Busy, busy, busy! Phoenix and I have been super busy the past week or so. Busy enough with work, driving, Phoenix, more driving, etc., etc. that I haven't had time to update this.
We finished our marathon of daily training with the trainer and we've now graduated to a once per week schedule. Progress will slow down considerably but that's OK because it'll give me time to get myself up to par. My relationship with Phoenix is quickly evolving to one of trust and respect and I like that.
He's still testy (tries to nip me at least once a day) but that's all right and the fact that he's doing it is really my fault anyway; I didn't know how to lead so he took over initially but that's changed thanks to Jim, our trainer. P's definitely a lot more respectful and willing than he was a couple weeks ago which is wonderful. I'm not quite sure I have his complete trust yet but we're getting there.
P's feet are improving at a much faster rate than I'd have imagined they could thanks to regular exercise and a clean pen. The verdict's still out... not sure about his front feet yet but his back feet are starting to look normal and that's great. Gonna give those fronts a few more weeks (and Phoenix a few more weeks to get used to the idea of standing still for the farrier as well) and then we'll see what to do next.
As a way to decompress from our training sessions I've started spending 10-20 minutes every day playing in his pen/paddock/whatever you want to call it with P. It's good bonding time, I think and we both have fun. Most of it involves us playing chase around a large hill of dirt. Sounds silly, and it is but it's fun for both of us and, like I said, good time to bond.
One thing I noticed that changed the way he relates to me more than anything else: using the "join up" method. It really works.
So, there's that. I took a day off for the first time in a couple of weeks today and I really wish I hadn't. I miss my horse. Can't wait to get up to see him tomorrow. Time to go break airplanes.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
In Which Phoenix Has Decided He's A Hunter Jumper
Been so busy! Too busy with training (me AND Phoenix) to post properly.
So, everything's going well. I'm in hock to the trainer for almost $300 but that's OK. He keeps doing two hour session but telling me to only bill him for one hour and I can't seem to get comfortable with that... so I'm paying for the 2 hours.
Phoenix is doing very, very well. Today we introduced him to a tarp and a small "jump" of sorts... it was really just a log that was about a foot off the ground. Trying to get him to do just about everything with the saddle on to get him used to it to the point that he's completely relaxed. He's doing fairly well with that but still a little sketchy about that first time in the session where the saddle goes up and over his back. He settles down with minimal fritzing out though (we're talking he runs like 5 steps and then stops to think it over; he's done that 2 days in a row)
Oh wait! I need to back up and talk about barrels. So, Jim, our trainer has two empty barrels. A couple days ago, he placed them about a foot and a half apart and played a version of the squeeze game with P and the barrels. P went right through, after some initial hesitation to check things out, like a pro.
The next day, Jim slid the barrels (on their sides) together and though I think the idea was to get P to hop over them, P was like, "nahh dude. Not happening. But, I know they'll split so I'm just gonna push right through them." And he did. Multiple times. And all was right in the world.
So that's how things are progressing. Jim's alternating things like the barrels with getting P to maintain gait and we're practicing with direct pressure, rhythmic pressure and I forget what the other one's called. It's basically all different ways to tell P to do the same things; the idea being that he needs to give to all different types of pressure if he's asked and it needs to not be a big deal.
P is doing very, very well and I'm not doing too badly myself. I'm learning scads and P is actually starting to show a little respect as opposed to his previous bossiness. Hah! The little booger tried to barrel right past me today to get out of the arena. I don't think so! Right back in he went and then, back out again... backwards. For now, until he can be a little more respectful, he'll be backing in or out any gates we go through. I find it fascinating how much power and discipline there is in that one simple movement. On a more positive note, we've got, giving the hindquarters DOWN. Go us!
OK, the tarp. No wait. First the jumpy-hop log: so there's the log sitting in its little braces. Jim's got P on the line and he asks P to go over the log. P obliges. No jumping (too short to warrant a jump from Mister way-too-smart-for-his-britches P) but he goes over nicely. Jim asks P to change direction and wait for the ask to do it again and P's having none of it. He knows what to do and he REALLY wants to step back over the log. They argue. P gives in and waits to be asked. Goes over nicely, changes direction again and sneaks himself back over that log before Jim can stop him. Apparently, P really, really likes going over this dopey little log. Jim makes him go back and do it again without the anticipating and P does fine (albeit with a little fuss). Jim decides to move on to something else.. and P was having none of it. As Jim asked him to walk on to the next task P went as far out as he could get on his lead, neck all stretched out at an awkward angle just so he could go over that log one last time. We all had a good laugh and P was VERY pleased with himself. The licking, chewing and blinking were impressive.
The tarp: apparently most horses get a little scared of the tarp. Not so, Phoenix the wonder horse. Jim walked him toward it and when he got close, gave P the chance to examine it, which of course, he did. As he was checking it out, I leaned over to Roberta (one of Jim's other students who comes to watch our lessons) and said, "I'll bet you a dollar that within the next ten seconds he picks it up (the tarp) and tosses it around." Roberta looked at me like I'd lost my mind... and Phoenix picked the tarp up, waved it around, set it back down and then walked over it like he'd been doing it his whole life. Go Phoenix! Such a good boy!
Lots more but it's bed time and then tomorrow I get to work with my boy before "school." I am having so much fun! I think Phoenix is too and that makes it even better.
We're going slow because we're basically doing a colt start on an adult horse and sometimes that translates to P needing a little more convincing than he might have 5 or 6 years ago but the end result is gonna be me being confident and proficient (which I'm not as of yet) and also a calm, collected, responsive, super smart, hardy little horse. Eventually, we are going to kick some serious ass.
So, everything's going well. I'm in hock to the trainer for almost $300 but that's OK. He keeps doing two hour session but telling me to only bill him for one hour and I can't seem to get comfortable with that... so I'm paying for the 2 hours.
Phoenix is doing very, very well. Today we introduced him to a tarp and a small "jump" of sorts... it was really just a log that was about a foot off the ground. Trying to get him to do just about everything with the saddle on to get him used to it to the point that he's completely relaxed. He's doing fairly well with that but still a little sketchy about that first time in the session where the saddle goes up and over his back. He settles down with minimal fritzing out though (we're talking he runs like 5 steps and then stops to think it over; he's done that 2 days in a row)
Oh wait! I need to back up and talk about barrels. So, Jim, our trainer has two empty barrels. A couple days ago, he placed them about a foot and a half apart and played a version of the squeeze game with P and the barrels. P went right through, after some initial hesitation to check things out, like a pro.
The next day, Jim slid the barrels (on their sides) together and though I think the idea was to get P to hop over them, P was like, "nahh dude. Not happening. But, I know they'll split so I'm just gonna push right through them." And he did. Multiple times. And all was right in the world.
So that's how things are progressing. Jim's alternating things like the barrels with getting P to maintain gait and we're practicing with direct pressure, rhythmic pressure and I forget what the other one's called. It's basically all different ways to tell P to do the same things; the idea being that he needs to give to all different types of pressure if he's asked and it needs to not be a big deal.
P is doing very, very well and I'm not doing too badly myself. I'm learning scads and P is actually starting to show a little respect as opposed to his previous bossiness. Hah! The little booger tried to barrel right past me today to get out of the arena. I don't think so! Right back in he went and then, back out again... backwards. For now, until he can be a little more respectful, he'll be backing in or out any gates we go through. I find it fascinating how much power and discipline there is in that one simple movement. On a more positive note, we've got, giving the hindquarters DOWN. Go us!
OK, the tarp. No wait. First the jumpy-hop log: so there's the log sitting in its little braces. Jim's got P on the line and he asks P to go over the log. P obliges. No jumping (too short to warrant a jump from Mister way-too-smart-for-his-britches P) but he goes over nicely. Jim asks P to change direction and wait for the ask to do it again and P's having none of it. He knows what to do and he REALLY wants to step back over the log. They argue. P gives in and waits to be asked. Goes over nicely, changes direction again and sneaks himself back over that log before Jim can stop him. Apparently, P really, really likes going over this dopey little log. Jim makes him go back and do it again without the anticipating and P does fine (albeit with a little fuss). Jim decides to move on to something else.. and P was having none of it. As Jim asked him to walk on to the next task P went as far out as he could get on his lead, neck all stretched out at an awkward angle just so he could go over that log one last time. We all had a good laugh and P was VERY pleased with himself. The licking, chewing and blinking were impressive.
The tarp: apparently most horses get a little scared of the tarp. Not so, Phoenix the wonder horse. Jim walked him toward it and when he got close, gave P the chance to examine it, which of course, he did. As he was checking it out, I leaned over to Roberta (one of Jim's other students who comes to watch our lessons) and said, "I'll bet you a dollar that within the next ten seconds he picks it up (the tarp) and tosses it around." Roberta looked at me like I'd lost my mind... and Phoenix picked the tarp up, waved it around, set it back down and then walked over it like he'd been doing it his whole life. Go Phoenix! Such a good boy!
Lots more but it's bed time and then tomorrow I get to work with my boy before "school." I am having so much fun! I think Phoenix is too and that makes it even better.
We're going slow because we're basically doing a colt start on an adult horse and sometimes that translates to P needing a little more convincing than he might have 5 or 6 years ago but the end result is gonna be me being confident and proficient (which I'm not as of yet) and also a calm, collected, responsive, super smart, hardy little horse. Eventually, we are going to kick some serious ass.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Victory!
So, had a rough week but the work week ended on a positive note for P and me.
We started out, as I've previously mentioned, on a good note. P did much better with the vet than I'd thought he would and we'd set up a time for the farrier to come out and the next day was our assessment with a trainer, wormer came in the mail, etc., etc.
And then things kind of went "kasploot!" like a big pile of dung all over my plans and ego.
First the farrier was a doo-doo head and left after about five minutes, trimming down one heel, telling me "Call me in August" even though he'd previously told me repeatedly that P needed ALL of his heels trimmed so we can try to get his feet correct and give the toes a chance to grow out.
I came up, in my head, with a thousand reasons for why he left the way he did but he gave me no substantial input so we're going to go with a different farrier in spite of the fact that Mr. Five minutes comes with rave reviews and lots of references. The bummer of it all is that P likes him (and I do too!) and that recommends the guy to me more than anything else. Hopefully, P will give the new farrier a chance too.
Anyway, the second bad thing was our first real encounter with the trainer. I flat out do NOT like the guy. I admire him and I think we both (P and I) stand to learn a LOT from him but I still don't like him. I hope that'll change in time.
Last Saturday I stayed out at the ranch to watch his training session with another boarder, Pam and her mare, Macy (sp?) and was really impressed with how he worked with Pam's horse. He was awesome and I was really enthused in spite of the fact that I felt like he talked too much. I chalked my misgivings up to myself being too judgmental and a jerk-face and contacted him to set up an assessment to see if he'd be interested in working with P and I.
He came out on Thursday and brought one of his long-time students to audit. I don't remember her name but I liked her straight away. For the first 45 minutes to an hour, they both cooed and ahh'ed over how well P was doing, how quickly he understood what was being asked of him and generally said that he was a very good, nice boy. And then, the trainer asked me how old he was and when the last time P had been ridden. I answered truthfully, "8 years old and never." and JUST LIKE THAT, we went from, this is a nice, well put together, smart little horse you have here," to , "You should not waste any more of your time on this dominant, poorly conformed, probably never going to be able to be ridden horse."
WTF?!
For the next 45 minutes the guy told me every which way that he could that I should give up on P, that I shouldn't buy him... even went so far to try to sell me a different horse (he approached THAT as if I were a frikkin' 15 year old getting her first pony with "AND this horse is a PALOMINO!" not realizing that color really isn't a selling point for me and that I'm not so ignorant that I don't know that color should have NOTHING to do with why you decide to purchase a horse. That's utter ridiculousness!). The guy changed his story from "he's well put together and you can work with his feet" to, "well, I'd like his withers to be a little higher and his so wide in the barrel that he could slip a saddle and his feet are probably never going to be correct," and on, and on.
I was flabbergasted.
We ended the session with the idea that I'd take what he'd said under consideration, think it over for a night and e-mail him the following day. Instead, yesterday I woke up to an email from him that was even MORE negative than his conversation had been. He told me in the e-mail that if I wanted to train P just to get him to have good ground manners to be a pasture pet, that he'd help me with that but that P would NEVER be able to be ridden and I should give up now before it was too late. He told me that P was too bossy, had a bad attitude which isn't something that I could change and that he'd never be able to be ridden. Told me that P was going to be dangerous and would probably freak out as soon as someone sat him for the first time.
Again, flabbergasted. All of this because P is 8 and has never been ridden? Seriously?
I responded in the nicest way I could (I really wanted to tell the guy "I hate your face and I don't agree with almost everything you've said about my horse.") and explained that THIS is my horse and THIS is what I have to work with and while I respected the man's opinions and had hoped that he would see the same potential I do, I understood. Told him that should he ever change his mind and see the value in training myself and my horse, I'd be honored and pleased to have him.
Within a couple of hours, the guy responded again and again, he changed his tune and said he wanted to work with us and we should start tomorrow (that's today). At that point I was spitting nails and unbelievably frustrated.
The thing is, I have to think about what's best for Phoenix and this guy is good, really good at what he does. I don't have to like him. I just have to learn from him and Phoenix responds really well to him so we're going to try and see how the next week goes.
Because I'm such the novice, I have a tough time knowing who to believe and it seems like everyone's got an opinion... and everyone knows more than I do. That's a little stressful when you're trying to learn, especially because almost no one agrees with what anyone else is saying.
I'm figuring things out but it's a difficult and sometimes upsetting process. On the other hand, there's Phoenix. He is a constant wonder and joy for me. Every day he teaches me something new and I hope I'm doing that for him too.
Yesterday, thanks to all the negativity, I needed some positive reinforcement. I hadn't like most of what the trainer told me but I HAD to listen and try to consider objectively. One of the things he seemed to have been trying to verbally pound into my head was that Phoenix might never let someone sit on his back... sooooo, last night, for about 20 minutes before I left the ranch, Phoenix and I went up to the round pen and tried something new.
In between short sessions of yielding hinquarters and walking out on the lead in a small circle, I introduced him to a mounting step.
I'd been told that having someone stand above him might freak him out (prey reaction) and that this could be an indicator of how he'd act once I sat him. Well, P sniffed the mounting step and then calmly walked forward to the correct position as I asked and just stood there like "OK dork girl, this is kinda boring."
The thing is a 2 step mounting block so I started out by leading him up and then standing on the lower step to see what he'd do. He didn't even flinch. He got lots of rubs and "good boys." and we left it for a few minutes. Went back and then next time I stood on the top step. Again, P didn't even flinch. So he got more rubs and "good boy's" so again, we left it and did other things for a few minutes. Third time was a charm. He walked up, I stood on the top step and laid myself over his back, not with my full weight (because I didn't want to end up face down in the pen with a mouth full of sand) but... I'd guesstimate about 1/3 to 1/2 of my weight with my legs on my left and my arms reaching down over his right side so I could scratch his belly. He looked at me funny on his right when I patted him on that side, kinda like "wtf are you doing over THERE?" and that was about it. We did the same thing a couple more times and the ONLY thing that P did was reach back like he might try to nip my leg (unsuccessful attempt; I blocked the lil booger). That's it. No bucking, no freaking out, no "I'm a crazy horse of doom and you will suffer my wrath!" Just, "Hey weirdo, I'm not sure how I feel about this but I'm gonna stand here like you asked and let you do your thing, I guess."
How ya like them apples, trainer guy? In yo face!!!
The ONLY thing wrong with my horse is his feet and those can be fixed, I think. That being said, "THPPPPPPTTTTTT!" >xP
We started out, as I've previously mentioned, on a good note. P did much better with the vet than I'd thought he would and we'd set up a time for the farrier to come out and the next day was our assessment with a trainer, wormer came in the mail, etc., etc.
And then things kind of went "kasploot!" like a big pile of dung all over my plans and ego.
First the farrier was a doo-doo head and left after about five minutes, trimming down one heel, telling me "Call me in August" even though he'd previously told me repeatedly that P needed ALL of his heels trimmed so we can try to get his feet correct and give the toes a chance to grow out.
I came up, in my head, with a thousand reasons for why he left the way he did but he gave me no substantial input so we're going to go with a different farrier in spite of the fact that Mr. Five minutes comes with rave reviews and lots of references. The bummer of it all is that P likes him (and I do too!) and that recommends the guy to me more than anything else. Hopefully, P will give the new farrier a chance too.
Anyway, the second bad thing was our first real encounter with the trainer. I flat out do NOT like the guy. I admire him and I think we both (P and I) stand to learn a LOT from him but I still don't like him. I hope that'll change in time.
Last Saturday I stayed out at the ranch to watch his training session with another boarder, Pam and her mare, Macy (sp?) and was really impressed with how he worked with Pam's horse. He was awesome and I was really enthused in spite of the fact that I felt like he talked too much. I chalked my misgivings up to myself being too judgmental and a jerk-face and contacted him to set up an assessment to see if he'd be interested in working with P and I.
He came out on Thursday and brought one of his long-time students to audit. I don't remember her name but I liked her straight away. For the first 45 minutes to an hour, they both cooed and ahh'ed over how well P was doing, how quickly he understood what was being asked of him and generally said that he was a very good, nice boy. And then, the trainer asked me how old he was and when the last time P had been ridden. I answered truthfully, "8 years old and never." and JUST LIKE THAT, we went from, this is a nice, well put together, smart little horse you have here," to , "You should not waste any more of your time on this dominant, poorly conformed, probably never going to be able to be ridden horse."
WTF?!
For the next 45 minutes the guy told me every which way that he could that I should give up on P, that I shouldn't buy him... even went so far to try to sell me a different horse (he approached THAT as if I were a frikkin' 15 year old getting her first pony with "AND this horse is a PALOMINO!" not realizing that color really isn't a selling point for me and that I'm not so ignorant that I don't know that color should have NOTHING to do with why you decide to purchase a horse. That's utter ridiculousness!). The guy changed his story from "he's well put together and you can work with his feet" to, "well, I'd like his withers to be a little higher and his so wide in the barrel that he could slip a saddle and his feet are probably never going to be correct," and on, and on.
I was flabbergasted.
We ended the session with the idea that I'd take what he'd said under consideration, think it over for a night and e-mail him the following day. Instead, yesterday I woke up to an email from him that was even MORE negative than his conversation had been. He told me in the e-mail that if I wanted to train P just to get him to have good ground manners to be a pasture pet, that he'd help me with that but that P would NEVER be able to be ridden and I should give up now before it was too late. He told me that P was too bossy, had a bad attitude which isn't something that I could change and that he'd never be able to be ridden. Told me that P was going to be dangerous and would probably freak out as soon as someone sat him for the first time.
Again, flabbergasted. All of this because P is 8 and has never been ridden? Seriously?
I responded in the nicest way I could (I really wanted to tell the guy "I hate your face and I don't agree with almost everything you've said about my horse.") and explained that THIS is my horse and THIS is what I have to work with and while I respected the man's opinions and had hoped that he would see the same potential I do, I understood. Told him that should he ever change his mind and see the value in training myself and my horse, I'd be honored and pleased to have him.
Within a couple of hours, the guy responded again and again, he changed his tune and said he wanted to work with us and we should start tomorrow (that's today). At that point I was spitting nails and unbelievably frustrated.
The thing is, I have to think about what's best for Phoenix and this guy is good, really good at what he does. I don't have to like him. I just have to learn from him and Phoenix responds really well to him so we're going to try and see how the next week goes.
Because I'm such the novice, I have a tough time knowing who to believe and it seems like everyone's got an opinion... and everyone knows more than I do. That's a little stressful when you're trying to learn, especially because almost no one agrees with what anyone else is saying.
I'm figuring things out but it's a difficult and sometimes upsetting process. On the other hand, there's Phoenix. He is a constant wonder and joy for me. Every day he teaches me something new and I hope I'm doing that for him too.
Yesterday, thanks to all the negativity, I needed some positive reinforcement. I hadn't like most of what the trainer told me but I HAD to listen and try to consider objectively. One of the things he seemed to have been trying to verbally pound into my head was that Phoenix might never let someone sit on his back... sooooo, last night, for about 20 minutes before I left the ranch, Phoenix and I went up to the round pen and tried something new.
In between short sessions of yielding hinquarters and walking out on the lead in a small circle, I introduced him to a mounting step.
I'd been told that having someone stand above him might freak him out (prey reaction) and that this could be an indicator of how he'd act once I sat him. Well, P sniffed the mounting step and then calmly walked forward to the correct position as I asked and just stood there like "OK dork girl, this is kinda boring."
The thing is a 2 step mounting block so I started out by leading him up and then standing on the lower step to see what he'd do. He didn't even flinch. He got lots of rubs and "good boys." and we left it for a few minutes. Went back and then next time I stood on the top step. Again, P didn't even flinch. So he got more rubs and "good boy's" so again, we left it and did other things for a few minutes. Third time was a charm. He walked up, I stood on the top step and laid myself over his back, not with my full weight (because I didn't want to end up face down in the pen with a mouth full of sand) but... I'd guesstimate about 1/3 to 1/2 of my weight with my legs on my left and my arms reaching down over his right side so I could scratch his belly. He looked at me funny on his right when I patted him on that side, kinda like "wtf are you doing over THERE?" and that was about it. We did the same thing a couple more times and the ONLY thing that P did was reach back like he might try to nip my leg (unsuccessful attempt; I blocked the lil booger). That's it. No bucking, no freaking out, no "I'm a crazy horse of doom and you will suffer my wrath!" Just, "Hey weirdo, I'm not sure how I feel about this but I'm gonna stand here like you asked and let you do your thing, I guess."
How ya like them apples, trainer guy? In yo face!!!
The ONLY thing wrong with my horse is his feet and those can be fixed, I think. That being said, "THPPPPPPTTTTTT!" >xP
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Frustrations Abound
Well, it's been a rough week in Lisa-Phoenix land. P had his first vet visit in a couple of years and while he wasn't wonderful, I think he did really well considering. Had his two shots and only bolted (about two steps) away from the needles once. Was really good with the doctor about letting her see his chompers (good boy!) and would not even let her get close to his bum for a temperature reading.
The doctor gave me some tips on how to work on rectifying the temp. taking issue and we'll have her back soon to do a blood panel and some light tooth work.
P also had what was supposed to be his first farrier visit a couple of days ago. He wouldn't stand for too long and the end result was that the farrier clipped down the heel of his left front hoof and told me to have him back in August. Grrr. I chased this guy for WEEKS, he comes out and then he pulls that. There's more to the story but suffice it to say that I was pissed when he left after 10 minutes.
We're gonna go with another farrier. I don't have the time to deal with this guy.
Trainer came out to do an assessment today and brought along one of his experienced students. They both raved about how well P did, said he was really picking things up quick, wasn't a jerk-face, was a nice looking boy, etc., etc,... and then they found out how old he is and that he's never been ridden and IMMEDIATELY the trainer went from "he's great" to trying to discourage me from having anything else to do with P. The guy even went so far as to tell me about a nice quarter horse gelding I could have for a reduced price, etc.
Needless to say, it's been a frustrating week thanks to PEOPLE. P, on the other hand, is doing wonderfully and there is NO doubt in my mind whatsoever that he'll continue to do wonderfully. I'm just going to have to get these people to give him the chance he deserves.
Time for work. I'm going to go take my frustration out on airplanes for 8 hours or so... and then tomorrow morning, P and I will get back to proving what a great horse he is now and is going to be given the time and training he deserves.
The doctor gave me some tips on how to work on rectifying the temp. taking issue and we'll have her back soon to do a blood panel and some light tooth work.
P also had what was supposed to be his first farrier visit a couple of days ago. He wouldn't stand for too long and the end result was that the farrier clipped down the heel of his left front hoof and told me to have him back in August. Grrr. I chased this guy for WEEKS, he comes out and then he pulls that. There's more to the story but suffice it to say that I was pissed when he left after 10 minutes.
We're gonna go with another farrier. I don't have the time to deal with this guy.
Trainer came out to do an assessment today and brought along one of his experienced students. They both raved about how well P did, said he was really picking things up quick, wasn't a jerk-face, was a nice looking boy, etc., etc,... and then they found out how old he is and that he's never been ridden and IMMEDIATELY the trainer went from "he's great" to trying to discourage me from having anything else to do with P. The guy even went so far as to tell me about a nice quarter horse gelding I could have for a reduced price, etc.
Needless to say, it's been a frustrating week thanks to PEOPLE. P, on the other hand, is doing wonderfully and there is NO doubt in my mind whatsoever that he'll continue to do wonderfully. I'm just going to have to get these people to give him the chance he deserves.
Time for work. I'm going to go take my frustration out on airplanes for 8 hours or so... and then tomorrow morning, P and I will get back to proving what a great horse he is now and is going to be given the time and training he deserves.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Lazy Saturday Morning and Disjointed Thoughts
Well, we did a little work and played a little yesterday. All in all, no major progress but baby steps are what it's all about.
I think, at this point, I'm my own worst enemy. I'm learning so much but I'm not learning fast enough to stay ahead of P.
On a different note, vet comes out Monday, wormer's in the mail and, the farrier showed up yesterday... before I got paid and then acted flakey about coming out next week.
Everyone tells me that this is THE GUY but I'm not too pleased about having to chase the guy down and then, on top of it all, he won't just buckle down and give me a date/time that he can come out. That's pretty annoying.
We tried to work on disengaging hindquarters yesterday but I can tell that something isn't going right. It's either a respect/trust thing or I'm not cuing correctly because P is not responding well to it at all. I'd gather that the problem is ME and not Phoenix. Boo! During my drive home every day, I do a sort of mental review of the things P and I did that day and try to figure through what went well, what I did correctly and what I did incorrectly which produced poor results and the only thing I knew for a certainty yesterday was that I'm probably not letting off the pressure for long enough when he DOES disengage. But, how long is long enough? Gonna work at it again today and give a much more substantial release. Hopefully that will help.
On the other hand, it took me all of 2 tries to get him to lower his head. Yay! He really is a smart little guy and he picks things up very quickly when I cue him correctly.
I'm battling with uncertainty every step of the way here. The thing is, I don't know how much, exactly, P had learned however many years ago. I've been told that he was almost ready to ride with his previous person and that could explain why he picks things up so quickly... maybe I'm not teaching; maybe I'm just reminding him. But, if that's the case, he should already know how to disengage both front and hindquarters and he absolutely does NOT.
I'd think too, that if he were ready for a saddle, he'd have been less scared of the training whip and he was not. First time I brought that thing out, he flipped shit. Then again, maybe he was familiar with the thing... Maybe he former person used it not as a tool for training but as a punishment? I have no idea. There could be a thousand plus reasons why he's so quick with some things and an absolute freakazoid with others.
In then end, it doesn't matter. We'll just keep taking baby steps. Something else just occurred to me: P doesn't seem to get the idea of the imaginary circle thing (this is all Clinton Anderson style training). So, maybe today, we'll go over the little things we're doing well but we'll start again with the circle. He (C.A.) mentions repeatedly how important it is.
The coolest thing from the past couple days has been the Join-up. I read about the whole concept in a Joe Camp book and decided to try it (I think it's a Parelli technique but I'm not sure). Instead of me approaching Phoenix when I get to the ranch and him not being quite sure he's OK with my pesty self, here's what I've been doing for the past 2 days:
Pull up in the car, get out, say "hello." Gather up the halter, lead and whatever else we're going to use that day (usually just the training stick/whip), go into the paddock, walk a few feet in from the gate, make sure P is paying attention to me. Then, I turn around facing away from P, hunch my shoulders, lower my head and wait. It doesn't seem like it would be but it was really, really tough to resist the urge to look back and see where he was. Admittedly, it didn't get any easier to resist yesterday either! But, the technique works. On the first day, it took P maybe 5 minutes before he was standing just behind my left should looking at me like, "WTF are you doing?! Let's go but give me scritchings first, woman!" and yesterday, it took about half that. He chose ME. And, that's pretty darn cool.
On a totally unrelated note, my biggest concern at this point is whether or not I'll be able to afford to keep Phoenix. I'm concerned that I won't be able to afford the boarding and farrier fees. So, for now, I'm pretending I'm already paying for everything. Won't hurt to put the extra cash aside for emergencies and I'll know by the "do or die" date (August 1st) whether or not I can take that leap.
If I do, it will be the biggest, most significant $1 purchase of my life, I think.
I think, at this point, I'm my own worst enemy. I'm learning so much but I'm not learning fast enough to stay ahead of P.
On a different note, vet comes out Monday, wormer's in the mail and, the farrier showed up yesterday... before I got paid and then acted flakey about coming out next week.
Everyone tells me that this is THE GUY but I'm not too pleased about having to chase the guy down and then, on top of it all, he won't just buckle down and give me a date/time that he can come out. That's pretty annoying.
We tried to work on disengaging hindquarters yesterday but I can tell that something isn't going right. It's either a respect/trust thing or I'm not cuing correctly because P is not responding well to it at all. I'd gather that the problem is ME and not Phoenix. Boo! During my drive home every day, I do a sort of mental review of the things P and I did that day and try to figure through what went well, what I did correctly and what I did incorrectly which produced poor results and the only thing I knew for a certainty yesterday was that I'm probably not letting off the pressure for long enough when he DOES disengage. But, how long is long enough? Gonna work at it again today and give a much more substantial release. Hopefully that will help.
On the other hand, it took me all of 2 tries to get him to lower his head. Yay! He really is a smart little guy and he picks things up very quickly when I cue him correctly.
I'm battling with uncertainty every step of the way here. The thing is, I don't know how much, exactly, P had learned however many years ago. I've been told that he was almost ready to ride with his previous person and that could explain why he picks things up so quickly... maybe I'm not teaching; maybe I'm just reminding him. But, if that's the case, he should already know how to disengage both front and hindquarters and he absolutely does NOT.
I'd think too, that if he were ready for a saddle, he'd have been less scared of the training whip and he was not. First time I brought that thing out, he flipped shit. Then again, maybe he was familiar with the thing... Maybe he former person used it not as a tool for training but as a punishment? I have no idea. There could be a thousand plus reasons why he's so quick with some things and an absolute freakazoid with others.
In then end, it doesn't matter. We'll just keep taking baby steps. Something else just occurred to me: P doesn't seem to get the idea of the imaginary circle thing (this is all Clinton Anderson style training). So, maybe today, we'll go over the little things we're doing well but we'll start again with the circle. He (C.A.) mentions repeatedly how important it is.
The coolest thing from the past couple days has been the Join-up. I read about the whole concept in a Joe Camp book and decided to try it (I think it's a Parelli technique but I'm not sure). Instead of me approaching Phoenix when I get to the ranch and him not being quite sure he's OK with my pesty self, here's what I've been doing for the past 2 days:
Pull up in the car, get out, say "hello." Gather up the halter, lead and whatever else we're going to use that day (usually just the training stick/whip), go into the paddock, walk a few feet in from the gate, make sure P is paying attention to me. Then, I turn around facing away from P, hunch my shoulders, lower my head and wait. It doesn't seem like it would be but it was really, really tough to resist the urge to look back and see where he was. Admittedly, it didn't get any easier to resist yesterday either! But, the technique works. On the first day, it took P maybe 5 minutes before he was standing just behind my left should looking at me like, "WTF are you doing?! Let's go but give me scritchings first, woman!" and yesterday, it took about half that. He chose ME. And, that's pretty darn cool.
On a totally unrelated note, my biggest concern at this point is whether or not I'll be able to afford to keep Phoenix. I'm concerned that I won't be able to afford the boarding and farrier fees. So, for now, I'm pretending I'm already paying for everything. Won't hurt to put the extra cash aside for emergencies and I'll know by the "do or die" date (August 1st) whether or not I can take that leap.
If I do, it will be the biggest, most significant $1 purchase of my life, I think.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Quickly, quickly!
No time for one of my normal long posts. Another good couple of days. Started from the beginning of the Clinton Anderson training method today to see how P'd do... he did GREAT. Was sketchy with the "handy stick" at first (no I'm not retarded. I didn't fork over $35 or $45 for the ACTUAL C.A. handy stick. I bought the same thing for $17 at a local saddlery) but he calmed very nicely though getting him to accept it on his right side was a definite challenge!
And then we tried backing up. It was an absolute no go. Figured P had done outstanding enough for the day. Went (quickly) over the 1st few exercises again so we'd end on a positive note and then set him loose in the arena for about 20 minutes. He definitely needed that! It was fun to watch P having fun and running around acting silly. We actually played together too so that was cool.
Oh, and I started the day by using the Joe Camp method of letting P chose me as opposed to me getting him to submit. It worked great though I was nervous that it wouldn't work at all.
All in all a great day (as usual because Phoenix is awesome).
Time for work!
And then we tried backing up. It was an absolute no go. Figured P had done outstanding enough for the day. Went (quickly) over the 1st few exercises again so we'd end on a positive note and then set him loose in the arena for about 20 minutes. He definitely needed that! It was fun to watch P having fun and running around acting silly. We actually played together too so that was cool.
Oh, and I started the day by using the Joe Camp method of letting P chose me as opposed to me getting him to submit. It worked great though I was nervous that it wouldn't work at all.
All in all a great day (as usual because Phoenix is awesome).
Time for work!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Farriers and Vets and Backing UP. Oh My!
Well, today was more work in the round pen and P did really well. He really needs more of a challenge and I'm working new little things in as we go but there are some other things holding us both back. The big thing is some basics that I neglected that I'm working on catching up/getting him up to speed on and the even bigger thing (for P) is his feet. They really are a mess. Fortunately (or unfortunately, as it may turn out for my pocket book) we met the farrier today.
Actually, Phoenix has already met the farrier, Ken, and quite likes him which is great as far as I'm concerned. In fact, I like him too. He was out at the ranch today to do a bunch of the other horses and was kind enough to give me a lesson (of sorts) in hooves. He seems very kind and I know he too, had been trying to find Phoenix a home so he's got the best interest of my boy in his sights and that's what I'm interested in. So far, seems like everyone's a winner.
At any rate, Ken did an assessment of P's hooves for me, educated me a little bit about what the possible complications could be and mean for the both of us and we set a date for him to come back and actually do some work on P early next week.
As it stands, Ken's opinion is that it's not just that left front foot that's a club foot; he says it looks like it's all four. I am more than a little concerned about this for a number of reasons, the biggest being that if, in fact, all four feet are club feet and we end up with a worst case scenario, P's farrier fees alone could cost me upwards of $200 every month and I'm not sure whether or not I can afford that in addition to boarding, veterinary, feed and tack costs. So, I'm hoping for better and trying to plan for the worst. Here's what Ken told me in regard to how P might have ended up this way and though I can't say whether or not it's fact, it seems like it makes sense.
So, we take a horse that's born and raised on open range eating a low quality (in our estimation) diet of sagebrush and gods know what else and getting a LOT of exercise, round him up before he's fully grown, auction him off and send him to a stable somewhere where he's kept in a small paddock or corral with little exercise (and often, in the case of BLM mustangs NO exercise), and super rich foods (good quality hay, supplements, etc.) and what happens? Not quite fully matured horses bones grow too fast for his connective tissues causing the tendons at the back of his legs to be contracted which pulls on the navicular bone and accordingly changes the angle of the coffin bone. End result: club feet.
So, we'll see what happens next week. Hopefully, the problem can be corrected or at least managed at a reasonable cost. Cross your fingers. I'd hate for hooves to be the reason that I can't afford P but it is a possibility.
Additionally, I heard back from BLM today about Phoenix. According to BLM, because they lost contact with P's original adopter before that 1st year was up, P is still official property of the BLM. I have to go through the application process and the year long eval period if I want to adopt him. Great. I don't mind the eval period at all. I am concerned that my application will be denied over something trivial though.
Let's see... what other good news today?
Oh yeah! P did great (as usual) in the round pen. I'm noticing that the more we work together in the round pen, the more attentive to me he's getting, which is what I want. He's stopping faster and turning more quickly when asked and very rarely turning outward which is even better. We tried something new (for me) when he balks and won't walk on because he doesn't want to go where I'm leading him... I put his feet to work. Thank you Clinton Anderson. So now, when P gives me grief and pretends he's an obstinate mule who won't move forward on the lead when I ask, he gets to do some work and rethink his approach. We only had to do that a couple of times before he got the hint and changed his mind about whether or not we were going where I wanted us to. =)
Down side to that was that I was reminded of the technique by one of the other boarders who quite literally snatched his lead out of my hands and proceeded to aggressively (I don't know how else to put it without sounding like a jerk-face) back Phoenix round and round for a couple of minutes. I think she had the right idea, no doubt... I just thought she was a little too aggressive. Thing was, she was "manhandling" him and he got pretty upset. He did eventually do what she wanted though. On the flip-side, when he played the mule with me and I used the same technique but without aggression, he still did what I wanted and without all the snorting and prancing and being obviously frightened. I think I might like my way a little (or a lot) better. I don't believe that scaring him is ever going to get him to trust me, nor do I think that's the best way to get him to show respect; respect comes from good, solid leadership, not fear and bullying.
Coolest part of the day: seeing my fat, happy boy shining in the sunlight and looking a little tired not from boredom but from having got to work; my boy definitely likes having a job.
Actually, Phoenix has already met the farrier, Ken, and quite likes him which is great as far as I'm concerned. In fact, I like him too. He was out at the ranch today to do a bunch of the other horses and was kind enough to give me a lesson (of sorts) in hooves. He seems very kind and I know he too, had been trying to find Phoenix a home so he's got the best interest of my boy in his sights and that's what I'm interested in. So far, seems like everyone's a winner.
At any rate, Ken did an assessment of P's hooves for me, educated me a little bit about what the possible complications could be and mean for the both of us and we set a date for him to come back and actually do some work on P early next week.
As it stands, Ken's opinion is that it's not just that left front foot that's a club foot; he says it looks like it's all four. I am more than a little concerned about this for a number of reasons, the biggest being that if, in fact, all four feet are club feet and we end up with a worst case scenario, P's farrier fees alone could cost me upwards of $200 every month and I'm not sure whether or not I can afford that in addition to boarding, veterinary, feed and tack costs. So, I'm hoping for better and trying to plan for the worst. Here's what Ken told me in regard to how P might have ended up this way and though I can't say whether or not it's fact, it seems like it makes sense.
So, we take a horse that's born and raised on open range eating a low quality (in our estimation) diet of sagebrush and gods know what else and getting a LOT of exercise, round him up before he's fully grown, auction him off and send him to a stable somewhere where he's kept in a small paddock or corral with little exercise (and often, in the case of BLM mustangs NO exercise), and super rich foods (good quality hay, supplements, etc.) and what happens? Not quite fully matured horses bones grow too fast for his connective tissues causing the tendons at the back of his legs to be contracted which pulls on the navicular bone and accordingly changes the angle of the coffin bone. End result: club feet.
So, we'll see what happens next week. Hopefully, the problem can be corrected or at least managed at a reasonable cost. Cross your fingers. I'd hate for hooves to be the reason that I can't afford P but it is a possibility.
Additionally, I heard back from BLM today about Phoenix. According to BLM, because they lost contact with P's original adopter before that 1st year was up, P is still official property of the BLM. I have to go through the application process and the year long eval period if I want to adopt him. Great. I don't mind the eval period at all. I am concerned that my application will be denied over something trivial though.
Let's see... what other good news today?
Oh yeah! P did great (as usual) in the round pen. I'm noticing that the more we work together in the round pen, the more attentive to me he's getting, which is what I want. He's stopping faster and turning more quickly when asked and very rarely turning outward which is even better. We tried something new (for me) when he balks and won't walk on because he doesn't want to go where I'm leading him... I put his feet to work. Thank you Clinton Anderson. So now, when P gives me grief and pretends he's an obstinate mule who won't move forward on the lead when I ask, he gets to do some work and rethink his approach. We only had to do that a couple of times before he got the hint and changed his mind about whether or not we were going where I wanted us to. =)
Down side to that was that I was reminded of the technique by one of the other boarders who quite literally snatched his lead out of my hands and proceeded to aggressively (I don't know how else to put it without sounding like a jerk-face) back Phoenix round and round for a couple of minutes. I think she had the right idea, no doubt... I just thought she was a little too aggressive. Thing was, she was "manhandling" him and he got pretty upset. He did eventually do what she wanted though. On the flip-side, when he played the mule with me and I used the same technique but without aggression, he still did what I wanted and without all the snorting and prancing and being obviously frightened. I think I might like my way a little (or a lot) better. I don't believe that scaring him is ever going to get him to trust me, nor do I think that's the best way to get him to show respect; respect comes from good, solid leadership, not fear and bullying.
Coolest part of the day: seeing my fat, happy boy shining in the sunlight and looking a little tired not from boredom but from having got to work; my boy definitely likes having a job.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Phoenix And Arthur
Well, Arthur and Phoenix got to meet today. The up side to their meeting was that Phoenix was VERY friendly to Arthur and really curious about my little fur-beast. On the other hand, Arthur acted like an utter jerk-face. =( Phoenix came over to say hello through the fence and Arthur seemed OK but I could tell he was scared... I had a feeling that was going to happen. Tied Arthur up next to the shade of the car, haltered Phoenix and brought him out of the paddock to do some grooming. Phoenix was interested in Arthur so I let him walk over to A and check him out. They got so far as a couple of mutual nose sniffs before A freaked out (not really badly, but enough so that I know he's not going to be safe around P for a good long while, if ever). While I wasn't too thrilled with Arthur's reaction, I did expect it. He's always (we're talking, since I brought him home at 12 weeks old) been aggressive around anyone/anything bigger than him until he gets to know them. I'm pretty sure it's a fear related aggression but that doesn't make it OK. What I didn't expect was how calmly Phoenix would handle Arthur's ass-hattery. During their second nose sniffing session, when Arthur got scared, he growl-snapped at Phoenix and Pheonix didn't even flinch, just moved his nose away from A and looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
So, for now, A's going to continue to come with me to the ranch but he's not getting near P again (aside from greetings through fences) until he (Arthur) can learn to relax.
Didn't do too much today, just some socializing, a good grooming, practice picking up feet and letting me hold them for a bit, messed with his tail some to see how he'd act if I had hold of it and pulled it out to the side (he was fine but curious what the heck I was doing) and, a walk where P got to check out some motorcycles rushing by around a corner. His head went up and he was in alert mode but he didn't jerk or run or anything which was really good. We'll keep doing short walks and getting him acclimated to the traffic slowly.
The only major victor today was that I was able squirt the fly spray within 10 feet of P (into a rag) and he didn't act like someone was coming to kill him. Awesome! End result? He got slathered in fly spray and didn't seem nearly as cranky as he has been. Very cool. Also, pre-fly spray, we worked on him getting used to a soaking wet rag. He didn't like it at first because (I'm sure) it was NEW and SCARY but by the time we were done, he seemed to quite like it.
I'm going to have to really work on this who's the boss thing because he's acting awfully pushy and I am NOT OK with that.
Tomorrow, round pen, feet, fly spray... and if I have time, I'm going to try to tackle that nasty mane.
So, for now, A's going to continue to come with me to the ranch but he's not getting near P again (aside from greetings through fences) until he (Arthur) can learn to relax.
Didn't do too much today, just some socializing, a good grooming, practice picking up feet and letting me hold them for a bit, messed with his tail some to see how he'd act if I had hold of it and pulled it out to the side (he was fine but curious what the heck I was doing) and, a walk where P got to check out some motorcycles rushing by around a corner. His head went up and he was in alert mode but he didn't jerk or run or anything which was really good. We'll keep doing short walks and getting him acclimated to the traffic slowly.
The only major victor today was that I was able squirt the fly spray within 10 feet of P (into a rag) and he didn't act like someone was coming to kill him. Awesome! End result? He got slathered in fly spray and didn't seem nearly as cranky as he has been. Very cool. Also, pre-fly spray, we worked on him getting used to a soaking wet rag. He didn't like it at first because (I'm sure) it was NEW and SCARY but by the time we were done, he seemed to quite like it.
I'm going to have to really work on this who's the boss thing because he's acting awfully pushy and I am NOT OK with that.
Tomorrow, round pen, feet, fly spray... and if I have time, I'm going to try to tackle that nasty mane.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Ergh...
So I'm seriously debating whether or not I should go to Falcon Ridge today. I've been battling what I think is a mild case of food poisoning since early yesterday (it hit me full bore about 3/4 of the way up to see Phoenix and I just toughed it out the rest of the day because I didn't want to waste my day feeling sorry for my unhappy stomach) and it just now hit me with a vengeance. I feel like crap. I really want to go out to FR though. On the other hand, I don't want to embarrass myself with people I'm just meeting by having to rush to a restroom every hour or so to be ill.
Decisions, decisions!
I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and not go. I'll send Nicki an e-mail, ask for a rain check and explain/apologize. Very, very lame. I have no time for being sick! Hopefully, I can spend the day being productive around my house (which could use a little TLC, to be honest), doing some research, and reading (I just got my 1st Clinton Anderson book in the mail a couple days ago and I've been itching to read it... just haven't had time). Hopefully, by late afternoon, I'll feel well enough to head up with Arthur to meet Phoenix.
Booo! I was really looking forward to getting to meet Nicki and company and help out at FR. I hope she'll understand and ask me back.
Decisions, decisions!
I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and not go. I'll send Nicki an e-mail, ask for a rain check and explain/apologize. Very, very lame. I have no time for being sick! Hopefully, I can spend the day being productive around my house (which could use a little TLC, to be honest), doing some research, and reading (I just got my 1st Clinton Anderson book in the mail a couple days ago and I've been itching to read it... just haven't had time). Hopefully, by late afternoon, I'll feel well enough to head up with Arthur to meet Phoenix.
Booo! I was really looking forward to getting to meet Nicki and company and help out at FR. I hope she'll understand and ask me back.
Water Bottles Are The Devil, Phoenix Tells Me...
Shoot. I just lost a whole post!
Starting over: yesterday was good. P did very well in the round pen actually walking and trotting when I asked him to. Didn't do so well with the water bottle. We spent between 2 and 3 hours with me standing in the middle of the pen methodically squirting a water bottle and P telling me in no uncertain terms that he wasn't quite ready to let me near him while I had that thing in my hand making those scary noises but, by the time I called it a day, he was stopping and staring and thinking it over every so often so, I called it good progress.
I think he did wonderfully. I know the sound of the water bottle must be very frightening...especially considering how much it sounds like a pissed off snake. P, in all reality, isn't doing anything wrong. I just need him to understand that the bottle is NOT dangerous and that I won't hurt him. Ever. So, we'll keep working at it.
Got the info from Marc and Debi regarding the farriers and found out that the one I'm hoping will give it a try with P next Friday was already scheduled to come out to see to someone else's horse that day. Hopefully, I can get in touch with him in time for him to schedule me in.
Had a nice chat with one of the other boarders named Pam, whom I've decided I quite like. She's very nice and it seems we have a few things in common which is pretty cool.
Marc described to me a snake he's seen out at the facility and had an encounter with... and what he described sounds like one of these:
Starting over: yesterday was good. P did very well in the round pen actually walking and trotting when I asked him to. Didn't do so well with the water bottle. We spent between 2 and 3 hours with me standing in the middle of the pen methodically squirting a water bottle and P telling me in no uncertain terms that he wasn't quite ready to let me near him while I had that thing in my hand making those scary noises but, by the time I called it a day, he was stopping and staring and thinking it over every so often so, I called it good progress.
I think he did wonderfully. I know the sound of the water bottle must be very frightening...especially considering how much it sounds like a pissed off snake. P, in all reality, isn't doing anything wrong. I just need him to understand that the bottle is NOT dangerous and that I won't hurt him. Ever. So, we'll keep working at it.
Got the info from Marc and Debi regarding the farriers and found out that the one I'm hoping will give it a try with P next Friday was already scheduled to come out to see to someone else's horse that day. Hopefully, I can get in touch with him in time for him to schedule me in.
Had a nice chat with one of the other boarders named Pam, whom I've decided I quite like. She's very nice and it seems we have a few things in common which is pretty cool.
Marc described to me a snake he's seen out at the facility and had an encounter with... and what he described sounds like one of these:
Tantilla planiceps - Western Black-headed Snake
But, I don't think what he saw IS one of these because the snake he described was considerably larger than these get.
Today's my first day volunteering at Falcon Ridge Equine Rescue and I'm really looking forward to it. When I first contacted her about possible volunteer opportunities, Nicki was totally understanding of what I'd like to accomplish and told me to come on out. Since then (it was a few months ago), I've been searching youtube and watching David Lee Archer's videos and I think I could learn a lot from both of them so I'm pretty excited to get to help them out in whatever way I can as well as learn from them.
Contacted BLM about Phoenix a couple of days ago and was pleasantly surprised to get an email yesterday requesting some additional info and letting me know that they're pretty sure they found Phoenix in their database but needed to be sure. Hopefully, I'll get some concrete info about him some time next week. It doesn't matter one way or the other, but I think it'd be fun if P is a CA native too. I love where I'm from and am absurdly proud of it for reasons I cannot explain.
Debi told me yesterday that they're OK with me bringing Arthur (my dog) out to the facility with me which is great! I may bring him out today in the late afternoon and introduce A to P and see how he does. I'm fairly certain that Phoenix will be fine with Arthur as long as Arthur doesn't act like a freak but I'm not so sure how Arthur will act. He's all boxer all the time so he might be a total spazz. Whatever the case, today would be the perfect day to find out because I'd planned on giving Phoenix and I both a day off anyway so if Arthur acts like an idiot, it won't be a big deal to just turn around and go home.
Arthur at about 6 months old
We'll see how I feel after Falcon Ridge. I've been feeling ill the last couple of days and I may just need to give myself a break from all the driving today. Guess I'll just have to resign myself to being flexible.
One last thing, I thing the most significant thing from yesterday's session with P wasn't so much anything that Phoenix did or didn't do but something I realized about myself. I was, for the 1st time, really getting an inkling of a clue about my own body language. I'd never realized just how aggressively I carry myself ALL THE TIME, until yesterday. Relaxing is not something I'm very familiar with at this point so it's difficult to do. I'm working on it though. I'm pretty sure I know the reasons why I do this (not relevant so I'm not going to give anyone here all the gory details) but faced with the realization that I'm still carrying that past around with me in such an obvious (to everyone else, I'd imagine) way is, I think, going to help me overcome it and learn to not be so defensive all the time. I guess I owe P a great big thank you.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Easy Day
Time to relax
Today was a short session. I'm pretty beat. It's been a long week so I decided to give P and I both a break. We only did about 20 minutes in the round pen, went for a short walk, worked on leading, walk and whoa commands, going up and down a small concrete step, introduced him the the water bottle, worked on grooming and getting him to let me pick up his feet for longer periods, had a nice session where he just got to chill out and graze on the lead, and then called it a day.
MMMmmm. Tasty, tasty sticks!
He's balking at the round pen and also balking at leading if it's not
where HE wants to go so I'm going to have to figure out how to fix that.
It's really not his problem; it's my problem. He's still questioning
whether or not I'm the boss. Also, took a couple photos but forgot to
get good ones of his hooves but here's what I did get...
Those are his front feet and then his right front. Recall, he hasn't seen a farrier in at least a year but probably closer to 2 years.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Five!! Cinco! Funf!!! Cinque!
Today was GREAT! It only took me a couple of minutes to get Phoenix to stop shying away and let me halter him. Yaaaaaayyy! He's such a good boy!
So, once we got all ready, it was off to the round pen for another session. I'm making the call to shorten his round pen time until I get a farrier out to see him because his left front hoof has a crack in it that's (I think) pretty bad and I DO NOT want, under any circumstances to hurt him. I'm really glad that our round pen is covered in fairly deep, soft sand. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be working him at all until the farrier comes out. I'll try to take a few pictures tomorrow. Maybe someone else with more experience can tell me what they think and whether or not I'm overreacting? The sole is pretty overgrown (I think) but there's a crack in the front outer wall that goes to the white line and runs about an inch up. I don't know. It just looks ucky. Heck, all of his feet look ucky but they STILL look pretty darn good considering how long it's been since he's had his hooves done (at least 2 years!)
Anyway, we worked in the round pen for about half an hour (mostly trotting but more walking than yesterday which is good) but I really wanted him to slow down more than he was and not get bored so I tried something else...
I stopped him, led him out and we went for another walk on the lead and during our walk instead of just letting him kinda do what he wanted, I gave him the commands "walk on," and "whoa" every time we started or stopped. He's not too keen on the "whoa" but he got the hint about "walk on" after just a couple of times. Go Phoenix! Went a little farther today than yesterday. We're pretty close to a fairly well traveled road and I want him to get used to the idea of cars whizzing by in small increments. He definitely notices them now and is interested but not scared so far, so that's good. Also, he didn't spook at all during our walk today, which was even better. He did (apparently) contact a new friend somewhere up the street by neighing in my ear a couple of times. That was fun. =)
After our walk, it was back to the round pen for about 20 more minutes. He balked and wouldn't go in like I asked him to once he realized where we were going but that was easily solved. I opened the gate, walked him right past it about 5 feet, turned him around and let him right in like we were turning a corner, no problem. He didn't even flinch.
2nd round pen session went much better in terms of speed than the 1st as he was walking about half the time and trotting about 1/2. The only thing I noticed today was that he has a tendency to crowd into me when he's going counter clockwise and I really have to work to keep him from spiraling in. Not exactly sure how to cue him that I want him to go out but I'm trying different things. When I find something that works, I'll stick with that. The other thing I noticed is that stepping toward his forward end will NOT stop him, he just gets confused. But, all I have to do is take a single step backward, wherever I'm standing and he almost immediately stops, turns in and faces me. So, that's our new "whoa" cue. Cool.
The major victory of the day was that I was able (with a little helpful advice from my new teacher, T) to get him to calm down enough that at the end of the session, P stood for a whole HOUR quite nicely with a minimum of fuss and let me brush everything except his mane and tail. I'm not sure I want to push it THAT far in a day. He was so good though!
I also introduced him to Das Beetle (my car) and he proceeded to slobber all over the rear window. I think tomorrow we'll start with the squirt bottle and water to get him ready for fly spray and try to get him to let me do the wipe on spray when we're done.
All in all, the day was a great success and I'm very, very proud of my boy. Go Phoenix!
So, once we got all ready, it was off to the round pen for another session. I'm making the call to shorten his round pen time until I get a farrier out to see him because his left front hoof has a crack in it that's (I think) pretty bad and I DO NOT want, under any circumstances to hurt him. I'm really glad that our round pen is covered in fairly deep, soft sand. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be working him at all until the farrier comes out. I'll try to take a few pictures tomorrow. Maybe someone else with more experience can tell me what they think and whether or not I'm overreacting? The sole is pretty overgrown (I think) but there's a crack in the front outer wall that goes to the white line and runs about an inch up. I don't know. It just looks ucky. Heck, all of his feet look ucky but they STILL look pretty darn good considering how long it's been since he's had his hooves done (at least 2 years!)
Anyway, we worked in the round pen for about half an hour (mostly trotting but more walking than yesterday which is good) but I really wanted him to slow down more than he was and not get bored so I tried something else...
I stopped him, led him out and we went for another walk on the lead and during our walk instead of just letting him kinda do what he wanted, I gave him the commands "walk on," and "whoa" every time we started or stopped. He's not too keen on the "whoa" but he got the hint about "walk on" after just a couple of times. Go Phoenix! Went a little farther today than yesterday. We're pretty close to a fairly well traveled road and I want him to get used to the idea of cars whizzing by in small increments. He definitely notices them now and is interested but not scared so far, so that's good. Also, he didn't spook at all during our walk today, which was even better. He did (apparently) contact a new friend somewhere up the street by neighing in my ear a couple of times. That was fun. =)
After our walk, it was back to the round pen for about 20 more minutes. He balked and wouldn't go in like I asked him to once he realized where we were going but that was easily solved. I opened the gate, walked him right past it about 5 feet, turned him around and let him right in like we were turning a corner, no problem. He didn't even flinch.
2nd round pen session went much better in terms of speed than the 1st as he was walking about half the time and trotting about 1/2. The only thing I noticed today was that he has a tendency to crowd into me when he's going counter clockwise and I really have to work to keep him from spiraling in. Not exactly sure how to cue him that I want him to go out but I'm trying different things. When I find something that works, I'll stick with that. The other thing I noticed is that stepping toward his forward end will NOT stop him, he just gets confused. But, all I have to do is take a single step backward, wherever I'm standing and he almost immediately stops, turns in and faces me. So, that's our new "whoa" cue. Cool.
The major victory of the day was that I was able (with a little helpful advice from my new teacher, T) to get him to calm down enough that at the end of the session, P stood for a whole HOUR quite nicely with a minimum of fuss and let me brush everything except his mane and tail. I'm not sure I want to push it THAT far in a day. He was so good though!
I also introduced him to Das Beetle (my car) and he proceeded to slobber all over the rear window. I think tomorrow we'll start with the squirt bottle and water to get him ready for fly spray and try to get him to let me do the wipe on spray when we're done.
All in all, the day was a great success and I'm very, very proud of my boy. Go Phoenix!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Day 4
So, today I got a lesson from T (because he's awesome). He, without saying it outright, (I'm not even sure if that was what he was trying to do... I think he might've just bee trying to help) showed me that I was doing some stuff all wrong.
Using what he showed me was quite a bit more effective than what I was doing and in the long run, I think it'll be better. He made me realize that P and I were quickly developing a "who's the boss? That's right chick, it ain't you," relationship and that would be bad for both of us.
In spite of the setback in terms of my ego (which, ultimately, is completely unimportant/irrelevant) I learned more today and Phoenix got some exercise. Yay!
T showed me how to get him haltered without the bribery (I'm looking forward to the challenge of doing this during tomorrow's session! T did it today to show me what I need to do and let me just watch and soak it up). Ultimately, it boils down to, I needed to be a little (or a lot) firmer and more clear with the cues I was giving P. Noted. Filed. I will bust my butt to do better for my guy.
After we got him haltered it was off to the round pen. P's paddock area is pretty good sized so working with him on the lead seemed reasonable the 1st couple of days but I had wondered how differently he'd act outside his paddock area and I got my answer this morning. He' does just fine but he's not BORED. He's interested in everything and that's fine by me. =D
I got another short tutorial from T who showed me how to work P in the round pen and then he left, and P and I continued for about 15 minutes (I think that I'd rather err on the side of caution and not overdo it. P hasn't really had any exercise for at least a year. It wasn't really that warm outside today and fortunately, here in SoCal the humidity is really low for most of the year, but P was still soaked after our session. I know some of it is his nervousness but I don't want to risk injuring him by working too hard. One thing T mentioned that I was picking up on even before he said as much was that it was impressive just how responsive P was once he was outside his paddock. He's so bright and willing to please, just watching him learn would be rewarding enough in and of itself.
As for myself, the only thing I KNEW w/out a doubt that I was messing up was how to cue P to walk as opposed to trot. That was our goal: to get him to do a complete circuit of the pen in both directions at a walk. When he would walk (very minimally), if I relaxed he'd stop and start stargazing but as soon as I cued him to get his butt in gear and pay attention to me, he'd start trotting again. Also, when he did walk, he'd try to cut in toward me and every time I corrected him, he'd go back out... and start trotting.
He started loping a couple of times which T had told me I should NOT do at least for the first few weeks and I could get him to slow down to a trot, no problem but the walking, that definitely had me stumped. We'll give it another go tomorrow and hopefully I'll get it right.
After the round pen, he was huffing and puffing a little so we went for a short walk. I also wanted to see how he'd act in a new/not very familiar setting and see how he'd respond to me leading him as opposed to T.
Well, he spooked just once at a plastic bag caught in a fence but he didn't bolt or really act up that much at all. He just jerked and stopped to stare and figure out what the thing was. I gave him a couple of pats waited a few seconds for him to stop snorting at the bag and then we walked on with no problems. Other than that, the only thing I can see as of now is that he crowds me a little and that's absolutely my fault. He's not aggressive about it and (kudos to him for being an awesome learner) luckily for me, he got the hint pretty quickly that I wasn't OK with it.
Boundaries. I have to remember that I need to set boundaries because if I don't, one or both of us are going to get hurt and that would be the pits.
After our walk, I tried to get P to let me brush him out (I wasn't even going to bother trying to give him a bath, though I'd have liked to but I can already tell that's going to be a little more than we're ready for). He will NOT let me groom his right side! Left side, he's just a little sketchy but it's do-able. Right side just was NOT happening. He wouldn't even let me near him with the brush and threw an absolute tantrum/fit. T had mentioned that's his "off" side and we'll have to work on it. So we will. I got him to the point that he'd stay still for a sec and let me walk on that side, unhaltered him, gave him a couple of scritches and a carrot and called it a day.
I feel like the worst person in the world. I was taught that it's imperative to make sure you never leave your horse all cakey with dried sweat and that's exactly what I was forced to do. I am not pleased with myself.
At any rate, that's that. I'm extremely tired and though not pleased with myself, I'm pleased with the progress P made today. Looking forward to getting it done tomorrow without needing someone to hold my hand.
Using what he showed me was quite a bit more effective than what I was doing and in the long run, I think it'll be better. He made me realize that P and I were quickly developing a "who's the boss? That's right chick, it ain't you," relationship and that would be bad for both of us.
In spite of the setback in terms of my ego (which, ultimately, is completely unimportant/irrelevant) I learned more today and Phoenix got some exercise. Yay!
T showed me how to get him haltered without the bribery (I'm looking forward to the challenge of doing this during tomorrow's session! T did it today to show me what I need to do and let me just watch and soak it up). Ultimately, it boils down to, I needed to be a little (or a lot) firmer and more clear with the cues I was giving P. Noted. Filed. I will bust my butt to do better for my guy.
After we got him haltered it was off to the round pen. P's paddock area is pretty good sized so working with him on the lead seemed reasonable the 1st couple of days but I had wondered how differently he'd act outside his paddock area and I got my answer this morning. He' does just fine but he's not BORED. He's interested in everything and that's fine by me. =D
I got another short tutorial from T who showed me how to work P in the round pen and then he left, and P and I continued for about 15 minutes (I think that I'd rather err on the side of caution and not overdo it. P hasn't really had any exercise for at least a year. It wasn't really that warm outside today and fortunately, here in SoCal the humidity is really low for most of the year, but P was still soaked after our session. I know some of it is his nervousness but I don't want to risk injuring him by working too hard. One thing T mentioned that I was picking up on even before he said as much was that it was impressive just how responsive P was once he was outside his paddock. He's so bright and willing to please, just watching him learn would be rewarding enough in and of itself.
As for myself, the only thing I KNEW w/out a doubt that I was messing up was how to cue P to walk as opposed to trot. That was our goal: to get him to do a complete circuit of the pen in both directions at a walk. When he would walk (very minimally), if I relaxed he'd stop and start stargazing but as soon as I cued him to get his butt in gear and pay attention to me, he'd start trotting again. Also, when he did walk, he'd try to cut in toward me and every time I corrected him, he'd go back out... and start trotting.
He started loping a couple of times which T had told me I should NOT do at least for the first few weeks and I could get him to slow down to a trot, no problem but the walking, that definitely had me stumped. We'll give it another go tomorrow and hopefully I'll get it right.
After the round pen, he was huffing and puffing a little so we went for a short walk. I also wanted to see how he'd act in a new/not very familiar setting and see how he'd respond to me leading him as opposed to T.
Well, he spooked just once at a plastic bag caught in a fence but he didn't bolt or really act up that much at all. He just jerked and stopped to stare and figure out what the thing was. I gave him a couple of pats waited a few seconds for him to stop snorting at the bag and then we walked on with no problems. Other than that, the only thing I can see as of now is that he crowds me a little and that's absolutely my fault. He's not aggressive about it and (kudos to him for being an awesome learner) luckily for me, he got the hint pretty quickly that I wasn't OK with it.
Boundaries. I have to remember that I need to set boundaries because if I don't, one or both of us are going to get hurt and that would be the pits.
After our walk, I tried to get P to let me brush him out (I wasn't even going to bother trying to give him a bath, though I'd have liked to but I can already tell that's going to be a little more than we're ready for). He will NOT let me groom his right side! Left side, he's just a little sketchy but it's do-able. Right side just was NOT happening. He wouldn't even let me near him with the brush and threw an absolute tantrum/fit. T had mentioned that's his "off" side and we'll have to work on it. So we will. I got him to the point that he'd stay still for a sec and let me walk on that side, unhaltered him, gave him a couple of scritches and a carrot and called it a day.
I feel like the worst person in the world. I was taught that it's imperative to make sure you never leave your horse all cakey with dried sweat and that's exactly what I was forced to do. I am not pleased with myself.
At any rate, that's that. I'm extremely tired and though not pleased with myself, I'm pleased with the progress P made today. Looking forward to getting it done tomorrow without needing someone to hold my hand.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Day 3
I just got home from the stable and am flushed with success!
I got there a little early for Phoenix who wasn't quite finished with breakfast so I walked into the paddock and said good morning from a distance and waited patiently for him to come to me. When he was done eating he came to say hello and we started our session for the day.
I had no set goals today; I simply wanted to ensure that we both made some progress and I think that's how it's going to remain. If we're not BOTH progressing, learning something new or reinforcing something which needs to be reinforced, then I'm doing things wrong.
I realized today that one of the biggest dangers I'm going to face with this little guy is boredom. He's very smart and gets bored fairly quickly so I have to work to keep him engaged.
Anyway, so after our good morning hello, I spent about an hour working on getting him comfortable with me handling him on his terms, that is, no halter, no restraint. When he needed a break I let him walk away, gave him a rest and then approached him again once he relaxed. My thinking was this: I wanted him to understand that there's absolutely NO danger in approaching me and that if he needed to relieve the pressure of my presence, he could. But, I also wanted to make it easier to hang out with me than to not.
The small though significant victory here was that he very quickly came to realize that if he came & hung out with me, I'd help him keep flies away.
During that 1st hour, I spent a lot of it working on getting him used to my hands moving on and around his head, neck, shoulders and front legs continuing where we started yesterday. Today I REALLY focused on getting him used to having my arms on and around his neck from the underside as well as from above though, as I'd noticed yesterday that he has a tendency to fling his head in the air and back away if I put my hands close to or above his hears or high above and behind his upper neck. It's interesting, he's actually more comfortable with me picking up his feet than he is with me touching his neck between the poll and the crest.
Anyway, after the first hour, we took about a 15 minute break where I left the paddock, walked around a bit and just gave him some "away from the crazy girl" time.
2nd hour, I'd thought we'd just continue with what we'd worked on during the 1st hour but I could see almost immediately that Phoenix was getting bored so I brought out the rag and the halter/lead rope.
I started by making sure he say both items. Then holding one or the other I'd just kind of hold it with my arms lowered and wave it a little to get him curious. He'd come to me and I'd let him check it out (this guy has to explore EVERYTHING with his lips, it seems) and then I'd slowly raise it to see if he'd let me rub it 1st on his nose and forehead and 2nd from the poll to the withers.
He was having none of it past sniffing and lipping both items. So, new tactic: I coiled up the halter and lead rope, tied it so it wouldn't turn into a big long mess, let it fall to the ground and then walked away. Phoenix immediately approached, sniffed, picked it up in his teeth, swung it around and played with it, dropped it and then pawed at it. I repeated the same thing with the rag once he decided that the halter/lead were harmless and relaxed. He handled the rag the same way: pick it up, wave it around, toss it on the ground, paw at it, decide it's harmless and walk away. I think he just needs to see that there's nothing to be fearful of. Yesterday, he wouldn't even get near the halter and lead on the ground or the rag (which I sprayed with fly spray before our session started because I want him to get used to the scent) so, as far as I'm concerned, that's victory number 2. Yay!
Next, it was break time again and I broke out the carrots. The last half hour I decided we'd do something that I personally hadn't done with him yet: I did a little reading up last night and one of the things I read suggested that if you have a difficult to catch and halter horse, initially, bribery with treats can help. Right now, even though he's ok-ish (that is, you can lead him around and he's jittery but he'll stand still for a bit) once the halter's on, Phoenix does NOT associate it with anything positive so he's absolutely NOT interested in allowing anyone to put a halter on him. I decided that we're going to make it "fun" to be haltered. Every time he comes to me, stands and allows me to halter him, he gets a piece of carrot.
I started by giving him a small piece to let him know I had goodies. Next,I walked away and I gave the command "Phoenix, come here" and when he did, he got his carrot bit (that was easy, of COURSE he'll come for the carrot!) Did that a couple of times and then progressed to "Phoenix, come here," and then when he came, holding my left hand lightly on the bridge of his nose and my right hand on his withers, I'd say "stand" until he stood still and relaxed (that was actually a little scary as I was concerned about getting kicked or stomped on as he tried to sidle away). Once he calmed down and stood still, he got his carrot bit. Finally, after I think he figured out I wanted him to be still, we did "come here" and "stand" and I looped the lead around his neck, haltered him, told him what a good boy he is and gave him another bit of carrot.
Once we got the halter on the 1st time, I led him around a bit(he gets SO bored with it that I don't actually lead him around as much as I should, to be honest. I need to work on that) and introduced the rag again and tried to get him to let me rub his shoulders and front legs with the rag. That was a mixed success as he'd only let me do his left side. For some reason, with the hater on, he's not OK with me approaching his right side... it takes a lot of coaxing and repetition and that wasn't our main goal at the time, so I didn't push the issue. After just a few minutes, I let him go, gave him a break, repeated the whole process and then called it a day.
I can't wait to go back tomorrow! I'll work on getting better pictures but for now, crappy shots from afar are going to have to do. He's not quite ready to deal with me waving a camera around yet.
I got there a little early for Phoenix who wasn't quite finished with breakfast so I walked into the paddock and said good morning from a distance and waited patiently for him to come to me. When he was done eating he came to say hello and we started our session for the day.
I had no set goals today; I simply wanted to ensure that we both made some progress and I think that's how it's going to remain. If we're not BOTH progressing, learning something new or reinforcing something which needs to be reinforced, then I'm doing things wrong.
I realized today that one of the biggest dangers I'm going to face with this little guy is boredom. He's very smart and gets bored fairly quickly so I have to work to keep him engaged.
Phoenix getting ready to come say "Good morning!"
Anyway, so after our good morning hello, I spent about an hour working on getting him comfortable with me handling him on his terms, that is, no halter, no restraint. When he needed a break I let him walk away, gave him a rest and then approached him again once he relaxed. My thinking was this: I wanted him to understand that there's absolutely NO danger in approaching me and that if he needed to relieve the pressure of my presence, he could. But, I also wanted to make it easier to hang out with me than to not.
The small though significant victory here was that he very quickly came to realize that if he came & hung out with me, I'd help him keep flies away.
During that 1st hour, I spent a lot of it working on getting him used to my hands moving on and around his head, neck, shoulders and front legs continuing where we started yesterday. Today I REALLY focused on getting him used to having my arms on and around his neck from the underside as well as from above though, as I'd noticed yesterday that he has a tendency to fling his head in the air and back away if I put my hands close to or above his hears or high above and behind his upper neck. It's interesting, he's actually more comfortable with me picking up his feet than he is with me touching his neck between the poll and the crest.
Anyway, after the first hour, we took about a 15 minute break where I left the paddock, walked around a bit and just gave him some "away from the crazy girl" time.
2nd hour, I'd thought we'd just continue with what we'd worked on during the 1st hour but I could see almost immediately that Phoenix was getting bored so I brought out the rag and the halter/lead rope.
I started by making sure he say both items. Then holding one or the other I'd just kind of hold it with my arms lowered and wave it a little to get him curious. He'd come to me and I'd let him check it out (this guy has to explore EVERYTHING with his lips, it seems) and then I'd slowly raise it to see if he'd let me rub it 1st on his nose and forehead and 2nd from the poll to the withers.
He was having none of it past sniffing and lipping both items. So, new tactic: I coiled up the halter and lead rope, tied it so it wouldn't turn into a big long mess, let it fall to the ground and then walked away. Phoenix immediately approached, sniffed, picked it up in his teeth, swung it around and played with it, dropped it and then pawed at it. I repeated the same thing with the rag once he decided that the halter/lead were harmless and relaxed. He handled the rag the same way: pick it up, wave it around, toss it on the ground, paw at it, decide it's harmless and walk away. I think he just needs to see that there's nothing to be fearful of. Yesterday, he wouldn't even get near the halter and lead on the ground or the rag (which I sprayed with fly spray before our session started because I want him to get used to the scent) so, as far as I'm concerned, that's victory number 2. Yay!
Next, it was break time again and I broke out the carrots. The last half hour I decided we'd do something that I personally hadn't done with him yet: I did a little reading up last night and one of the things I read suggested that if you have a difficult to catch and halter horse, initially, bribery with treats can help. Right now, even though he's ok-ish (that is, you can lead him around and he's jittery but he'll stand still for a bit) once the halter's on, Phoenix does NOT associate it with anything positive so he's absolutely NOT interested in allowing anyone to put a halter on him. I decided that we're going to make it "fun" to be haltered. Every time he comes to me, stands and allows me to halter him, he gets a piece of carrot.
I started by giving him a small piece to let him know I had goodies. Next,I walked away and I gave the command "Phoenix, come here" and when he did, he got his carrot bit (that was easy, of COURSE he'll come for the carrot!) Did that a couple of times and then progressed to "Phoenix, come here," and then when he came, holding my left hand lightly on the bridge of his nose and my right hand on his withers, I'd say "stand" until he stood still and relaxed (that was actually a little scary as I was concerned about getting kicked or stomped on as he tried to sidle away). Once he calmed down and stood still, he got his carrot bit. Finally, after I think he figured out I wanted him to be still, we did "come here" and "stand" and I looped the lead around his neck, haltered him, told him what a good boy he is and gave him another bit of carrot.
Once we got the halter on the 1st time, I led him around a bit(he gets SO bored with it that I don't actually lead him around as much as I should, to be honest. I need to work on that) and introduced the rag again and tried to get him to let me rub his shoulders and front legs with the rag. That was a mixed success as he'd only let me do his left side. For some reason, with the hater on, he's not OK with me approaching his right side... it takes a lot of coaxing and repetition and that wasn't our main goal at the time, so I didn't push the issue. After just a few minutes, I let him go, gave him a break, repeated the whole process and then called it a day.
I can't wait to go back tomorrow! I'll work on getting better pictures but for now, crappy shots from afar are going to have to do. He's not quite ready to deal with me waving a camera around yet.
Day 2
Day 2 was yesterday. I'm almost caught up!
I had to buy a halter and lead for P yesterday and found a softer brush as well seeing he was officially not OK with a curry, as I found out day 1. Also picked up some wipe on fly spray because he's getting eaten alive.
One of the other boarders took pity on P recently and tried to put some fly spray on him. Apparently he freaked out when she sprayed it near him so I figured now's as good a time as any to try to start getting him used to the smells/sounds/feel of the rag and spray.
Headed up to the stable with a new rope halter, lead, assortment of brushes, fly spray, a few carrots and a white wash rag.
One thing I noticed on Day 1 was that Phoenix is pretty friendly... until you pick up a halter. If he's loose and you walk into the paddock with a halter in your hand, he won't let you get very close at all.
So, I decided that Day 2 was going to be a step back but hopefully a step in the right direction. No haltering. My goal for the day was just to work on getting to know him, getting him to know that I'd like to be buds and getting him to follow me as well as allow me to touch him and handle him w/out him running away. I hoped I might be able to get him to stand still for a swipe or three of the rag sans fly spray but I wasn't counting on it.
Day 2 was a success! Phoenix did very well and I didn't do too shabby either! We spent a couple of hours (with breaks) just getting to know one another. He's a little bitey but pushing his muzzle away with a firm but quiet "NO" seems to be working pretty well.
I got to see 1st hand a few times, the "scratch my butt" request but Kay helped me with that. After the first time, on Kay's advice, when he did it again, a short, sharp stamp and clamp got the point across that presenting me with his rear end is NOT an option. Only had to do that a couple of times for him to "get it." Awesome!
We, Kay and I, also discussed treats. I don't want P to be spoiled and I need to really discourage the nipping so, no treats by hand, only in his bucket and I need to not "over treat" which can be tempting. I want him to understand that sniffing is OK but around me/my hands, teeth stay closed. Period.
I tried the fly spray and failed but that's OK.
Once I had the smell of the stuff on me, P and I were back to square one. He does NOT like the smell at all. So, for now, everything we do... I'll have fly spray on my hands or on a rag in my pocket until he gets used to it.
We also worked with the rag a little bit. I let him check it out rubbed it on his forehead, waved it around and that was about it. I just wanted him to accept it without spooking and he did and that's more than good enough for me for one day.
Hopefully we'll get some pictures up here soon!
I had to buy a halter and lead for P yesterday and found a softer brush as well seeing he was officially not OK with a curry, as I found out day 1. Also picked up some wipe on fly spray because he's getting eaten alive.
One of the other boarders took pity on P recently and tried to put some fly spray on him. Apparently he freaked out when she sprayed it near him so I figured now's as good a time as any to try to start getting him used to the smells/sounds/feel of the rag and spray.
Headed up to the stable with a new rope halter, lead, assortment of brushes, fly spray, a few carrots and a white wash rag.
One thing I noticed on Day 1 was that Phoenix is pretty friendly... until you pick up a halter. If he's loose and you walk into the paddock with a halter in your hand, he won't let you get very close at all.
So, I decided that Day 2 was going to be a step back but hopefully a step in the right direction. No haltering. My goal for the day was just to work on getting to know him, getting him to know that I'd like to be buds and getting him to follow me as well as allow me to touch him and handle him w/out him running away. I hoped I might be able to get him to stand still for a swipe or three of the rag sans fly spray but I wasn't counting on it.
Day 2 was a success! Phoenix did very well and I didn't do too shabby either! We spent a couple of hours (with breaks) just getting to know one another. He's a little bitey but pushing his muzzle away with a firm but quiet "NO" seems to be working pretty well.
I got to see 1st hand a few times, the "scratch my butt" request but Kay helped me with that. After the first time, on Kay's advice, when he did it again, a short, sharp stamp and clamp got the point across that presenting me with his rear end is NOT an option. Only had to do that a couple of times for him to "get it." Awesome!
We, Kay and I, also discussed treats. I don't want P to be spoiled and I need to really discourage the nipping so, no treats by hand, only in his bucket and I need to not "over treat" which can be tempting. I want him to understand that sniffing is OK but around me/my hands, teeth stay closed. Period.
I tried the fly spray and failed but that's OK.
Once I had the smell of the stuff on me, P and I were back to square one. He does NOT like the smell at all. So, for now, everything we do... I'll have fly spray on my hands or on a rag in my pocket until he gets used to it.
We also worked with the rag a little bit. I let him check it out rubbed it on his forehead, waved it around and that was about it. I just wanted him to accept it without spooking and he did and that's more than good enough for me for one day.
Hopefully we'll get some pictures up here soon!
Day 1
That 1st day, T had Phoenix haltered for me when I got to the stable. Apparently, it took him over half an hour to get the thing on the little guy. Phoenix is actually quite friendly, he just hasn't had the opportunity to build any relationships based on trust. So, that's going to be one of our very first goals.
I basically used that 1st day to try to evaluate Phoenix and see what he was all about.
Once he's haltered he'll lead but he needs work there. He does NOT appreciate grooming very much at all but will pick up his feet very nicely if asked. He doesn't mind being touched anywhere except his rear. Touching his rear end while I'm standing at his side sends him running every time. I did not try to handle his tail.
As of now, I'm going to have a super tough time getting a halter on him. I think he associates the halter with being annoyed by people who he doesn't know or trust (me as well as others) and I wonder if chasing him down and forcing him to be haltered is simply negative reinforcement.
The only thing I can see being a real problem at this point is that Phoenix is SMART and because he's smart, he gets bored easily. Because I'm learning, I move a little slower than Phoenix does in that regard because I'm concerned with giving him mixed or unclear cues.
I overdid things that 1st day, spent way too long feeling him out (I was there with him for about 4 hours), to the point that he let me know he was done (got very mouthy).
So lessons learned day one: Need to speed myself up so P doesn't get so bored. Shorter sessions (no more than an hour or so). Pay attention!
One other thing I learned about that I didn't see on that 1st day: D & T warned me that somewhere along the way, Phoenix learned that if he presents a person with his butt, they'll scratch it for him.
Other boarders at the stable (unfortunately) have encouraged this behavior. They are on the other side of a fence and don't see the harm, think it's "cute." Not a good idea.
I basically used that 1st day to try to evaluate Phoenix and see what he was all about.
Once he's haltered he'll lead but he needs work there. He does NOT appreciate grooming very much at all but will pick up his feet very nicely if asked. He doesn't mind being touched anywhere except his rear. Touching his rear end while I'm standing at his side sends him running every time. I did not try to handle his tail.
As of now, I'm going to have a super tough time getting a halter on him. I think he associates the halter with being annoyed by people who he doesn't know or trust (me as well as others) and I wonder if chasing him down and forcing him to be haltered is simply negative reinforcement.
The only thing I can see being a real problem at this point is that Phoenix is SMART and because he's smart, he gets bored easily. Because I'm learning, I move a little slower than Phoenix does in that regard because I'm concerned with giving him mixed or unclear cues.
I overdid things that 1st day, spent way too long feeling him out (I was there with him for about 4 hours), to the point that he let me know he was done (got very mouthy).
So lessons learned day one: Need to speed myself up so P doesn't get so bored. Shorter sessions (no more than an hour or so). Pay attention!
One other thing I learned about that I didn't see on that 1st day: D & T warned me that somewhere along the way, Phoenix learned that if he presents a person with his butt, they'll scratch it for him.
Other boarders at the stable (unfortunately) have encouraged this behavior. They are on the other side of a fence and don't see the harm, think it's "cute." Not a good idea.
Day 0
This is where I'm going to record what happens as my relationship with Phoenix evolves.
Who's Phoenix? He's an approximately 9 year old BLM mustang gelding. I don't know a ton about him at this point but I'm learning new things from him and about him every day. Here's what I do know about Phoenix:
He was 3rd striker and accordingly, his most recent adopter saved him from slaughter. Unfortunately, the man who adopted Phoenix from BLM the last time didn't have time for him and/or couldn't afford him (or the 3 other horses he owned) and Phoenix was abandoned at the boarding stable where he was being kept. The owners of the facility are wonderful people, horse people, and I think they see the potential in this little guy so they've been feeding him and taking care of him for quite a while now in hopes of finding him a new family. They were able to sell the other 3 horses to new homes very quickly but no one seemed to want Phoenix. What I've been told (and seen!) is that given the state of the economy there are a lot of horses in need of homes right now; trained horses, horses with pedigrees that will demand little to no training from new families, perfectly wonderful horses whose current families just need to find them a home for a whole host of reasons. Phoenix has neither training nor pedigree.
From what I understand, he's just too much work for most people to want to take on. Most people looking to buy a horse want a horse that they can ride and Phoenix isn't even close to ready for that! Most people aren't interested in spending the time and $$ it's going to take to feed and care for an animal that they can't ride until he's gentled. Even the few people who are interested in training up a horse are looking for... well, something else. So, Phoenix has been languishing in a paddock for the past year and more without being handled or worked with. His feet haven't seen a farrier in at least 2 years (they look surprisingly good for not having seen a farrier in so long but they're still in desperate need of attention), getting a halter on him is almost impossible and, he's pretty spooky about everything. He's basically wild.
Here's where I come in.
Being an equine enthusiast, (that is to say, I'm the girl -like so many others- who grew up wanting a horse, riding lessons, anything to do with horses, and never grew out of it) I regularly spend time on websites looking to see what horses are available so I can daydream about how awesome it would be to have this one or that one for my own. I haven't actively worked with horses for about 15 years until the past few months. Having a horse, being involved with them just hasn't seemed like it was within my reach so, for all that time I haven't. Recently, I found out about a really great rescue program called Horses of Tir Na Nog here in SoCal. I visited a few times to volunteer (and will continue) and it's phenomenal.
Tir Na Nog is great but it put "the bug" back to work in my mind and I have been looking for an opportunity to play a more active role in handling and training ever since. I want to ride, just like everyone else who's horse crazy, sure. But, right now I'm more interested in learning horses from the ground. I want to learn how to interact effectively and compassionately. I want to learn how to do all the things a trainer would do. If there's one thing that's a part of my life that I truly love, it's working with animals. Working with an animal, having the patience to see it through the rough spots and, eventually, to get to be a part of every little break through (and the big ones too!) is the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Doing that sort of "work" is when I feel most at home in my own skin. It's when I'm most content and happiest being me. Developing the trust and respect of an animal is, to me, the best thing in the world. I've done it with all kinds of reptiles, dogs, cats, more reptiles... but I've always wanted to work with horses too. I know I have the patience I'll need (my iguana, for one, is a perfect example. It took me 2 years of patience and work to get him to the point that he didn't try to kill me -literally- every time I opened his cage to feed and clean and another couple of years after that to make him the 6 feet of scaly sweetness he is today). Horses are not however, reptiles with brains the size of a walnut and I'm fully aware of that so until this week, I'd resigned myself to continuing to look for the "right" opportunity to learn from someone, anyone, who could teach me and was willing... and to look at local for sale ads and dream.
I came across an ad that had been posted on a local website about a week ago describing Phoenix and explaining that his current owners (the owners of the boarding stable) were just looking for a home for him but that they were willing to wait to find him the "right" home. I read the ad, ogled the picture of the cute-as-a-button little brown horse that accompanied it and was instantly enthralled. When I picture myself with a horse of my own, I don't see myself riding a beautiful Friesian, quarter horse, paint,thoroughbred or anything other than a mustang. I've always wanted a mustang. My first and longest regular contact with horses was with a mustang that I leased for a year while I was in the military. For that year I was fortunate enough to spend scads of time on a daily basis with and around a whole herd of mustangs and others kept as riding horses at the stable on the base I was stationed at and the mustangs, by far, were always my favorites. So, I kept going back, sometimes two or three times a day and looking for that same ad for a week to see if it was still up, and every day, it was. I contemplated responding to it but kept telling myself "No way! That will be too much for me, a novice, to handle. I can't afford a horse!" and yet, I still went back and looked again. Finally, 4 days ago, I bucked up the courage and responded to the ad. I explained that I wasn't sure that I was ready to own a horse but would be interested in leasing and working with Phoenix until either I decided to keep him for myself or a good home was found and asked if his owners would be interested in that sort of a deal.
Then, I waited.
The next day I received a reply from Phoenix's wonderful friend and current owner, Debi. Debi and her husband asked if I'd like to come out and Phoenix and so, that afternoon I went to meet all three of them. And that's where the story really begins.
3 days ago, I agreed to a feed lease of an untrained, absolutely adorable (in personality and looks), wonderful little horse named Phoenix, met a bunch of new and really great people and began a twice daily trek of 40 miles (That's kind of a big deal for me. I normally only drive to and from work and walk everywhere else I want to go) to get back and forth to the stable.
I'm getting a lot of help and great advice from other people and fortunately for me there are a LOT of them around the stable. I met a lady yesterday (I think her name is Kay; I'm really, really bad with names) who has trained BLM mustangs and has already taught me quite a bit who works at the stable and has offered to help any time I need some advice/guidance. Debi and her husband (Tom?), until recently bred, trained and showed (I think) arabians and they're helping a lot too. T has been a HUGE help already and I like them both immensely. Another lady, who also boards at the stable (I think her name is Pam) has also been very kind and welcoming and I've met a bunch of other people too.
So, we'll see what happens! If you've gotten this far, I commend you! I hope you'll come back to visit again and see how Phoenix and I and the rest of the crew are progressing!
Who's Phoenix? He's an approximately 9 year old BLM mustang gelding. I don't know a ton about him at this point but I'm learning new things from him and about him every day. Here's what I do know about Phoenix:
He was 3rd striker and accordingly, his most recent adopter saved him from slaughter. Unfortunately, the man who adopted Phoenix from BLM the last time didn't have time for him and/or couldn't afford him (or the 3 other horses he owned) and Phoenix was abandoned at the boarding stable where he was being kept. The owners of the facility are wonderful people, horse people, and I think they see the potential in this little guy so they've been feeding him and taking care of him for quite a while now in hopes of finding him a new family. They were able to sell the other 3 horses to new homes very quickly but no one seemed to want Phoenix. What I've been told (and seen!) is that given the state of the economy there are a lot of horses in need of homes right now; trained horses, horses with pedigrees that will demand little to no training from new families, perfectly wonderful horses whose current families just need to find them a home for a whole host of reasons. Phoenix has neither training nor pedigree.
From what I understand, he's just too much work for most people to want to take on. Most people looking to buy a horse want a horse that they can ride and Phoenix isn't even close to ready for that! Most people aren't interested in spending the time and $$ it's going to take to feed and care for an animal that they can't ride until he's gentled. Even the few people who are interested in training up a horse are looking for... well, something else. So, Phoenix has been languishing in a paddock for the past year and more without being handled or worked with. His feet haven't seen a farrier in at least 2 years (they look surprisingly good for not having seen a farrier in so long but they're still in desperate need of attention), getting a halter on him is almost impossible and, he's pretty spooky about everything. He's basically wild.
Here's where I come in.
Being an equine enthusiast, (that is to say, I'm the girl -like so many others- who grew up wanting a horse, riding lessons, anything to do with horses, and never grew out of it) I regularly spend time on websites looking to see what horses are available so I can daydream about how awesome it would be to have this one or that one for my own. I haven't actively worked with horses for about 15 years until the past few months. Having a horse, being involved with them just hasn't seemed like it was within my reach so, for all that time I haven't. Recently, I found out about a really great rescue program called Horses of Tir Na Nog here in SoCal. I visited a few times to volunteer (and will continue) and it's phenomenal.
Tir Na Nog is great but it put "the bug" back to work in my mind and I have been looking for an opportunity to play a more active role in handling and training ever since. I want to ride, just like everyone else who's horse crazy, sure. But, right now I'm more interested in learning horses from the ground. I want to learn how to interact effectively and compassionately. I want to learn how to do all the things a trainer would do. If there's one thing that's a part of my life that I truly love, it's working with animals. Working with an animal, having the patience to see it through the rough spots and, eventually, to get to be a part of every little break through (and the big ones too!) is the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Doing that sort of "work" is when I feel most at home in my own skin. It's when I'm most content and happiest being me. Developing the trust and respect of an animal is, to me, the best thing in the world. I've done it with all kinds of reptiles, dogs, cats, more reptiles... but I've always wanted to work with horses too. I know I have the patience I'll need (my iguana, for one, is a perfect example. It took me 2 years of patience and work to get him to the point that he didn't try to kill me -literally- every time I opened his cage to feed and clean and another couple of years after that to make him the 6 feet of scaly sweetness he is today). Horses are not however, reptiles with brains the size of a walnut and I'm fully aware of that so until this week, I'd resigned myself to continuing to look for the "right" opportunity to learn from someone, anyone, who could teach me and was willing... and to look at local for sale ads and dream.
I came across an ad that had been posted on a local website about a week ago describing Phoenix and explaining that his current owners (the owners of the boarding stable) were just looking for a home for him but that they were willing to wait to find him the "right" home. I read the ad, ogled the picture of the cute-as-a-button little brown horse that accompanied it and was instantly enthralled. When I picture myself with a horse of my own, I don't see myself riding a beautiful Friesian, quarter horse, paint,thoroughbred or anything other than a mustang. I've always wanted a mustang. My first and longest regular contact with horses was with a mustang that I leased for a year while I was in the military. For that year I was fortunate enough to spend scads of time on a daily basis with and around a whole herd of mustangs and others kept as riding horses at the stable on the base I was stationed at and the mustangs, by far, were always my favorites. So, I kept going back, sometimes two or three times a day and looking for that same ad for a week to see if it was still up, and every day, it was. I contemplated responding to it but kept telling myself "No way! That will be too much for me, a novice, to handle. I can't afford a horse!" and yet, I still went back and looked again. Finally, 4 days ago, I bucked up the courage and responded to the ad. I explained that I wasn't sure that I was ready to own a horse but would be interested in leasing and working with Phoenix until either I decided to keep him for myself or a good home was found and asked if his owners would be interested in that sort of a deal.
Then, I waited.
The next day I received a reply from Phoenix's wonderful friend and current owner, Debi. Debi and her husband asked if I'd like to come out and Phoenix and so, that afternoon I went to meet all three of them. And that's where the story really begins.
3 days ago, I agreed to a feed lease of an untrained, absolutely adorable (in personality and looks), wonderful little horse named Phoenix, met a bunch of new and really great people and began a twice daily trek of 40 miles (That's kind of a big deal for me. I normally only drive to and from work and walk everywhere else I want to go) to get back and forth to the stable.
I'm getting a lot of help and great advice from other people and fortunately for me there are a LOT of them around the stable. I met a lady yesterday (I think her name is Kay; I'm really, really bad with names) who has trained BLM mustangs and has already taught me quite a bit who works at the stable and has offered to help any time I need some advice/guidance. Debi and her husband (Tom?), until recently bred, trained and showed (I think) arabians and they're helping a lot too. T has been a HUGE help already and I like them both immensely. Another lady, who also boards at the stable (I think her name is Pam) has also been very kind and welcoming and I've met a bunch of other people too.
So, we'll see what happens! If you've gotten this far, I commend you! I hope you'll come back to visit again and see how Phoenix and I and the rest of the crew are progressing!
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