Out Of My Space Bud

All of the horses seemed to be enjoying the fresh snow today and Whisper was no exception. He decided he was not going to be caught and enlisted Doc to rocket around their rather extensive pasture. I followed them over hill and dale for awhile but it was too slippery to really work at keeping them moving until they decided it was easier to be caught. Doc would come up to me for scratches before chasing off with Whisper again. Spice simply stood and watched. I’m sure she was thinking the same thing I was –‘ silly boys!’ I finally went to get the big guns – a handful of alfalfa – and offered it to Spice. It took Whisper about 1 minute to decide he wanted some too and he cozied up to me. Doc got his mouthful and we were off to the arena to work.

There was too much snow on the ground to really do much although I was surprised that the footing supported lungeing at a trot. I guess if they can tear around the rocky pasture trotting in the arena should be doable.

We mainly worked on the four types of backing ala Clinton Anderson. Gotta say, his methods certainly work. Whisper now moves quickly out of my space with the slightest pressure and doesn’t return unless invited. We’ll continue with refreshers but I think it’s back to moving over poles and getting him ready to be ridden. I have no real timetable but that day is definitely getting closer. Next training session is Monday. Hopefully the snow will be gone and the footing good enough to raise the poles off the ground a bit.

Snowy Pony

Whisper is just hanging out being a horse in winter today. It’s snowy, the footing is treacherous, and I have a cold so he agreed no work should be the order of the day. Actually, he stuck his face in his food dish and ignored me. I'll take that as agreement.

We did some groundwork yesterday – mainly trying to identify areas where he could use some improvement. We worked on Clinton Anderson’s sending exercise until he had that down but I think we need to back up and learn to back up better. He occasionally crowds me and always wants to be within reach. If I back him up he moves forward as soon as I move. He doesn’t get the ‘my space’ concept. One of his favorite tricks is to bump my shoulder from behind with his chin. I think he just wants to stay in touch but it can be a bit disconcerting. So, I’m going to find the backing up video and as soon as the weather is a little better I’ll work that into the routine.

Merry Christmas

Whisper's Rail Video

As promised a video of Whisper working over the rails. This seems to be his favorite activity so far. When I was warming him up away from the rails he moved over to them on his own and started working. He prefers trotting over them and is very balanced, placing each foot precisely in almost the same position as the previous round. Next we’ll add a surcingle to the mix. Once he’s used to that we’ll add the bridle (provided I can find one to fit) to get him used to responding to the bit. By bringing him along in this manner that first ride should be a non-event.



We’re still working on gait cues, leg yields and half passes and he’s coming along well in those areas. He no longer throws his daily hissy fit – guess it wasn’t any fun if all he got out of it was going back to work. While he prefers working in the round pen – and we have to use that for now as that’s where the rails are – he’s improving in the arena. A lot of his general spookiness is gone and I have to wonder if some of it wasn’t for show. If I throw up my hands and move toward him quickly while we’re working he will quickly spin and move away as if I scared him. When we’re feeding we generally give them their grain, then a carrot, then dessert (alfalfa). The horses know this and move over to the fence by the bales at that point in the ritual. They can make it difficult to get into the pasture so I usually try to shoo them away mainly by throwing up my hands and moving quickly towards them. Whisper has adopted the same ‘yeah, right’ demeanor as the other two. So, what ‘scares’ him in the round pen doesn’t in the pasture. Gotta wonder.

Whisper Learns to Pick Up His Feet

Whisper has had a short vacation while my mother and I went to Seattle to do the Yule/Christmas thing with relatives and friends. The horses were not forgotten. Everyone asked after Whisper and heard his story again. All the horses got treats and Whisper received new grooming tools which he really appreciates. He loves being groomed and fussed over. Thanks to Willow and Ajay and Haven and Orie. You all have a standing invitation to visit any time.

Today was Whispers weekly training session. We showed off what we’ve been working on and Samantha said he’s making great progress. Most of the lesson was spent teaching him to move over poles. He stumbled over them initially but quickly learned to pick up his feet. You could see him working out how best to get over them and pretty soon he was timing his trot so that each foot cleared the next pole in a fluid motion. It was really pretty to watch and he seemed to be having a good time. As soon as I can get some video I’ll post it. I’ll continue this for the next week then we’ll bring in the cavalettis and raise the poles a bit. I'm incredibily pleased with his progress and really looking forward to seeing how he handles this next step.

Herd Boss and Barrels

12/14/2009

Well it’s official. Whisper is in charge. I watched him run Doc off two hay piles yesterday. Spice is actually missing a patch of skin and hair as the result of a mutual kicking bout. I think Spice miscalculated the length of Whisper’s leg. She’s a bit more bad tempered about moving off but move she does. So far he seems to be a benevolent dictator. Above, he surveys his new realm while below, Doc consoles himself at the hay pile.

Back to training. I was getting bored (presumably Whisper was also) with the same old groundwork so decided to mix it up a bit. To the tarp was added the blue barrels. Interesting sidenote. Almost from the first Whisper has demonstrated that he will groundtie pretty dependably. Recently I have been just dropping his lead to setup the arena for the days lesson. Even when I spread out the tarp and positioned the barrels he stood and watched. Curiousity is starting to overcome fear.

The tarp was old hat. He marched over it like a trooper. Being rubbed with it isn’t his favorite thing but he sighed and stood quietly for the most part. The barrels. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t him greeting the barrels like they were old friends. There are two barrels positioned far enough from the arena wall for him to move between the barrels and the wall. The barrels themselves are positioned so that he can walk between them. First we went between barrels and wall. He slowed a little to sniff the wall on his amble through. He didn’t even do that going back the other way. He actually wanted to go between the barrels and did it beautifully. Hmmmm…somehow I don’t see Whisper as a barrel horse. The only hitch came when I laid the barrels end to end on their sides. As long as there was a gap between them he walked thru. But when I shoved them together so that he would have to jump them he stopped in consternation. He smelled them. He started to pick up a foreleg to step over and put it back down. He backed up and looked at me. We tried going the other direction at a trot with the same results. They couldn’t have been too big for him. Spice can clear them from a standstill. It appears Whisper doesn’t have a clue about jumping. We’re bagging that for now. When the time comes we’ll get out the cavalettis and teach him. All in all it was a very enlightening session.

Herd Dynamics

12/13/2009

It’s really interesting to watch a group of horses regardless of the size of the herd. Doc and Spice have been stabled/pastured close together for the past seven years or so. Periodically we would move them into the same pasture but ended up separating them because Doc was always nipping her on the behind – she would have bald spots all over her back end. That is until the day Spice, inadvertently I believe, delivered both shod hind feet at full force to his left haunch. Poor Doc. I think Spice was kicking at one of the yearlings on the other side of the fence and he got in the way. He hobbled along with this befuddled look on his face. It was all we could do not to laugh hysterically at the little dictator. And from that day he has given her back end a wide berth. Nary a nip since then. Anyway, the point is that they are very used to each other and very comfortable in their environment. Doc is still dominant but pays the proper respect. They have their own side of the feeder and their own pile of hay.

Enter Whisper. I think he has had aspirations since he first met Spice. Doc initially worked very hard to keep him away from Spice first and the hay second. He gave up on the hay first. There were too many piles and he was running himself ragged. Before too long there was peaceful munching in the pasture. Then I took Spice out to ride and the boys were left to fend for themselves. Good grief. You would have thought they were weanlings and I took their mother. Whisper stood in the corner and yelled for her. Doc buzzed back and forth sometimes adding to the cacophony. When I rode her by the pasture the boys trotted along the fence line then raced (and I mean ran) up the hill so they could keep her in sight. Occasionally they would pass and remember that they weren’t best buds and turn and kick at each other. It was strictly for show as they weren't close enough to actually make contact. This was the first time I’d seen Whisper kick at Doc – before he had just moved away.

Spice made her choice crystal clear when I brought her back into the pasture. She made a beeline for Doc and they rubbed noses. Whisper just kind of hung back (I think he may have noticed that she kicks) and followed at a distance when they moved off. It was actually kind of sad. Poor Whisper had been spurned by his new lady love. I told him not to set his cap on that redhead.

Don't Leave Me....

When I got to the stable around 11am Whisper was sharing a pile of hay with Spice. It looks like they’ve accepted him and while they’re not best buds they’re getting along.

We were at last able to work again today. Nothing new or original. I forgot to put the saddle on him so we concentrated on his tarp skills. He has begun to accept it as part of the scenery to the point where I can rub him with it and drape it over him somewhat. We walked around the arena several times, me dragging the tarp on one side and Whisper ambling along on the other. He kept a close eye on it for awhile then pretty much ignored it. He continues to progress nicely.

One additional note. We usually go to the stable around 3pm to feed grain and alfalfa. Today we went up early so we could take off Spice & Doc’s blankets and brush them and maybe let them graze a little. Now keep in mind Whisper has been in the same pasture for maybe a day and a half. When we took them out of the pasture you would have thought he’d seen the last of his best friends. He’s not particularly vocal but he stood in the corner of the pasture closest to the stable and called until I took Spice back down where he could see her. He was right there to welcome her back when she went into the pasture. He followed her around until I put out her grain and Mom brought Doc back. Then he went back to munching hay. Presumably all was right with his world again. Can a horse become herdbound in one day?

Whisper and ‘the Kids’ aka 'the Herd'

12/9
It’s even colder (-8), but turned out to be an eventful day. Samantha postponed Whisper’s training until Friday so I went up a little later and discovered that his automatic waterer had frozen. Didn't take much thought to decide whether to haul hot water or put him in with Doc & Spice who have a heater in their trough. He has moved in with ‘the kids’ for the duration. They are now known collectively as ‘the herd.’ There was initially little drama. Doc (who is dominant) approached to talk, squealed, turned and kicked. Whisper ambled off knowing Doc is in charge. Spice continued eating. Nothing gets between her and her hay. I had put out many piles of hay and it became pretty funny. Here is this small quarter horse with pinned ears buzzing around trying to keep this huge interloper from the hay piles. Whisper would simply walk away from him – he can walk faster than Doc can trot. I warned Doc that he was going to lose weight if he kept it up and left them to sort it out. When we returned a few hours later it appeared that Doc had finally given it up and settled into consume as much of the hay as he could. We fed them their grain and treats separately, put out several piles of hay and alfalfa, scratched and patted, and left them to it once again. I would have taken some pictures but my camera doesn't seem to appreciate the weather either.

12/8/2009
Today it’s really cold - -7 this am. Went to the stable around 10am to check on the horses. All were toasty in their winter woolies and blankets. Gave them each a flake of alfalfa and left them to bask in the sun.

No work today. It’s just too cold. Fed and gave them another flake of alfalfa, added some carrots and scritches and called it a day.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr

It is soooooo cold. OK, I’m not originally from here but still…. The plan is to go up to the stable about 1pm, work Whisper, then ride Spice in the arena. At 1pm it’s about 15 – a veritable heat wave. Wearing four layers on top, two on the bottom, and thick wool socks I manage to stay relatively warm especially after cleaning Whisper’s feet. Things proceed normally. He does his daily drama queen routine; he lunges across the tarp after stopping once to sniff it in each direction; he stands on the tarp; he does leg yields; he does half passes (not well but I think that’s my fault as he does them well for Samantha); he refuses to go back into his pasture. Whoa, back up. It’s that nasty gate. He’s been balky about it periodically but will generally go in. We go back and forth and he says “nope, nope.” Finally I tie the lead inside the gate, stand beside him, point, and swing Spice’s rope halter in a circle behind his rear. He says “well, why didn’t you say so” and moves right in thus earning his treats. Horses!

Of course now there’s not enough time to ride Spice so she gets a brushing and a few treats. Thinking about it I bet she put him up to the gate routine. Horses!

Oh, and when I get home I discover my face is sunburned. Sheesh, need sunscreen in the winter too.

Whisper Gets A New Tarp

After a training session I like to work him a couple of days in the roundpen (where the lesson was held) then move to the arena. Today was the day to move to the arena. I had added a saddle to the mix yesterday and today there was a different tarp than the one he originally met. He definitely noticed the difference. It was basically back to square one. First he decided to throw a hissy fit. He’s begun having one per session and telegraphs them by first throwing his head then humping his back a little. He then takes off for several steps. Sometimes he stops then and sometimes he’s come to the end of the allotted lead and has to turn. Typically I ignore these outbursts and we continue with what we’re doing as we did this time. He wouldn’t lunge over the new tarp so I led him until he was comfortable, stopped him on it and delivered pats and scratches, and then lunged him over it. He even accepted being rubbed over his face and forequarters with the tarp. Progress.

The saddle. He has issues with saddles. Interestingly in his surrender papers it is noted that he seems to enjoy groundwork but not saddle work. I don’t know if the person making these comments had actually ridden him or just observed his behavior under saddle. Regardless there is a problem. He stands well for saddling which is a good thing as he’s so tall I have to heave the thing up onto his back. He’s not cinchy. He’s doesn’t seem to mind the weight – it’s a 25ish lb western saddle. He doesn’t even seem to mind the stirrups swinging when he’s moving. The problem appears to be sound and sudden movements. Initially I accidentally tapped the saddle with the lunge whip. You would have thought a cougar jumped on his back. He’s over that now but is still jumpy when I slap the stirrup leathers. We work on it every day and I feel he is improving
but the issue will need to be thoroughly resolved before he can be ridden.

Whisper and the Blue Barrel

Never let it be said that a horse doesn’t know exactly what’s going on in and around his pasture. To adequately understand the logistics you have to visualize the layout. Whisper’s pasture is adjacent to the arena which is accessed by a ‘path’ that runs alongside his pasture. At the end of his pasture, on the outside of the rails are two blue drums, eight orange cones (stacked), and several cavalettis. There is also one blue drum on an overgrown trail course that Whisper can’t see from his pasture. Yesterday we had the pickup by the pastures so we decided to move the third barrel to join the others so we could use it in the. There are now three barrels at the end of Whisper’s pasture. While this was going on I had Whisper in the stable saddling him (more on that later). Thinking nothing of it I led Whisper down to the arena to continue his groundwork. We got to the end of the path and he came to a screeching halt and stood staring at the barrels. There was nothing else for it but to take him over to the barrels and introduce him to the third one. He snuffled at it, checked it over, and gave it his stamp of approval. Only then could we proceed to the arena.

Where another surprise waited.

Training Day 2 – The Green Tarp

Training is scheduled for 8:30 am. It’s cold and cloudy. The last thing I want to do is go outside. But I’ve discovered no matter how cold I am when I start by the time I’m finished cleaning those massive feet I’m toasty warm and then some. Whisper wasn’t enthused about leaving his pasture because breakfast hadn’t been delivered yet but I assured him it would be waiting when he returned and he followed right along.

We continued what he has been working on (gait changes, leg yields, and half passes) then added another aspect – the dreaded tarp. I continued lungeing him while Samantha drug the tarp around the outside of the round pen. He pretty much ignored that but then it came inside the round pen and was laid out on the ground. Still lungeing in a circle and mostly staying at a walk we got closer and closer to the tarp. When he could maintain his pace and was simply checking it out rather than moving away we upped the ante by walking him alongside the tarp while I walked on the tarp making as much noise as possible. Then the big step. We walked over the tarp. Whisper actually put all four feet on a tarp and calmly walked over it. He stood in the middle of the tarp and accepted praise and pets as his just due. And then he did it all one more time for the camera. Good job!

And breakfast was waiting for him….

Whisper has been here for two weeks now and is getting to know some of the other horses. On Saturday he made the acquaintance of my mare Spice. Spice is feeling exceptionally friendly right now and was eager to rub noses over the fence. They ‘talked’ for a few minutes then she and I continued to the arena for our ride.

Yesterday Whisper and I went marching. We work on groundwork for three days; on the fourth day we wander through the hayfields and brush sometimes going most of the way up to the rimrock. Yesterday we did the hay field tour. We’d walk for a bit then stop and graze a bit then move on. We met the horses on the next property – he was very interested but kept his distance as did they. On this walk instead of plodding along as he usually does he moved quickly and mostly kept his head at my shoulder. A couple of times he was actually a step ahead of me. Going back was a different story. For some reason he was nervous traversing the area we had just been over. I know, different direction, different brain. He had never seen this before. Anyway, he stopped several times to reconnoiter and was hesitant about moving forward. Translated, there was something waiting to eat him behind every blade of grass and no way was he going there. We continued this way until we came in sight of Spice’s pasture. All of the sudden she whinnies to him. He throws up his head and answers her. She answers back. Problem solved. He starts moving along smartly again without a care in the world. Who knows what she said (probably ‘come hither’) but whatever it was laid his fears to rest. Horses are such fun!