Smokey, Spooks, and Riding Cold Backed

Me and Smokey, pre-spook.

Yesterday I went to the barn to ride on Smokey again. While I had committed to buying him, I hadn't put money down, hadn't signed anything.

So I decided I would do another little test.

I got on him cold backed. No lunging. No prep work. Just get on and go.

He stood stock still for saddling.

Check.


He lead quietly.

Check.


He took the bit without a fuss.

Check.


He moved a little when I went to mount, I moved him around quickly. Then he stood still for mounting.

Close enough.


We rode just up and down the road, then over to the round pen. Behind us, Cibolo spooked at a sparrow. Smokey ignored it.

Check.


We went in the open gate in the round pen and left it open.

A huge bird suddenly took off behind a tree. I didn't see it, but the folks with me and Smokey sure did.

He spooked! He was running, taking off, having a fit! I could barely hold on! I thought back to all the times I'd been through this...

Just kidding. That one was for YOU, Trail Rider.

So actually, the huge bird took off suddenly, Smokey saw it and spooked slightly, shifting to the right. Then was quickly back to work.

Check. I can handle that.


We worked on softening his backing. And me understanding his cues. Getting softer and softer until we were backing with weight and a slight pressure in stirrups and reins.

Check.

Then I dismounted and he was stock still for that.

Check.


We hand walked. He got distracted for a moment, I backed him two steps. He didn't take his eyes off me after that.

Check.


We put a funny hat on his head. He looked perplexed but cooperated. He watched Mireya do a funny dance.

Check.


I'll be writing one today. A check, I mean. :)

All teasing aside, I do plan on doing one thing different this time. I'm going to be the same in the saddle as I am on the ground. I am going to keep the rules clear and consistent. To that end, I'm going to train and learn as much about riding as I did about ground work. I'm going to be ready to get pro help as needed, and often. I'm going to ride other horses, and work with a wide variety of trainers. Just like Trail Rider suggested, and has been suggesting for some time, and at times with more vehemence than others.


Because Smokey is just 4. And I want to do right by him.

Are you nervous? So is your horse.

Here's a study proving you can spook your own horse...

An increase in a human's heart rate affects the heart rate of the horse they are leading or riding, researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences recently reported.

Linda Keeling, PhD, and colleagues tested horses and riders to see if humans inadvertently communicate fear and anxiety to horses. Using heart rate as a fear indicator, the researchers asked 20 people with varying levels of horse experience to walk and ride 10 horses from Point A to Point B four times.

The researchers told participants an umbrella would open as they rode or led
the horse on the fourth pass. The umbrella never opened, but heart rates in
both horses and humans increased during the fourth trip between the points,
when the human expected the umbrella to open.

"The increase in the horses' heart rates probably means that they are more
alert and prepared to react to any potential danger," Keeling said. "In the
wild, horses are adapted to respond to other animals in their group. A
startle reaction is more likely when the horse is very alert."

If you are a nervous person leading or riding a horse, your nervousness
might increase the likelihood of the "spook" that you are anxious to avoid.

The study, "Investigating horse-human interactions: the effect of a nervous
human," was published in the July 2009 issue of *The Veterinary Journal*.


For this reason it's good Canyon is gone. I was getting ready for umbrellas all the time.

Alpha Mare rules the remuda

It's been so long since I've written, it's hard to know where to start.

Since my alpha mare throw down, we haven't had another significant test of my authority in our little herd, but I have to say it's going very well.

Lily has come around, and while issues with raising her back left hoof continue, we are making progress. I'm using both carrot and stick - hard ground work if she doesn't raise her hoof and a cookie immediately following a successful hoof raising. I've had one time where she raised that hoof with no groundwork required, but it's not consistent by a long haul.

But she's not turning her butt to me at all. She's starting to come to me for haltering. She's becoming less worried about cinching and we are taking our sweet time to tighten up.

Canyon seems more confident, but I haven't taken him out alone on the trails again - not because I haven't wanted to, but because time keeps evaporating on me. This last month has been insane with swine flu forced quarantine and a jam packed two weeks as we make up all those activities that we missed.

Apparently we don't cancel around here.

Anyway, I've managed to make it out for quick stops, mostly to test our new ebay saddles - a flextree circle Y for Adam,



and a cordova fabtron for Sierra.




The fit looks good and both were decent bargins. Around here everyone is still charging as if the entire stock market hadn't plunged into 6k.

I noticed as I fitted the saddles that Lily's got an overdeveloped shoulder on one side, I'm making a note to ask the farrier about that. Canyon had the same thing and it's almost gone now that his hoof has grown out.

Speaking of shoes...

We have a new farrier, Phil Notebart, who just moved here from Colorado. He says he did some shoeing in Parelli land... My old farrier said our new barn was too far out for him, the last one was a stretch as it was. So he gave us Phil's number, saying he was new in the area, but really knew his stuff.

Here's Phil.

As you can see, he's on the ... shorter side. I liked his attitude with Lily, he was very patient and they had a good talk before getting started. By the end I thought she was going to take her shoes off and hand them to him.


Here are a few pictures of Lily's hooves, one before and one after her shoeing...


I'd say she was over due, wouldn't you? Course Mrs. Mom and Mikey probably know much better. It's all fingernail to me. For all I know she was just fashionable.

I'm trying to learn about hooves, but honestly I'm just happy to clean them. I can't imagine ever getting to the point of using one of these.


But this, maybe...


I love sparkles produced by serious machinery.


Lily did better with a loose hold. Initially she pulled back, scattering everyone and the cart with all the tools. So we opted for hand holding... That's Adam, jumping into horse ownership. In a month HE'LL be picking her hooves, as soon as I know she won't stomp on him. He doesn't scare easily, but he's got back issues and I don't want her sending him into some horrible back spasm as he scrambles to get out of the way...



Other good news, Canyon and Lily are smitten. But I'll let Canyon tell you about that next time.

And Canyon is over his fear of plastic bags now that I've been giving him carrots out of them. I actually make him take the carrot from on top of a bag. At first he was ... relunctant. Now he's like "What?! It's just a carrot holder. I was NEVER afraid of THOSE."

I'm worried that the next plastic bag he sees on the trail will really make him crazy as he runs over to check it for carrots.


See you soon! I promise!

Canyon and the cow hide (part dos)

(dictated by Canyon, part 2)

So there we were, just moments away from being ripped into shreds.

I can't tell you how often this happens. How many times I have narrowly escaped the predators that linger in shadows, waiting for me to simply drop my guard. It's a wonder we aren't down to just two horses around here, given the danger to us all.

Particularly since I'm the only one that keeps a real eye out for trouble. And believe you me, trouble is everywhere.

But I digress.

We were there on the safe side of the silver thing. On the other side was a skinned cow, clearly recently killed by the savages that awaited on the other side. I could see them moving about, trying to stay hidden - but I saw their feet.

Now a lesser horse, a horse with a inferior sensory system, that kind of horse might think that it was just a cat. Or a little person back there, just moving around.

But consider the facts. The skinned cow was clearly dead. Something killed it. And given the movement just underneath the cow's skin it was clear. The killer, the savage was still there.

My alpha mare kept making her noises she makes at times like this, and while I avoided getting in her "space" (she is a bit adamant about such things), I did manage to pull us both to a safer distance.

Then, proving once again that she had NO IDEA THE DANGER WE WERE IN, she had me move around in circles.

In my opinion it is always a mistake to present a tasty hindquarter to savages unless you plan on kicking the living heck out of them. But she just kept making those noises.

After a few turns I noticed that one of the little people who wander around here and who I carry on my back on occassion, was walking from the silver thing to the vet rack. I wasn't too concerned for her safety - every horse knows savages will go for the Pinto-Arabians first. Little people are way down the menu. Probably too stringy.

We kept dancing around and around and finally, when I looked back over, it looked like the savages had left. My alpha mare walked over to the skinned cow and encouraged me to sniff it. It didn't really smell much like a cow. I mean there was a little cow smell, but mostly it smelled like that stuff they spray on us at the wash rack. I gave it a lick to make sure it was well groomed and took one last look around.

It worked. We had scared off the savages. Once again the other horses were saved by my quick action which clearly had made the difference. See, savages rely completely on the element of surprise and once I'd found them out, they had no choice but to give up their dinner plans.

I try not to make a big deal out of these accomplishments. It's all in a day's work, really. But I do wish my alpha mare wouldn't make that other noise - the one that sounds like a whinny.

Surely that's not how she laughs. After all, there's nothing funny about a near death experience.

Boo says the Donkey

(Canyon: I was not scared. Was NOT.)

It was a beautiful day for a ride. I was the only one who could get away and I decided to work on something that Jewell described on her blog - it's now a private blog, so I'm copying a bit of her comments on it instead of linking.

Basically she described a method of round penning that involved, among other things, round penning without any type of ropes - anywhere.

I think the change is the fact that the horse is at Liberty. You are working with them with no halter or lunge line. To get them to respect you without halter or lead you must change you personal power.

So I said, what the heck, let's give it a shot.

Into the round pen we go. Naked.

Calm down folks. Canyon was naked, not me. After all, you can see the round pen from the highway. :) And I was wearing considerable personal power.

Well, after a few minutes I learned one thing. Canyon has apparently considered himself naked all along.

Nice to know. Actually I think its one of two things : a sign that we've got the round pen thing down, or we don't and I can't tell.

We left the naked round pen session. Then after a few turns around the arena I decided to head out on our "test the boundaries" walk. He did great until Boo.

We had stopped to talk to Sharon (who owns the stables) who had just driven up and turned our back to Boo, the donkey who lives at the next farm. Apparently behind my back (and canyon's, more importantly), Boo charged the fence.

Um, did I mention I was only on a bareback pad in hopes of improving my seat?

And I was only riding in a halter because I'm very fond of my new halter and rein combination.

Suddenly Canyon pranced in place, arching slightly. I thought we were in for a bolt, buck and bad day.

I leaned in, held him slightly and got ready. Then he settled down! He settled down!

"What was that about?"

"It's the donkey," said Sharon. "He charged the fence."

We turned to confront Boo. Canyon gave him the biggest snort I've ever heard and I laughed all the way back to the barn.

So folks, my horse freak out was only a 6. PROGRESS! LOL

I got a few pictures to share. One of Canyon being insulted as his pack mule role.



Here's cute little Hoot



and here's Canyon giving his best "Hey baby, got a cookie?" bit...




Yes. He got his cookie. :)

I'm Baaaack

Holy cow, what the heck was THAT?

I had a cough that was so bad, I pulled a muscle in my back. Parts of my left lung are lying around here somewhere and my daughters have become so immune to the sound of hacking they'd feel right at home in a TB ward. And I am really, really sick of cough drops. That's all I ate for three days and I slept with one in my mouth - can you say choking hazard?

They finally gave me something to turn off the cough center in my brain when the delightful mucinex, aka the pflegm flavored horse pill, didn't work worth a darn. I didn't even know I had a cough center. Is that like a Christmas store, only open for a few months out of the year?  Turning it off artificially sounds kind of scary, but better than getting 15 minutes of sleep between coughing.

I still have some residue cough, but I'm so much better I consider myself largely healed. Exhausted, but vertical for most of the day today! Woo hoo!

During a brief respite in my two week coughing adventure, I went for a ride in the arena. It was last Sunday and the winds had kicked up as some artic blast wandered down to Texas (eventually dumping SNOW in Austin and the Hill Country by Monday).

Windy days are a little iffy for riding in the arena because of the barrels.

We have these vinyl barrels at the stables. Vinyl horse eating barrels. Apparently the horse eating aspect of these evil barrels is activated by high winds. *sigh*

I've spent a good number of days taking Canyon around these barrels in every possible position. Standing up barrels, leaning over barrels, crumpled on the ground barrels (he hates those). But the last time he bucked in the arena was when a wind came through and drastically altered the shape of the barrel just as we were circling it. Canyon bolted to preserve himself from the deadly barrel, I attempted to slow him down by pulling on the reins and he bucked in a panic.

Anyway, that was before our bucking school. I've gotten better at handling these situations - when he's in a panic I make sure to do something different rather than pull on the reins.

So there I am on a windy day on Sunday, riding in a bareback pad because I wasn't feeling so hot and didn't want to tack all the way up. I was only going to ride for 20 minutes. We were working on transitions, then circled a barrel when...

WOOOOOSSSSHHHHH

You know how they say a horse has reactions 5 times faster than we do?

They are not exaggerating.

In the exact instant the wind activated the horse eating barrel Canyon did the fastest side pass ever. Pretty impressive since I can't get him to side pass at all. It was  a quantum side pass - one moment we were in one spot, the next instant we were five feet to the right - without ever moving those five feet in between.

Well that's how it felt anyway. LOL

I would have thought I'd have been on the ground, especially since I was only on a bareback pad, but apparently I've developed a better seat than I realized, or my guardian horse angel was working overtime.

But Canyon didn't run. He basically spooked nearly in place. Well, it qualified as in place for my panic prone boy.

He stood there waiting for further instructions, a little concerned, but calm enough to listen.

And most importantly, THE BARREL DID NOT EAT HIM.

I swear we are making progress. It feels like progress anyway...

Tonight was the first time I'd been back to see Canyon since. We had fun, but it's late and I need to crash. So I'll write more tomorrow.

I took a few pictures today, here's two of the beautiful  moon tonight...

The Scary Garbage Can

We went out for a ride today. But before we could get to the ride part, Rudy had to empty out his saddle bag in the trash can behind Canyon.

Now we've dumped things in the trashcan before. I'm always tossing his hair in there and he does just fine. But this time there was a little cascading sound (which I'm sure could have been the sound a lion makes just before it eats horses) and Canyon pulled back, snapped the little cheap temporary carabiner and stood back about three feet.

It's been a long time since he pulled back.

Woody was calm, I remained calm, Rudy remained calm. Canyon stood there, a little worried, but calmed down. I put his bridle on since I don't have anything to hook his rope to without that little carabiner.

Rudy pointed out that this was an indication that this spookiness is just his personality. That it's not something that I can change. After all Woody didn't react at all.

I probably can't change this part of his nature. But I can't get past the idea that I CAN do something.

We talked on the ride about how some people naturally over react. How they can't get their emotions under control even in the most minor of circumstances.

I've lived with people like that. And it's true, it's their nature. But given tools, those people, particularly the ones who don't avoid everything that bothers them, come down from a level 9 freak out to a 6 or 7.

Would I rather have a horse with no freak out? Sure. In fact, if I had more than one horse to ride, I'd probably not ride him much. And that would be terrible. Because this experience has made me a better rider. I have to be precise in my communication with Canyon because he is so sensitive. I have to pay attention to his emotional state because when it is changing I need to be on it immediately.

Sure, I could have an easier horse.

But I don't. I have a horse that requires more of me.

Some folks have a different name for this kind of horse. I believe it's "Alpo."

I just call him my crazy boy. I always went for the crazy boys. The ones that fell outside the norm, the sensitive poets, the dreamers, the ones not on the team but wandering off by themselves.

Why should it be different now? Because I'm older and know better?

Apparently not.

(the sunset above was on Thanksgiving as I went to the stable to deliver a few holiday carrots.)

Things that no longer scare my horse

I have a spook bag of things I take to the stables to freak out Canyon. It's like Halloween every day!

Okay, maybe not.

Anyway, these items are officially in retirement:


Swimming noodles. He'll even step on them. You can wave them all over, wail on him with them and he just stands there, bored.

You can put the pink hula skirt on his head. It's incredibly amusing. Unless you're the horse, then it's embarrassing.

The silver window sun blocking thing. No problem.

Next we'll be going with tarps and large balls. Bwaaa haaa haa! (that was an evil laugh).

So do you know how to despook your horse to a pink hula skirt? Here are the steps I was taught:

1. Halter up and have a nice, long lead line. 12' at least. Get thee to the round pen or another enclosed area.
2. Scrunch up the scary item as small as possible and rub it on the shoulder.
3. Work it around and around going down the back, legs, belly and up the neck to the head. Touch every part of your horse.
   
4. Gradually let the item get larger and more floppy. Keep doing it until your horse doesn't even flinch.
5. Go to the other side and do it all over again (because you have two horses. the one on the right side and the one on the left).
6. Get progressively crazier, waving it around until your horse sees you as "an annoying little brother" and will just stand there and sigh instead of looking for an escape.
7. Leave the item on the horse's head and take an amusing photo.

• Optional: I wasn't taught this, but I also put the scary thing on the ground, since Canyon has an issue with things on the ground. Then I try to get him to walk fairly close to it. He doesn't have to step on it, but he has to go in a circle around it and remain focused on me.

Reward your horse with a cookie at the wash rack. It's a tramatic thing you're doing to him/her. Cookies make it all better. Okay, maybe not, but when you have a horse that smiles for cookies it's worth the oats.

Not riding and Marv Walker

I went out to the stables in the middle of the day for a long lunch hour (been putting in some serious night hours, so I'm due). I didn't feel much like riding, I've been fighting fatigue for a week and haven't wanted to do much.

Horses have been switched around the six different pastures at the stables. Canyon wasn't with his buddy, Woody. Woody has been standing in the horse trough (the one with the automatic waterer) and splashing his belly, then rolling in the mud. He looks like a crocodile, huge mud patches all over his body.

(Troughs. not just for bathing cowboys and shrinking boots.)

Maybe it's because the flies have gotten bad and he's part swine, or maybe he's just a horse that requires entertainment. Either way he's busting the floats so he had to move into a pasture with a hose fed trough instead. So Canyon was out with one of the sorrels. He also had a pretty good bite on him, which may be another reason Sharon separated him out. With Spirit gone, there's a shifting of herd boss and that's never a peaceful process.

They could learn something from the election and peaceful transfer of power. Fox news not withstanding.

Anyway, when I came out he walked up to me and was nodding away the flies. (Yes, I figured out he wasn't nodding in love. I found this out when I went out two weeks ago and every horse was nodding at me. They LOVE me! I am Queen! LOL)

I tossed a bareback pad on him and we went for a walk around. We sniffed at the tables and chairs (which weren't nearly as scary this time. I wonder if courage is building?) and did a warm up in the arena. Then we headed out the road and worked on courage, listening and leadership from the saddle.

As good as Canyon is on the ground, and as good as we seem to connect, he's not all the way there. This horse seems connected with me, but it's not there in the saddle. I can lead him into anything and he'll follow me around the arena, back, turn, everything without a touch on the lead line. But it's not translating when I get on his back.

I recently discovered Marv Walker, (in this picture) who I'm really enjoying reading. He's got a method called "the bonder" which has a few aspects different from Parelli and Lyons:

1. you enter the round pen and remove everything from your horse. no lead line. no halter.
2. you "push" your horse with the pressure of your eyes, body and attitude. I suspect I'll need my stick still.
3. lowering their head is a big sign to look for. Canyon lowers his head almost immediately, so that's a good sign, I guess...
4. you turn your back and make them come to you, then lead them around.
   

I'm going to give it a try in the next few days. You can get his info for free, and I just signed up for his email list. He even takes questions by PHONE. Can you imagine?

He's a big believer in pain causing lots of these issues and since Canyon had a dropped heel, I'm going to have him checked out by the horse chiropractor at the end of the year. I know he's a panic, but pain can escalate that. I know, my husband has chronic back pain and when it flares up, he responds over the top to everything.

So maybe it's an issue. Anyone have experience with back crackers for horses?

Courage a blade at a time

We went out for a ride around the stables. There is something about riding in that familiar area that makes Canyon less confident. He sees lions everywhere. In fact I'm always more sure of a quiet ride when we go someplace he's never been before.

Why do some horses lose it in familiar trail surroundings?

I'm having a hard time finding the logic of it. Maybe it's something like parenting. You know how your child is always better behaved with strangers? They can't take a chance that they might be with someone less likely to accommodate their behavior. Or maybe they have to test the waters. Or maybe they know that they are in a less safe situation.

Is that what it is with horses? When we are at a new place - a different trail, anywhere away from the stables, Canyon is calmer. Still nervous, sure. But in general he's more calm. Does he decide he has to trust what he can (me) since everything else is strange and new?

On the trail ride around the stables there's an area where it's safe to lope. When his energy goes up, though, his nervousness escalates accordingly. I finally did the right thing on this ride. When he was in the middle of a panicky high headed run I didn't try to stop him. I spoke calmly and brought my energy, my seat and my emotions way down, then gave only a gentle pull on his brakes. And he came back down, albeit not right away.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done.

I found this quote on a site:

The problem with training nervous horses, versus working with an animal that has a bad attitude, is that nervous horses are not attempting to misbehave. They have no real reason for being scared, but they are, which makes the rider’s job much more difficult.

Great. So I'd be better off with a brat than a scaredy cat.

After that high headed run and some calming down time, I spent time on the trail showing Canyon things that normally bother him. The dreaded horse eating rusted farm implement that was off the trail. Ooo that thing is scary. I dismounted and walked over to it and he seemed stunned that I wasn't devoured instantly. I put my hand on it. He stood far away, refusing to take a step. Finally I had to put a carrot on it to get him to touch it with his nose. For the rest of the time he'd touch anything with his nose, hoping for another carrot.

Horses are so shallow. LOL

Sunday we were out again at the Guadalupe State Park and he did great. He walked right up to the deer blind. He turned and faced the dreaded armadillo that squinted at us from a pile of leaves and branches. He had moments, like when he decided he'd better walk around the white pedestrian crossing lines painted on the road.

Which gave me an idea. I'm going to have a session with him in the arena with contrast. Tarps, blankets, things on the ground that contrast with the ground. That really seems to be what worries him consistently. I've had him side step dark patches of ground so quickly I've nearly lost it.

So I'm going to work on leading him through each high contrast spot, first driving from the ground, then from the saddle. Course I'd love to build one of these confidence courses. But that seems like overkill for one horse...

Or maybe not. He's over my bag of scary stuff that I used to desensitize him (a cheerleader with a pom pom is completely safe. We're good with towels and swimming noodles too.). It's time to step it up.



On another note:

One of my gelding for sale ads was still up and I was asked if he was still for sale.

No, I said. I'm keeping him. Even if he's a nervous wreck.

No trade. Now back to Horse Porn

Well, after considerable thought and realizing that the horse I was considering trading for was way, way too thin, I'm back where I started from.

I've accepted the idea that I've got to sell Canyon and find a horse with a calmer disposition. Canyon reminds me of Goose as he's described on GNH (a bit of the ways down on the post I've linked too). That's just not a horse for a 10 year old. And since we can have only one...

So I'm surfing horse porn again. You know, when you spend hours looking at horses for sale even though you've got PLENTY to deal with and the dishes are in the sink calling.

Domesticity has never been my strong suit. And I've got lots of dishes. It'll take us a week to run out of options.

Here's a few lookers I'd love to shake a carrot at. Opinions anyone?

http://www.keithranches.com/Champ.html
http://www.keithranches.com/Sally.html (even though I'm not a mare person I'm already in love with this horse. Something about buckskins, I think)
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/grd/849209748.html

and even this one, although he's foundered in the past...
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/grd/836926804.html

But the reality is I can't look at anything until I find Canyon a good home. So up he goes on all the usual sites again.

In the meantime, I'm working on his courage issues. We were on a trail ride at Guadalupe state park (where we had the great escape, remember?) with a woman who teaches kids to ride. Here were these girls, from about 8 to 12, all riding horses, all on bareback pads, riding without bits, just curb chains going through the halter. I think they are curb chains...

Anyway, every time the horses came across something that bothered them, they all went up to the object to sniff it. It was amazing to watch all these horses gathered around a deer blind, some sticking their nose right in. I got to thinking that if I could do this repeatedly with Canyon he might not have as many freak outs. He was by far the most high spirited and nervous horse on the trail ride (although he behaved very well on the Canyon scale).

So, while I've got him, I'm going to try to get him to be a sniffer. Today we sniffed a barbque pit and it didn't eat us. Same with the big chairs made out of willow, although they did creak.

Next week we'll work on the sprinkler on the tripod. That thing is really scary.