Moving Forward!

Love had a day off yesterday with kids swim lessons in the morning and getting a load of hay last night (just for Arthur - he is particular!) This morning when I fed, I also still had to stack the 30 bales of hay, which meant restacking some of the 200 bales we bought a few weeks ago. It was very humid this morning, so when I was done with the hay and dripping with sweat, I needed to cool off before coming back out to play with Love. Of course, she watched everything I did and was waiting patiently for me and you could tell she just wanted to play and didn't want me to go yet. But I scratched her withers and told her to take her morning nap and I would be out in a bit.

When I got back out to the barn, she was waiting at her stall door with shavings in her mane from her nap, and nickered to tell me she was ready! She loved her grooming - and has started grooming my "withers" in return - it's hard to decide how much of that is okay, and how much I should stop to make sure she doesn't get any bad manners. Right now, it is part of our connection, so I only stop her if she gets over zealous about it. :)

Today was the first day that Love stood perfectly still about putting the saddle on and tightening the girth! No steps backwards at all! Yay!

I made the mistake of putting molasses on the bit before I had taken her halter off/down around her neck - and while I was trying to do that with the bridle over my arm, she started putting whatever part of the bridle she could find into her mouth! Thank goodness I was quick, and she grabbed right onto the bit when I offered it to her. I've never used the molasses trick before, but man, I will always start a new horse that way from here on out. She just loves it!

Love still chews on the bit pretty constantly. There is no anxiety associated with it - I'm not sure if she's trying to eat it or what. I may need to play with a few bits to see if this one is too "thick" (it is rubber) or that the give in the rubber is too much (she thinks she can eat it) and she would prefer the taste of steel. I get a sense it is a little of both.

I have not put any reins on the bridle yet - I am waiting for her to stop chewing the bit before I do that - so I have a rope halter on over the bridle. She is a little stubborn about leading out of the barn the opposite end of where I let them out. But once out of the barn, she leads well.

We went to the ring after our groundwork which is improving. She stops when I stop - but I need to decide if I want her to do that behind me, or at my side. Today she stopped right next to my shoulder and loved a few pats on her forehead. In the ring, we tightened the girth, pulled the stirrups down and I lead her over to the mounting block. She stopped well, but then took a step away from the block. Hmmm.. I thought. After moving her back, I tossed the rope over the saddle and bounced up an down a few times before mounting up and sitting in the saddle. She stood perfectly still and did not take a step for about a minute before I wiggled back and forth and dismounted! I was so proud!

So I got back into the saddle a second time, and this time I wanted to see if she understood anything about cues to move forward. I gently squeezed my legs, and she took a step back. I tried turning her head to the side, and she took a step back. I kept gently squeezing, and each time she went backwards. I made sure I didn't have any pressure on the lead, but still she took a small step backwards, and then nibbled on the grass in the ring. So I decided to sit there and wait for her to take a step either forwards or sideways (generally forwards) and when she did, I praised her and told her what a good girl she was! I then asked again with my legs and her head turned to the left, and when she moved the right direction I immediately released all cues and praised her again. I got several steps forwards/turning and then decided we'd better try it to the right. So I moved the lead across her head to the right side, and asked again with my leg cues - and as a green horse would do, she thought I meant to the left again... but we got her nose turned to the right and she stepped right and I praised her. We did this a few more times with forward movement, and then I sat up and said, "whoa!" and wiggled back and forth and dismounted. What a good girl!

So today we took our first few steps forward! :) I sit here and think to myself about the way I am going about this and wonder if I should be doing more longing to teach her voice commands for walk, trot, and canter. I'm sure I will start including more of that here soon, but right now, she is just so calm and relaxed about everything, I really don't want to get her excited thinking she needs to move fast. A lot of what she is allowing me to do is based upon 1) her personality and 2) the bond we have created - she really trusts me and knows I won't hurt her, so is willing to let me do these things. I wonder if she is part Arab with the way that she wants to connect with me so much... No matter, I accept and am really enjoying her affections and helping her learn so much!

I sat on her! :)

Over the past few days, I have continued to saddle Love after nearly every meal. We go out and practice leading, turning, moving her haunches away, halts, and backing. I finally put the rubber snaffle on the cob bridle and it fits just right - and I was delighted with a "trick" someone mentioned recently - I put just a drop of molasses on the bit, and Love smelled it, and she put the bit right in her mouth herself! That was SO much easier than her lifting her head up as high as she could (pointing her nose up, too) while I opened her mouth with my thumb in the side! So we have kept doing that - and every time she puts her head right into the headstall and brings the bit right into her mouth. She is still chewing on it pretty constantly, but she is not anxious about it. It's just something new and she's getting used to it still.

I have been flapping the saddle flaps around and took the stirrups down (I'm riding english) and her reaction to all that has quickly become little to none. It really surprised her the first few times I did that - her body quivered each time the flap came down on her side, but we've kept doing it and now she understands it's not going to hurt her. She still turns her head around to see what I'm doing all the time, but she isn't anxious anymore (it's only been 4 days!). I keep doing the "tail test" to see whether her tail is clamped down or not, and I have continued to find it relaxed.

Yesterday, I took her into the ring (after leading her around in the field) and put some pressure on each stirrup to see how she would respond - she turned her head to look at me, but was not concerned about it at all. So I led her up to the mounting block, and climbed up there. I put my hands at her withers & on the cantle of the saddle and bounced up and down a few times. She stayed calm, so I took a chance and pushed myself up on to my belly on the saddle - I didn't want to sit on her quite yet. Love turned towards my feet and mouthed my foot, then turned to look at my head/body hanging on the other side. She took one step back to steady herself, but otherwise was not worried, so I stayed that way for 20 seconds or so before getting down and doing it again.

This morning, I fed the horses and then came in to the house for a bit to let the horses digest a bit. When I got back to the barn, Love was laying down in her stall. I had come there to work with her, and was thinking about trying to sit on her, but I didn't think it would be polite to force her to get up to work - it's part of her routine to take a nap in her stall after breakfast. I waited a few minutes, and then opened her stall door and went in - and I sat down on her hay while she napped a few minutes, and rubbed her forehead a little. She is so sweet. After a few more minutes, she got up on her own, and I stepped out of her stall towards the grooming area, and she followed me (like she has been doing for the last month or so to be groomed before turnout) without a halter. I did go ahead and put the halter on since it was work time, and when she would move her feet, I would gently remind her to go back to where she was by putting my hand on her chest and gently pushing back. She really understands that well. She got carrots for being so good. And then molasses on her bit again! :)

We did our normal ground routine in the field and went into the ring. I tightened the girth a hole. She didn't move her feet for that but still turns to look at me. We went over to the mounting block and I flapped the saddle flaps, pulled down the stirrups and gently tossed the doubled lead over her back/saddle to continue desensitizing. She seemed relaxed about everything - tail check was good, so I put my foot in the stirrup and leaned over her back. She took a step for balance, and then stood well, so I brought my other leg over and sat up in the saddle! :) Yay! She stood well and then I said "whoa" and wiggled in the saddle and then dismounted. I can't remember who taught me to do that as a signal for dismounting, but it seems to work well. I got on her again and she stepped back once and stood well again - and I took a picture of her while riding! (Ok, not the smartest, but she was being really good!) I dismounted again, and then got up on her again, and this time she stood perfectly, and I hugged her neck and rubbed her all over wherever I could reach, and finally gave a super good scratching to her withers. That was so good she was stretching out her upper lip so far and wanted to turn around and scratch me back. :) I said "whoa," wiggled back and forth in the saddle, dismounted and gave her lots more scratches and a bath before turnout.

Love has become so affectionate - well, she always has been, but even moreso now that I am working with her so much. She always looks at me with these big eyes, "Come play with me! Scratch me!" and willingly tries whatever I ask of her. I wouldn't normally get on a green horse quite so quickly, but she has continued to show me that she was ready and willing to try.

I connected with Love the first day I saw her at a dental clinic in April, but have tried to not get too attached because I have not been sure whether she would work out for Sammie. But working with Love every day, I find myself in the midst of a wonderful connection with this horse, and she has firmly planted her hoofprint in my heart. I don't know what the future will bring, but I do love this little mare more than I'm willing to admit to myself sometimes...

Finding a bridle that fits...

Love's new schedule is now to be groomed and worked with for 15-20 minutes before turning her out after meals - that's twice a day! Yesterday, when I put a bit in her mouth, I used a cob size bridle with a 5 1/4" snaffle that was obviously too long. The bridle didn't quite fit, either - it was about an inch or two too long. I searched through my tack "collection" that I have been gathering over the last 25+ years. I found a nice rubber snaffle - about 5" long, and I dismantled Arthur's pony size bridle and put the bit on there to give it a try. I let the cheek pieces all the way down, and it should have been almost the right size - it was - but just a little too snug. So now I will put the bit back on the cob bridle, and punch a hole or two. :)

This morning, I used a nice soft rope halter on Love, without any "hardware" that would jingle under her chin. I chose to ground tie her in the aisle instead of cross tie so that I could see her reaction to the saddle a little more closely. She backed a step or two when I put the girth on her, but was more relaxed than yesterday. She is still very curious and sniffs the tack before I put it on her. We continued with the groundwork exercises we did last night. Leading, stopping, backing. I am pleased to say that she is a tiny bit better about stopping when I stop - there were a couple of times that I was actually really impressed by. I am trying to teach her to back with me when I march backwards (stomping my feet a bit as a cue) - and although she was a little easier to move backwards (still with gentle pressure on the lead and her chest), she hasn't quite figured it out yet.

I'm still thinking about what kind of tricks I can teach her to show off her talents. I taught Sweetie to take a bow using carrots a long time ago - maybe that is a good place to start. Something cute & funny to win the judge's hearts. :)

The Competition Begins!

Love and I are competing in the 2nd Bluebonnet Rescue Horse Training Challenge at the 4th annual Bluebonnet Horse Expo on October 16, 2010. Love has been my foster horse since late April, but the competition officially starts tomorrow! I have 3 months to teach her as much as I can about being a good horse and learning how to be ridden.

My first job was to evaluate her fully on what she knows as of today. Tonight, I saddled her for the first time at my place, and she was tolerant and curious of the saddle, but the way she moved away from the girth and kept turning around to look at the saddle tells me she has not really been ridden. (This was consistent with what I saw at Nan's the day we brought her home - she let us put the saddle on, but seemed like she didn't understand what it was.) Flapping the saddle flaps around today also seemed to take her by surprise, although with rhythm, she began to calm and stand still while I made some noise there. I also put a bridle with a bit on her to see what she thought of it - and the first attempt was difficult - she pointed her nose straight up and backed away from the bit. The second attempt I was successful, and put the bit in her mouth, but she constantly mouthed it as though she had never had a bit in her mouth before. Pretty quickly it was clear that she had not been ridden before.

We worked on yielding her hind quarters, trying to keep her front feet in the same general area, and the same on yielding her front end. We also worked on leading (and with the saddle, she seemed somewhat hesitant at times which I had not experienced with her before). We also walked and halted, and I asked her to back with me. When she would encroach my space, I would attack the ground with the end of the lead rope to get her attention. She is not as responsive to that method as Arwen was, but she does at least finally come to a halt.

So, I have my work cut out for me, and I am ready to get serious! I hope to be riding her by the end of the challenge. It's just a matter of routine, repetition and consistency. Oh, and a little moxie to get in the saddle for the first time. :) But that can wait. We have some ground work to do first in order to be safe. But Love does have such a sweet personality, that I hope she will be a quick study!