The Challenge Continues

" Mr. Blue"

I’m way behind on my 100-day challenge but I hope to be able to catch up soon.  This past weekend was the first chance I was actually able to work with the horses. After their little adventure down the road I needed to wait for the farrier to come and replace Blue’s lost shoe and make sure his pastern was feeling better. 

Donnie and I worked on some clicker training and he did really well.  He’s a very smart horse and loves to interact with people.  The reward treats didn’t hurt his enthusiasm either.  We also started some basic longeing.  Nothing more than an easy walk, trot, and whoa on a big circle.  He hasn’t forgotten anything he’s learned over the years.  He’s got beautiful balanced movement and is impressive to watch.

I decided to ride Blue in the indoor because it was cold and windy and threatening rain.  When I positioned him at the mounting block and climbed the step ready to get on I had a sort of  “I can’t do this attack.”  I don’t know what it was – PTSD syndrome from all my trouble with Dusty at the mounting block, or flashbacks to the anxiety she caused with her mounting antics. Whatever it was, I couldn’t get more than my foot in the stirrup.  I finally gave up and hand walked Blue around the arena a few times giving myself a good talking to until I was ready to try again.

When I was in the saddle the plan was to have an easy day for both of us working at the walk to revisit basic rein aids, which are Blue’s biggest issue to be addressed before advancing to other gaits.  True to form, whenever I asked him to yield to the rein in one direction he would resist and counter bend in the other.  After years of riding many different horses, I know my aids can’t only be misleading him.  No, he's discovered an evasion which requires the least work while getting him out of the most work... At least in the short term. "Oh, you were going to ask me to canter around this arena for a while? Um, that sounds hard. Hang on, let me just pop my shoulder in here and walk very slowly kinda sideways so you can deal with this for the next five minutes instead. How would that be?" Frustrating, Blue, very frustrating... 

He has a tendency to be lazy--always has been, and I expect he always will be.  He's also very clever. Together they make working with Blue a challenge. Over the years I’ve tried to develop what I call “thinking in the saddle,” meaning that when something isn’t working I need to come up with an alternative plan. When Blue would counter bend, instead of fighting with him (which is never productive) I would simply ride him into the new bend and we continued working in that direction for a while.  This went on and on until Mr. Contrary finally gave up.  After some very nice circles and figure eights in both directions we called it a day and ended on a good note.

It’s hard to work with a lazy/stubborn horse and not get frustrated. Having lots of patience with a healthy sense of humor doesn’t hurt either. 

Quote for Today

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.  ~Winston Churchill

Donegal and Trust

" Donnie "

 As everyone knows Donnie has had a hard time trusting people since we got him about 10 years ago.  We’ve gone through much research and heartache finding the right combination on how to give him the confidence he needs.  Over the years he has come to trust us, along with the farrier, vets, dentists, etc.  Also, once his PSSM was diagnosed and his diet changed he’s become much more comfortable with himself.

We’re trying to give Donnie jobs that he can handle easily and in turn feel good about himself.  He excels at clicker training and he’s doing very well with longeing with and without a saddle.  We’re hoping that if he continues to advance in his training one of us will be able to ride him in the Spring.  By one of us, I don’t mean me, I mean my ‘crash test dummy’ daughter.

He’s one very smart horse and he’s also very sweet.  He’s the first one to greet you in the morning with a cheerful nicker and he gives Donnie-hugs every night.  It took a long time, but he trusts us now and looks to us as his dependable caretakers and maybe even his family.  Who knows? 

I wish that more people would take the time with their horses and give them what they need.  Abused or sick horses deserve the care we can offer.  We’re supposed to be the smarter species although sometimes I’m doubtful about that.  The thing I do know for sure is that we gave Donnie the care and took the time with him to gain a little confidence in himself with each passing year and in return he has given us his heart.  There’s no better feeling than having been able to play a part in helping him be happy and healthy.

Until next time

Quote for Today 

Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart.

" Donnie "

' Donnie '

There is not much going on around the farm right now because of the weather, yet again.  The forecast is for rain every day this week.  So to pass the time I thought I would do a series on all of our horses beginning with how they came to be with us and ending with what they are doing now.  This first story is about Donnie.  I posted his story in 2009 and if you would like to check out Donnie’s beginnings and difficulties please click on these links:

http://greyhorsematters.blogspot.com/2009/01/donnies-story.html

http://greyhorsematters.blogspot.com/2009/01/donnies-story-part-ii.html

http://greyhorsematters.blogspot.com/2009/01/donnies-story-part-iii-conclusion.html

Most of the readers to my blog know Donnie’s history but for the few new people visiting the blog I’d like to introduce Donnie and his issues to those who haven’t met him yet.  Donnie is a unique individual and his distressing history is worth the read. We feel Donnie is making real progress towards becoming a “real” horse and for now I’ll be reporting on how well he is doing with his training.

We’ve been working sporadically with all the horses this winter and, as usually happens, the horses that aren’t being ridden don’t get the work they deserve or need.  Unfortunately, Donnie falls into this category.  But all that will be changing this week.  He’s going back to work/training.

Before the winter started he was doing very well on the longe even with a saddle and girth.  Personally, I think the Le Tixerant girth is helping by not constricting his rib cage but breathing with him.

My daughter was brave enough to try a short ride on him around the indoor, which he did very well with. To our disbelief, we accomplished this feat easily enough.  After longeing a short time under saddle, we took him to the mounting block.  My daughter tried her weight in the stirrup and across the saddle a few times.  Donnie stood like a rock and never moved.  We figured it was now or never and she swung her leg over and very gently sat in the saddle.  No reaction.   That was a good sign. We then literally took it a step further and I walked next to him feeding him treats while we circled the short end of the arena twice.  Then walked him into the center, praised him A LOT, and then she dismounted.  

That was the last time he was worked before the weather made it almost impossible to get anything done.  Do you think he remembers his good experience after these many months?  We’ll soon find out because Donnie will be starting his longeing again with and without saddle and, when he’s ready, my daughter will try walking under saddle again.  Some ponying with a steady horse might be in his future too, but that’s undecided as of now.

I’m also going to start some clicker training with him.  I’ve never done this with any horse but have read on some blogs how well it seems to work.  If nothing else, I think it might encourage him to have confidence in himself when he succeeds at easy tasks.  Donnie is one of the most interested horses in our herd.  He always comes when you call him by name.  He’s the first one to nicker when one of us walks in the barn and he loves interacting with us.  When we first met Donnie no one could touch his ears and, disgusting as this might sound, you can now put your fingers right in there for a good scratch.  I remember when he would give the farrier a hard time with his back feet, but that’s not a problem anymore.  Haltering is usually fine over his ears if you stand next to him and go slow.  When blanketing, he doesn’t bat an eye anymore.  So you can see he’s come far in accepting things that once terrified him. 

" Sweet Boy "

We believe every horse can be helped if only given the proper time and encouragement by building small successful links in the chain to their healing.  By not rushing or expecting too much of him, I think Donnie will one day be a happy, well-adjusted horse.  Donnie is too sweet and loving to give up on.  And he’s got loads of talent and some of the most beautiful gaits we’ve ever seen, so he’d be a fun horse to bring along. It would be a failure on our part not to try and help him through his issues.  We’ve also decided that if he never becomes a riding horse that’s okay too; he’s a permanent part of the herd and, not only is he fun to play with, but we can always count on him for a nicker and a hug.

Until next time

Quote for Today

The horse through all its trials has preserved the sweetness of paradise in its blood. 
    - Johannes Jensen