WHAHOO! Vacation time!

Update on Don:

Don's owner came a picked him up a couple of weeks ago. He was moving well under saddle, walk/trot transitions smoothed out, flexing and supple. He was still experiencing marked unsteadiness at the trot and the canter, so he did not have much time under saddle at those gaits. His owner has decided to sell him.

Better news - CRUISE TIME!

I went on a six day cruise with my family to Cozumel and Progresson Yucatan. It was so much fun and it was so great to spend the time with my family. We (my family of four) met up with my parents, my sister and her family and my brother and his family. There was a total of 13 of us. The cruise was my parents celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. We also took some time to celebrate that all three of us kids have been married 20 years or longer. The only downfall to the trip was that we were skirting Hurricane Alex the entire trip. Lots of white caps, rain and a rockin' and rollin' ship. It was a real exercise in balance! Even with the rain and clouds, there was so much fun stuff to do on the ship - eat, shows, casino, games, eat, sleep, swim, work-out in the gym, putt-putt and did I mention eat? Great vacation and great fun!

DON

Well, here is an update on Don. He wasn't getting any better in his hindend, so his owner came a picked him up to take him to the chiro/vet. Vet ended up injecting his stifles and said that he could return to training. Owner brought him back. He still did not show any improvement and still seemed very unstable. I started him on bute with the owners permission. He does seem more comfortable, but the instability is still there. As per owners request, I have begun riding him lightly. He moves relatively well as long as we are going forward. He is uncomfortable being still and gets quite scary to ride at a trot. I haven't even attempted a lope. He is very heavy on the front and likes to lean on the bit. I switched to a sidepull and that helped somewhat, but he is still sluggish to respond. He can tolerate a short 20 minute ride, and then he begins to stumble and drag. I am working on making him lighter in the bridle and instilling a good whoa. I am still wondering if there is another underlying condition. The stifle injections did not seem to help much at all, and he still shows general overall discomfort. I am trying to keep him as comfortable as possible, while still continuing his training.

JAZZ

Well Jazz attended her first show this week. We took her to the 4H District show and showed her in Mares 5 and under. She did pretty well everything considered.

Sunday - She received her first full bath and clipping and then my husband finally had time to trim her feet at midnight under the security light.

Monday - Loaded horses at 6:30 am and the rain began. It poured on us most of the way to Ardmore. She did not want to unload at the show, but finally launched herself out. Walked her around the grounds and settled her into her stall. She handled that fine, but if Cash got out of her sight, she had a bit if an anxiety attack. Learned a new personality quirk about her. When she feels anxiety or pressure, she balks and sulls up. Yay, fun.

Tuesday - Up bright an early to band mane and get her ready to show. She stepped into the arena for her class at 9:00 am. She walked and trotted for the judge beautifully and then sulled up in the middle of the arena. Would not move. Rendi maintained her cool and repeatedly offtracked her until Jazz finally walked to her spot in the line-up. She finished 7th out of 12. Jazz went back to her stall for the rest of the day and we loaded back up to go home around 4:00 pm. By this time, she was done. She refused to load and to reduce the risk of it becoming a bad situation, we led her to the door of the trailer and locked arms around her but and loaded her. She looked at us like we had spoiled her fun and began to nibble her hay. When we got home, she again did not want to unload, so we left her to unload into the pasture when she was ready. As soon as she did not have an audience, she hopped out. All in all, she did very well for a young filly that had really never been anywhere.

VEGAS

We sold Vegas to a family with a couple of kids. We will keep her for a month to tune her up for them and provide the kids with riding lessons.

CASH

Rendi and Cash had mixed results at District this year. Cash placed 8th in Halter. He has never placed worse than 4th. In western pleasure, Cash placed 8th out of 11. Believe it or not, that is a real improvement. Cash maintained smooth even gaits, correct leads and a cool head. What killed them was Rendi's hat flying off and Cash just does not move like a western pleasure horse. Too much knee. The capp to the day was Rendi and Cash's first place finish in HUS. This was only the 4th time that Cash has ever had an english saddle on! The horse just fits into the HUS class. Rendi decided to just show in HUS at state.

Catching up.

Whew, the end of a school year can be crazy! When you have tornados that cut the year short by a week - it is even crazier! Finally all of the students and teachers have been sent home for the summer and things have quieted down.

DON

I have been working with Don on his Whoa and body cues from the ground. He is also learning what ground tying is. I think that he is beginning to feel better and definately track better. The newness of being worked daily has worn off, and he can't wait to get back to his "girls". This is great, because it helps instill a work ethic and develop patience. He is still a bugger about picking up his feet, but seems resigned to comply. All in all, things are progressing well. His back seems to be staying looser, but he seems more lame in the left hip now as opposed to the right hip. Still working on the massage, stretches and linament daily.

JAZZ

She is conditioning up well and her cut has healed great. Crunch time to get her ready for the District show in June. Clipper lessons, halter lessons and trailering lessons - Oh my! She has such a good mind and willing attitude. She is fearless about new things and has so much trust. I can hope for great success, but will settle for a positive experience for Jazz. I am still hoping to get her hauled to some of the Playdays before the show to get her accustomed to new and different.

RIDING LESSONS

Start back up this week. Sadie really needs the regular exercise. She is getting so very round. A daily lunging work hasn't even begun to harden her up. I have kept Brandy exercised all year long. She is older and already has some arthritis issues, the exercise keeps her loose and feeling good. I am hoping to fit Colty into the string this year, but he still needs a little work to lighten him up. He is by far the most sensitive to leg cues. The other two have been ridden by little kids and beginners to long to be really sensitive to the small cues.

4H CLUB

We are having a summer BBQ party this week. I think it is a fantastic way to kick-off the summer. Last weekend, the club went to a Horse Workshop sponsored by the Oklahoma Pinto Club. We all had a great time and learned some great tips about grooming for show day. I am now thinking about registering a couple of the horses as Pinto (9 out of 10 qualify) and showing at a few of their shows. Who knows.

05/10-05/12

Whew, what a week! We had a tornado go through our little community Monday night. Our place is fine, no damage and we still have electricity. As with most tornados, we had plenty of warning. I fleetingly thought of loading the horses and hauling them to safety, but there were tornados sprouting up all over Oklahoma. I felt that the safest thing to do was turn them out to the big pastures away from all buildings. They all weathered the storm well, not a single scratch. Once we came out of the celler and checked all the livestock (horses, cows, chickens...) we headed into town. It took a direct hit! Several homes had lost entire roofs, there were uprooted trees everywhere, and there were a couple of buildings blown apart. The last place we went was to the school. It had some damage, but most of it is superficial. The biggest damage is to the ballfields. The boss decided to call school for the rest of the week and begin fresh on Monday. We have spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday helping folks retrieve what they can from their homes, fixing fence and cleaning up. We were so very lucky and I thank God for that!

DON

Don is still favoring his right hind leg but is still continuing to track better. Monday, the weather halted training. Tuesday, we worked on yielding the hindquarters and shoulders, Whoa, bridling and some two-tracking. He still can't work terribly long without soring up, so his training lessons were short spurts with straight-away walking mixed in. Finished up with a linament bath and rubdown. Wednesday, worked on everything from the day before but added long-lining. He maintained a soft feel but walked through the Whoa.

JAZZ

With the injury to her pastern, any conditioning is halted. Worked with her on standing square and patience.

Well, back to helping out. We had another storm come through last night. Lots of straightline winds, but only tree limbs knocked down.

05/07 - 05/09

Don
Still doing much of the same. He gets 24/7 turn-out in the pasture, groomed daily, massage, stretching and a good wash down with Bigeloil/water. He is beginning track a little straighter in the hindlegs and the pain response from manual palpation in his back is lessening. He seems to be more playful in the pasture and more willing to walk out. Weather permitting, Monday I will lunge, saddle and try out the drive lines.

Jazz
Well Ms. Jazz in her curiosity has cut her fetlock. The wound looked kinda nasty upon first look, but cleaned up well. A week of antibiotic salve and wrapping and then on to the Underwoods. This little hiccup though makes it doubtful that she will make the 4H District show. She just will not be fit enough.

Vegas
Caught her Friday and trimmed those awful feet. She stood really well considering all of the activity going on and her not being trimmed in at least a year. While I was waiting on my husband between feet, I put Vegas through some inhand tests. She is really a well trained horse that just needs a refresher course. I think that she will make a fantastic gaming horse.

Playday in Okemah (heavy on the Play)
We took Sadie and Brandy this time. Rendi and Jacob had fun running the barrels and poles. When we first arrived, I saddled Brandy and took her out to warm her up. Rendi's back was bothering her, so she layed down for a bit. After Brandy's warm-up I noticed that Sadie was really becoming agitated. She hates being left out! I put Brandy up and took Sadie out for a warm-up. She was great! So eager to move out and so soft in the bridle. Rendi soon was feeling better so she took Sadie and I took Brandy back. Brandy had been acting a bit resentful, but the minute I showed her the poles, I had to hold her back. She really loves the poles. During the run home, I held her back and she gave me a little buck. The old girl still loves to run. I took her through the trail course and she did well, but the gate took us about 5 minutes, but she finally did it right. It is hard to get her to slow down and go step by step. She did a great job in the box though! Rendi just did the barrels and poles on Sadie at a lope and Jacob did the same. Sadie still had a lot of gas in the tank when we were done. I let one of the 4H kids take Brandy around the poles at a trot. She said that Brandy was asking for more rein the whole time. I guess ponying Jazz is conditioning Brandy as much as it is conditioning Jazz.

Sorry about the lack of pictures, but I have misplaced my camera charger. I tore my house up this weekend looking for it. I guess it will be off to Wal-Mart to get a new one.

05/05 - 05/06

DON
More of the same - massage & stretches. Some inhand walking. The "tightrope" walking is improving, but the left leg still steps in. I think the central point for the soreness is the right hip. He strides shorter on it and the left whither muscle is showing some signs of soreness. He is moving more freely in the pasture and is utilizing more of the pasture.

JAZZ
She has had the last couple of days off.

VEGAS
New horse that was given to us. 11 yr old Paint mare. She seems like a real sweetie, but is in serious need of a trimming, worming and feed.

Plans for the weekend include a Playday tomorrow with the 4H kids, seeing Mom on Sunday and working horses. Sometime in there I need to mow, weedeat and continue with demolition and remodel on the sheds, barns and tack/feed trailer.

05/04/2010

DON
I brought Don up from the pasture and groomed him. He is still walking stiffly in his back. His back legs walk as if on a tightrope. I palpated his back with my hands with no pain response, but upon mechanical palpation (folded knife), he had a marked response. I massaged his pressure points and had him do some stretches (belly lift, shoulder, neck, etc.) He was a little confused by several of the stretches, but really seemed to enjoy the massage. I was hoping to keep him good and relaxed so I turned him back out into the pasture. He stuck around for some more belly scratches and soon ambled off. We will repeat the treatment again tonight and see if there is any improvement. I might include some heat therapy to hopefully get some deep muscle response.

JAZZ
Ponied Jazz again tonight and worked up to a 20 minute walk with about 5 minutes of trot mixed in (1 minute each). She still isn't terribly happy about working, but seems to enjoy the attention. I think her attitude will improve when we begin ponying her on the trail.

I am still working on the demolition of some of the old sheds. I am so not the carpenter and pulling every single nail is very tedious work! I keep telling myself that it is good for the soul and important for protecting the horses. I can't wait until the property is completely in our name so I can finally tear down the barn shed. That old eyesore has been patched so many times that I don't think there is any original parts left.

Training 05/01 - 05/03

Saturday, Don came in for training. Don is a gorgeous black and white gelding. He is 5 years old and came to me to be green broke. His owner wants to use him as a trail horse so she wants him as bomb proof as possible. I put Don in the pipe lots when he first came so he would be in a safe environment to meet the other horses. He stayed there for most of the afternoon and settled in quickly. Later that evening, I gave him a quick grooming and moved him to his own paddock. He has some stiffness in his hindend which I think may be from the trailer ride. He spent some time checking it out and started munching his hay.

Sunday morning, after church, I got him out and throughly groomed him. He did not want to lift his hind hooves, but other than that was a perfect gentleman. I then began a short assessment of his training level. I should mention that his owner had started him previously but was unable to complete his training. From the ground, he will do a great hips over, but does not understand the cue for shoulders over. He is gives his nose easily, but is a little stiffer to the left. I then began to lunge him and he showed marked stiffness in his haunches. He was dragging his toes and had difficulty in quick changes of direction. I palpated his hip and loin and found no abnormalities. His hips do seem a bit unlevel, but the way his paint markings are it is difficult to be sure. I put Don up for the night with turnout in his paddock. Is the stiffness still from the trailer ride? I will check him out tomorrow to see if the problem is resolving itself or if it gets worse. Don is a very level-headed horse and eager to please. He loves contact and listens well. I believe that he will be a very easy horse to train and make a great trail horse.

Monday afternoon, I got Don up and throughly groomed him. Still the perfect gentleman except for the back hooves. Now this makes sense due to the stiffness in his hips. I again palpated his back and hips and he still showed no pain response. He was walking stiffly so I hand walked him a bit to see if he would loosen up. He did a bit, so I again worked him lightly from the ground in hand. Flexing, bending, sacking out. He stood like a champ and maintained softness. I began to lightly lunge him on a very long line, and he was reluctant to walk. He wanted to immediatly trot. I would bring him back to a walk, start him off, then in a couple of strides he would trot. I do not know if this is a learned behaviour or if trotting is more comfortable for him. He did seem to move more freely through his hips, but still a little off. We lunged for about five minutes (w/t) and then I wanted to see how he felt about saddling. He could have cared less. He was more interested in playing with the saddle pad and saddle. I lightly cinched him up, walked around, unsaddled him and called it a day. I groomed him again, checked his back/hips, and turned him out into the front pasture (5 acres). I am hoping that maybe increased movement will help aleviate his stiffness. I caught him a little later and he was walking much better. Tomorrow morning, I will turn him out to a larger (10 acre) pasture for the day.

We have begun ponying Jazz to help condition her. She is growing quickly, but has gotten a little soft. Sunday, I ponied her for a short time off of Brandy. Other than trying to bite Brandy and I, she did well. She did not want to trot, but did for a few minutes. She was throughly upset about having to work, but did behave. Wanting to end on a good note, we quit when she was following along on a slack lead. I was proud of Brandy, she took Jazz's bumps and bites with grace. We then moved Brandy and Jazz to a new pasture across the road because we had moved the calves onto their pasture. The clover is exploding in growth and the horses will not eat it but the calves love it.

Monday, ponied Jazz again. She did well, but tried to run out a time or two. We worked for about 15 minutes.

Horsemanship Lessons - Rein Aids

Here is my take on rein aids. Suggestions and comments are welcome.

------ EXPLAINING REIN AIDS ------
When asking about rein aids, most people can name two; direct (plow) and indirect (neck). These two rein aids only scratch the surface. There are actually five distinct rein aids; direct (plow), Opening/Leading, indirect in front of the withers, indirect behind the withers and lifting. In addition, there is no difference between Western and English rein aids. The horse responds to the rein aids the same no matter what saddle they have on. In explaining the different rein aids, I first want to explain what a rein aid is. Rein aid simply refers to how a rider moves their hand and the direction of pull on a horse’s mouth. A rider moves their hand either in opposition to the horse’s movement or in support of the horse’s movement.

Direct: The ride’s hand moves from the neutral hand position directly towards the rider’s hip. There is a backward pull on the rein and therefore used in opposition of the horse’s movement. When a single rein is used the goal is to either steer the horse in a direction or cue the horse to supple their head/jaw/neck. When both reins are used together the goal is to slow/stop/back the horse.

Opening/Leading: The rider moves their forearm to the side and not back and therefore this aid is used in support of the horse’s movement. This rein aid is often used as a training aid, such as when you are first teaching a horse to follow it’s nose or teaching lateral movements (sidepass, turn on the haunches, etc.). It is a leading rein when it is the inside rein to cue a direction and an opening rein when you are using the outside rein to move the horse’s shoulder or barrel out.

Indirect Rein In Front Of The Withers: The rider lifts up and in on the rein toward the horse’s neck in support of the horse’s movement. In other words, from the neutral hand position just turn your pinkie toward the horse’s withers without pulling back while moving the rein in an upward diagonal motion. The inside rein comes across the horse’s nick in front of the withers. This rein aid is used to move the horse’s shoulder in the opposite direction while the nose stays in the direction of the turn.

Indirect Rein Behind The Withers: The rider lifts the rein up and back toward the rider’s opposite shoulder, in a motion like crossing your heart and the inside rein comes across the horse’s neck behind the withers. This aid works in opposition of the horse’s movement. This rein aid us used to move the horse’s hip away from the rein aid while the horse stays bent toward the rein hand, such as in a turn on the forehand or disengagement of the hindquarters.

Lifting: The rider simply lifts the rein upward and parallel along the horse’s neck. This rein aid is used to lift the horse’s shoulder and support it through a turn or during a canter/lope transition.

Remember with all rein aids, it is not the amount of pull that causes a horse to react but the direction of pressure or the rider’s hand movement that causes the reaction. Also, when riding with two-hands, your hand should never cross the horse’s withers to be effective and leg/seat aids should be used together with the rein aid.

Horsemanship Lessons - Secondary Cues

Well, we can see how good I have been at posting regularly. NOT! I know I am terrible. Anyways... I am working with the 4H kids to increase their horsemanship levels. So I thought that I might begin blogging about basic horsemanship. This might help by allowing them to read about a topic before we tackle it in practice. We will begin at the very beginning with cues. So here is what I have so far. Let me know your thoughts. Remember this is geared for kids 9-17 years old.

To most riders when cueing a horse you think of the three primary cues – hands, legs and seat. Those cues are important, but there are secondary cues that are just as important in horsemanship. The secondary cues include voice, breathing and eyes/head.

Voice: The power of a voice cue comes from the volume and tempo not the actual word used. While some horses seem to recognize a certain word, they are actually reacting to the way the word sounds. They have no real understanding of the meaning of the word. A similar sounding word said in the same fashion will usually get the same response. An example is the word WHOA. When you say WHOA, you usually say it in a low tone and draw it out. Say NO in the same manner and the horse will probably stop. Now, say WHOA in a loud voice quickly and the horse will probably ignore the cue. Also if you give a voice cue differently each time, the horse will never become very responsive to it. Repetition of the same sound is the key.

Breathing: The rhythm of your breathing can be a very effective cue. A horse can feel how your breathing affects your body. An example is when you hold your breath. When you hold your breath, your body will tense up. The horse can feel this tension and will react either by becoming tense themselves or bracing against the tension. Yet when you breathe in deeply and exhale slowly, the horse will usually react by relaxing and slowing down. A very deep breath with a long exhale done just before cueing a horse to stop will encourage the horse to stop squarely.

Eyes/Head: The weight of your head has a large impact on your balance in the saddle. The average head weighs more than 10 lbs. and depending on where you are looking at affects how your seat is weighted in the saddle. An example is if you always look down at the ground or at your hands, your horse will have a tendency to seem lost or hesitant often breaking gait. Dropping your head will cause you to round your shoulders and collapse your back. This will in turn rock your seat bones back and raise your heels making your seat and leg cues ineffective. Your horse will lose impulsion to move forward and break gait. On the other hand, keeping your gaze level and your head pointed straight ahead (looking past your horse’s head) will allow your body to keep the Ear/Shoulder/Hip/Heel alignment and maintain effective cueing. In addition, rotating your head in the direction you want to be traveling will work as a pre-cue to let the horse know you will be changing directions.

I saw a robin!

Wahoo, another sign of the coming spring --- I saw a robin today in the yard. When I saw it I did a little dance, of course my husband thought I was crazy. I have never been so ready for Spring in my life. Yesterday, I began some spring cleaning around the barn. Burnt some of the numerous branches broken in the ice storms and began the ardourous process of cleaning up the round bale piles. I love the ease of feeding round bales in the winter, but hate the spring clean-up. Jazz behaved well today and is well on her way to having a pretty good pivot established. The rest of the herd is beginning to gain back some condition and will be ready for work when the weather allows it.

Rain, rain go away!

I was so pumped to have three whole days without rain, snow, ice, etc... I was finally able to get up each horse throughly groom them and do a little ground work with each one. The ground is still slick about 2 inches down, so I was only able to manage some inhand work. I was actually pleased with how everyone behaved. I don't think there will be much back tracking when I am finally able to start some real training with them. I am starting to see some real promise with "Jazz". She is beginning to fill out nicely and act like a two-year old is supposed to act. I am still concerned about her ability to begin under saddle work in two months. If she isn't ready, she's not ready. One extremely encouraging sign today --- Sadie was starting to shed! She is always my barometer of the weather. When she started wooling up in Spetember, I knew it was going to be a hard winter. I am looking at this as a sign that spring is on the way!!!

Long time no say!

Wow, it has been months since I last posted. A lot has been going on, but very little of it has been horse related. I have been busy being a mom to two kids - basketball games, 4H meetings, church events and school events. Mixed in there is work and tending to livestock. For those that do not live in Oklahoma, it has been a terrible winter. Rain followed by ice followed by snow, week after week. Luckily, I had sent all of the horses in training home for the winter. Unfortunately, this weather means my riding lessons came to a screeching halt. That sucks because everyone was making such great progress. I also had the pleasure of spraining/injuring my knee in November. The doc just said, "Well it is pretty messed up, come back when you are ready for knee replacement surgery." Yikes! I am not ready for surgery yet (been there done that) so I am still hobbling around with a swollen knee, but I am cleared to ride because in the doc's words, "Ya can't hurt it anymore than it already is". We do have one new member of the herd. Rendi now has a 2yr old dun filly (pictured). She is training her for the 4H 2yr old in training program this summer. This filly was in bad shape when she came and we are hoping that she grows out enough to start riding her by the end of April. Only time will tell. As for me, my off time from real training is being spent getting all of my personal horses finished. They are all in various levels of training and I am usually tied up with training outside horses and my horses have been put on the back burner. I am really excited to get to work with them and see how far I can get them. Well in a burst of words, that is what has been going on here at Perfect Partner. I hope to start posting more regularly now that things have slowed down somewhat - a stiff wind not a tornado. LOL