Sometimes he's hard to love

(sure he looks all sweaty like some sort of horse that was actually cooperative or something. but it's all an illusion)

Trust me, there was very little to love about Canyon today.

You know those ads that say you can have the horse turned out in the pasture for months then come out for a ride and it'll be the same as if you were riding 'em every day?

That's not my horse.

I went out to the stables tonight. It was a beautiful late afternoon, the sky a perfect azure with a scattering of clouds hinting at more rain. It was cool but not windy, quiet but not eerily still.

It was perfect.



Apparently I was alone in this assessment.



I knew I was in trouble when we stepped in the round pen. There it was. The buck.

I know, I know, people say a buck in the round pen when you're just getting started is no big deal. But I know this horse. A buck means it's going to be one of those "let's re-establish this whole herd thing for the next three hours" thing.

So that's what we did. I rode down the road and he was blowing sideways at the reflector. Which apparently has recently become threatening. It went down hill from there.

Sensing his insanity, I got off just past the gate and started to line lunge him because he was just too distracted and nothing was working in the saddle. He was so freaked out he ran nearly sideways in the circle, even did a little tiny rear at one point.

We kept walking, stopping to lunge and work on ground manners, try to maintain a tiny bit of focus. I think I brought him down from a 9.9 to a 9.8 or 9.875.

Crazy. On the way back I got back on and he was jigging like a maniac. I had to turn him so much I briefly wondered if I'd be better off on a merry go round horse.

(Canyon with his "you're not the boss of me" face on.)

Then back in the round pen for a work out and some side pass work. I'm trying to teach him to side pass and had some new techniques to try. We had a millimeter of success.

By the end of our round pen session and during our walk back, he was down to a manageable level. 9.7 at least.

Just kidding.

And, to add insult to ... well, insult, since there was no injury, he knocked me on the head. Not that hard, really, but clearly he was crowding me.

That was it. I backed him hard, "bit" him, and then moved him around. He snapped a bit back into place.

Then he got a bath and a nice long lesson in patience.

I know how we got here. I haven't been able to ride and it's much too long between our sessions. This is what happens with him. I wish I could maintain leadership, but I guess the lack of consistency is really problematic.

There is good news: In my experience the next ride after one like this is usually great.


We'll see. Humph. Dumb ol' horse.

Lead changes

(Lead? Now you're gettin' fussy on me, missy. Hand over the cookie and no one gets hurt.)

Rudy, who is a much better rider than me and my equal as a horse geek, has been teaching me about lead changes.

When you ride a bucking horse, you aren't all that worried about lead changes. You are worried about... well, more basic issues.

But like all things with horses, the more tools you have to achieve a measure of discipline, the less likely you'll be dealing with bucking. At least that's what I saw with Canyon yesterday.

I was working on "things on the ground that will eat me" issues. I put down a sunshade and eventually got him to walk on it. Then he ALMOST walked on a black plastic bag, which does look like a huge hole in the ground. I forgot my blue tarp, which is what I really need to get started with. Overall a good start. His freak out factor went way down.

When Rudy got there we started riding and he started showing me how he's working with Woody on lead changes. Woody has a really tight gate, so I find it tough to see his lead, but have finally gotten the hang of it. (Here's a good article on leads) As Rudy took Woody through a figure 8 pattern I called out what lead he was on. Here's what they did.

1. Take off on the trot.
2. Cue (by pressure on the left leg, open leg on the right) for a right lead lope
   
3. Head into a right turn on the right lead.
4. Return to the center of the figure 8, slow to a trot.
5. Cue for left lead lope (pressure on the right, open leg on the left)
6. Head into the left turn
7. Return to the center of the figure 8, slow to a trot
8. Rinse and repeat.

For me, this is like patting your head and rubbing your tummy when you're a kid. You have to stop and focus completely to get it, but once you discover the rhythm, you are solid. Unless you stop and have to do it again.

So Canyon's biggest hurdle was me. I had to remember the "aids" (cues are for tricks, aids are your body moves. whaddevvah). When I first tried to head out I was a mess, and he was getting pretty confused. I switched to using the barrels as a visual figure 8 instead of just doing it free hand.

At first Canyon was pretty stubborn. He wanted to hang out with Woody, stand there while I talked, make subtle ear signals with the geldings in the other pasture. Earlier he'd given me a few idyll threats when we were loping, nothing dramatic, just some head action. He was testing my resolve, and I headed them off readily.

So when he didn't want to leave Woody I turned him in place, slapped his butt with my hand (I don't use a crop) and kicked him out. His attitude went from "yawn" to "oh, yeah, I know you! You're the serious one."

I was firm - something I am getting better at - and we were off. At first I had to really kick him into the lead. By the end of the session we had it down. It took progressively less pressure to get him to respond. It was a great feeling! Here we were doing the most complicated maneuver I've ever tried and at the end his attitude and listening was fantastic. Now I get it - the more you can do with your horse, the better your horse will connect with you. They HAVE to listen. You are establishing leadership from the saddle with your seat, legs and reins and you have to focus to soften up and reward - which is part of what they look for from a leader. It's not just about doing the maneuver. It's about doing something more in the relationship.

And I really need to work on transitions with Canyon - up and down from lope to trot to lope to trot to whoa. Over and over. This will give us a good thing to work on in that area.

Another step forward? I think so.

Afterwards, Canyon ponied the kids around (he's always been great at that). Here's a quick video of my husband leading Sierra, my oldest...

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?

Progress - another day without a buck

It's amazing what a little tough attitude and spins has done to Canyon. He's so much better, I wonder if he's even the same horse.

Today we went on a trail ride at the trails around Canyon Lake, even swimming in the lake at the end. And despite the fact there were four separate deer episodes (where deer suddenly bound by, looking remarkably like lions about to pounce on the poor defenseless horses - at least that's what they looked like to a pair of horses) and one sudden dove airlift, Canyon did not buck.

He didn't even try to buck. Sure, he spooked. But even Lily, the calm sorrel quarter horse, spooked on those. When he spooked, he jerked in place, one time he spun, just like Lily did. But in the end he didn't try to run, didn't buck, didn't freak out.

It was like I was on a different horse.

I had to spin him to keep his attention, had to do the special exercise to get him to lower his head and bend at the poll. I had to keep engaged the entire ride, but it was a much easier ride this time out.

Is he cured? Not likely. I suspect it's pretty much what Rudy said after he worked with Canyon for a day while I was out of town:

I don't think I found out anything about Canyon that you didn't already know. He's a skittish horse that one can't really relax fully on, and he needs a firm hand on him to keep him focused on the job at hand rather than the distractions of the stables or the trail.

But I think that what Canyon needs is what a lot of horses need. I'm thinking that I have done more to train MYSELF than I have any other horses. I have had to learn to be dominant with ALL the horses I ride, be it Spirit, Scout, Canyon, Beautiful, you name it. With ALL of those horses, I like to lead on a halter well, without crowding, have a good round pen session where I assess their personality for that day (because it can change daily), assert my dominance in the round pen to my satisfaction, and ride with authority...

I'm starting to think that having a good relationship with a horse is about the rider most of the time.

Damn. Means it was about me. Diplomatically, but accurately put. I never had to learn to boss around a horse. In all the dozen times I watched the Black Stallion or International Velvet or Flicka, I didn't remember a single scene involving bossing around the horse.

We'd have all been better off if they had a little round penning in those movies. Instead we hop on these horses, ride them around, then find out that they need a lot more than saddles and bridles. They need a tough mare. Or stallion, I guess.

While I don't quite believe that everything that goes wrong with a horse is completely the rider's fault, I do believe it is the riders responsibility. It's my responsibility to know I have a skittish horse that needs confidence building - but I didn't make him skittish. I do have to make sure all my behavior and training doesn't inadvertently make him more skittish - which I think the soft hand approach was definitely doing.

It was a great ride and I'm going to bask in it for a day. Tomorrow, training continues, I'm only in Day Three of the Stop the Bucking Course...

Ghandi, Malcom X and trials of Leadership

Well, I finally did it. While I can get Canyon to stop with one rein, I never had his shoulder stopped and while his hindquarters moved. Until Sunday.

Rudy, a fellow horse geek, was there and we were all getting ready for a trail ride. I was round penning, then got in the saddle to try what I had thought I had been doing but realized last week I wasn't - disengaging the hind quarters. It still wasn't happening. I was pulling back on the right rein, pulling out with the left and we were still going in circles. Rudy rode over and demonstrated for me and I saw the difference immediately.

I was way too soft. This would end up as a theme for the day. But more on that in a moment.

So I pulled back hard, and I felt him stop, then float over behind me. I repeated it, in case it was a fluke. He floated back again. It was such a different feeling, this stronger pull on the reins, far harder than I ever tried before. I never pulled on his mouth that hard. But there was no question that it worked.

Then Rudy said "You sure are easy on that horse."

He's right. I have a lot of "leadership" issues with this horse. I actually think the term leadership has been somewhat misleading for me. I write a great deal in my professional life about leadership. I write on political issues and write to and with leaders all the time. I've seen leaders use widely different approaches to get the respect and devotion of their followers.

Everyone uses the term leadership in natural horsemanship. "Be your horse's leader." "He needs to respect your leadership." "You have to gain his respect so he'll see you as his leader." But my idea of leadership is not jiving with natural horsemanship's idea.

I wonder if it's that women lead differently than men, or if I have a different approach in life in general. I discipline my children through relentless conversation. I lead groups through humor and genuine interest. But I realized something as I watch Rudy work with Canyon. He had him responding intensely, jumping at every command, where with me Canyon dragged his hooves like a teenager being forced to go to a waltzing class.

I needed to be more of a dictator in that round pen and less of a nurturer. I needed more Malcom X and less Ghandi.

For some reason the idea is hard for me to embrace. I got caught up in all this language from trainers:
Natural Horsemanship (NH), sometimes referred to as "Horse Whispering," really has nothing to do with literal whispering, though it's probably still a good representation of what NH is all about, because "whispering" connotes a "softness" approach, and that indeed is what NH is all about.

The Parelli method allows horse lovers at all levels and disciplines to achieve: success without force, partnership without dominance, teamwork without fear, willingness without intimidation, and harmony without coercion.

With language like that it's not surprising I've been on the soft side. But I can see being soft and not dominate is not working where it counts. Maybe these trainers would have all called for more firmness all along and I've missed it. I have no idea.

The irony is that most people consider me to be a pretty tough person. I don't suffer fools, I stand up for what I believe in and have taken on some serious battles.

Still the question is, can I be dominate enough in the round pen to convince my horse that it's time to get his act together?