in the outdoor arena with help from Jill Wolf, who is a trainer, and my husband.

In the past we had tried bringing Scout along after Hoss, but Scout would often bulk, and we had no real need for this, so we were not persistent. Now however, Scout has been sore in the back often enough, that there has been a real need to move him in a straight line, either by ground driving, walking him in hand, or, my other option, ponying him. 

In preparation my husband and I have been taking the two horses out together and walking them together for some time. We've learned that we need to call them on any "ears back" or aggressive behavior. They have been well behaved around each other the past few months. So it was time to find out what our next step should be.

Mike and I tacked Hoss up after a little ground work in the arena. Jill Wolf wanted to watch me warm up and then move Hoss. I need to be able to neck rein, and move him around with my legs. After practicing this, I got off and haltered and brought in Scout. We walked him separately by Hoss' side for a few minutes as I rode and watched their reactions. Jill showed me where Scout's head needed to stay, close to my right leg, and that since Scout was slower than Hoss, I'd need to rate Hoss' speed, and keep Scout to the inside of the arena (shorter distance) or do right-hand turns instead of left to make it easier. 

Then Mike climbed on Hoss and took Scout's lead, and I walked along the outside of Scout, and encouraged him along. They did well--we had to call "ears" on Hoss a couple of times, but after that it went well. We will continue to practice for awhile with a second person.

We are on our way...