I Ride Again!

Actually, I've been riding for a little bit now, I've just been too lazy to blog about it. For the past couple of weeks Robin has been swamped with her web work and her last month at the art gallery. So a couple days each week I've gotten Steen out for some relaxing walk/trot rides. Just to keep us both in shape.

The first ride was in one of the big pastures. We cruised, we followed the fence, we did lots of figure eights, and even worked on riding from one point to another. All great stuff for both Steen and me. The other rides involved mostly the same kind of things, but we worked in the outdoor arena instead.

Some days have been better than others, but on the whole it has been positive. It has also forced me to work on a few things that I've never tried. Like posting. Thankfully the barn was empty while I flopped around during Steen's rougher trotting moments. But sometimes I got into a decent rhythm. It is something I will definitely keep working on.

These rides should continue over the next few weeks. And after that we have a big trip to Europe. Once we return I should be ready to get back to horse shopping again.

More Learning

Thursday was more or less and nice repeat of Wednesday. Except Robin came, so I wasn't pretending to be anything other than myself.

It was sunny and very, very windy. Sham was lethargic on the lead line and that gave me a little bit of trouble. We are changing some of our groundwork tactics with Sham because he doesn't quite respond to the cues in the same way that Steen does. So Robin explored some rope swirling as a way to engage Sham and get him to move, and I went to get Steen for a ride.

The rope swirling is something we picked up from a Horse Hero video of British horse behaviorist Richard Maxwell. Maxwell is my new favorite trainer. His methods are simple, productive, and watching him work with a horse is pretty amazing. He is cool as a cucumber and very relaxed, but he still commands a lot of respect. If you haven't already, I recommend checking out his videos. The Horse Hero subscription has been well worth it for us.

Steen, again, was a dream. It was crowded and busy inside but he just stood quietly while I got him ready. In the arena he would occasionally look over at Sham trotting and kicking around on the line, but he wasn't bothered by it and never veered from his line. We're getting to be better and better buds.

Friday stormed, so I stayed in all afternoon and read Buck Brannaman's The Far Away Horses.

It's true, Steen lets me hug him like Brannaman does, but I'm no horse whisperer yet

I am very interested in learning new training methods, but it can get tiresome reading "how-to" books over and over again. So I was excited to encounter some tales of real life horse training. Buck goes through the ups and downs of his life and the numerous horses he has worked with over the years. I'm a bit of a literary snob, so I can't say it was extraordinarily well written, but I can say it was entertaining and informative. I would love to read more books like it, and I'll definitely pick up his more recent Believe in the near future.

Saturday we woke to clear skies and pretty, white, puffy clouds. The water also brought out some more intense green in the grasses. I'm sure this made the horses happy. At the barn we worked exclusively with Sham, and today was the first day in a long time where I did 95% of the handling. He continues to be easy to catch. Both Thursday and today he wandered off on my first attempt to halter him, but he only went a few feet away, and I was able to get him willingly haltered in about 2 minutes. I'm very happy with where that is at.

In the outdoor arena I worked on the rope swirling to get Sham to move and then on standing comfortably out of my space. He got pretty good at that by the day's end.

After we all felt relaxed we brought him inside and put him into the tie-stall. He doesn't love it in there. We think because he knows it is a precursor to getting the bit in the mouth. And the bit hurt his mouth sores, which he doesn't know are gone. So he fidgeted off and on while I groomed him. If he moved his feet I put him right back into place, but the milder head tossing and lipping at things I just ignored (Maxwell's big on ignoring the annoying behavior that cries out for attention, and so far we've had pretty good luck with that. After a minute, it stops).

Putting the saddle on was a little trickier. He kept pushing forward to get out of the tie-stall (he was tied, don't think we left him loose), and eventually he pushed all the way out and started swiveling to and fro in a rather uncomfortable manner. This is when it is nice to have Robin. She deftly grabbed the rope, pulled it off the post, and walked him around, disengaged his hindquarters, and backed him right back into the tie-stall. He continued to be pushy, but we countered that and finished with the saddling.

Then we brought the rein-less bridle out with us to the arena. I calmed him down with some simple groundwork and easy standing. Then the two of us worked the bit into his mouth. We lured him with grain, and this worked quite well as what we were asking of him was so associated with his mouth. He never tried to walk away, but he did hold his head pretty high. It will continue to take a little while for him to realize that his head sores are completely gone and the bridle no longer bothers him.

Today was a big step in that direction. With the bit and bridle on I continued to do groundwork, and he didn't mind at all. And with all those positive moments we decided to untack him and put back out in the pasture.

Pretending to be Robin

Yesterday afternoon I ventured to the barn on my own. It was almost 80 degrees and while still somewhat windy, it was nothing like the gale force winds of Monday. On the drive out I sipped on a cup of tea and tried to decide what my goals should be. Sham is continuing to improve, and I am spending increasingly more time with him. But the last time I tried to catch him things didn't go so well.

So when I finally walked out toward the feed lot, I decided I would grab whoever was there and most willing to hang out with me. That was Steen. He was right by the gate. Sham was off snoozing by the feeder. I thought maybe he would walk over in a minute or so, but he did not get up.

No biggie. I haltered the ever willing Steen and took him right to the outdoor arena for groundwork. He was a tad lethargic, but I ultimately got some quicker backs, disengages, and fast directional changes on the lead line. Once he was more alert I brought him inside to tack him up. He was great for this, and Robin would be happy I remembered the apple cider vinegar for his frogs and a little dollop of sunscreen on his pink nose. He made some funny faces at that one, but he didn't really mind it.

While I was tacking up, one of the barn workers moved Stella back to her normal place in the stall herd. For a brief while, Stella was the third member of the feedlot.

she might also be Sham's girlfriend, we'll have to see how the separation goes

So as Steen and I walked into the outdoor arena, Sham was all alone, standing by the gate watching us. He continued to watch our entire ride. I though it was great for him to see Steen and I spend so much time hanging out in a very fun and positive way. We walked and trotted and did big circles, small circles, and figure-eights. We also spent quite a few minutes simply cruising at the trot. His trot was so smooth and slow, and Steen was generally so well behaved I almost felt bored at times. I thought about asking for a lope but decided not to. The ground is a little uneven and Steen can be prone to tripping. Also, he isn't in the best of shape just yet. Oh, and when things are going super smoothly for me at the barn, I try to keep them that way. So far this was proving to be the most enjoyable and relaxing solo barn trip I've ever had.

After a solid 40 minutes of riding I brought Steen in for the untacking and a little more grooming. And when I returned him to the feed lot Sham came right over to us from the bale. I let him sniff my hands, gave him a few pets on the jaw and neck, and then showed him the halter. He was fine with it. My first few attempts to slip it over his nose made him turn just the slightest, but I kept him calm, said soothing words, and just opened up the nose end of the halter really big and slid it on. I was thrilled. Another less than one minute catch.

So I pulled the second horse of the day out of the feed lot and led him to the arena. We did some basic leading exercises (which he was doing really well with), and then progressed to some more groundwork. At that point he was interested in the grass. So I kept his feet moving. Sometimes he was rather planted and not interested in moving, but eventually I'd get him going.

All in all we kept things really short. After a couple minutes of ground work I let him graze and just gave him a lot of pets. Then I made him do a few more minutes of work and put him back in the feed lot. Steen was waiting for our arrival. He crowded the fence a tad, but we were able to sneak in. Then the three of us hung out for a bit. It is so exciting to see Steen and Sham getting along so well. Again I fed them both a few morsels of grain and they were more than happy to eat together. I left the two of them hanging out at the gate together.

Feeling Better

Today Robin and I went to the barn with more or less the same plan as yesterday: she catches Sham and continues to work with him while I grab Steen and do an easy ride.

But things didn't quite go as planned. Some things were better, others not so much. We knew Cal was being picked up this morning by her new owner (a cute 13 year old girl who will no doubt dote on her for a long while; we think it a great match). But we didn't know her leaving would stir up Doc so much. And while Doc and Steen are no longer in the same pasture, the distance wasn't enough to stop Doc's stressful cries from making Steen anxious.

In some ways it was amusing. Steen is very good at the ground work games we put him through. So good that he can do them in his sleep, or as the case may be, in times of stressful anxiety. So while he ran around with a bunch of energy, head held high in the air, emitting the occasional call, he also went through some of the fastest disengages and backs I've ever seen. I didn't know what else to do with him after that. So I just let him graze furiously on the strip while I hung out with him. He wasn't too stressed to eat, but he wasn't relaxed about it either. He would bite, lift his head to call, chew, and then step to bite again. Also amusing.

The good surprise was that Robin caught Sham in 10 minutes. And she probably could have done it faster, but she didn't want to push things. When the two of them joined Steen and I on the strip we thought it best if I had some positive hangout time with Sham while he grazed and Robin got Steen to relax. He is very, very much her horse. So I stood with Sham and alternated petting him with the stick and watching Robin and Steen.

Then we traded again. Robin proceeded to continue Sham's lessons (he's getting better at them everyday), and I did some more groundwork with Steen. He had stopped being anxious (mostly due to Robin's calming effect, but it also might have helped to have another horse nearby), so it was a little more fun running through the exercises with him. Still, doing groundwork with Steen can get boring. Even when I get the signals wrong he knows what I'm asking for and just does it. So after a few minutes I let him graze in the new grass (like me, he can always use the extra calories) and continued to watch Sham and Robin.

Things went great. And after we were done we put both of them out in the feed lot. Together. For the next month we'll be keeping Sham in the feed lot. Its amenities include less space, fewer horses, and daily interaction with people that will feed him yummy things. We think this will help with getting him to want to come to us.

A Shock to the System

Thursday's spook near the gate turned out to be worse than we thought. What actually happened is the charge in the electric wire arced through the puddle, zapping Sham through all four feet. I was fine in my rubber boots. I was lucky in that all the work I did with Sham after that was positive and pain free.

Nevertheless, we discovered on Saturday morning that he would go nowhere near the gate because it had a large puddle on either side of it. So with my parents hoping to spend some time with him, it was rather disappointing to have to leave him in the pasture. I was able to get close to him and feed him grain, but there was no way he was letting me put his halter on. So we went and got Steen instead.

On Sunday we unplugged the electric fence and received some help from the barn owner. As a barn owner with decades of experience she was very helpful in catching Sham. She does have a different training philosophy than Robin and I, though, and we fear some of the post-catch antics caused a little backsliding in Sham.

Today was dreary and foggy, and Robin and I went out to the barn with the intention of making Sham want to hang out with us. I spent much of today reading about horses and watching some rather interesting training videos. In the back of my mind I hoped Sham would be happy to see me and come right over. But that was not to be.

Thankfully we had a strategy to work off of. I walked around Sham with a bucket of grain and made him very, very interested in me. I started by walking up to him, feeding him a little bit, and then walking away. We had some really good following this way. He let me get in lots of pets, too.

Then we stopped and got a very, very muddy Steen. He was also a well behaved Steen, which was nice. So the two of us double groomed for quite some time, but there was no getting all the mud off of him. We put him back out to wait for his dinner.

Then I went for round two with Sham. Initially he wasn't as interested in playing the follow game. But I started walking up to him and then past him. He didn't like this and started following almost immediately. I kept this up, and after a couple of feeds he had really hooked on to me. His body language was relaxed, he let me pet him all over, and he had almost no visible fear in him. I ended the day with one final treat and then walked away from him without looking back. He was still curious, certainly a good sign.

Sham is definitely going to challenge me, but in the end I think we will have a stronger relationship because of it. And in some ways it is a blessing to be forced to do this kind of work early on and not after some larger disaster.

Forward and Backward

On Saturday we woke up nice and early, and after our leisurely routine of coffee and breakfast, we headed off to the barn. It was super quiet when we arrived. Only Cathi, the owner, was there. We chatted for a few minutes and then Robin and I walked out to get our respective horses. The plan today was for me to give Sham a break from riding (it has become so abundantly clear that the bit/headstall is really irritating his long teeth, so no more riding until those are floated) and do some ground work while Robin got in a nice bareback ride.

When I entered the pasture Sham came right to me from the round bale. I gave him a little treat and went to put the rope around his neck so I could halter him. He slowly walked off, though. That was a first. I got some more grain out of my pocket and pursued him slowly. Again I could get quite close, but I had no luck with the rope or halter. And now he started running off with more purpose.

We got to see Sham, head of the herd, in full action. He is a rather smart fellow. Of course he is big and athletic and has no trouble staying away from me. But he figured that wasn't quite enough, so he started moving all the other members of the herd. It was particularly interesting to watch him use Leonard, another bay gelding, and Star, a red mare, as blockers. He continually placed them directly between himself and me. If I wasn't so mad at him at the time I would have been more impressed.

Robin was watching all this from the airlock with a very happy and passive Steen. She kept giving pointers, but there really was nothing I could do. I tapped out and let Robin have a try. She had a similar experience as mine. Though in time, her experience allowed her to get closer to him. But only closer, she didn't get him. Finally she came up with the bright idea to lure him into the airlock with some grain. This worked like a charm. And once he was away from the herd, he was back to his happy, relaxed, and semi-submissive self.

So, not a great start to the barn day. Once inside the arena I quickly made a mental check of all the ground work tools I had (yielding, moving hindquarters, stopping, backing, all the while being calm and assertive) and got to work on showing him that I was the head of the herd, and I wasn't going to make it painful either.

And he was pretty good. I could make him move and have him calmly stand. Occasionally he would stop paying attention, but a few quick disengages and the periodic pop on the butt brought him right back to me. During the course of our work he became more flexible and supple. He was responding particularly well to me turning into him. He still has a tendency to get his head out in front of me a bit, but he is yielding much more willingly, and I can turn more sharply and demand more. I took this as a good sign, and so we stopped for the day. We had a brief, non-threatening session of grooming, and I gave him some more food and put him back outside. No pain. At least I hope not.

At about that time Robin was finishing her very nice ride on Steen and said I could ride if I wanted. I threw a saddle on and climbed aboard. He was a dream. He is neck-reining so well right now, and I would use a little bit of leg if I wanted a tighter turn. We did a lot of walk-trot circles and figure eights. There was one semi-spook when some snow slid off the roof, but we both made it through. Those moments are good for both of us. Steen learns that nothing will happen to him, and I gain a little confidence in keeping my seat when a horse moves in a short, quick burst that I'm not really ready for.

So in the end Steen saved the barn trip for us. He was perfect, and we both had great rides. After we put him out to pasture we brought a few more treats out to Sham, who again came right up to us and showed no intention of running away (of course, he could clearly see I didn't have a rope). I'm really hopeful that after he gets his teeth done he'll resort back to being the willing fellow I've seen glimpses of.