General – 09/19/09

I must apologize profusely for the lack of updates to the training blog.  I guess I feel woefully inadequate next to the great training bloggers, like Mugwump, that I’ve just been quietly doing my thing and hoping no one asks for details.  :)

To catch everyone up, here’s a summary of what little training has been going on this summer.  I’m hoping to get a lot more done now that I’ve got a round pen for ground work.  I can’t wait to get going with Miles and Jasmine, but Jasmine’s training has to wait until Sky is weaned in a couple of weeks.

Miles is the unhandled 9yo BLM mustang that arrived with Beauty and TMan.  I have done no work with him yet, and he still only allows me within 10 feet of him before he gets nervous and moves away.  Once Jasmine and Jewel are going well under saddle, I’ll start with getting Miles lured into the round pen for dinner and get him comfortable in there, then get him halter broke and go from there.  That should be fun!

Cheyenne is just about ready to go to her new home.  I spent a few weeks just ground driving her and getting her used to the rubber full cheek snaffle, and understanding whoa.  I’ve gotten on her twice this week and she’s done very well.  I’ve stayed in the round pen since I was alone at the time, but hopefully one of my volunteers will come out tomorrow and I can get her out for a short trail ride.  I’d like to get her out at least a few times with success before I give the adopters a call to come and get her.  She’s such a sweet mare, and so willing to please, that I doubt I’ll have much trouble with her out on trail.  Especially if she has the wise and unspookable Willow to follow!

Kisses has been doing really well!  Her only problem is that she’s incredibly lazy in the round pen.  She just doesn’t see the need to do any work, when snuggling up with me and being scratched behind the ears is way more fun.  I just started doing ground work with her last weekend and would like to put a bit in her mouth and start ground driving her tomorrow.  I should be on her next weekend and headed out on trail with her shortly after. 

Jewel and Classy have been put on the back burner this year due to all the new unhandled horses coming in and needing work.  I’m hoping with my new volunteer that comes out weekly, we can start taking Classy out on trail rides and get more mileage on her and teach her that the bit is not something to fear.  Oh, how I would love to train all these greenies with a bitless bridle, but how many adopters do I really think will buy and use a bitless?  So I have to be realistic and train them all to a snaffle, whether we like it or not.

Maverick… oh how I love that pony.  He’s going to be three years old soon, so I guess it’s time I started his training.  He’ll be learning to drive first, so it looks like I need to start shopping around for a training cart!

Classy -- 10/5/08

Classy went with Kita and Willow over to Anastasia's yesterday for a three hour trail ride. I was planning on riding her myself, but because I'm incredibly selfish and didn't want anyone else riding Kita, Anne rode Classy instead.





Classy was an absolute angel for most the ride. The only problem Anne had with her was when we stopped on the trail for a slight emergency. Classy didn't want to stand still, but backing up and turning circles seemed like fun. Anne handled it very well, and eventually we were on our way again. Classy is incredibly sensitive to the bit and if Anne kept the slightest contact on her mouth Classy would flap her bottom lip and chew nervously on the bit. But once there was slack in the reins the chewing stopped, the head dropped, and all was well in the world of Classy. She also got upset if Keisha the Couch was riding behind her. I can't say that I blame her, Keisha makes all my horses nervous if she's behind them. She just has this horror movie stalking thing that none of my horses trust. No matter how fast they go, Keisha is always ambling along behind with that "I'm the alpha mare and I want to kill you" look on her face.

The other problem that Anne encountered was one that I expected from a STB off the track. Classy has no canter. She'll trot fast enough to keep up with cantering horses, but she doesn't understand the concept of a third gait. This is something I dealt with when I brought Semi home all those years ago and just haven't started working with Classy on it yet.

Mid-way on the ride, we stopped by the river for some R&R and tied up all the horses (which is why I like to keep halters on in the first place!). Classy was just as calm and quiet as everyone else and stood quietly for the 30 or so minutes that she was tied. Isn't she just beautiful??? I love this mare. :)

Classy -- 09/16/08

It's been a couple of weeks since I've done a Classy post only because all I've been doing is lunging. Voice commands, transitions, boring stuff. I've mainly just been trying to get her into shape. We're headed over to Anastasia's for riding again on Sunday, and this time the guys are going so it will probably just be a 1-2 hour ride. As much as I would love to take Kita again, Classy needs the experience and exercise more. But this time I'll ride her, and attempt to control her "princess" moments.

Tonight I put the English saddle on her instead of the synthetic western that I usually put on the greenies. We worked mostly on trotting circles and figure eights, making the circles smaller and smaller, then going back out again in both directions to make her more flexible. At first she was irritated that Tabby hadn't come out to the pasture as usual to keep her company and paid no attention to my leg and seat aids. It was like riding a 2x4.

Then she finally figured out that no matter how many times she kicked out when I squeezed with my legs, or how far in the sky she pointed her nose, or how short and choppy her trot was, I was determined to make her work. After about 10 minutes of nonsense she grew tired of fighting it and began to relax. The head dropped into a nice frame, the trot slowed and the strides grew longer, and she reacted to my squeezing by moving forward into the bit. Hallelujah.

Five minutes later, I slowed her down and let her walk. Then untacked, groomed, and let her go back to stuffing her face with hay. Hopefully, she'll learn that the sooner she calms down and pays attention, the sooner I get off.

Classy -- 08/30/08

This Classy post was long overdue. We took Classy and Kita to Anastasia's for trail riding on the 30th. Classy was nervous and anxious once we got her out of the trailer and had a tough time standing still. But never was she dangerous or mean. It didn't help that the Percheron stallion was making googly eyes at Classy the whole time!

Scott rode Classy, which was probably a mistake, but I didn't realize how green he was. Classy never bucked, but the two of them definitely weren't communicating and I ended up having to pony Classy to get her moving forward. About 30 minutes into the ride Classy was swinging along happy and relaxed. We made a brief stop on the trail and she took the opportunity to drop and roll! Once she was down she gave Scott plenty of time to step off before she tried to roll with the saddle on. When she got back up we gave the horses a break anyway. Anastasia wanted to ride her home, which meant I didn't need to pony her anymore. Classy did great on the way home! When we got back to the farm we tied Classy and Kita up in the shade and left them for about an hour. They were both taking naps when we came back for them.

Classy is turning out to be one very nice horse!

Classy -- 08/29/08

Classy is a 12yo bay Standardbred mare out of Dolly. I've been working with Classy since she was sound and of good weight when she came here. This mare is eternally lazy on the lunge line, but is improving each time. She was saddle broke when she got here and had 4-5 rides under her belt. I got on her tonight and mainly just worked on circles and figure 8's at the walk. She's pretty good with leg cues and has a wonderfully natural head carriage and flexion on a loose rein. She's still nervous away from her sisters and chews on the bit constantly. I think tomorrow I'll ride in just a halter and lead rope to see if that helps her out in the nerve department. She's definitely not the type of horse that's going to take off on me as that would require way too much effort on her part.