Weekly summary 6/18-25

Well, I've been working horses but it's been VEEEEEEERY late into the wee hours of the night. When everyone else has gone home, I'm usually riding LOL! The horses are becoming more nocturnal . Case in point, I was riding Hersh last night at 7, Ariana last night at 9, and Gene last night at 10pm!

It's been an exciting week, with the arrival last week of Bear (short for Bärenjäger) the buckskin German Warmblood x out of Jettie's mare Dee. Hershey, a 4 y.o. Friesian gelding sent to me for saddle starting, is moving along in leaps and bounds now--he has been getting ridden while "attached" to the lunge line at the walk and trot for confidence in open spaces, and came off the "leash" this week to work independently. We still put it on for his first nighttime work in the dressage ring (scary shadows!!) and while he was "up" he was overall very well behaved. I rode him yesterday for the first time on his own (no leash) in the dressage ring and he was EXCELLENT!!!! He REALLY is beginning to understand the concept of reaching for the bit and working into the bridle freely. He's starting to develop bigger, more swinging gaits and use his hindquarters a little more. He's still downhill for now, but hey, he's a kid that's only been under saddle independently about 15 times!! Steering and trotting was, well, interesting---I always get "unexpected steering results" at this stage. Overall, though, he was EXCELLENT in the dressage ring. Really perfect. Couldn't ask for anything more in this stage in training (ok, maybe some bravery, LOL!). Some pictures of him are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/LegacyStables/Hershey

Scooby ROCKED this past week in training! Alex (who is much smaller and lighter than me, let alone jumps extremely well!) has been working with me in training Scooby for jumping. I set up a line for him to learn striding-- a x rail bounce to a 1-stride vertical to a 2 stride vertical to a 4 stride oxer. I also set up some very large obstacles for him to jump to see how his bascule would change over the larger and wider fences. He LOVED it, perked his ears up and jumped extremely well--naturally balanced, relaxed, and with lots of natural talent. Sure, he had some refusals and some miscommunication, but overall he was a willing and excellent pony jumping some very impressive heights and widths!!!!
Go here to check it out: (light was fading, it was late.....so the pics are quite blurry!)
http://picasaweb.google.com/LegacyStables/ScoobyJumpTraining

Uma has been getting light work during her quarantine these past couple weeks with Devinne and I. She has AMAZING gaits--relaxed, extension and engaged and slow relaxed canter on the lunge. Really remarkable and athletic gaits for a Lusitano. To get her used to the environment and to get to know her, Devinne and I have worked her together also "on a leash" (lunge line) while in the dressage ring. She did wonderful on Friday, working relaxed and in frame, reaching in her strides and really coming together once she was warmed up. She had a little anxiety about the woods behind the ring (many horses do) and scooted and boogied a little, but otherwise worked very well. This week we'll try "leash-less!" and see how she does independently.

I've been working with a Swedish Warmblood mare named Gretta--she's been teaching me, actually, and we're really starting to come together. My last ride on her last week was the most "together" we've been yet. We worked on simple transitions, simple lateral work, and some canter pirouhette work. While its fun to work her in piaffe/passage and tempis, right now we just need to work out the my seat in her right lead canter (she loves to flip over to the left) and working on her "sitting" more on the left hind, esp in lateral work. She's older, so I'm doing mostly conditioning work when I ride her now, though some days I just have fun and dance with her. She loves to passage and loves to half pass in the passage, so I harness it from time to time to work on my timing for signalling passage steps.

I worked with Gene last night in the Fhoenix saddle http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/public/saddles_fhoenix.html with the suberpanel and he LOVED it. I have to say, so do I! It's a great, comfortable saddle I could sit in all day long, can ride in a more classical seat and really sit back and swing to absorb the bigger gaits comfortably. More importantly, Gene really rounded his back up to the saddle and worked in frame for me with no problems--something that, on a normal basis, is hard to get unless he's really warmed up (hey, he's an old man....he's allowed to creak!). It easily fit a 10 month pregnant mare (Ariana!) and a high withered TB X one after the other. The suberpanel fills in any muscle wastage at the wither and forms itself across the horse's back to a custom, no-pressure-point-having fit. The seat to the Fhoenix also forms itself to YOU as it heats up. Talk about NEAT!!! Sure, I love my Kieffers, but this will become a valuable part of my training equipment as well.

Rambler got "bike" training this past week--should have seen me wheeling around the barn on a mountain bike in breeches! People kept asking me if I gave up horses :-) He also did tarps, pedestals, jumps in hand etc. Great day for desensitizing.

Stay tuned for next week! I figure it's best for me to do weekly updates--I can keep up with that! LOL!

Catching Up Summary

Well, it's been a BUSY BUSY month. Sorry for all of you who got addicted to the blog and then got let down with no updates. I was afraid that might happen LOL!

So, in summary, here's how training has gone this past month:

Peanut's gait returned to its previous quality, with more symmetrical gaiting and no more "weak" leads! His topline came together, his stifles strengthened, and he finished off his training by gaiting in frame in a state of self-carriage in walk, gait, and canter. He was proficiently performing walk to canter transitions and also simple lead changes on figure 8s and serpentines from his "good" lead to his "weak" lead. His previously "weak" lead has strengthened to a point that his slight unbalance in that direction is hardly perceptable. Some pics from 1/2 way through his training:

Hershey, a 4 y.o. friesian gelding, has come in for saddle starting. He's been intro'd to equipment, lunged over cavelettis, line driven, and is now under saddle walk/trot. He's got LOTS to learn about confidence, for sure! Overall he's been progressing quickly and doing extremely well.

Scooby has had his "good hock" and "bad hock" days. On good hock days, he's w/t/c GREAT, in frame, bending both directions, and generally excellent. On "bad hock" days I can feel the weakness in the hind and am careful not to push him. Last week we worked on "trail work" pn the trail behind the barn, having to be brave with stream crossings and ride by himself through the woods behind the barn. He did EXCELLENT and is getting braver on the driveway and in new situations in general. This past session Alex rode him in a lesson with me and we worked on teaching him how to stride over poles, jump about 18" jumps and by the end he was trotting and cantering confidently in a gymnastic line with a x rail, a vertical and an oxer at varying stride lengths.

I took my 2 y.o. andalusian colt to a USDF DSHB show and he got 1st place in his breed class. He was SO QUIET and excellently behaved I couldn't be prouder.

Peanut 5/6

Sara took a lesson today on Peanut and we worked on lateral work (she needed confirmation of the aids). I taught her how to influence his straightness by asking him to move over off of the right leg. We worked on making it clear to Peanut when a rider asks "over" or "forward" with the whip. Whip tickling on the hip means "over" while whip behind the leg means "over".

We worked on driveway work at the end and tied the lateral work into the gait improvement work. Peanut needs more right leg, left seat and slight touches of the whip to keep him straight. Once straight, his gait smooths out, his head-wag really starts and he racks on. Sara has really only ridden his flatwalk, so the faster gait was a new experience. She was working injured, though, so she could not quite apply the aides as uniformly as she wanted to. Because of this, she got to practice a one-rein stop when Peanut decided to canter instead of gait :-) Overall, though, a great learning experience for Sara as she was really starting to react to Peanut's shifting balance in the gait and guide him more effectively.

Peanut 5/5 Trail Work

Peanut went out to Susquehanna State Park today to do trail training. He's been very quiet and responsive on trail, so we brought along a completely green, never been ridden on train before horse named Lori. It ends up Peanut was "having a day" and Lori ended up being the rock on trail LOL!

The ride started with us rounding the corner and immediately seeing all kinds of dead farm equipment, old round bales, and large construction sized piles of dirt and cement blocks scattered all around the trail. We had to walk right between all of them, and I admit if I were a horse, I'd think all that stuff looked strange. Peanut stopped, planted, snorted, and sidestepped until Lori walked up beside him. What an example, eh? But overall, he was good--just evasive for about 10 seconds until he realized that not starting the ride wasn't an option. He was tense, so I asked him to relax at the poll, put his head down and walk forward. He did a fast powerwalk, tense but obedient on past all the obstacles. It set the tone for the ride, though, so he was reactive to any stimulus the rest of the time.

We saw more round bales scattered around in an open field and he tried to turn back once. I simply kept his head pointed where he needed to go, put his head down and send him forward and he was tense, but went forward. As we passed the last round bale, I had him walk up to it and sniff it. He took a bite, relaxed and walked on LOL!

We ran into several bikers on trail and he did well. He did the quick "startled" jump in place and then would walk past them with encouragement. Lori thought Peanut was silly and would jump when he jumped, but then walked by the bikes too.

He crossed every water obstacle and bridge with no problems or hestitation and relaxed in the woods. I worked on keeping him STRAIGHT between my aides (he escapes with his right hind and requires left seat/rein and right leg to keep him straight) and really focused on building his hindquarters on the uphills. His balance has truly gotten better since last year and he was able to negotiate the downhills and large steps down very well.

On the way back, we did some gentle cantering and he was excellent! Very good day overall. A little spooky, but under control and came back to relaxation well.

Scooby 5/5 SCOOBY IS A HORSE AGAIN!!!

He's a real horse! He can WALK, TROT and CANTER on a long, relaxed frame and not skygaze!

Ok, folks--after the last training session with Scooby, he had a bad day and had stepped backwards ALOT. Horses have bad days, they're allowed. And I am HAPPY to out-stubborn a horse all day. I really am. I have the patience of a saint when it comes to training, can do numerous repetitions of boring work (pressure, release, pressure, release, pressure, release). I can sit there and hold a snaffle bit rein for 10 minutes, waiting for the horse to figure out "rein pressure=give". Fact is, Scooby already had the training. But, he also has a hard mouth and was choosing to close his ears and IGNORE any requests from me to give. I am a HUGE proponent of working a horse in a snaffle, all the way up to the highest level of dressage. I'm all about working bitless (I'm doing it now with Peanut!) or just putting on a double bridle for the day of competition. But sometimes, when a horse just BLOCKS YOU OUT, and you KNOW you're being completely ignored BY CHOICE, not by lack of training, it's time to up the ante.

So, I temporarily moved him to a low ported kimberwick, using a single rein and curb chain. Yup, you read that right.

I got on him and was able to ride like I had reins made of thread :-) The angels SUNG, the birds chirped, and Scooby gave to the &%&$^%# bit.

Scooby went back to kindergarten. I didn't just get on and ride him in a new bit. I immediately started over with teaching him "head down" and "nose in". We started at the halt. After about 50 repetitions (and he LISTENED!) of gentle rein pressure, he was giving the moment the rein was picked up. We put some motion to it, and I got him walking and trotting with his nose completely on the ground, brushing in the sand. Brought him back up into frame and got all 3 gaits with his head down and relaxed at the poll, and moving and bending nicely. His gaits were amazing again. He is back to the "weirdness" going to the right (tossing himself WAY in the air in his trot with impulsion well beyond what you're asking for) and I was able to start showing him he didn't have to RACE around in the trot. We were able to go back to working on his original issues! Yeah! He even did some happy "jog" work for me, pretending to be a western pony :-)

He got a major workout, and I was so glad to see him doing so much better. His transitions were still rough at first, but he was able to relax at the poll and transition up without coming too far off the vertical and pretty quickly get himself together up front in the next gait without stressing out, skygazing, trying to grab the bit, or coming against it and panicking. By the end, he was transitioning nice and relaxed through all the gaits.

To test him, Hanna (Brianne's little sister, about 10 years old, I think?) hopped up on him to do walk/trot. He happily walked and trotted around with her, though he did get a little mischeveous and decided to canter off and leave the ring for a few strides. Hanna thought this was the highlight of her day and thought Scooby was amazingly fun to ride. She was able to get him to go right back into the ring, walk, trot, and stop willingly and quietly.

He needs more work now to confirm all of this again, but I can officially say Scooby is a real horse again!

Peanut 5/3 The "other riders" test

Peanut's work today was focused on "giving results" to other riders. One of the things I do with training horses in the later stages of their training (or a "refresher" horse like Peanut) is giving a lesson on the horse. I choose a level of student appropriate for what I'm looking to get out of the horse. My point in this is to confirm the horse's training. A trained horse that ONLY works for their trainer is useless to an owner. My goal is to give a client back a horse that not just I can ride, but hopefully ANYONE can ride, and get similar results.

I had two people get up on him who had NEVER ridden a gaited horse before and he naturally offered them a decent gait. A little pacey, but not bad overall. I was able to talk them through improving the gait and get the timing to influence the gait to an even step sequence successfully. He also nailed his right lead canter easily.

To end, he was taken onto the driveway for more exact gaitwork. I talked Vicki through adjusting her balance to improve/influence the gait and got on and demonstrated as well. Peanut was excellently behaved for his work, and complied with everyone's requests with good humor, patience, and performed as expected and sought after.

Peanut 5/2

Peanut's work today consisted completely of groundwork. With many gaited horses, I really like to sort the gait out on the ground and let the horse figure out how to begin to naturally carry the gait without rider interference. While I know I can get a perfect 1-2-3-4 step sequence now from the saddle by rebalancing him, I like to really "teach" the horse the muscle memory to do it more naturally on their own. Sara (his owner) was there and was observing the training session.

We worked on open lunging, and I showed her how to reinforce the lateral in-hand work that I was using to sort out his unilateral weakness in the hind. I was able to demonstrate his weakness/slowness in the left and right hinds and give her a "blow by blow" view of each and every adjustment I make on him in hand to rebalance and guide his movement and why.

In open lunging, Peanut did excellent--he was able to walk, gait, and canter in both directions on a longer lunge line. He showed a lot of progress in his confidence and I explained to Sara as I was working when I would increase or release pressure from Peanut from my body posture and positioning.

Peanut 4/28

Peanut went on a trail ride today to Stoney Forest. He was being ridden by a true novice rider who has only had a few lessons on him, and they are the first lessons/rides on a horse she's ever had. Marie knew the rule was to keep his ears at "wither level" and to keep asking him to relax and put his head down whenever he popped it up to look at anything.

While riding down the road to get to the park, we rode past a house that had two riding mowers going in the front yard, with a kid on an ATV popping around the back of the house repeatedly as he was riding loops around the yard. Right next door was a large birthday party going on, complete with balloons tied to the mailbox, people parked on the shoulders of the road on both sides etc. Both Peanut and Ariana just walked past, relaxed and without a care in the world. We kept on walking past houses full of barking dogs, dogs that people inexplicably let run loose on weekends (and were out in the road checking us out), an entire large herd of cows, chainsaws, traffic, and all kinds of noise and commotion. The only thing he didn't like was a gunshot, which his rider put his head down, told him to go forward, and just buried his nose right up Ariana's butt for about 10 strides. He then calmed right down and kept on strolling.

He really handled everything in stride with a COMPLETE beginner on his back. We went into the forest and he walked right through a stream with no problems or hesitation, went uphill and down without a care in the world, negotiating the trail with ease. As we were coming back to Legacy, we picked up speed and he gaited down the road and up the driveway, relaxed and happy. He as a little tired and had to be encouraged to gait, but was happy to go forward.

Scooby 4/27

Scooby was a hard horse to ride today! Every horse is allowed a bad day, for sure, and his movement and ability to bend was much better overall. Unfortunately, he just had it in his head to ignore me, the bit, my weight, and pretty much anything I asked for. He was willing to trot in frame once I wrestled him there *sigh* that horse has a hard mouth and a great propensity to ignore...... He has a great ability to lock his poll, jaw, neck, and just stick his head out and ignore all attempts to "get through" to him.

I did warm him up by lunging him in sidereins and he was soft and responsive on the lunge. He did try to occasionaly "hanging" behavior with the sidereins as well, which I would tap him with the lunge line and he would bring his head up.

I decided to start from scratch and insist on looseness at the poll, a refusal to let him "hang" on me or pull on me (he loves to throw his head down and pull his rider right out of the saddle) and just get transitions. I worked on walk/halt transitions, insisting he remain soft in the poll and would "bug" him until he released his jaw. While much of the work was dependant on an ability to "out-stubborn" and "out-wait" him for a response, it was still frustrating at best, as I KNOW this horse can do better. I did get after him for any pulling, and he was quite willing to move foreward.

He did get his teeth done this week, and they were quite sharp according to the dentist. His resistance to the rein was more "even" at least......still a little more resistant to the right rein (a recent change since he's been on the Bute protocol).

I worked to get good transitions with a loose poll from halt to walk and from walk to trot. He's able to walk in frame on a nice loose rein. Transitions from walk to trot were truly fought for, step by step. I could reliably get a decent (meaning not "rocketing") transition to trot when essentially "throwing away" the reins and allowing him to skygaze a bit, then slowly working him back down, but he would hit a resistance point when about halfway to where he needed to be and begin to fight and skygaze again. Trotting is truly his issue, and cantering is slightly better than trotting. Once he unlocks the poll, his gait relaxes and he moves correctly. But the transitions this day were awful. Just a bad day for Scooby.

Ironically, while according to my standards Scooby was doing poorly, two people commented on how much better he looked as I was working with him. So that's a bright spot, eh? I expect this week he'll do better (anything would be better!! LOL!) Again, I think Scooby was just having a particularly bad day. Horses are allowed to have them, just like people :-)

Peanut 4/27

Peanut worked today on open lunging again. He showed great improvement and increased trust by willingly going forward on the lunge walk, gait, canter in both directions and I was able to use a lunge whip as well. I kept the lash up at first, but was able to let the lash drag soon after we started. I was able to do larger circles with him consistantly moving forward with only a few stops. He remained relaxed the whole time during lunging.

Under saddle, he was a little more flexible at the poll, a little more "together" with his hindquarters etc. He was starting to finally "lighten up" on me with the rein during gaiting for several steps at a time and I was able to start putting him in a more independent frame (i.e. not hanging on me) for several strides. He still needs to build fitness, but seemed slightly better after only 2 days of work. We worked lots on "gait and bend" and also reviewed his lateral work as well.

Peanut 4/26 The Crazy Horse Trial

Peanut worked more on the lunge in open space today, now willing to go a little faster, accepting of the "tapping" of his hindquarter with the in-hand whip on a small circle, and was able to go into a slightly bigger circle and even offered to canter when asked without screeching to a halt, stopping, turning in, and backing wildly. I still just used the in-hand whip (no long lash) and reviewed in-hand work with him. He was more willing to work with me, was more flexible than yesterday, and was a little more coordinated in his 4 track shoulder in work. He was more animated and coordinated with his back legs, but showed a clear unwillingness to move as fast or as well on the right rein.

I rode him, and he was very heavy and pulling hard on the reins. His right lead canter has lost much of its former balance and was very heavy on the forehand and "running", though he could sustain it very well and was happy to do so. He was hard to encourage in a frame above a walk and even in walking was heavy and occasionally throwing a 'tude about needing to "give" to the rein. He could not come int o a true frame when gaiting, but was able to sustain a "1-2 3-4" gait (slightly pacey) easily. I took him out on the driveway, which I use as a sounding board for gaited horses. I was able to keep him closer to an even 4-beat gait, but he wanted to go more hollow backed to do it. He was able to really "rack on!" with his head wagging back and forth when I let him come up, but he would often still leave his hindquarters behind after several strides. His poll was not as soft and responsive as I'd like to see it (and had it previously). To summarize, he lost conditioning over the winter but retained his gait and ability to get the right lead. He just needs some targeted strenthening and re-tuning of his gait, along with needing to get more stamina (he was huffing after about 20 minutes of sustained gaiting and cantering).

The good part: he was a ROCK STAR at the end. I rode him down the driveway and Dancer and Aurora (in the front field) were more up than I have ever seen them. When they saw Peanut, they began racing around the field going CRAZY, bucking, farting, rearing and tossing themselves so high I thought they were going to clear the fence. All the while, Peanut just kept walking, relaxed, wondering why they were playing so hard, I'm sure. I took him down the road to the neighbor's driveway, with Dancer and Aurora galloping at full speed, sliding to a stop right behind him and BLOWING alarm blows, neighing, then bucking and tossing themselves around and taking off again to gallop around the field. They did this the WHOLE time while he calmly walked along the fenceline ont the road. I turned him around, and that was the ONLY time he showed any tension, just because he was wondering why we were changing direction. He simply put his head up, stared at the horses for a second, but had no tension in his body. He was just casually watching. He then walked back calmly and then gaited all the way back up the driveway. Peanut made me quite proud of his trial by fire!

Peanut 4/25

Today was Peanut's first day in training. He is a coming 6 y.o. TWH that is "barefoot and bitless". He was in training with me last year due to a lack of 4-beated gait and a need to be able to canter on his right lead. He would either pace or trot. He has a "slow" left hind, meaning it tends to stay on the ground just a TAD longer, which of course means he would have trouble getting his right lead and would throw off the 4-beated gait. He also had some kind of abusive practice/training method used on him prior to his current ownership, as some things "trigger" abused/panicked responses from him, such as lunging in open areas, whips, and occasional headshyness. His owner has worked through many of these issues using NH techniques, and I am continuing her work in those areas.

In the 30 days training I had done last year on him, he was taught framework, as he was mostly a pacey horse and needed to be taught self-carriage in a frame and how to half-halt to put more weight on his hindquarters, round up and then he would gait perfectly. To correct the "slow" left hind, he was taught to bring it up off the ground when I would tap with a dressage whip, both in-hand (with sidereins---yes, you can do that bitless!! and an in-hand whip) and from the saddle. It retrained his gait and muscle memory to gait properly and keep the 1-2-3-4 even step sequence. To fix his canter, I taught Peanut lateral work in hand and did tons of 45 degree head to the wall on the left rein to have him step out with the left hind, and tons of shoulder in work also, to strengthen the left hind and get him more ambidexterous overall. By the end, he was consistantly taking the right lead canter, could rebalance with a half-halt, and was sustaining a 4 beated gait for longer and longer periods (up to a half hour or more) on straight lines. He was JUST learning how to "gait and bend".

In the past year, his owner has taken lessons with me to learn how to "shape" the gait, how to sustain it, how to get it back when he falls out of it, and how to ask and consistantly get the right lead canter and support his balance in the right lead canter. He also learned how to jump (another hind quarter strengthening exercise) and she was learning to jump also. Once all of this was successful in the ring, we began to focus on trail work.

Peanut's focus in this training month is to "tune up" his gait, as he's had much of the winter off, and to expose him to as much trail work as possible to continue bombproofing him.

The first training sessions was short--pretty much just fitting all of my equipment to him, confirming his memory of the in-hand work I taught him, trying to work through a little of his fear of lunging, and re-introduction to siderein pressure. He showed his return of a weak LH, but worked through his fear of going forward on the lunge and was willing to walk, gait a few steps, and stop in both directions. When giving him a longer line, he would stop and turn in. Due to the "abused mind" wiring, aggression to "send him on" in an open space causes him to short circuit and panic, pulling back, launching backwards, running backwards etc. He's fine in the round pen with or without a line attached. He only exhibits the behavior in the open when he has possible "escape routes". Ignoring his occasional stopping behavior and using gentle and positive-only reinforcement works well in getting him to calmly start walking again.

Scooby 4/18

Well, the Bute made a HUGE difference! Scooby can bend left now!!!! YEA!!!! If anything, he now has trouble bending and tracking to the right, but that felt like a teeth issue and not a back/hock issue. The locking was often in the jaw vs the whole body. Once he was tired, I could feel the change and he was showing resistance in the hind to the right, coming from the hock. But, he was able to bend left easily and relaxed the whole time--something he couldn't even approach doing before!

He also was less "stuck" in the huge extended trot and was able to transition into a trot with less vigorous "jump" and more collection. For the first time, he was not coming up off the vertical so violently in his transitions, and by the end he was actually transitioning pretty softly in his poll (as long as I gave him a big release from pressure as a positive reward for going forward). We worked on LOTS of serpentines and trotting while changing direction. While he was fresh, he was excellent, perfect, soft, responsive! But I could feel the hock begin to break down underneath me as the session went on, and his framework and tension built. I was very careful in working through it, asking him to "just try" and the moment he did, I would lessen my seat, rein, and sometimes let him walk as well if he showed lots of effort. We did lots of transition work and worked with learning the "gaits within gaits", learning how to support himself a little more on his hind and generally re-learning his trot gait, as I could feel he's been compensating for a while and has to un-learn that way of going.

He's still in pain and will need further therapy to get him fully sound, but overall he is responding well and showing improvement! He leg yields were soft, relaxed, and excellent. He even tried to give me a trot shoulder-in! The only thing I really had to get on him about was his lack of paying attention to my seat in walk-halt transitions. His ears would telegraph that he'd gotten the cue, and he'd half-halt, but he would continue to saunter along and not actually stop until I really used the reins to get his attention.

I did a couple quick canter circles at the end, but he was already spent and bunny-hopped in his canter in both directions. He tried to relax down and round in the canter, but just didn't have enough support in the hind to do it.

I also had not lunged him before riding the past couple rides and will return to lunging him to warm up his topline first the next time he's ridden, as I expect his canterwork will improve with lunging first.

Val 4/18

Val just did some quick, quiet work today. He has issues with backing when the bit gets put into his mouth (Fran is getting his teeth done when he heads back home for a month) and has issues trying to knock into you with his jawbone while haltering. So, I took a halter and bridle down to his paddock and just worked with him on putting it on and taking it off about 100 times. Also worked with letting me handle his ears and just general head-handling work while in the open. It's different when the horse is in a stall or confined area, but when you're at a show and you realize you've never put a bridle on your horse out in the open, it's an eye opening experience! Some horses just stand there, but Val likes to try to back out of it or walk away. So, we worked on "bridleing" and "haltering" in the open. It also gives him a chance to retreat to a larger distance and then get more and more comfortable with the experience as well.

Val 4/17

Fran visited today and Val was excellently behaved, especially considering the "distraction" of having "mom" there :-) Of course, part of that could have been me telling him that if he wasn't on his best behavior, his "mom" was going to leave him with me FOREVER. Boy, did he straighten out quick! LOL!!!!

I reviewed with Fran all of the various commands I use in general handling with Val. I showed her the "rules" I have set up for him, and how subtly he (and any horse) can test them. At this time, Val is in "boot camp" and cannot get away with a SINGLE infraction. It also takes very real attention to notice when he's even thinking of breaking a rule (like "no pawing while in crossties" or "don't move into my space when I walking around you" etc). I showed her how to watch for even subtle shifts in his balance, and to watch his face and eyes for any indications of him thinking of nipping etc. I also advised her NOT to get into his space at this time, NOT to handle his mouth/lips at this time, and to make VERY sure that playtime is playtime but work is work. I advised her while he's JUST starting to learn these new boundaries and they're really starting to sink in, NOT to tempt him to break the rules by getting into his space and giving him openings for misbehaving. I have started to purposely break the rules, and show him that I can get into HIS space any time I want, but he must never get into mine without being invited. He's learned this with me, but he needs more repetition with Fran before he can start to leanr the difference between work and play and purposeful invitation.

I showed Fran his cues for moving his hips over or asking to back in the crossties. Val likes to pretend he's made out of stone and will stand and plant when asked to move at times, sometimes even shifting his weight INTO you in defiance. So I showed her an easy way to get his attention when touching his hip points and asking him to move over by using a hoofpick to "poke" on the hip a little. I've worked with him on this, and if he doesn't listen to a gentle finger put on his hip and the verbal "over", then I go to putting my whole hand on his hip and pushing. If that doesn't work, I touch him with the hoofpick and over he goes in a flash :-) Next time I go to ask, I usually don't need the hoofpick! I also showed Fran some of the "rules" I have set for him and the exceptions. When we went to secure the field the round pen is in, we left Val tied and walked away (he ties like a champ--Fran made sure of that with hours of tying him and primping LOL!) and he started to paw once I was out of sight. She told me and I told her that was ok. As long as I can't see him pawing and it's not in a human's presence, I'm ok with it. Paw all day in solitude. Do not paw while I work with you.

I showed Fran the universal "finger up" in his face and big "negative noise" I use to let him know he's doing something wrong. I put a lead line on him and we took a walk first so I could also show her the "right turn" cue I train into all horses, especially horses I have to prep for halter shows and doing the triangle (all right turns!). I instructed her that any time he came within a 2 foot bubble to cue him with the lead laid across his neck (like a neck rein) and cue his shoulder to move to the right. It kept him at at least a 2 foot distance from me, which also quells the temptation to nip etc. He walked quietly on a loose lead, no chain. We did lots of stops, starts, standing with her walking all around him like a judge (I do a lot of inhand sporthorse show training), touching him and walking away. We did backing on a long lead, working on a "pillow" of space and him backing away when I went into the "pillow" of space. I showed Fran how to raise her hand, send "energy" down the lead and walk into him (without getting too close!!) and reinforcing with the in-hand whip if necessary to back up. Again, an escalation of cues if the first subtle cue is not heeded. I handed her the lead and coached her through all the moves. I also explained step by step any time he wasn't listening and why, giving her instruction on how to get better responsiveness.

I also showed Fran how she needs to give Val verbal warning before just asking him to stop. I showed her the set "rules" that he has for walking (i.e. he cannot turn his head into me, he must look straight ahead etc.) and showed her how and when to reinforce them. I explained using a warning word "and" as a verbal half-halt to prepare Val to know she'll be asking him to stop. A common mistake in riding, leading and lunging is to suddenly screech on the brakes without warning. That simple "and (pause).....ho." verbal warning kept him from skewing his body around her when she would suddenly ask him to stop.

We went into the round pen and did lunge work in harness. He stood like a champ for getting the harness on and stood well for walking into the gates (he would fidget like crazy before, trying to eat the lunge line, trying to back, getting generally bored etc). At first, we had our daily battle of "you must walk past the mare" (who despises him and rushes the round pen wall, ears pinned and teeth bared, when he gets close) for about 5 minutes. We do this every time, and he stops trying. I did show Fran how to be proactive in KNOWING he's going to try to stop and stand with the horses on the other side of the fence and to start cueing him to remain going forward 2-3 strides ahead and to "lay off" and let him roll when he's going forward willingly. I worked him briefly in both directions to demonstrate and to motivate him forward when he tested with the horse distraction, then handed the lunge line over and coached Fran through doing the same thing. She was thrilled with how responsive he was to walk, trot, stop, stand and NO CHEWING. Not during bitting, lunging, leading, NOTHING. She was floored by the "no chewing" :-)

Fran took the harness off of Val (and he stood like a rock) and then hopped on him bareback for a few rounds around the round pen while lunging. I was proud of her, as I pushed her a little outside her comfort zone and she rose to the occasion with bravery and grace. They lunged around me for a few minutes and we walked into the barn, quiet as a mouse. I showed her how the "right turn" cue works with the bridle as well, showing her how he already knows indirect rein :-)

Val 4/16

Val has been in for the past 2 days due to the deluge of rain we received in such a small timeframe. Luckily, the barn had no storm damage and we were able to get right back to work in the high wind today.

Val showed improvement in several things today, to include response to the lunge, standing and waiting, no chewing of lines, and true understanding of cues. He lunged very reliably today.

He went into the round pen and was "round penned" for about 10 minutes or so to work out the excess energy from being stallbound for 2 full days. He handled it well, and after trying to stop and stand over where the horses were, he stopped trying and was successfully changing directions, stopping, changing direction, standing, etc off of quiet body cues. Vicki was working with me, watching and learning. We harnessed him up in the round pen and he stood quietly for the process. I attached the lunge to him and he was a bit surprised about the "structure" of lunging (thought he was stil "free" and round-penning) for a few minutes. He settled right into lunging, though, and was responsive on all the points he's been working on (i.e. "out!"--making the circle bigger--and voice commands).

A true test of how well he had learned was handing him over to Vicki--she had never lunged a horse before, but was a QUICK study (quicker than anyone I've ever taught to lunge!). She was able to successfully lunge him with NO problem and he was listening to all her cues very well. He stood quietly for taking the harness off as well. Overall, a good day for Val and confirmation that he's ready to move forward.

Training week of 4/8 - 4/14

Well, training took place, but so did 2 mares foaling and some majorly LOOOOOONG hours, so no posting of notes this week.

Val began his round pen work and worked in harness for the first time while lunging. He is working in the bridle on a regular basis now and got an education in NOT chewing on absolutely EVERYTHING around him, to include the lunge line, the lead rope, the lead shank, the reins etc. He was responsive and beginning to really learn the rules about not stopping to "talk" to the other horses, moving on when asked, and working off his handler's center of balance. He was hooked to the driving lines and lunged with them attached to the bit for the first time. On ground manners and handling, we had some serious "talks" about standing patiently and quietly at a distance while I chained up gates I needed to walk through etc. We went back in the woods again for a "trail walk" again and he handled everything like a champ. He's really starting to come along now and is just coming to a point where we can "roll up our sleeves" and start some real work!

Here are some pics from those sessions:







As for other training done last week, Scooby was worked bareback to again rule out saddle fit/back issues. By riding bareback, I could feel his back bunch up underneath me when traveling to the left, which was obviously a pain response. His framework was the same and his responses to cues was the same. His vet appointment was late last week and x-rays revealed arthritis in the right hock. He also got his feet trimmed, his toes were VERY long and causing interference. His dentist appointment is scheduled for next week, so between teeth, therapy for the arthritis, and trimming Scooby should be a different horse by next week..... we'll see!!

Val 4/8

Val was MUCH improved today. We went into the round pen again (this time armed with a flash for the bridle!!! Yea!!!!!). The flash didn't help all THAT much--he has very dexterous lips, but at least it helped him understand a little more that he's not supposed to grab a hold of equipment and "take over".

We started out with a "trail walk" and he was very well behaved. We had horses who got very upset seeing him walk by and started galloping back and forth excited, egging him on to join them, and while he went to the end of the lead rope and tossed around a little bit, it was nothing that wasn't easily handleable and he "came back" and kept walking quietly within a stride or two. Great opportunity, and I even asked him to STOP, STAND and STAY while the horses right next to where he was standing were running around and snorting like idiots and he DID. It was also a COLD WINDY day, and he was much better overall. Still gotta work on bridling without chewing on the bridle or tossing me over with his head, though.

Now that the round pen environment wasn't as fascinating, he was much better. I think Dolly insulted him before LOL! He was able to walk, trot, stop, stand, and move OUT! and away from me on command much easier and was very attentive and responsive. He did try the "stop, stand and IGNORE" evasion tactic a couple times, but didn't persist with it and overall was much better and more consistant. He responded better to my insistance that he not chew on the lunge line, lead line etc. Since he was doing SO well, I spent time roughhousing with him when he stopped on command, grabbing his head and "mugging" him (and daring him to try to bite me.....he's got to learn "acceptable play" with humans!) and he was very good. Didn't try to bite, but sure did lift me off the ground a couple times. Strong bugger!

He did MUCH better, going all the way out to the edge of the round pen, still tried to stop and talk to Dolly, but was better about anticipating that I would not let him and stopped trying.

We jumped some poles in hand at the end and he was good about getting the bridle off and general handling/manners in his stall. His stall manners overall have greatly improved and continue to do so every day.

Val 4/6

Today Val worked in the round pen for the first time. We worked on Lunging 101, working on walking, trotting, stopping and "getting out" (making the circle bigger) on command. As expected, he was fascinated by his environment and had trouble focusing on me vs the cute friesian mare and the TB gelding temporarily locked up in the dry lot behind the round pen.

I worked with him on bridling quietly (needs work LOL!...he needs to learn how to NOT turn it into "how can I chew on the leather and head-wrestle with my handler" time!) and then took him in to the round pen, walking him around "orienting" him to it in BOTH directions (I'm a big proponent of walking both directions with a horse when entering an unfamiliar/new workspace until they relax), introducing him to the tarp outside the pen, reviewing his "head down" and "right turn" commands to keep him at my side quietly and not jumping in my lap.

We worked on him following my cues to send him forward off of his center of balance and connecting to the names of the gaits to the gaits I wanted. As expected, he spent most of his time trying to chew on the lunge line, grabbing it and trying to take it from me (I'm working on verbal "NO!" cues to get him to drop whatever he's decided to put in his mouth at the moment, especially lead lines, lunge lines, bridle leather, halters etc....). He refused to walk further than 10 feet from me in the circle and was very distracted by the mounting block in the center of the ring. He spent a lot of time standing in one place and completely tuning me out to stare where he was interested in and pretending to be blind, deaf, and made of stone when asked to move on. None of this was a surprise, as pretending to ignore your requests is his favorite evasion tactic. He also didn't want to move forward in a trot going to the right (this is normal, we don't lead horses from the righthand side, so they tend to not lunge well to the right either. This also tends to be most horse's weaker direction overall.)

Since Fran had told me she free lunged him often, I went ahead and "set him free" to ask him to trot out, just to get the forward movement I was looking for. He was happy and drifted directly to the outside of the round pen, stayed out, and trotted, cantered and bucked his little heart out. He started "testing" (this will get worse before it gets better) by trying to stop as he went by the side of the pen that Dolly (my mare) and Hoolie were. He would stop and try to talk to her versus continue on the circle. Again, expected. What WASN'T expect was Dolly helping me out. I almost fell over laughing when she promptly rejected his interest by pinning her ears and CHARGING the round pen. Boy, did he look surprised and moved fast! Thanks, Dolly! She'll break him of that habit REAL fast!!!! I bet he believes me now when I told him she wasn't interested in little blank and white furry pawed horses :-) Val thought I was kidding......

I walked him over some poles at the end and he was excellent. Overall, his behavior had much improved from the day before and he was "back" to where he had been. He just hates being cooped up and doesn't appreciate the high winds. Don't blame him. So do I!

Val 4/5

Today Val worked more on getting to know pieces of the harness and how to give to bit pressure. We worked more on personal space and moving hips over as well. He has "selective hearing" for when he's asked to "move over" when it comes to his hips!

The breastplate and bridle were added, and he stood tied fairly quietly for harnessing. I put the bridle on and worked on making sure he gave to pressure on each side. He was lead out with long reins attached to the bridle (HIS bridle, not the blinkered bridle yet!), through the breastplate rings and through the saddle. The breeching and traces were tied up out of the way.

He was led with an on-the-ground handler at his head and I had the driving lines. I used his "leader" (Vicki) to start transferring his verbal commands to the driving lines. He stopped nicely and he was able to go back and forth on each side of the driveway guided by gentle rein pressure as he walked. He understood what was being asked of him, but (as expected) had the attention span of a cricket and was more busy trying to "catch" and chew on the lead rope than actually listening or noticing what was going on around him. Due to rain the previous day he had to be kept in for 2 days. He had been turned out all day today, but between the lack of turnout yesterday and high winds today, he was completely full of himself and hard to work with. His attention span really was quite shot from the beginning, he seemed to forget all the work we had done the past week with NOT grabbing at the halter during haltering, NOT trying to knock his handler out during haltering, NOT dragging his handler etc. But, backslides are expected. We forged on, but his chewing on the lead rope was so disruptive that I disconnected him from the lead while Vicki had the reins and just walked by his side. He spent the whole time going back up to the barn balking (better that than dragging, at this point!), trying to chew on the breastplate, trying to chew on me etc. It also showed he was taking all his cues from his leader at his head, not as much from the person behind him driving (but that's to be expected!!!!!) It's the first tiome I've ever considered putting a muzzle or a flash or SOMETHING on a driving horse!!! I don't see him stopping that behavior any time soon.....my poor breastplate!

He had to stand QUIET to have the harness taken off, and was (overall) fairly well behaved for it, only having to reprimanded for trying to walk/back/wiggle a few times. It's a serious hazard to have a horse that will not stand quiet for being put to cart or unhooked from it. So, it has to be established EARLY on that patience and standing is a necessity,

I'm working with him a little "out of order". I'm letting him dictate a little what we're working on. I normally start lunge work, get that down, start lunging in harness, get that down, THEN start line driving. But in this case, it made more sense to do the "getting used to the harness" work with a leader in straight lines and in a familiar environment. I'll be going back to my more traditional lunge/round pen work in the next training sessions and he'll be doing Lunging 101 soon.

Val 4/3

Val was given his usual beauty treatment, with special attention to the feathers. He had been drying in his stall for several hours (not that it's all that muddy out, but it's raining now so that's about to change!!!) and I went through his feathers in detail to make sure they were healthy and brushed through all the layers (and layers, and layers, and layers.....) I feel like I need to put a hair clip on the top layers just to get through to all the rest! LOL!

I repaired his vetwrap (his braids were trying to escape their wraps--the beauty of using vetwrap is you put on the minimum and just add more when needed!) and gave him a really good grooming in the grooming stall. Normally, I do everything while he's tied in his stall, so this was his first time in the grooming stall.

Since his manners have been (overall) getting better, I can be less "disciplinarian" and more "friend" now. I did reprimand him for pawing every time, and had to teach him how to move his hips back and forth on touches to his hip points. He pretended to be made of stone and actually moved IN to me, so I had to actually teach a "hips over" cue. He was resistant at first but receptive by the end. Since I want to still engage his play mode instead of constantly being a "wet blanket" for him when I handle him (you need the horse to WANT to work for you to be a good motivator/trainer!), I started roughousing with him a little and he took it well without the normal labrador-retriever "jumping in the lap" kind of behavior. For example, normally if you handle around his ears, he wants to be scratched and he'll just about throw you across the stall and knock you out with his jawbone if you start touching that area/scratching. Makes getting a halter over his ears REAL interesting. He's been learning manners when being haltered and in general when handling/scratching his ears. Normally he'll stand for a few scratches and then revert back to trying to lean into you/knock you over/throw you across the stall. Now, he stood politely, not even considering any of the above. I handled all around the "trigger" area (can't put a bridle on a horse like that!) and he was excellent. I started manhandling him (normally this would ramp him up and get him too playful) by mugging him, hugging him, laying over his back, actually laying ON him, head by his withers, feet dangling off his butt. He did get a little fidgety for that and began anticipating it and knocking into me when I set up to stand above him (pre-mount work), but overall was very good. I backed down to hugging him and hanging on his neck and he stood for it fine, no fidgeting. The most remarkable progress for this is that I was REALLY invading his space and he wasn't trying to invade mine (for once!) I've been trying to impress on him this whole time that I can invade his space, but he can NEVER invade mine. (Them's the rules, they may not be fair, but you live under my roof....sound familiar? Did we all just flash back to our teenage years??)

After that, I fit the horse sized harness to him. I had to shorten everything but the girth :ROFL: . Even with the crupper on (usually a "buck button" for a horse who has never had one on before) he was calm. I walked him around with the saddle, breeching, and crupper and he was fine. Also reviewed his "turn right" and STAND and STAY work too. He was very well behaved, even though it was night, high wind, and a horse returning from a clinic had just pulled up in a trailer and he was all excited about who this new horse was.

Lyric 3/31 The King of the Trails

Lyric's owner has been very tentative about taking him trail riding due to his balance issues. I have to say, in all my years of training, today was probably one of my biggest feelings of accomplishment.

Lyric was KING on trail. He was so light and responsive to all his shoulder and leg aids--it really was a joy to ride him. No, it wasn't EASY. He is NOT a horse you can just sit on--you DO have to help him with his balance, but he rises to the occassion with such heart that it's truly a joy to work with him. I KNOW how hard what I was asking him to do was, and he was unsure but willing at all times. By the end of the ride, HE HAD LEARNED HOW TO SUPPORT HIMSELF DOWNHILL. This is a remarkable moment in his training. It bears repeating. HE LEARNED HOW TO CARRY HIMSELF DOWNHILL. ON HIS OWN. All the rider needs to do is keep him in a deep frame, which he did lightly and easily. He LEARNED HOW TO DO THE REST. I didn't have to half-halt, I didn't have to work to keep him between my legs. I sat and steered and kept him in frame. No pacing. None. Put the reins on the buckle and you'll have a pacing horse, but you won't feel like you're racing downhill anymore. He figured it out. It will take more repetition to "cement it" in to him, but he's definitely on his way.

We were out in Susquehanna state park for 2 1/2 hours, mostly walk work with an occassional trot. He was being so light on his aids when it came to me asking him to move a shoulder, move his hindquarter, relabance down a hill etc that I went ahead and challenged him to a very tough trail. I felt his ability to move over if necessary, and I had tested on the lower trails the fact that I could reliably close a left rein and move him to the right of the trail. Susquehanna has several narrow rocky, steep trails that have steep dropoffs on one side as they go along a ridge. I had confidence that Lyric, even tired, could do the Susquehanna Ridge Trail. It has a large dropoff to the left (that's where Lyric drifts to naturally), and winds up and down in steep ridges and hollows. He tackled the trail pretty easily. He only had one moment when he was going on a STEEP downhill where he had to step down about a foot and a half while being on a steep downhill trail that he said "I don't know, I don't want to". He doesn't do large steps down well, but after that one we encountered another downhill portion with 8 inch to 1 foot steps down every few feet and he didn't blink at them and did them well.

When we first started out in the park, he was creeping down the hills, stopping to rebalance, and I was holding his front end up from getting too heavy and quick down the hill. By the end, he was HOLDING HIMSELF UP down the hills, sitting more on his hindquarters, duckwalking less, and really using his lumbar and hocks to support himself. He also tackled water crossings well. He doesn't mind water, just steep drops IN to water. At one point I did have to get off and help him find his way on a dicey step down into a stream, but it was something I probably would have had to do for almost any horse. It was a difficult entry into the streambed with narrow rocks to step on and a steep almost 2 foot "step" at one point. When I got off and asked him to follow, though, he didn't blink twice.

We also had a victory gallop at the end and I challenged the other riders with me to a race--Lyric smoked 'em all. Admittedly, Gaby swerved decided to sideswipe Jill into the pine trees and Vicki pulled Dolly up when her hoofwings, which had stayed put the WHOLE ride, flew off :-) But Lyric outstrided and outdistanced them easily anyway!

Val 3/31

Val's work today consisted of "trail work" on the lead. The farm was VERY busy and we walked all around it, reinforcing the "move over/right" cue, along with working on his attention span. He's gotten very responsive to stopping on cue with very little pull on the lead. We walked the trail by the dressage ring, with all kinds of horses working in it. Jumps had been set up and a couple horses were galloping and jumping while he walked on the other side of the fence. By two pastures he had horses running, bucking and snorting right next to him and he needed to focus on me to continue. He was challenged, but overall well behaved for all of it.

We went on the trail behind the pastures and walked a portion of it. We crossed large logs, and also worked in the unfamiliar environment on STANDING at about a 7 foot distance and STAYING. He was MUCH more responsive to it today, and by the end actually began to reorganize himself into a balanced, base-wide square stance, knowing he was not to move. It was funny watching him try to negotiate the larger logs. He was ALWAYS game, always willing, He would put one furry paw (they just don't seem like hooves, you know?!?!) up on the log, look at me and say "ok, if you really want me to try to get over this thing.....I'll try!" even though it was WAY too big for him to walk over. I wanted to see how he'd think through and approach something clearly bigger than him--some horses jump over, some horse back up and say "I don't think so!". He did neither, which was interesting and showed great heart. He was willing to try to straddle these tall wide logs if I asked him, and even tried once. He wasn't upset, he wasn't trying to jump or get around having to go over the obstacle. He just shrugged his shoulders and said "ok....it's a bit big, so I'm not sure how you want me to do this, but I'll try!". Before he really gave it a college try, I'd back him away and take him to a smaller part of the log that he COULD walk over and he'd step over easily.

Since I didn't lose his trust (by MAKING him do something too big for him) he was willing to walk over any stray logs, no matter how narrow and easy to walk around, if I asked him. Most horses would just walk around and say no, but he just said "ok...." and stepped over everything. He'll make a great trail horse. He was a pansy about mucky footing, but went when told.

Lastly, he had several young mares come FLYING over to him within a matter of feet while I was walking him back to the barn, he just talked to them and got a little strong and light on his feet, but nothing unmanagable. When he got strong about going back to the barn, within feet of the pasture and the mares flipping out and bucking right next to him, I made him STAND on a long lead and STAY, while pointed downhill and setting him up to try to run over me, with the mares behind him acting like idiots. A true test of the training I had just worked on. He stood well, only wiggling and trying to walk forward after several seconds of stillness. After that we did about 10 more repetitions of STOP STAND and STAY and he was rock solid.

Lyric 3/30

Lyric's owner was onhand for the training, so I was able to spend some time showing her how to ask for in-hand work before riding. It was her first time working in-hand with a horse, so we had a lot to cover. :-)

His lateral trot work improved GREATLY over his previous ride. For the first time he was really able to trot shoulder-in, half pass decently, and his collection work had also improved. He has much more spring and push in his hindquarters, and they were definitely taking more weight as he tracked in a collected trot. We also worked extended trot as well, and basic lengthening and compacting of frame. He's just learning all of this, so he has to really be guided when asked so he knows he's giving the right gait and balance.

We worked on a bunch of lateral work and I started playing with his canter transitions. He did GREAT canterwork, doing less than 20m circles with ease (and MUCH more uphill this time!!!!!) and was better balanced both ways. We did a walk to canter transition on his left lead that was excellent--relaxed, balanced, and correct. While feeling a significant lean in the left lead, he was more responsive to the left leg during the canter and I was able to support him better with it and he was able to start bending around it (truly supporting the left hindquarter). He also was less "go get 'em" after his canter work. While he was strong in his trot, he wasn't running around in it. At the same time, his aerobic work has been strengthening him in general and he can now work at a decent pace for 45 minutes without tiring much at all.

His owner and I also noted the increased lumbar and stifle muscle he's developed in the last 3 weeks. A great day for Lyric.

Val 3/30

Val finished getting the last of his braids put in and was introduced to pedestal work today. He happily went in and pawed at the pedestal, but didn't know what to make of it. I got him to understand stepping up on it on command, and started asking for specific legs to move on command. I began to associate the tapping of each leg with the request for movement. I also started introducing the concept of Obeisance (low bow work, also called "saying prayers"). It's a great tool for building the ability to stretch lumbar muscles and improve a horse's balance. I asked him to step fully on the pedestal, but (as with all horses I work with for the 1st time on the pedestal) he was pretty uncoordinated and got 3 up once, but that was it.

He kept wanting to play with the balls that were in the pedestal training stall, so after I got a few good repetitions of mounting the pedestal and obeisance, I let him go check them out. His attention span was wandering and I was starting to JUST get the teenage "I Don't Wannas" so I quit while I was ahead so it wouldn't be a negative experience. I showed him the balls and he tried to push and play with them on his own. Of course, the hardest thing will be to get him to stop kicking and biting them and start pushing them with his nose instead!

Gaby 3/30

Gaby amazes me. Her memory is just WONDERFUL. I started her out in hand, and after only ONE session working in hand with me two days prior, she worked in hand like a pro. Beautiful, light, balanced. Shoulder-in, renvers, leg yield and half pass were all easy for her. I could actually stand back, use one rein only, even take away the in-hand whip and ask her to half pass and she complied easily. She demonstrated she had a true understanding of the task at hand during the 2nd time ever in her life she's been asked to do this. Remarkable.

Mounted, her trot transitions had greatly improved and I was able to gather the rein quicker after the transition to start "putting her together" underneath me without resistance. Her walking lateral work (shoulder-in, travers, leg yeild and half pass) had all improved dramatically. Trotting, she was unable to carry out anything but leg yeild and shoulder in, but that's so be expected. She has to learn the balance, bend, and step sequence under saddle at the walk first and become comfortable with it to begin to be able to trot with it.

I played with piaffe with her and she complied and REALLY stepped up underneath herself and SPRUNG off the ground, while listening to hand and seat. Every time she complied, raised her forehand, and lowered her croup she was given a HUGE reward, with voice, patting and softening of all aids, allowing her forward movement if she chose again. Her owner also cheered her on from the sidelines as well, letting her know she was doing the right thing. After each high collection, we went around the ring long and low to stretch out her lumbar. We also played with extension as well. She's beginning to learn the idea of shortening and lengthening her frame on command.

She was easily able to go from walk half-pass to pirhouette back to half-pass etc. She's really starting to grasp the concept of her seat, rein and leg aids. She's very reactive to core musculature changes in her rider, and a correct core from her rider really make her gaits and movement shine. She also is building her aerobic ability to work longer as well.

Scooby 3/30

Well, I think I figured out Scooby's issues. Detective Wesley at your service!

First off, he was MUCH better overall. I had already fit my saddle to him, but I carried out a softsaddle (by Cashel) to try on him just in case a bit change didn't make a difference. I also carried out two bits to try as well. I've noticed while lunging him that his right hock does not have as much flexion as the left, though it's going on the left rein and bending left that is harder for him. While tacking up today I noticed an obvious kick mark on his right hock, confirming there might have been some temporary damage there and that's why he's so resistant to put his weight on his hindquarters and flex with the hocks. He will slow his gait now like a western jog, but will not actually "sit" on his hind and work--he gets hollow backed, high-headed, jiggy and upset when I ask. But he's willing to track out in a BIG lengthened trot all day long. Unusual for a horse of his conformation (short legged, short strong back, round hindquarters, round croup).

I noticed his teeth were sharp and I think the D-ring snaffle was really coming up against his molars. Additionally, a little horse like him often has a small pallet and doesn't like bits that are just two-piece snaffles--they engage and "tent", putting undue pressure on the roof of the mouth. I tried a french link baucher (a personal favorite for skygazers) and he was receptive from the beginning. I really didn't need to try any of the other equipment--between the bit change and noticing the hock injury I think it accounts for most of his problems. I checked my records and I don't show his teeth being done since his arrival in the fall of '06 and don't have it on his entry paperwork. I emailed our dentist to start scheduling the spring teeth floats, and I think Scooby should be first on the list.

I worked him in lots of transitions--walk/trot and some canter. He was tentative for the first couple transitions, sucking back and not sure about going forward (but never balked). After the first two he moved out great, and then the LIGHTEST leg would send him forward. He has a BIG transition in to the trot, and tends to drop his forehand during the transition. One thing I really need to work on with him is getting that transition to smooth out and not be so dramatic, with him often lowering his head (not so much as he used to!) and pushing hard into the trot, which unbalances his rider and then causes a lack of harmony. He also still tries to take the reins, but not half as often and just gets deep and round in his work instead now. I do reward him for trying to round his back by posting very lightly and putting my seat a little more forward to absorb his energy, while "putting a floor" on HOW low he goes. He does this more tracking on the right rein than the left.

He needs to learn how to bend-it's a missing key component in his work and makes it difficult to correct his balance at times. Of course, when he loses his balance, he loses his confidence and gets choppy again. But overall he was very responsive to seat aids, to the bit (once he got used to it) and even his canter work became quite nice once he settled into his gait. He really needs to have a lot of repetitive transitions into and out of gaits so you don't spend as much time working to relax him after he's changed gaits. Overall, though, a great improvement in his work. I think he's missing some key musculature to get his job done, and he does get snarky after he starts getting tired. More training work will help improve this as well. I didn't have ANY gate-sour behavior tonight, though. He was willing to take his transitions anywhere in the ring.

Scooby 3/29

Scooby is a 9 y.o. Azteca (QH X Andalusian) pony who needs some re-working. He has beautiful groundcovering movement when correct, but hollows his back and skygazes like crazy when not. He's gotten gate-sour and also has gotten into the habit of balking during up transitions, throwing his head down and taking the reins, rounding his back like he's going to buck.

I made sure I had a good saddle fit, as I was suspicious of back problems. I also need to take a good look at his bit--he's in a D ring snaffle that seems too big and seems to be putting pressure on the roof of his mouth. Will try a couple different bits tonight--mullen mouth or a french link snaffle.

The behavior seems to be a learned response. He was JUST starting to learn framework last year when he was off for the winter. His owner is a hunter/jumper and has been riding him occassionally during the winter break. When he's good, he's very good, but when he "acts up" he seems to try to intimidate his rider.

Getting in the saddle, however, I had a different feeling altogether. I felt pain or pressure somewhere. Hocks, back, or teeth. My bet right now (as I made sure of saddle fit) is on the teeth. A bit change/trying without a bit tonight will confirm this. He seems to have gotten into a habit of expecting to be stopped when being asked to trot. I lunged him (and he was very responsive and sound) and then mounted and re-established the cues for framework--head down, then "nose in") He was very heavy on the reins and was locking his jaw against my requests to soften. I worked on him in small circles, breaking him at the poll, and when he was reliably soft again I started working him in straight lines. Once he was working well in the walk, I started working on transitions. He seemed genuinely surprised that I wanted him to continue on when he balked the first time (no tail swishing, just go-STOP!). I only used the shoulder bat I had once (not going to use a long dressage whip on a bucker, thank you very much!). It surprised him into the trot and he dove his head down almost to the ground, trying to pull the reins out of my hands, and then moved on. As he moved, he went from nose on the ground and pulling to inverted and skygazing, running in the trot. He was highly resistant to returning to a frame (or any semblance of a "normal" rein) and we went back down to walk. In walk, he was heavy on the rein again, but softened.

I gave him his head in the trot transitions, only blocking him when he pulled the rein down, and asking him to continue forward through the balk. Once I got a pattern of reliable transitions when asked (with no balking---only took a few repetitions) I started working on getting him to soften at the poll in the trot too. He tended to go from WAY to high, inverted and running, to WAY too deep and round, rounding his back and feeling like he was going to buck, but moving beautifully. I think that feeling of "buckiness" that he gives has been "yanked up" so many times that he really only knows two ways of going now--too deep and round or skygazing with no contact or control. Trusting he would not buck, I started "putting a floor" on how far down his frame was during his "deep" moments and "putting a ceiling" on how far UP his head was during his worst skygazing. I praised him heavily for every trot stride he did correctly and ANY softening of the jaw he gave me, no matter how tiny, in the trot. I basically gave him "parameters" of how to travel and rewarded him heavily by lots of petting, and letting him stop and walk after contigeous steps of correct trot.

I also started reviewing seat command with him, as he gets VERY fast and downhill in his trot, making you feel like you are rocketing around the ring and should have a sulky strapped behind you. He gets very fast going towards the gate, as expected. I rewarded him very heavily for his response to seat commands in walk/halt and then trot/walk transitions. He was starting to be able to stop almost reinless. When I started trying to sit him and get him to shorten his strides (when he trots he TROTS and marches all around the ring in HUGE strides) he got very resistant and unraveled, hollowing his back, inverting his head and chopping up and down in his trot. This could be because he was working his lumbar in ways he's not used to and me sitting on him, no matter how softly, hurt, or that his hocks were bothering him. It seemed to me to be hocks, but it's hard to tell right now. I really get a feeling like he understood what I was asking, but I was asking him to work through discomfort or pain. I haven't ruled his back out yet, but even before I had gotten on him I did muscle tests for back soreness, stretched his lumbar out etc and he didn't show any sensitivity. Still doesn't mean that's not the problem though.

He did "come back" to me after asking him to move forward and trot on. He leg yeilds nicely, moves his shoulders with indirect rein nicely, and was finally working with a lowered head and more relaxation by the end of the session again. I'll be doing more "detective work" tonight, along with correction work, to see what the cause of his back hollowing/sky gazing problem is. I can train him all day to hold himself the way he's supposed to, and if he's willing to do it through pain he will, but it's not fair to ask him to work like this if pain is causing the problem. I did get him to give me really nice trot transitions off of very light leg very consistantly at the end, though. He happily jumped right into impulsive trot strides from the walk, which was nice to see and feel.

Val 3/29

Val got more "beauty treatment" today, getting 3 more braids shampood, conditioned, detangled, braided and wrapped. I also washed etc his tail as well and wrapped it up to keep it from dragging through any mud, sticks etc. He had half his hay in his tail!

His feathers have been holding up great, and he was very well behaved for coming in and leading around. We worked on standing still (yeah, needs more work!!!LOL!) and I taught him a new cue to stop his crowding behavior as he walks. All horses, when I start with them on the ground, learn how to move their hips and shoulders over as necessary. Horses are taught to yeild body parts as they stand and as they walk. His biggest challenge in walking around on a lead is walking AWAY from his handler. He crowds badly and will push his handler over accidentally if he swings his head over to look in one direction or another. If he looks off to the right, his shoulder comes over and he drifts in towards his handler and begins to step on top of them/push them (no perception of a person's space), and if he looks left, his jawbone ends up right in front of your face and is a hazard. Many young horses look to their handler as a "security blanket" and he is no exception (though it would really be nice if he stopped stepping on his blanket....)

He learned quickly to move over, and by then end I was able to lightly lay the leadrope on his left shoulder and say "over" and he would quickly leg yield to the right or turn right. Much like a neck rein. I transferred the command to Vicki this morning as she walked him in and he was responsive after a few repetitions. Makes walking him and making right turns much easier :-)

Lyric 3/28

Good day for Lyric! I saddled up and we worked inhand for a few minutes, warming up and reviewing his lateral cues. His trotwork was much better, and we got our FIRST trotting shoulder-ins. He tried to trot a travers, but just has trouble with it right now. But, he tried, stretched NICELY across the left side, and is responding MUCH better to the left leg. If he forgets, a simple tap reminder on the hip with the whip sends that hip RIGHT over. He pulled off a trotting half-pass to the left. To the right is still a challenge, (yet in hand, he's better!!!!!). Overall, he was light and did excellent. Moving the lateral work up to trot is a big deal for him, as this will REALLY begin to help build his stifles even more.

As for cantering, we started playing with the transitions. He has a very hard time rounding in the canter and putting his weight on his hindquarters. HILLS would help this (can I order a hill?!?!?!). He gets SO active in the hind that it almost feels like he is pacing in his canter (inside front and hind are slightly out of sequence and are coming forward at the same time). His inside hind is hanging in the air and his front is coming down too soon in the canter sequence, giving him the downhill feeling. It's the opposite problem I'm used to ("bunny hopping" in the hind). The "fix" (besides all the obvious conditioning work to fix the hind end problems) is LOTS of transitions (half-halting to keep his weight on his hind) while keeping his forehand raised to delay the premature strike and subsequent downhill "fall" of the canter.

He was handy in his canter, though, handling corners ok when supported with inside leg, rein and seat. The only other issue I had was in his mind :-) Once he was doing canter transitions, he got heavy and fast and needed to re-focus back to the lateral work.

Gaby 3/28

Gaby is a coming 6 y.o. friesian mare who has the basics of w/t/sometimes canter. She has the impulsion of a snail, but when motivated, can REALLY move. She has trouble getting her left lead and has weak stifles. Her owner has not been able to get a left lead on her for some time and has since stopped asking for the canter. Her left stifle locks during extended gaits or when it gets "left behind". Because of this, she is protective of it and loathe to step fully on it or stretch across the left side. She also drops her left shoulder in many of her gaits and puts her balance heavily on the left side.

We worked on a LOT of things. I have not ridden Gaby in a training environment for a couple years (pretty much rode her for her first canter at 4). Jill has been her "person", and is also pregnant and will need some on-the-ground things to work on with Gaby soon. To that end, and because Gaby desperately needs some hind end conditioning, I started by working her in hand and introducing lateral movement to her. We started with turns on the fore, and moved to shoulder-in, renvers and a little playing with leg yield and half pass. Knowing Gaby has been off for the winter, (and knowing that aggrivates her stifle condition) I took it easy on the in-hand portion of her warmup and just introduced the concepts to her.

Her owner has not done much lateral work at all with her, but has educated her well to the use of the outside rein. So, the concept of lateral work came easily to Gaby. Jill's current problems are the lack of ability to canter on the left lead and Gaby's raising of her head in walk/trot transitions.

After playing with Gaby and feeling her out, I deduced that her coming up out of frame in her walk-trot transition was coming from tension/apprehension/anticipation of movement/rebalancing on her back on her part. I broke the "frame" cue down into smaller parts, asking her to JUST put her head down (on a long rein, long and low work) and also figured out that the rider's lack of balance/adjustment of balance on the first post of a posting trot was throwing Gaby off. By sitting her trot and keeping a more consistant seat, along with giving her a positive reward of "throwing the rein away" if she kept her head low and level during the transition, Gaby's tension/apprehension disappeared. Then, to get her back on the vertical, I slowly began to take up the rein and gave her a different cue for "nose in", while giving her leg to ask her hindquarter to step under (so it's not just a headset, but a whole body frame). I asked on circles, as it's easier to get frame there. Breaking it down to two different signals made the transitions happy and tension-free. I was able to more quickly ask for her return to frame once she was trotting after she was warmed up as well. (note: need to double-check saddle fit) I also began to teach her how to pick up her shoulder and support herself while circling by applying flexion to the inside rein.

I introduced the idea of shoulder-in under saddle, and then travers. I schooled a little bit of leg yield and introduced the IDEA of half-pass as well and she was really responsive to the idea. Lastly, after I had her reliably moving her shoulders and hindquarters where I wanted her to and had really warmed up her hind and got her bearing more weight on it, I set her up in travers on the left rein, half-halted the inside rein, asked her to leg yield a step to the outside and asked for a walk/canter transition on the left lead and got it. Not that I want her to have her hindquarters to the inside when she does her canter transition, but it helped to "hold" her left shoulder and transfer the weight to the outside hind easier.

Overall, a BIG learning day for Gaby with lots of "firsts". She'd never been worked in hand before, she never had done a shoulder-in, renver, travers, or a half-pass before.

Val 3/27 PM The Brain Fairy Has Landed

Val's "training session" consisted of ground manners 101 and he showed a HUGE improvement. 180 degree turnaround. He seems MUCH more settled in his new environment now and is handling haltering and leading much better. He stays out of your space (most of the time) and I just need to convince him that when we're haltering him I SWEAR we're not trying to give his itchy, hairy ears a bunch of nice scritchies!
He was a complete angel tonight, standing in the wash stall cross ties for an hour getting unbraided and rebraided while mares got walked right in front of his nose. He didn't even blink. Stood like a champ, even as I was washing his mane, rinsing it by throwing buckets of water on it (so I didn't spray him in the face when I was doing his forelock), conditioning it, and then BLOW DRYING it. Yup, you heard that right. I was dying laughing as, just like at the Hair Cuttery, I'm there giving him a rinse and a blow dry. Never done this before, but he took it like a champ. Brianne was there and helped scrape the dried mud off the REST of him while I did the hair styling. I wrap braids up with vetwrap to keep them clean, and I got 3 braids done in the hour he was worked on. Pictures of some of the process are below.






Val doing his best Fabio impression......

He was so patient as I carefully sorted through his forelock and dried it. We kept calling him "Cousin It" during his hairstyling.

Lyric 3/27

Lyric's work today consisted of lots of in-hand conditioning and strenthening work. I put the surcingle on him, sidereins, and we attacked the cavelettis in style. He was handier lunging over them than last time, clearing the poles with his hindquarters pretty easily. He trotted and cantered them, and was better at his canter striding this time. He was shortening and lengthening his canter stride as necessary vs having to take off and JUMP the raised poles. I worked him in both directions, with a few walk breaks. I raised 2 of the poles to 1 foot high and took him around again. He tired quickly with that challenge and even with encouragement just didn't have the strength/endurance to really pick the hinds up to get over 1 foot poles. I put them back down to get his confidence back and let him have a couple more walk breaks.

Even though he was tired, I went ahead and asked for just a LITTLE more to see what he could do over the jumps. One technique I like to use is in-hand jumping with sidereins. It's a little unorthodox, but for horses like Lyric who need to really learn to "sit" on their hind and push off, plus need the added side-to-side support for balance, it's a great tool. The sidereins are somewhat loose so that the horse can reasonably stretch over a jump in a bascule and not get punished in the mouth, but at the same time maintain enough contact so they have to come up under an obstacle, half-halt and PUSH from the hind. I don't do this for long, but it gives amazing targeted conditioning work. He jumped the barrels, railroad ties, Cat Hazard jump, the evergreen gate, and couple other obstacles. He was willing to try being lunged over these jumps and was bold when set up properly for a nice centered take-off.

Lyric was one seriously tuckered boy when I was done with him, but did great conditioning work that will carry with him into the next lesson.

Orion 3/27

Orion worked on collection and extension within the gaits and strengthening his hindquarters in general. Unfortunately, he had moved back a little bit regarding lightness on the left rein. I used lateral work to really fire up his hindquarters and was able to do most of my work in a gentle sitting trot (thanks Jean Paul!!!!). He was very good at keeping the tempo in the trot and not continually insisting on "powering on" and actually had to be ASKED to trot "bigger", which was a pleasant change. We worked on trot/canter shoulder-in in both directions, trot and canter half-passing (his half pass to the left improved closer to the end, less "falling" on the left leg). In his 20m trot shoulder-in circle on the right rein, he actually offered a few steps of passage when he felt the restriction of the left rein! I rewarded him heavily, and also asked for "higher collection" closer to piaffe and he complied very well. After each period of shortening, I asked for lengthening to stretch his lumbar and get his forward swinging energy back in the trot.

His canter half-passes were really improved and a real pleasure to ride. As he warmed up, his canter got lighter, slower, and had a LOT of lift, so I started asking him for more advanced movement. He was able to trot pirhouette easily (more a volte, but hey! He turned a nice trot half-pass into a 180 degree ~3-4m volte and kept on going!) and once he was cantering well I ran him through canter shoulder in up the long side to canter half pass across the diagonal, then moved to 1/4 turn pirhouettes in the canter and eventually got a very nice 6m canter volte on his right lead. He leaned into it, but the hindquarter was still supportive and he understood the concept well. I also asked for a couple flying lead changes and got his "good" right lead to his "bad" left lead in a change. I could feel he was late behind and cross cantering for about 2-3 strides and he self-corrected. He was fast in his left lead canter for a few strides and then he calmed nicely and continued on.

Now, if I could only sit his HUGE canter-trot transitions :-)