Riding solo and 1st lesson of 2014

Some videos of our solo rides/water training

Some days Laz is all this...

But mostly he is this ..

 #ottbselfie

 He was extra snugly and quiet  

So we saddled up and headed out

 Snapping photos along the way down the dirt road

 He was quite and forward so we kept going...

 and turned towards the private pastures to get to the...

 mowed thicket that leads to our trails. I haven't seen these trails since early December 

 We went as far as almost to the trails but alas the footing was SO bad. He was sinking into the ground leaving huge holes about 6-8" deep. I finally gave up when we hit a low spot that had so much standing water and branches/roots that I didn't feel comfortable pushing him through. Laz splashed at it, and I gave him a cookie and turned around to come home

He did great, until we turned to come home. He got VERY anxious and starting tossing his head, curling up to explode and gave a few crow hops and squeals. We small circled our way back to move his ribs, breathe (me too!) and lower his head from a giraffe to a saddlebred to back to his normal relaxed state

We made it home in one piece but it was spotty for a minute. A dog came rushing out at us which didn't help but he knows better and I lost his communication for a minute, and had to fight to get it back

Not terrible for his first outing in that area in months, but not great

Chubbs grazing safely back home with his loosen girth, and muddy legs

 

We also had a lesson last week and I elected to work on the ground with him to start off in a true spot.

We worked on his respect. Not tossing his head or backing up or away when I rub his face. His reward was when he brought his head back to his chest center and low, I would stop rubbing.

We worked with using my body's energy to move his shoulders/haunches

She wants me to give him treats LESS and reward more with quiet time or a pat (I have a tendency which you may have seen in the video to treat the crap out of him! He's a foodie, what can I say?! But I get her point because he becomes so antsy for the treat that it's counter productive often)

We worked on our circle game (where I stand still and send him off in a direction on the lunge) and when he gets snakes his head/neck I use my whip to slap the ground behind him to mark that moment/spot and within twice of doing that, he quit and quieted down. I don't understand how/why it worked and I'm looking forward to seeing how that may translate in the saddle because he often gives me that sass under saddle. The lesson was really about matching his energy with mine vs shrinking back and knowing and using intention for him to respond to

Our next lesson will be in the saddle and putting some of this to work

Ah, Spring OTTB brains

Turning my brain on...

This winter my brain has felt like putty, in terms of horse things.

It's been COLD and windy and blah.

This weekend, when I went to play with Laz, this was our footing...

Up to his knee crusty ice capped snow. 

No thanks, I'm not going to ask my horse to trot or move in this crap just so he can hurt himself.

Yet, I want to play...!!! 

Allow me to back up, a few weeks ago a local Parelli trainer, Courtney offered this online class for whomever to join to work on collaborating as a group for moral support, while we learn, challenge ourselves as riders/horse people. For $50 you get a year of follow up, encouragement and advice. 

So, clearly we signed up! I needed some mental change.

After this Saturday image, I cried out "HELP...I'm so bored and I can't do anything physically with my horse right now due to footing/weather"

She responded with some great 'games' to play with Laz that we can do even in the barn.

"How about playing porcupine game? There are so many things you can do in a little space- leading by the leg, backwards by the tail, lead by the ear or mane/forelock, etc. Plus just getting all the basics working off as light a phase 1 as possible (going backwards, yielding the forehand and hindend, etc.). Get really creative with your touch it patterns just at a walk- can you get him to touch really small objects up high and down low? How about getting him to put his butt on something or a hind foot. Here's a fun one- experiment with teaching him to hold his hoof aka stand on 3 legs for farrier prep, etc."

I was game for anything!

So today, we did some of them.

J9 had a good one too, see if I can ask Laz to back into his stall. This is great practice for trailer loading, etc I thought!

Laz was all "Why we is in hur?"

We played this game...I would ask "hoof" and when he picked it up I would treat reward him.

Oh, yes, he's food motivated. Like brain on, willing and smart!

Eventually, he would hold his leg up...

Cool..this will come in handy for my trimmer, that's for sure! And for me!

Who knows, maybe if he's ever tangled in something..I could use this?!

(god forbid!)

Fraggle Rock begging to learn more so he could get more treats (ie three..yes three, grain nib-lets--FATTY)

Here is me asking him to back up, into his open stall

This took him a few attempts. One hoof back and then a bit unsure...

To eventually, he backed in and out of his stall with no issue.
I need to take more time to go slow...I have the tendency to push for more more more more more!

"I strikez a poze for a cuuukie?"

At the end of our 30 minute play session, he was licking/chewing, head bobbing then sorting and processing all with his man hood out. All signs of learning. 

Boys learn that way, don't you know ;)

I have to say, it sounds so trivial but it was fun and Laz seemed to have used his brain which is great and I'm sure he's starving for some variety in his life as of late too

Now, for my hoof nerds, my hoof trimming mind was BLOWN with these videos... I felt like I was looking at Laz's hoof (only still alive thank god)

and then I just wanted to channel my inner Pudgie and do this to figure it all out via osmosis...

PS Daylight Savings is coming soooooon!!!

Finding solutions!

Oh my sweet man...I literally am in love with this handsome boy.

We worked out in the big field on the lunge and he was 100% on point and honest.

 Took a stroll down the road...

Ate some tall grasses

All reward for him. He did so so well in our second part of our conversation...

Laz and I had a follow up lesson with our Parelli trainer on Tuesday evening.

We started on the ground and ended up riding it out.

The goal was to create patterns and get forward movement. 

Laz (thankfully) demonstrated what I was having a hard time with; him wanting to listen to my request to move forward, away from his herd mate.

My trainer had me work on keeping his nose tipped (not yanked in) towards me on the ground. She had me ask for a forward trot and/or canter and if he didn't respond to slooowly and loosely use my stick to show him my ask, by a slow and exaggerate way of circling my arm behind me and forward, ending with the stick pointing at him. It worked. It gave him fair time to see my action and make the choice himself to go forward. I got a lot of snorting, and breathing out from him which was great.

We decided it was time to saddle up. I also rode him in my new bridle and D ring snaffle bit to make sure my trainer thought he looked calm/comfie in it for when/if I want to use it vs his bitless. I'm not giving up on bitless, just adding to my options. I'll use all in rotation as I feel I need it.

He did great in the bridle/bit.

So, when we started, he did hesitate on my ask for him to walk out of pasture and toward the grassy side of the road,  and then did his complete stop and turn back, in our ride. So instead of leg/leg/leg, my trainer followed along side with my stick. Laz does not, nor should he fear my stick. It's used as guidance and for happy rubs as reward. So she lightly bumped (note--no whipping) his hind to encourage forward, as I concentrated on looking WHERE I wanted to go--focus and ask with my leg and body. When he went forward, we released any asking pressure, and when we got to our spot, we stopped and gave him rewards with rest, grazing. We worked on spot to spot riding, which was about the distance of half of his large pasture. I rode from a grassy spot to my neighbors mailbox (no mailboxes were harmed) and back. The exercise was to make the mailbox which was the spot furthest from the barn and his calling buddy, the reward. We would then trot, or allow him to canter if he kept his cool back to the grassy spot, turn right away and come right back to mailbox. Rest/reward. We did that about 5 times and then called it a day. It's all about ending on a great note. She had me dismount at the mailbox and pet/praise him and then we walked back to the barn together. 

I was so pleased. I will be working on this more and more.

A funny thing, today when I drove to the barn, I approached the road mailbox that we did break...and the guy was out there fixing it. I pulled over and told him I was the girl who left him the note and how sorry I was. He was SO kind and said he totally appreciated that I was honest and he often enjoyed watching me, Laz and Mason amble down the road. He was shocked that my normally plodding pony ripped on his mailbox. I laughed and said I was as well. I offered again to pay for any new materials and he said it was an easy fix and no harm for a couple of new screws. 

WHEW...

Hopefully no more mailbox murders in our future.

The whipping boy

Last week the weather was a mix of 90 and 60's. I took advantage of the one hot day and gave Laz a nice liniment bath and scrubbed him down, knowing it would probably be his last bath of the season. He used to hate baths, and he now really enjoys them. Just stands and lip laps at the water

So, yea..well, I guess I got yesterday's dirt off.

Someone was literally quite pleased with himself

"Now i reelly cleanz"

Mid week I saw a 5k and a 10k race in Kensington, which is the park I board near. I thought, HEY, this is perfect..we (Billy and I) could do this together and Laz had a farrier appointment at Noon. 

Run, Laz, Lunch-YES!

So, we did. 

I have a love affair with Kensington and I thought it would be the coolest place to do my FIRST 5k in.

It was! The race was small but soooo beautiful and fun. So many positive, encouraging people with Cider, fruit and sandwiches at the end. Oh, and a medal, and an UGLY sweatshirt that I will literally cut into for rags.

After our race.

Billy is an avid runner. I is not.

When I ran (well, when anyone did) across the finish line, they announce your name/age/where you live. It was very cool. I know that isn't new ..but for me, it was!

I ran as much as I could, but walked a lot too. Finished in 37:54

Billy after his 10K cooling off along the lake

Then it was time for Laz to get recasted. We did the same double cast and he grew about an inch of heel--HOORAH!

***

Sunday Funday!

J9 and Kaspin  came to meet us at our barn for a hopeful trail ride. It was raining so we decided to just play and see what transpired. We didn't want to get caught out in a storm/downpour especially since Kaspin is a newbie at trails.

Can you believe that I randomly met J9 at a clinic about 4 years ago and we live about 1 mile apart and board about 20 minutes apart. Crazy. She's been SO awesome to us in our Parelli training and just overall support! I just adore her.

So, we warmed the boys up in the front pasture.

Laz was giving me some indications that he wasn't pleased that his pasture mate Pito wasn't around

Here he is handsomely staring at Pito

"HALP!!"

The sun poked through so we decided to tack up and do a bit of road riding to help expose Kaspin.

Well..Kaspin was TREMENDOUS from start to finish. J9 has done some amazing things for him, it's truly remarkable. I had thought "Ohhh, we will be soooo good for your newbie boy because we do this allll the time" 

Boy did I eat my words. Laz acted like he has never left his pasture. EVER.

He literally would put the brakes on, try Quarter horse spinning around and ignoring ALL my leg/rein asks to want to go back to Pito.

He was 100000% ignoring me.

I was beyond frustrated and embarrassed.

Thankfully J9 helped me through it and we FINALLY got Laz to lead  er FOLLOW the 'newbie' Kaspin who thankfully wasn't feeding into Laz's high strung behavior.

 Yes, that's me below, with a whip/crop made of a branch.

That I used. A LOT. ughhh

I had to literally "beat the sh*t" out of my horse (I kidd of course..wait, do I?) to get him from stopping swirling around to try to run back to his pasture. It was ridiculous. He was not scared, he was not in pain, he was truly wanting to be sour.

I would gently ask for him to continue forward. He would ignore, I would ask again, he would ignore following with a "I'll just turn opposite super quick" and I had to crop his shoulder until he turned to where I was asking. I ended up having to match his intensity which I hate doing.
But it worked and he ended up shaking his head, processing it, and settling down a bit more.

I had to take many mental breaks. Pauses. I wanted to reset him as well. I would start again. Asks and suggest and then TELLS. The reason the 'tells' came into play??? 

He literally ran INTO a mailbox and then broke it off. 

Ya, don't worry...I didn't at all feel like a DumbA## leaving a note in their smashed box of "Sorry my horse rammed into your mailbox, I'm happy to pay for repairs"

He kept ramming me into tree branches, or would step too close to water pipes in the ground. He literally was acting up one of the worst ways I've ever had him do.

I don't know what got into him but I do know this; for a while now, he's been testing me and Sunday it blew up in my face.

 We just continued down the road, and worked on going forward, and listening to my cues. J9 suggested turning around and walking and then circling back and walking him opposite and he FINALLY calmed down and listened.

Even the whole way back, he felt slightly annoyed with me and much more fast paced than when he and I ride either alone, with Mason, or with Pito.

It was just off. We were off. I was sooo disappointed that I had to crop my horse and even more disappointed that he was not listening to me

We did end it all on a good note, with the two boys grazing on our return, so we dismounted and ended it. Kaspin was an A+ student and Laz was a pot smoking D student. 

Scratch that. Laz is an A student..his teacher (me) failed him.

I have a lesson scheduled this week to help me work this kink out.

It was eating at me ALL day yesterday. So much that I was telling my Husband about it while we walked the pups. He really didn't get it until I said "It's like in a heated game of Basketball, and your star Forward asks your Guard, in front of you as the Coach, what play to play?"

He was like "Oh.  Wow."

Anyway, I had to really work on letting it go. I actually saw this and decided, in the end, he did make good choices. It just took awhile.

We'll see what my trainer is able to offer me for this behavior so I can earn his trust and confidence during our rides, at any time. 

Build the partnership instead of us fighting 

He clearly wanted to be just be back in his pasture with his friend and not listen to me. I want him to be able to make decisions but then also trust when I need to make one for us.

After all, this is a team sport.

Still here!

Wow, I had no intention of not blogging for this long.

Life totally got in the way. With the sunlight long days, I find my time at my desk after hours to be quite minimal.

No worries, Laz has been getting the equal amount of love and attention.

A couple weeks ago we had a nice lesson.

I wanted to work on our riding, out in the big pasture where he can get a bit silly and worried.

Of course, the evening (our lesson was at 7pm which was awesome) of our lesson he was 100% chill. Just a total gentleman.

Great for the ride, but it's hard to work on 'issues' when none arise ;)

Am I complaining? Not really

From time to time, I do mount up from the ground.

I do this probably 5 times a year, I want him to be cool about it for obvious reasons.

It's the classic, hop/hop/hop/groan and mount approach. It's very graceful.

Other than that, I use our two stack of crates to spare his back

I pre warmed him up in our main paddock/pasture

Yay for Spring!

Before heading into the larger pasture once my trainer arrived

 And worked down and all around the large pasture

 We worked on connection at the walk

 At the trot

 and having Laz respond to my body/leg/seat vs rein

 I rode him in my bitless. 

He's been yanking his head over being a bit defiant when I ask with my hands, so we are working on softening him again and not dictate direction. 

 I am working on using my body first, hands last..bad habit!

 Softening

 I adore my long rope reins, love the length and the heavy weight

 Laz got a lot of praises and rests for his efforts

 

 

We ended with some canter work and transitions

I have a bad habit of over riding him to bring up his energy and she reminded me to allow him to maintain his gait without me having to 'canter pump him'

Such a good boy

On one of our mid day work week walks. So shiny, and this was before his spring bath!

Happy ponies!

 Text pictures like this from my BO are awesome on days I don't get to see Laz.
What lucky ponies!

Laz also got trimmed this past week. He grew a ton in his fronts, but per usual not as much in hinds.

He was getting a bit sore right prior to his trim, and felt better after trim but I just feel his back is NQR. He is DUE for an adjustment, and our chiro isn't coming until the end of June...ugh.

His LF had slight swelling after our lesson...or was it after these shenanigans?

Either way, I gave him a week off of riding (we still took walks, etc) to see if it's better.
It is, but still slight swelling. I worry about the diagonal leg to his RH causing lameness, and in general any body deterioration due to his years of compromise.
He also came off the track with a huge old injury scar on his LF heel bulb so I often wonder if it doesn't flare up as an injury from time to time.
I rub surpass on it, and try not to panic

This is what Husbands do when they see 'another' horsie type box in the mail...they make it known, they know another horse item arrived ;)