I never have the camera when I need it the most. Such a bummer! Today I have fantastic news to share....
Some of you know that my Hub has been bed ridden with a bum leg that required surgery. Therefore, I have been on post in the house taking care of everyone and doing everything to insure we all survived the havoc. It got a little nasty, so I called in the backups, meaning my Mom, and I think I have recovered.
Thanks to my Horse. (And my mom, but we'll just talk about the horse)
Mom was able to watch the kids so I could go out and relieve some stress, and by that I mean play with my horses. Henry had developed a bit of a bad attitude, he is definately one of those horses that requires lots of face time to stay in line. I ventured out to lunge him a bit and just have some meaningful conversation with a horse that can't argue back. Ahhh, anyway....it turned into a lesson with the tarp which was marvelous!! I had it draped over his body, wrapped around his legs, the wind was blowing so that was cool, and at the end I covered his face with it and he just stood there like "Seriously Mom, this is silly" His guy will trust me with anything from the ground....nothing seems to get to him.
Until you get in the saddle.
I did have an A ha moment while working with the tarp and with a separate incident with him getting stuck in the fence. When Henry gets nervous or scared he plants his feet. This is a good thing when it involves being stuck in the fencing, but a bad thing when you want him to move while in the saddle. So, this all tells me that right before he bolts on the trainer, he is scared, scared still so to speak, and bolts as a fear for his life thing. That's manageable, I think, so we will be more creative from the ground or on lead line for a few lessons and see if that makes a difference.
After working with Henry and Sara, (who is deathly afraid of tarps) I came back inside so relieved. I had relieved stress and actually taught my horses something. It's such a great feeling!!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The borning life
Well friends, (LOL, like anyone is reading this, lol) Henry bolted on the trainer the other day. Actually about 2 weeks ago. It was very scary, well it was for me from the ground but the trainer handled it beautifully! Unfortunately the weather has been so bad that we, meaning her, hasn't had a chance to give it another go until yesterday.
If I can back up a bit I can tell you that he was handling every thing so well, but just wasn't sure about what we were asking of him. He will go anywhere you would like as long as he can get there via reverse or sideways. On that particular day, I'm afraid that he got so confused that he decided to bolt in order to gain some control over what was happening. Like I said before, scary!
Yesterday he was a statue, which is fine I suppose. He took a few baby steps sideways, and the lesson was over. I'd been really working on giving cues to him from the ground, that that hopefully from the saddle it's not so scary for him. From the ground he is a big puppy dog and digests all the new info so fast. From the saddle though it's a whole new world, and if there isn't someone on the ground for him to follow he is very unsure. luckily he isn't an EMM horse, cause we really need to take our time on this!
The one super thing that did happen between those to days was that the Vet was out to float his teeth. Henry stood like a champ and offered nothing in way of protest to the vet. I was so thrilled!! He is such a great guy, and I am thankful everyday that I got tricked into buying him! :)
If I can back up a bit I can tell you that he was handling every thing so well, but just wasn't sure about what we were asking of him. He will go anywhere you would like as long as he can get there via reverse or sideways. On that particular day, I'm afraid that he got so confused that he decided to bolt in order to gain some control over what was happening. Like I said before, scary!
Yesterday he was a statue, which is fine I suppose. He took a few baby steps sideways, and the lesson was over. I'd been really working on giving cues to him from the ground, that that hopefully from the saddle it's not so scary for him. From the ground he is a big puppy dog and digests all the new info so fast. From the saddle though it's a whole new world, and if there isn't someone on the ground for him to follow he is very unsure. luckily he isn't an EMM horse, cause we really need to take our time on this!
The one super thing that did happen between those to days was that the Vet was out to float his teeth. Henry stood like a champ and offered nothing in way of protest to the vet. I was so thrilled!! He is such a great guy, and I am thankful everyday that I got tricked into buying him! :)
Friday, February 1, 2008
A bad horse day
I guess they are allowed to have bad days too. Maybe he had a headache, or the extra annoying wind was bothering him. Maybe he had a belly ache. Or maybe, oh who knows.
Whatever it was, he bolted. He bolted with the trainer on him. Scary. It was like a rocket. Out of nowhere, off he went, fast. Thank God it wasn't me. THANK YOU GOD!!!
Anyway, the trainer got off and worked him on the ground again for a few minutes before leaving. Now I'm sitting here wondering if she plans on coming back.
After seeking the advice of horsey friends I have a better understanding of what might have been taking place. See, I wasn't listening to him. I wasn't in tune. He pulled a stunt with me in the morning that should have clicked with me that he was having an off day. I should have listened to him. I just thought it was fun to reuse those wild horse handling skills. Silly me thought it was a game. Obviously he was trying to tell me something.
Not today Mom, just not Today.
I also learned that he likely bolted because he didn't understand what was being asked of him. I hope that I didn't create that situation when I rode last week. I was the only one that did get him to go forward though, and we made a beautiful circle on the paddock rail. All of that could have been for not though as soon after that I was on the ground with a freaked out horse over in the corner hanging his head.
All in all I love this learning experience. I love my horse and don't think that this is something that will impact us sharing trail time down the road in late Spring. It just means we need to regroup and take a few steps backwards. And most of all I need to listen!
Whatever it was, he bolted. He bolted with the trainer on him. Scary. It was like a rocket. Out of nowhere, off he went, fast. Thank God it wasn't me. THANK YOU GOD!!!
Anyway, the trainer got off and worked him on the ground again for a few minutes before leaving. Now I'm sitting here wondering if she plans on coming back.
After seeking the advice of horsey friends I have a better understanding of what might have been taking place. See, I wasn't listening to him. I wasn't in tune. He pulled a stunt with me in the morning that should have clicked with me that he was having an off day. I should have listened to him. I just thought it was fun to reuse those wild horse handling skills. Silly me thought it was a game. Obviously he was trying to tell me something.
Not today Mom, just not Today.
I also learned that he likely bolted because he didn't understand what was being asked of him. I hope that I didn't create that situation when I rode last week. I was the only one that did get him to go forward though, and we made a beautiful circle on the paddock rail. All of that could have been for not though as soon after that I was on the ground with a freaked out horse over in the corner hanging his head.
All in all I love this learning experience. I love my horse and don't think that this is something that will impact us sharing trail time down the road in late Spring. It just means we need to regroup and take a few steps backwards. And most of all I need to listen!
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