Missy - no change, Thursday the milk was watery so I am now leaning to false pregnancy. I resumed her training just sticking to light in hand/suppling work. Will continue to monitor. I changed her to a snaffle tonight to see if I can get her lighter and more responsive. She likes to just lay on the sidepull. She took the snaffle well and I worked on suppling her to the bit. We continued to work on lateral body control with hip and shoulder over exercises. She is becoming quite light to those cues but continues to fight and brace against rein control. Will continue to work on this issue.
Kixsie - A miracle - she is trotting 90% sound. I guess it was just a bruise and the soaking worked. Whew! I will still watch the hoof closely and work on soft ground only. I saddled her tonight and she showed some apprehension, but did not spook or act up. The apprehension increased drastically when I tightened the girth. I calmed her down and snugged the girth up slowly, attached the breast collar, walked her, snugged some more, walked. She soon began to relax and chew, but every time I stopped to check the girth, she would tense up. After saddling, she seemed relieved when we walked out to the arena. I began by asking her to lunge in a large circle. Just like last time, she snaked her head and braced against the line. Unlike last time, she did not rush and remained focused. She responded better to cues for direction/gait changes. She did not loose all of her "snottiness" but did work much better than last time and since I was worried about her hoof, I quit lunging after on 5-10 minutes at walk/trot. I then worked with her on some in hand/suppling work which she did fantastic. Very light and supple to rein cues and much better on the hips over. I noticed, however, that whenever I placed my body in a position near the saddle, the mares body would show alot of tension. I worked to lessen this by reassuring her and just moving around the saddle. I wanted to keep this lesson short, so we called it quits on tonight. Tomorrow I plan on mounting and going out on a light trail ride.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday
Missy - Softer over the tailhead, but no other changes.
Kixsie - Hooftester came back positive, abcess or navicular? Began soaking hoof to see if I can draw the abcess down if there is one. If it is navicular, the owner is in Australia and left no contact numbers. My farrier is not up to date on navicular barefoot trims, am looking for someone in the local area to come evaluate her. Without owner permission, I can't take her for a veternariay (sp?) work-up with x-rays. Also hesitant about administering any NSAIDS.
Riding Lesson - It has been two weeks since Jaylee's lesson so we began with a refresher in position and balance lunging bareback. She did fantastic, so we saddled Sadie and worked on precision and cuing by having her ride Sadie in a large circle with the object to make it round and equal distance from a centerpoint (me) the whole way around. Jaylee started at a walk and then progressed to a trot. She did great, but had more trouble with the circles to the right than the left. Sadie did not want to keep bending to the right. Jaylee stuck with it and persevered! Jaylee stayed relaxed and balanced throughout most of the exercice. She would get a little off balance at times and draw her knees up, but with a gentle reminder, she dropped her heel back down and lengthen through the hip. In previous lessons, she was having trouble maintaining control and letting Sadie go wherever. Today, Jaylee maintained control and Sadie behaved beautifully. Once Jaylee had achieved her goal on the circles, I had her begin to ride Sadie on the rail. I expalined that this is where she needed to maintain control the most, because Sadie tends to rush when left to go as she pleases. Jaylee began at the walk, and transitioned to the trot smoothly. Her goal in this exercise is to maintain Sadie in a steady rythem and cadence while maintaining her balance in the saddle. She would let Sadie rush at times and break gait at times, but she maintained her balance and position well. She was able to adjust her seat to what Sadie was doing and cue Sadie appropriately. For Jaylee's free ride portion of the lesson, she chose to ride Sadie over the bridge several times and work the trot poles. She had fun and did a great job of riding the poles. A new thing that I am trying with my younger lesson kids is a Lesson Folder. We wrote down Jaylee's riding goals and lesson goals. She delighted in marking off several of the lesson goals already. I also included a color sheet and a horse emotion worksheet. I challenged her to decorate the folder and draw me a picture for next week. I will also be implementing a testing system so that my lesson kids can rate their progress. I think that this will really encourage my really young riders.
Wednesday is my no lesson day, so I can concentrate on the training horses. I also plan on working with Rendi and Val. They need to work on creating a better partnership.
Kixsie - Hooftester came back positive, abcess or navicular? Began soaking hoof to see if I can draw the abcess down if there is one. If it is navicular, the owner is in Australia and left no contact numbers. My farrier is not up to date on navicular barefoot trims, am looking for someone in the local area to come evaluate her. Without owner permission, I can't take her for a veternariay (sp?) work-up with x-rays. Also hesitant about administering any NSAIDS.
Riding Lesson - It has been two weeks since Jaylee's lesson so we began with a refresher in position and balance lunging bareback. She did fantastic, so we saddled Sadie and worked on precision and cuing by having her ride Sadie in a large circle with the object to make it round and equal distance from a centerpoint (me) the whole way around. Jaylee started at a walk and then progressed to a trot. She did great, but had more trouble with the circles to the right than the left. Sadie did not want to keep bending to the right. Jaylee stuck with it and persevered! Jaylee stayed relaxed and balanced throughout most of the exercice. She would get a little off balance at times and draw her knees up, but with a gentle reminder, she dropped her heel back down and lengthen through the hip. In previous lessons, she was having trouble maintaining control and letting Sadie go wherever. Today, Jaylee maintained control and Sadie behaved beautifully. Once Jaylee had achieved her goal on the circles, I had her begin to ride Sadie on the rail. I expalined that this is where she needed to maintain control the most, because Sadie tends to rush when left to go as she pleases. Jaylee began at the walk, and transitioned to the trot smoothly. Her goal in this exercise is to maintain Sadie in a steady rythem and cadence while maintaining her balance in the saddle. She would let Sadie rush at times and break gait at times, but she maintained her balance and position well. She was able to adjust her seat to what Sadie was doing and cue Sadie appropriately. For Jaylee's free ride portion of the lesson, she chose to ride Sadie over the bridge several times and work the trot poles. She had fun and did a great job of riding the poles. A new thing that I am trying with my younger lesson kids is a Lesson Folder. We wrote down Jaylee's riding goals and lesson goals. She delighted in marking off several of the lesson goals already. I also included a color sheet and a horse emotion worksheet. I challenged her to decorate the folder and draw me a picture for next week. I will also be implementing a testing system so that my lesson kids can rate their progress. I think that this will really encourage my really young riders.
Wednesday is my no lesson day, so I can concentrate on the training horses. I also plan on working with Rendi and Val. They need to work on creating a better partnership.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A true Monday - Monday
UGHHHH!
This training thing is never boring! I went out to bring Missy up from the pasture. Her and Colty were already at the gate waiting. As I approached the gate Missy was showing signs of heat. Mental note to myself - this explains her attitude yesterday. I catch her and take her to the tie out and begin grooming. She is very touchy about having her tail handled (unusual) but I again chalk it up to being in heat. She lets me brush out her tail and I proceed to curry her belly. I reach under her belly with a cloth to clean her udder area and notice that it is very swollen. ( sidenote: when this mare came for training, she had a large belly. I asked the owner if the mare was pregnant. He said, "No way". I assumed the big belly was from worms. I wormed her with a Panacur Powerpac and went on. Her udder has always been larger than a normal maiden mare. When I asked her owner if she had ever foaled, he again said, "No way." I suggested that her get her palpated before proceeding with training. He declined and I explained what could happen if I continued training a pregnant mare. He said he understood and that I should preceed with training). I ran my hand over the udder and gently squeezed a teat - MILK! I then palpated her tailhead - no real softening. I checked her vulva - it did look a little relaxed. The belly shows no signs of peaking but does appear to be lower (dropped). I called the owner and related the events - he thinks it is just a false pregnancy. What! I have been around a couple of mares with false pregnancies and none of them ever produced real honest to goodness milk, maybe some milky liquid but never milk. He said proceed with training. I made the decision to turn the mare out into a private paddock and watch her for a couple of days. This morning she was unchanged, but I would not be suprised to find a foal tomorrow morning. Now on to Kixsie - she was still showing signs of lameness in the right front. Still no swelling, heat or tenderness anywhere on the hoof or leg. My farrier is coming out this evening to do a hoof tester test. Keeping my fingers crossed!
This training thing is never boring! I went out to bring Missy up from the pasture. Her and Colty were already at the gate waiting. As I approached the gate Missy was showing signs of heat. Mental note to myself - this explains her attitude yesterday. I catch her and take her to the tie out and begin grooming. She is very touchy about having her tail handled (unusual) but I again chalk it up to being in heat. She lets me brush out her tail and I proceed to curry her belly. I reach under her belly with a cloth to clean her udder area and notice that it is very swollen. ( sidenote: when this mare came for training, she had a large belly. I asked the owner if the mare was pregnant. He said, "No way". I assumed the big belly was from worms. I wormed her with a Panacur Powerpac and went on. Her udder has always been larger than a normal maiden mare. When I asked her owner if she had ever foaled, he again said, "No way." I suggested that her get her palpated before proceeding with training. He declined and I explained what could happen if I continued training a pregnant mare. He said he understood and that I should preceed with training). I ran my hand over the udder and gently squeezed a teat - MILK! I then palpated her tailhead - no real softening. I checked her vulva - it did look a little relaxed. The belly shows no signs of peaking but does appear to be lower (dropped). I called the owner and related the events - he thinks it is just a false pregnancy. What! I have been around a couple of mares with false pregnancies and none of them ever produced real honest to goodness milk, maybe some milky liquid but never milk. He said proceed with training. I made the decision to turn the mare out into a private paddock and watch her for a couple of days. This morning she was unchanged, but I would not be suprised to find a foal tomorrow morning. Now on to Kixsie - she was still showing signs of lameness in the right front. Still no swelling, heat or tenderness anywhere on the hoof or leg. My farrier is coming out this evening to do a hoof tester test. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Weekend
Friday -
Missy - Primary Goal: Increase suppleness and decrease mounting issues
Secondary Goal: Increase willingness and effort
Missy really did very well tonight. I again began her training lesson with her on the lunge line. Worked on precision and effort. She really began to tune in and cue off of less and less. Changed her to the side-pull and worked on suppleness and hip/shoulders over. She is very sensitive to the hips over, but tries to kick out occasionally especially to the right. This is unusual for her (heat, tenderness? will keep an eye out). She is more responsive to the rein tonight, but loses focus easily. Hopefully, when the under-saddle work begins, moving her feet will help to keep her focus. Her owner requested that I work her with the sidepull, but I am going to transition to a snaffle and see if this will work better to lighten her up and then move back to the sidepull. Monday, my husband takes over her for the mounted work. (This is actually his training project, but a pulled groin has taken him out for a bit) I also continued to work on her softening to the bridle by lunging her with the sidepull on. She was confused at first by the different feel, but soon was working well and softening her neck to the pressure. I worked on the mounting issues by going step by step through the mounting routine. I was extremely pleased when I was able to half-mount on both sides and she remained sompletely relaxed (hip cocked). This is quite a huge step in her training. We ended the lesson with more suppling and a good belly rub. The mare is adjusting to a regular training schedule, but is showing signs of boredom and resentment. I will strongly suggest to my husband to really vary her schedule from now on out in hopes of keeping her invested in her training.
Kixsie - Primary Goal: Relaxation and trust
Secondary Goal: Ascertain her training level
Kixsie is beginning to really relax with contact and has become very easy to catch in her paddock. Tomorrow, I will turn her out into a larger paddock and see if the change is permanent. I gave her a through grooming session and other than her fear of the head brush, she behaved well and maintained a calm, relaxed demeanor. I then took her out for a brief lunging lesson to get an idea of her training level and attitude. As I suspected, she knew how to lunge ( circles with minimal pressure on the line, w/t/c, etc.), but she rushes around tense and defiant. She maintains her nose to the outside of the circle and pops her head at any cue. I allowed her to rush around on the end of the lead with little interference. Once she realised that I wasn't there to fight, she calmed down, slowed down and began to pay attention. She was still a little resentful to the cues, but obeyed the cues. I then brought her in and tested her suppleness. Once again I was met with tension and resistance. I responded by rewarding the slightest effort on her part and soon, her tension subsided and she became very light and responsive. I then turned my attention to her responsiveness to moving her hips/shoulders. She remained responsive, but lacked the knowledge to respond correctly. So I now know some of her training limits and have a glimspe into her previous training tactics. I am pleasantly suprised at how quickly she decided to cooperate and hope that it will remain when the real hard work begins. The only real problem we encountered was when the cat decided to run out from the bushes and scare the beejeezers out of Kixsie. Kixsie proceeded to spook toward me, but this time I was able to quickly regain her attention and calm her down. Baby steps! Tomorrow the undersaddle test will begin to further target her training level and glitches.
Saturday -
Well, yesterday I decided to help my son with his show heifer, Chloe. She has begun to pull away from him and I thought that I could help (big strong me!). Well, I ended up working (struggling) with her for an hour. At the end of the hour she led better, but I was sore. This morning I woke up and couldn't move. My back HURT! I was on the couch for most of the day until it was time to leave for Jacob's first ever little league football game. It was a blast!! I am so proud of him. He took a very hard hit his first carry, but came back to rush for 20+ yards with 3 more carries.
Sunday -
More of the same with both horses. Kixsie was very sore today and seems to be stemming from the left front hoof. No heat or obvious injury. She was in her paddock all day Saturday and except for a short work on Friday, no exercise. She seemed a little stiff on Friday, but I attributed that to her tension and apprehension. I hand walked her and it seem to lessen the lameness. It looks suspiciously like a navicular lameness. I will watch carefully and since the owner is in Australia, I will treat accordingly and get a hoof tester to check it out. Missy was very distracted today. She wasn't very interested in working either. I took this opportunity to instill the work ethic with her. You give me something even though you don't feel like it and I will take it easy. I introduced a few "games" to mix it up. I was still nursing a tender back, so I did not feel it wise to embark on our first mounted lesson. My husband was in the hay field, so he wasn't able to ride either.
P.S. - The heifer from the previous post was with her mom in the correct pasture by the next morning.
Missy - Primary Goal: Increase suppleness and decrease mounting issues
Secondary Goal: Increase willingness and effort
Missy really did very well tonight. I again began her training lesson with her on the lunge line. Worked on precision and effort. She really began to tune in and cue off of less and less. Changed her to the side-pull and worked on suppleness and hip/shoulders over. She is very sensitive to the hips over, but tries to kick out occasionally especially to the right. This is unusual for her (heat, tenderness? will keep an eye out). She is more responsive to the rein tonight, but loses focus easily. Hopefully, when the under-saddle work begins, moving her feet will help to keep her focus. Her owner requested that I work her with the sidepull, but I am going to transition to a snaffle and see if this will work better to lighten her up and then move back to the sidepull. Monday, my husband takes over her for the mounted work. (This is actually his training project, but a pulled groin has taken him out for a bit) I also continued to work on her softening to the bridle by lunging her with the sidepull on. She was confused at first by the different feel, but soon was working well and softening her neck to the pressure. I worked on the mounting issues by going step by step through the mounting routine. I was extremely pleased when I was able to half-mount on both sides and she remained sompletely relaxed (hip cocked). This is quite a huge step in her training. We ended the lesson with more suppling and a good belly rub. The mare is adjusting to a regular training schedule, but is showing signs of boredom and resentment. I will strongly suggest to my husband to really vary her schedule from now on out in hopes of keeping her invested in her training.
Kixsie - Primary Goal: Relaxation and trust
Secondary Goal: Ascertain her training level
Kixsie is beginning to really relax with contact and has become very easy to catch in her paddock. Tomorrow, I will turn her out into a larger paddock and see if the change is permanent. I gave her a through grooming session and other than her fear of the head brush, she behaved well and maintained a calm, relaxed demeanor. I then took her out for a brief lunging lesson to get an idea of her training level and attitude. As I suspected, she knew how to lunge ( circles with minimal pressure on the line, w/t/c, etc.), but she rushes around tense and defiant. She maintains her nose to the outside of the circle and pops her head at any cue. I allowed her to rush around on the end of the lead with little interference. Once she realised that I wasn't there to fight, she calmed down, slowed down and began to pay attention. She was still a little resentful to the cues, but obeyed the cues. I then brought her in and tested her suppleness. Once again I was met with tension and resistance. I responded by rewarding the slightest effort on her part and soon, her tension subsided and she became very light and responsive. I then turned my attention to her responsiveness to moving her hips/shoulders. She remained responsive, but lacked the knowledge to respond correctly. So I now know some of her training limits and have a glimspe into her previous training tactics. I am pleasantly suprised at how quickly she decided to cooperate and hope that it will remain when the real hard work begins. The only real problem we encountered was when the cat decided to run out from the bushes and scare the beejeezers out of Kixsie. Kixsie proceeded to spook toward me, but this time I was able to quickly regain her attention and calm her down. Baby steps! Tomorrow the undersaddle test will begin to further target her training level and glitches.
Saturday -
Well, yesterday I decided to help my son with his show heifer, Chloe. She has begun to pull away from him and I thought that I could help (big strong me!). Well, I ended up working (struggling) with her for an hour. At the end of the hour she led better, but I was sore. This morning I woke up and couldn't move. My back HURT! I was on the couch for most of the day until it was time to leave for Jacob's first ever little league football game. It was a blast!! I am so proud of him. He took a very hard hit his first carry, but came back to rush for 20+ yards with 3 more carries.
Sunday -
More of the same with both horses. Kixsie was very sore today and seems to be stemming from the left front hoof. No heat or obvious injury. She was in her paddock all day Saturday and except for a short work on Friday, no exercise. She seemed a little stiff on Friday, but I attributed that to her tension and apprehension. I hand walked her and it seem to lessen the lameness. It looks suspiciously like a navicular lameness. I will watch carefully and since the owner is in Australia, I will treat accordingly and get a hoof tester to check it out. Missy was very distracted today. She wasn't very interested in working either. I took this opportunity to instill the work ethic with her. You give me something even though you don't feel like it and I will take it easy. I introduced a few "games" to mix it up. I was still nursing a tender back, so I did not feel it wise to embark on our first mounted lesson. My husband was in the hay field, so he wasn't able to ride either.
P.S. - The heifer from the previous post was with her mom in the correct pasture by the next morning.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday
Well, yesterday did not go a bit like I had planned. I received a call at 3:00 pm at work and was told that all of our cows were out on the road. I blazed out of work to put the cows up before the school bus ran it's route. I hurried home and when I got there, no cows were out just Jacob's practice steer, Heartbreak Kid. I ran and got a bucket of feed and led the steer back through the gate into the pasture. I started to walk the fence to see where he had gotten out when my neighbor showed up. Dana said that there had been a cow and several calves out on the road and Jacob's steer. I asked if the cow was a black and white paint horned cow. He said "Yes, how did you know?". Well that is Tiny I and that is what she does. We sold her mom for the same thing, she would not stay in the pasture no matter what fence (electric, barb wire, wood). She was a hazard on the road so we had to sell her. Tiny I isn't usually bad, but this is the 2nd time in two days and this time she brought all the calves with her. As usual though, she puts herself back up and then you have to hunt to find out where she jumped, crawled or broke the fence. This time the hoof prints reveled her spot. She had broken the fence behind a thicket and crawled through the torns. That repaired, I set off to make sure all of the calves had made it safely back to the pasture. To my dismay, all but one was accounted for, Jelly's heifer (her picture is posted). I searched the pasture and the road for the missing heifer. Soon I heard her bawl and located her. She is in the BULL PASTURE! How??? Why??? Who knows! The bulls will take care of her and protect her until, we can either cajole her into the lot or she finds her way back to mom. UGH!! By the time all of the fence is fixed and all of the cattle located, my husband arrives with a load of feed. We unload the feed into the bin and now it is time to take Jacob to football practice and Rendi and I have a 4H meeting where we finalize plans for the upcoming county fair horse show and petting zoo. Back home at 10:00 to whip something up for dinner, eat, and then collapse into bed. The dishes can wait until morning!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday Training
No riding lessons.
Missy - Today's primary goal: tuning in and softening up
Secondary goal: standing to mount
After a through grooming, I tacked Missy up and she stood like a champ. No anxiety even when Jacob came flying by in the adjoining paddock with his show heifer. Began the lesson with lunging. She was more willing to move out, but the random "Oh, God - what is going on!" moments led me to believe that she still hasn't melded the entire concept in her mind. After about 15 minutes, she was changing direction easily and whould whoa much quicker upon cue. Her attention span was better and she stayed much more relaxed. She no longer thinks that the lunge line is a snake waiting to bite and trusts that I will not hit her. She relapses occasionally when her attention has wandered and I ask for a direction change, but as her understanding develops, she is learning to think first than react. We then moved on to suppling her jaw, poll and neck by asking her to give to the side. She did much better especially to the right. The left is still a little sticky. We need to continue with this to enforce the idea that she must give no matter the outside stimulus. Next we worked on her standing to be mounted. This is a very touchy area and one to be methodically worked through on both sides. This was the push button for her bucking. I believe that the bucking was initally due to wither pain at mounting ( thin horse, prominent withers) so I am encouraging Missy to remain calm and so far she doesn't show any anxiety. I begin by jumping by the saddle to accustom her to the movement, then I move the stirrups around to accustom her to the saddle movement and sound. Next I place weight in the stirrups by pushing down on the stirrups with my arms and then I place my foot in the stirrup and get into mounting position. At this point she begins to show anxiety and I continue this step a couple of times until she relaxes and then call it quits on this lesson for the day. She has already progressed so much in this area and patience is winning out. To end the day on a positive note, I again work through the suppling exercises and put her up for the day. She did fantastic and remained a willing pupil throughout today's lesson - she received a good rub-down with extra belly rubs. As far as her goals for the day, I think we progressed on all levels but still need refinement on all before she will be ready to move on to the next steps.
Kixsie - Today's primary goal: developing trust
Secondary goal: learning to relax and not be so reactive
To begin the lesson, I worked on catching Kixsie in her paddock. She moved away, but with advance and retreat, she came and stood to be haltered. This mare shows so much anxiety at being handled in any way. Since she came, she is finally beginning to relax in her paddock and shows signs of wanting to socialize. She nickers when she sees me and comes to the fence when I am around. However, she will not allow me to pet/scratch her throught the panels. She will now stay by the fence and sniff my hand. She is easier to catch in her paddock and acts like she wants to be handled, she just can't let her guard down. There is a willing and intelligent horse in there, we just have to work past her trust issues. I addressed this issue last night by simply treating her to a relaxing grooming session and walk around the yard. She is on guard the whole time you are around her - she holds her breath, holds head high and shows tenseness throughout. The human touch is not something that she finds comfort in. The human voice doesn't reassure her at all. After 45 minutes of walking and scratching, she finally began to lip and chew but never exhaled (sighed). She was calmer and upon returning to her paddock, lingered for a belly scratch. I will need to take it slow with her at first, but once she learns to relax and trust, I feel that she will progress at a rapid pace. Not much progress on her goals today, but I have to remember to not rush or push.
It is raining now and training tonight looks doubtful, but fingers crossed that the storms will clear off.
Missy - Today's primary goal: tuning in and softening up
Secondary goal: standing to mount
After a through grooming, I tacked Missy up and she stood like a champ. No anxiety even when Jacob came flying by in the adjoining paddock with his show heifer. Began the lesson with lunging. She was more willing to move out, but the random "Oh, God - what is going on!" moments led me to believe that she still hasn't melded the entire concept in her mind. After about 15 minutes, she was changing direction easily and whould whoa much quicker upon cue. Her attention span was better and she stayed much more relaxed. She no longer thinks that the lunge line is a snake waiting to bite and trusts that I will not hit her. She relapses occasionally when her attention has wandered and I ask for a direction change, but as her understanding develops, she is learning to think first than react. We then moved on to suppling her jaw, poll and neck by asking her to give to the side. She did much better especially to the right. The left is still a little sticky. We need to continue with this to enforce the idea that she must give no matter the outside stimulus. Next we worked on her standing to be mounted. This is a very touchy area and one to be methodically worked through on both sides. This was the push button for her bucking. I believe that the bucking was initally due to wither pain at mounting ( thin horse, prominent withers) so I am encouraging Missy to remain calm and so far she doesn't show any anxiety. I begin by jumping by the saddle to accustom her to the movement, then I move the stirrups around to accustom her to the saddle movement and sound. Next I place weight in the stirrups by pushing down on the stirrups with my arms and then I place my foot in the stirrup and get into mounting position. At this point she begins to show anxiety and I continue this step a couple of times until she relaxes and then call it quits on this lesson for the day. She has already progressed so much in this area and patience is winning out. To end the day on a positive note, I again work through the suppling exercises and put her up for the day. She did fantastic and remained a willing pupil throughout today's lesson - she received a good rub-down with extra belly rubs. As far as her goals for the day, I think we progressed on all levels but still need refinement on all before she will be ready to move on to the next steps.
Kixsie - Today's primary goal: developing trust
Secondary goal: learning to relax and not be so reactive
To begin the lesson, I worked on catching Kixsie in her paddock. She moved away, but with advance and retreat, she came and stood to be haltered. This mare shows so much anxiety at being handled in any way. Since she came, she is finally beginning to relax in her paddock and shows signs of wanting to socialize. She nickers when she sees me and comes to the fence when I am around. However, she will not allow me to pet/scratch her throught the panels. She will now stay by the fence and sniff my hand. She is easier to catch in her paddock and acts like she wants to be handled, she just can't let her guard down. There is a willing and intelligent horse in there, we just have to work past her trust issues. I addressed this issue last night by simply treating her to a relaxing grooming session and walk around the yard. She is on guard the whole time you are around her - she holds her breath, holds head high and shows tenseness throughout. The human touch is not something that she finds comfort in. The human voice doesn't reassure her at all. After 45 minutes of walking and scratching, she finally began to lip and chew but never exhaled (sighed). She was calmer and upon returning to her paddock, lingered for a belly scratch. I will need to take it slow with her at first, but once she learns to relax and trust, I feel that she will progress at a rapid pace. Not much progress on her goals today, but I have to remember to not rush or push.
It is raining now and training tonight looks doubtful, but fingers crossed that the storms will clear off.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Horses in training
I am going to try to keep this blog more up to date, make it more into a training diary. I make daily notes for the horses in training so I can track progress, but for the owners, I think a blog might make them feel more in touch with the training progress. This means that I will need to be more diligent in taking pictures. That sounds like a great job for the kids! Well, here we go.
Missy - Brown grade mare, 4 years old. Here to be green broke. Owner had previously tried to break her, but instead created some problems. History of bucking under saddle, skittish, and unwilling to be handled. Upon first handling the mare appeared to want to cooperate, just needed to develop trust. She is a very kind mare with a want to please demeanor. She is a tad bit lazy and hates repeative work. I need to make sure that her training remains fresh and challenging. She will probably benefit more from pasture riding/training than from arena work. Major training obstacle: She has already learned to buck when mounted and was rewarded by being put up.
Primary Goals: 1 - soft, supple and willing under saddle
2 - stand while being mounted (this is when she bucked)
3 - safe mount for an intermediate rider
Secondary Goals: 1 - handle feet easily
2 - accept handling of entire body
3 - be caught and haltered easily
4 - become bold and confident ( mounted and on the ground)
Kixsie - 7 year old sorrel roan QH mare. Owner wants her to become a more dependable,solid riding horse. I am the 4th trainer this mare has had. Upon first handling her, she is fearful but had been trained well to stand. She is easily distracted and has limited ability to remain focused. She is a reactionary mare which means consistency is her key. I feel that she will always be a little standoffish, but trust can be established. She has been through several trainers and she knows what to do to get a release, she just doesn't commit to it. Her training will focus on several trust exercises and lots of repetition. She will find comfort in the familiar.
Major training obstacle: The mares unwillingness to connect with a rider.
Primary Goals: 1- a soft, supple willing mount
2 - boldness under saddle (the owner wants to be able to hunt off the mare)
3 - safe for a beginner rider
Secondary Goals: 1 - increase attention span
2 - a relaxed horse
3 - easy to catch and halter in the pasture
4 - beginning collection
Missy - Brown grade mare, 4 years old. Here to be green broke. Owner had previously tried to break her, but instead created some problems. History of bucking under saddle, skittish, and unwilling to be handled. Upon first handling the mare appeared to want to cooperate, just needed to develop trust. She is a very kind mare with a want to please demeanor. She is a tad bit lazy and hates repeative work. I need to make sure that her training remains fresh and challenging. She will probably benefit more from pasture riding/training than from arena work. Major training obstacle: She has already learned to buck when mounted and was rewarded by being put up.
Primary Goals: 1 - soft, supple and willing under saddle
2 - stand while being mounted (this is when she bucked)
3 - safe mount for an intermediate rider
Secondary Goals: 1 - handle feet easily
2 - accept handling of entire body
3 - be caught and haltered easily
4 - become bold and confident ( mounted and on the ground)
Kixsie - 7 year old sorrel roan QH mare. Owner wants her to become a more dependable,solid riding horse. I am the 4th trainer this mare has had. Upon first handling her, she is fearful but had been trained well to stand. She is easily distracted and has limited ability to remain focused. She is a reactionary mare which means consistency is her key. I feel that she will always be a little standoffish, but trust can be established. She has been through several trainers and she knows what to do to get a release, she just doesn't commit to it. Her training will focus on several trust exercises and lots of repetition. She will find comfort in the familiar.
Major training obstacle: The mares unwillingness to connect with a rider.
Primary Goals: 1- a soft, supple willing mount
2 - boldness under saddle (the owner wants to be able to hunt off the mare)
3 - safe for a beginner rider
Secondary Goals: 1 - increase attention span
2 - a relaxed horse
3 - easy to catch and halter in the pasture
4 - beginning collection
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