Sunday, January 24, 2010
Proof
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Want Something Done? Call an Expert.
Whisper can jump…boy can he jump. And of course I forgot the camera.
Training began in the arena with Whisper fully tacked – bridle, surcingle w/side reins, and Jean perched saucily on his back. Samantha set up the cavalettis and the barrels (the pole was set higher than I had it last week) then said when he was lungeing comfortably to take him over the jump. The first couple of times he picked up his feet and trotted over. The pole was raised. Whisper jumped. Several times. After giving me pointers on my form Samantha took him and they worked out his tendency to speed up (very common in green horses) and some of his fear of jumping the barrels. Basically he canters on landing because he can - that gait seems to flow naturally after a jump. By the time he reached the arc of the circle he had slowed to a trot which is what he should do. He would then trot to the jump and jump. Samantha showed me how to give him added impetus by clucking and using active body language (that’s the only way I can think to describe it). She also showed me what to do when he starts leaning on the line and quits paying attention.
As he got into it I think he started to enjoy it. He refused a few times – mainly at the barrels – and changed directions without being told a few times but always came back to her and settled down quickly. At one point he made a flying lead change as he turned to the left after the jump. The pole was raised again – I think it was up to 24” but I’ll have to measure and Jean moved to riding sidesaddle. He totally ignored that thing flapping at his side. He never had any problem clearing the pole and even made one gorgeous jump over the barrels. Of course I had my back to him when he took off but I turned in time to see him with his forelegs tucked in sailing over the barrels. It made my day. I am so proud of him.
Training began in the arena with Whisper fully tacked – bridle, surcingle w/side reins, and Jean perched saucily on his back. Samantha set up the cavalettis and the barrels (the pole was set higher than I had it last week) then said when he was lungeing comfortably to take him over the jump. The first couple of times he picked up his feet and trotted over. The pole was raised. Whisper jumped. Several times. After giving me pointers on my form Samantha took him and they worked out his tendency to speed up (very common in green horses) and some of his fear of jumping the barrels. Basically he canters on landing because he can - that gait seems to flow naturally after a jump. By the time he reached the arc of the circle he had slowed to a trot which is what he should do. He would then trot to the jump and jump. Samantha showed me how to give him added impetus by clucking and using active body language (that’s the only way I can think to describe it). She also showed me what to do when he starts leaning on the line and quits paying attention.
As he got into it I think he started to enjoy it. He refused a few times – mainly at the barrels – and changed directions without being told a few times but always came back to her and settled down quickly. At one point he made a flying lead change as he turned to the left after the jump. The pole was raised again – I think it was up to 24” but I’ll have to measure and Jean moved to riding sidesaddle. He totally ignored that thing flapping at his side. He never had any problem clearing the pole and even made one gorgeous jump over the barrels. Of course I had my back to him when he took off but I turned in time to see him with his forelegs tucked in sailing over the barrels. It made my day. I am so proud of him.
Monday, January 18, 2010
You Want Me To Do What? No Way!
For the past week we’ve been working to convince Whisper he can jump. The barrels were pretty much a bust although he did do a sort of hop, reach, kick thing with them a few times. What he actually learned was that if he pushed one it would open a space big enough to walk thru – which he did quite calmly. Nope, can’t say Whisper isn’t a smart puppy (er…horsey). In an attempt to find out if we were just starting too high for him I took him down to our somewhat improvised trail course and lunged him back and forth over some logs with varying heights. No problem. No jumping but he moved smoothly over the obstacles…until…he caught a branch in his tail. Now this branch was about 3 feet long and maybe an inch and a half thick – not insignificant. He jumped and the branch jumped after him. He loped a few steps and the branch flipped around and poked him in the belly. He loped a few more steps and stopped. Offending branch (aka dragon) was convinced to join the wood pile. We did a few more rounds and called it a day. The high point here is that although the branch spooked him he didn’t overreact and allowed me to help him overcome his adversary.
Time for the cavalettis. We set up one in the arena and after some basic lungeing I sent him over the jump which was set about 12 inches. He trotted over rather nicely but didn’t jump. After doing this for awhile he started moving faster and broke into a canter. I let him hoping he would jump and he did a couple of times but he also was getting himself spun up. He started leaning on the lunge line and refusing to change direction. Again I let him keep cantering because that’s what I would do with Spice. She will run for a bit then seeing that her histrionics were getting no result she slows down and pays attention. If all else fails I can use the lead to pull her off balance.
Note to self. Whisper weighs at least 400 lbs more than Spice. I cannot pull him off balance. He pulled the lunge line out of my hand and lunged himself right out of the arena. He didn’t go far and let me walk up to him (the treat probably helped a bit). We returned to the arena and did some more controlled lungeing until he settled down. At this point my mother took over.( She will be working with Whisper and Samantha while I travel to Virginia to help move my husband here). They worked mostly on getting used to each other and coordinating handler, horse, lunge line, and lunge whip. She’s probably more stern with him, definitely more vocal, and won’t let him bluff her. It will be really good for him. He's learning to respond to and trust someone other than me.
Time for the cavalettis. We set up one in the arena and after some basic lungeing I sent him over the jump which was set about 12 inches. He trotted over rather nicely but didn’t jump. After doing this for awhile he started moving faster and broke into a canter. I let him hoping he would jump and he did a couple of times but he also was getting himself spun up. He started leaning on the lunge line and refusing to change direction. Again I let him keep cantering because that’s what I would do with Spice. She will run for a bit then seeing that her histrionics were getting no result she slows down and pays attention. If all else fails I can use the lead to pull her off balance.
Note to self. Whisper weighs at least 400 lbs more than Spice. I cannot pull him off balance. He pulled the lunge line out of my hand and lunged himself right out of the arena. He didn’t go far and let me walk up to him (the treat probably helped a bit). We returned to the arena and did some more controlled lungeing until he settled down. At this point my mother took over.( She will be working with Whisper and Samantha while I travel to Virginia to help move my husband here). They worked mostly on getting used to each other and coordinating handler, horse, lunge line, and lunge whip. She’s probably more stern with him, definitely more vocal, and won’t let him bluff her. It will be really good for him. He's learning to respond to and trust someone other than me.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Same Old Stuff
1/12/2010
We mostly worked on things he already knows including moving between the barrels and over the tarp. He was a good boy and did everything well – as I would expect at this point. In preparation for mounting/riding I have begun to position him next to the short wall in the arena so that I can lean on his back. He lines up well with his right side to the wall (figures) but moves his hindquarters away when parallel on his left side. I have to wonder if he thinks I’m going to get on him. For now I’m rubbing and scratching when he lines up and stands still. Hopefully this will encourage him to stand still and I can move to leaning on his back.
We mostly worked on things he already knows including moving between the barrels and over the tarp. He was a good boy and did everything well – as I would expect at this point. In preparation for mounting/riding I have begun to position him next to the short wall in the arena so that I can lean on his back. He lines up well with his right side to the wall (figures) but moves his hindquarters away when parallel on his left side. I have to wonder if he thinks I’m going to get on him. For now I’m rubbing and scratching when he lines up and stands still. Hopefully this will encourage him to stand still and I can move to leaning on his back.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Pedicure and Props
I forgot to mention that last Friday Whisper had his first trimming since coming to stay with me. He was pretty good for the farrier although he lost patience with the process a couple of times. The farrier suggested I hold his feet up longer and tap on them to simulate shoeing. We’re going to leave him barefoot for the next few months and see if his heels will grow so he is more upright. If they don’t we’ll need to shoe him so that he’ll have more heel support.
I am slowly acquiring more ‘stuff’ for Whisper. Most of it is jury rigged from discarded tack but so far it’s working pretty well. I was able to elongate the throat strap on Spice’s headstall by buckling in a piece of throat strap from that old headstall – best $15 I’ve spent in a long time. I’d feel safe using this rig to ride with but I still want to get a headstall made to his measurements. To all of this I added ‘Jean.’ Jean is a multipurpose desensitizing tool (aka a pair of holey Levis with stuffed legs). Attached to the D rings on the surcingle Jean simulates the flappy leg movement of a less than perfect rider. Jean normally rides astride but is occasionally moved to ride sidesaddle. Its appearances have provided many moments of hilarity thus inuring Whisper to sudden and loud peals of laughter. Preview Jean’s inaugural performance in the video below. Oh, and watch the dog (Ajax).
I am slowly acquiring more ‘stuff’ for Whisper. Most of it is jury rigged from discarded tack but so far it’s working pretty well. I was able to elongate the throat strap on Spice’s headstall by buckling in a piece of throat strap from that old headstall – best $15 I’ve spent in a long time. I’d feel safe using this rig to ride with but I still want to get a headstall made to his measurements. To all of this I added ‘Jean.’ Jean is a multipurpose desensitizing tool (aka a pair of holey Levis with stuffed legs). Attached to the D rings on the surcingle Jean simulates the flappy leg movement of a less than perfect rider. Jean normally rides astride but is occasionally moved to ride sidesaddle. Its appearances have provided many moments of hilarity thus inuring Whisper to sudden and loud peals of laughter. Preview Jean’s inaugural performance in the video below. Oh, and watch the dog (Ajax).
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Mud, Muck, and Puddles
It’s been kind of a sloggy week for everyone. It’s rained and snowed and melted and rained and the mud is deep and sticky and just nasty. Whisper doesn’t want to leave his pasture because he always slides the short distance to the road. So far he’s been really good about letting me know he doesn’t like it then sighing and doing as I asked. Having slid on ice and banged myself up a couple of years ago I imagine I know how it feels but I think he trusts me not to ask him to do anything that would hurt him. At least I hope so.
Whisper’s latest training session was on Monday. We added a bridle to the surcingle and tried to add the side reins. He continues to do well on his groundwork. He has no problem with the surcingle. A pair of chaps was tied to it so as to simulate legs and that didn’t bother him. He continued changing gaits when requested and moving nicely over the poles. When I stopped him and began flapping the chaps around and making noise with them, that bothered him briefly. However after the first jump he settled down fairly quickly. This is something that should be added to every session. Maybe an old pair of jeans would work – I’ll have to try it. To this mix was added a couple of exercises designed to get him used to the bit and yielding vertically. I think he already knows this. He drops his head with very little pressure and will sometimes leave it there. He’s had some practice at yielding laterally in a halter so the transition to the bridle was pretty smooth.
A word about tack. Nothing fits Whisper. I’ve tried 4 headstalls on him. The closest to fitting is Spice’s – it has a wider brow band than the others but is still tight. The throat strap is too short by inches. I just tucked that into his halter. It works for the current purposes but I wouldn’t ride him that way. The side reins were too short. I went to Big R looking for a longer set but they were closed for inventory. Then I thought I’d try making them. I probably could have but during the process discovered that by adding a clip to the cheek pieces from an old headstall the current set were long enough. Yay. Cost me $6. Note to Big R: It would be nice if you would post when you're closed for inventory on your website.
For the remainder of the week I took advantage of the muddy, puddly weather and we learned more about walking through water. For me this consisted of convincing Whisper that the water was ok to walk in. For Whisper it was more fun to see how much water he could throw at me. Those huge hooves make a mighty splash. Tomorrow we’ll go over all of his lessons and make sure he remembers everything. I think I’ll even get the tarp out and see how he reacts after a couple of weeks without seeing it. And, we’ll get some more pictures. That done he should be ready for his next training session on Monday.
Whisper’s latest training session was on Monday. We added a bridle to the surcingle and tried to add the side reins. He continues to do well on his groundwork. He has no problem with the surcingle. A pair of chaps was tied to it so as to simulate legs and that didn’t bother him. He continued changing gaits when requested and moving nicely over the poles. When I stopped him and began flapping the chaps around and making noise with them, that bothered him briefly. However after the first jump he settled down fairly quickly. This is something that should be added to every session. Maybe an old pair of jeans would work – I’ll have to try it. To this mix was added a couple of exercises designed to get him used to the bit and yielding vertically. I think he already knows this. He drops his head with very little pressure and will sometimes leave it there. He’s had some practice at yielding laterally in a halter so the transition to the bridle was pretty smooth.
A word about tack. Nothing fits Whisper. I’ve tried 4 headstalls on him. The closest to fitting is Spice’s – it has a wider brow band than the others but is still tight. The throat strap is too short by inches. I just tucked that into his halter. It works for the current purposes but I wouldn’t ride him that way. The side reins were too short. I went to Big R looking for a longer set but they were closed for inventory. Then I thought I’d try making them. I probably could have but during the process discovered that by adding a clip to the cheek pieces from an old headstall the current set were long enough. Yay. Cost me $6. Note to Big R: It would be nice if you would post when you're closed for inventory on your website.
For the remainder of the week I took advantage of the muddy, puddly weather and we learned more about walking through water. For me this consisted of convincing Whisper that the water was ok to walk in. For Whisper it was more fun to see how much water he could throw at me. Those huge hooves make a mighty splash. Tomorrow we’ll go over all of his lessons and make sure he remembers everything. I think I’ll even get the tarp out and see how he reacts after a couple of weeks without seeing it. And, we’ll get some more pictures. That done he should be ready for his next training session on Monday.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Getting stepped on doesn't hurt if you're standing in mud
As I’ve mentioned before Whisper and I are working on backing up. He’s got it down pretty well and he definitely respects that stick tapping front of him. But the big motivator seems to be body language. When we feed I enter the pasture with both his and Spice’s grain. They both have their designated eating spots. Sometimes I feed Spice first, sometimes Whisper. Today I ducked under the tape by Spice’s spot just as Whisper decided to claim said spot for his own. Now you don’t mess with Spice when it comes to food. She squared off to kick at him, he spun around to reciprocate, and Spice pushed into me. She planted her little foot on mine and squished it into the mud. A lot of mud was flying around until they got it worked out. I don’t remember who won. I called Spice back over and gave her her grain then went after Whisper. Walking towards him, shaking my finger I gave him an earful on manners and that big baby moved back out of my space and never took his eyes off me during the entire lecture. The look on his face was priceless. “Yes m’am;” “how high m’am?” It had to be the body language that got through to him. I was moving toward him with what he viewed as intent and he got out of the way with alacrity. I was in charge in that instance.
As soon as I left the pasture he made sure everyone knew he was back in charge. When Doc went to see if there was anything left in Whisper’s grain dish Whisper ran him off with a great show of bucking and kicking and squealing. Then, as he stood there taking a bow, Doc circled behind and finished his dinner for him. Spice was busy making sure the alfalfa was on its way. TeeHee. Horses are so entertaining.
As soon as I left the pasture he made sure everyone knew he was back in charge. When Doc went to see if there was anything left in Whisper’s grain dish Whisper ran him off with a great show of bucking and kicking and squealing. Then, as he stood there taking a bow, Doc circled behind and finished his dinner for him. Spice was busy making sure the alfalfa was on its way. TeeHee. Horses are so entertaining.
Catchup and Mud
01/02/2010
Today is our day to go marching and exploring. This time Whisper got to share the fun with his pasture mates and I got to try something I’ve been putting off. My mother and I took all three horses and headed up the hill with them. I was leading Spice and Whisper and having visions of them tying me up in their leads and Spice deciding someone needed kicking. Surprisingly they behaved in an exemplary fashion. Whisper led beautifully, keeping his shoulder even with mine. Spice trailed behind at times looking for that elusive piece of green succulence. But there were times when Whisper was on my right shoulder and Spice was on my left and we were completely in synch. Everyone got to graze a bit and mom and I decided we’d have to continue doing this, trading off horses so they were all familiar with each other and the routine.
01/01/2010
It’s been really wet and mucky since the snow melted. Central Oregon mud is such that the further you walk in it the taller you get. Fortunately I got a pair of Muck boots for Christmas so I’ve been happily plodding around in whatever the environment throws at us. The horses don’t fare quite so well. Whisper, with his huge feet and massive size seems to have the most trouble with sliding around in mud. I had a terrible time convincing him to leave the pasture after the initial melt. We spent at least 10 minutes walking back and forth along the fence line – I thought the problem was the snapping electrical wire. Come to find out it was the slope to the road he was trying to avoid - with good reason. When he started sliding there wasn’t much he could do but ride it out – only a couple of feet but he was justifiably nervous. To top it off I took him down to the outdoor arena. Apparently the footing is good old CO mud. He sank to his fetlocks. He was incredibly good about it as we picked our way out and went searching for some decent footing. Along the way we made use of several mud puddles. Whisper believes the most direct route through a puddle is around it but after I explained to him that his hooves would be clean and shiny and I stomped thru in my new boots, he stomped right along with me. We were both soaked to the knees. We did finally find some firm ground and played around a little but after grooming we called it a day and I went to get Spice who, with her tiny feet , can practically walk on water. At least she’d like to think so.
Today is our day to go marching and exploring. This time Whisper got to share the fun with his pasture mates and I got to try something I’ve been putting off. My mother and I took all three horses and headed up the hill with them. I was leading Spice and Whisper and having visions of them tying me up in their leads and Spice deciding someone needed kicking. Surprisingly they behaved in an exemplary fashion. Whisper led beautifully, keeping his shoulder even with mine. Spice trailed behind at times looking for that elusive piece of green succulence. But there were times when Whisper was on my right shoulder and Spice was on my left and we were completely in synch. Everyone got to graze a bit and mom and I decided we’d have to continue doing this, trading off horses so they were all familiar with each other and the routine.
01/01/2010
It’s been really wet and mucky since the snow melted. Central Oregon mud is such that the further you walk in it the taller you get. Fortunately I got a pair of Muck boots for Christmas so I’ve been happily plodding around in whatever the environment throws at us. The horses don’t fare quite so well. Whisper, with his huge feet and massive size seems to have the most trouble with sliding around in mud. I had a terrible time convincing him to leave the pasture after the initial melt. We spent at least 10 minutes walking back and forth along the fence line – I thought the problem was the snapping electrical wire. Come to find out it was the slope to the road he was trying to avoid - with good reason. When he started sliding there wasn’t much he could do but ride it out – only a couple of feet but he was justifiably nervous. To top it off I took him down to the outdoor arena. Apparently the footing is good old CO mud. He sank to his fetlocks. He was incredibly good about it as we picked our way out and went searching for some decent footing. Along the way we made use of several mud puddles. Whisper believes the most direct route through a puddle is around it but after I explained to him that his hooves would be clean and shiny and I stomped thru in my new boots, he stomped right along with me. We were both soaked to the knees. We did finally find some firm ground and played around a little but after grooming we called it a day and I went to get Spice who, with her tiny feet , can practically walk on water. At least she’d like to think so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
