"Horsenality"

Oh no... A Parelli term! Per the Parelli model, Lic is very much a Left Brain Introvert. She has more whoa than go, and if you pick a fight with her, she has more fight than flight. She does much better when convinced to do something, rather than being forced into it. Oh, and food. She loves food.

She can, however, go "right brain" in 0.2 seconds. Dogs? OMG, must run. Garbage bags? Trembling like a leaf. Cold and windy? Have fun!

Our trainer has taught me that sometimes, you have to fight the fight. Mare turns and snarls at you instead of moving off the leg? Not cool, and she HAS to learn to move off the leg. So she gets MORE leg pressure and gets to circle until she listens.

Other times, it's best to avoid the fight. The trainer has me lunging before trail riding to take the edge off... I forgot the other day, and that was... Interesting. We had several turn on bolt moments due to scary doggies. The next day I lunged the crap out of her (pony not listening means pony can work her ass off, LOL) and amazingly enough, she was good and listened to me.

It all boils down to having the patience to work with a young and willful horse. I have decided to embrace her sometimes witchy mare attitude, and laugh at her grump faces as long as she complies. She also has her sweet and endearing moments.. she's very respectful of space, but can be quite entertaining when she comes up to explore... the other day, I was late going out to feed, so Lic needed to see if my Blackberry was, in fact, a treat. She is also extremely tolerant of me playing with her ears and lips, and making her make kissy faces... I know, it's so not ladylike! If I stroke her ears slowly, she goes almost into a trance, and I've been playing "friendly game" and massaging sensitive spots, like her cinch area and udders, so that she won't be so pissy about grooming there. And her back seems much better, but I've continued doing some massage. I'm hoping my fancy orthopedic pad comes today or tomorrow, can't wait to see if it helps!

Some pics of lazybones:

Midmorning snooze

With Dutch

Whatcha doin?

Leave me alone! I'm sleepy.

Dutch is a total Right Brain horse. He's so active, full of energy... wish I would have known him when he was young. :) He's also the lead horse in his herd of 2, he has some very "studly" behaviors and is always nipping Lic and bossing her around... however, they do get separated to eat because Dutch will wander away from his food and let Lic have it. To ride, Dutch is still a little spitfire. Holding him back when he wants to trot or run home (he's a bit barn sour, and buddy sour for Lic) can be a total chore, and he's been known to practically canter in place because he's to antsy to hold still. He is a little lazier at home, but has always been a great arena horse. If he acts a fool, you just kick him up a bit and he's like "Oh.. Okay! Sorry! I'll quit jigging now!"

Working on pics of my old sweety as well, he is in much better shape than he was when I got him.

Cookies?

Hmm, what's going on over there?

In his blanky.

What little quirks do you love about your horses?

Updates and Plans

It's been a while since I've posted. In that time, I had an equine chiro out to look at Lic re: her bucking, and general pissiness at times. Well, I have to say... really, it didn't help much. According to the chiro, the was out in her withers, lumbar, and pelvis, and really tense in her shoulders from compensating. Adjustments were made, and it was fine for a couple days.. I lightly lunged her, owing to me being busy at work. Then, she came up with lumbar back pain- her lumbar spine had slipped back out, and now her muscles were really tense.

The chiro was unable to came back out in a reasonable time frame, so I took Lic to the vet. (Lucky her, she got to have her teeth floated too!) The vet said he's not a big fan of chiro's, because in his opinion, they muck about with things that aren't necessarily meant to be changed. So, basically, he told me that Lic is what she is, and to get a batter saddle pad to keep the pressure off of that area. So.. huh. I'd be interested to hear thoughts on your guy's horses, back issues, experiences with chiro's, etc. She still has the little bump on her lumbar spine, but the soft tissue swelling and tension has diminished, and she doesn't seem ouchy there other than being sensitive to grooming... but then again, she is kind of sensitive all over to grooming. Anyway, long story short, trainer and vet said just leave it alone since she's not showing any obvious lameness, and not sore after riding. I did order a Cavallo pad, one of the built-up ones, because my saddle is slightly too wide in front and tips a little bit. I'm hoping the better pad material and fit might improve her performance a bit.

So, between bad weather and Lic being sore, we made only intermittent progress this month. We worked on de-spooking, manners while lungeing, and ground poles. Just yesterday, the trainer had her sidepassing over poles under saddle! I was so flippin' proud of my little mare, I don't think she's ever sidepassed with a rider. I saw her working it out in her head... I love my trainer, because if Lic is just being a shit, she gets after her (in fact, she had a come-to-Jesus meeting the other day for bucking) but if there's genuinely a problem, she just eases through it. She just talked soothingly- it's okay, you and do it, move your hind, now move your front- until we got the sidepass. Lic was a little confused, and she gets mad when she gets confused, but the trainer pushed just enough to get her to think and not blow up.

We are hoping to finally get her cantering this month, the weather didn't allow for a whole lot of consistency last month. My trainer says she still has some balance and confidence issues to work on, hence lots of pole work and lateral work. Plus, doing things that make her think but aren't necessarily physically beyond her reach is so good for her... if she's thinking, she can't be a bitch!

Last year with Lic, I had a horse that was hard for me to handle... I was green and not used to a horse that would BUCK to get out of work. I went through trainers, I bought books, I made some progress one my own. I went from being practically unable to ride the horse to able to ride her on trails... but since I've been working with my trainer, I realize a lot of that was still on her terms, and I needed to step up and really learn how to ride a young horse.

Since working with my wonderful trainer, my horse will now settle in and do arena work just fine. She moves off the leg. She learned that "MOVE OUT" really means move out, and while she still has hissy fits at times, she doesn't win. I have learned a more effective leg and seat position, so I can deliver consistent cues.

This year, I plan to keep up with the trainer. We'll see how this month goes. Regardless, even after I take her out of full-time training, I plan to keep up with lessons. I want to take Lic to a local show this year, even if it is a lame walk-jog class. Yes, even if I get my ass kicked by a bunch of ten-year-olds. I've never been to a horse show, and Lic's jog is SO comfy. I don't care if she's not a peanut roller, her jog is truly a pleasure to ride. Hopefully her lope will be comfy as well. I enjoy cantering, but since I can't get her to lope in an arena, all I've experienced is a fast, fun, "Whee!" canter. And I can't get that all the time... I'd say 60% of the time she lugs around on her front end at the canter... so we have work to do.

I plan to really enjoy our wonderful trails around here. I plan to go horse camping, and go out on more "real" trail rides- she does great on the long trail rides, 5-6 hours doesn't faze her. She might be a chunk but she's in good shape.

And I plan to improve my own riding, so I can be more effective, and more confident. I don't want to get bucked off anymore! It sucks! I would love to get to the point where I'm more comfortable riding Lic bareback... I rode her around the yard in nothing but a halter the other day, and she was great... I want to expand on that.

Anyway, sorry to ramble! Feel free to share your plans for the new year!

Groundwork Issues

So, before doing our riding out in the neighborhood, my trainer has had me lungeing Licorice. She's typically pretty responsive on the ground, but for some reason has been giving me guff the past few days. I really wonder if she's sore, or just being a snot. She walks, jogs, and trots both ways nicely. The extended trot is kind of heavy on the fore, but for now, I'm just trying to work on responsiveness. Trouble comes when I ask for a canter... she spins toward me and gives me a snarly mare face, even going so far as to bite the lungeline! She goes to the right easier than to the left... she wasn't doing this before, so I wonder if it's a soreness issue. But.. yesterday I worked her through it... basically, I kept bringing her back in to me and sending her out every time she balked, and after about 10 repetitions of this nonsense, she cantered on the left lead. She was also trying to canter to the left in a right lead... then finally switched to the left.

Trainer thinks she is just testing me, and says she has seen horses go out on the wrong lead before because "they know they aren't supposed to," and it can be another way of testing the owner or trainer, and that they anticipate being stopped and asked again for the correct lead... basically, another way to get out of the work. Licorice is well known for trying multiple ways to get out of doing something before finally giving up and doing it. And the thing is, she looks fine, not lame or gimpy, once she finally complies, and in fact, can collect nicely on a loose rein.

Anybody have any ideas for how to really tell if it's pain versus just attitude? I live in a small area and I'm not sure how readily available and equine chiro would be just for a consultation.

Trail Ridin' Fools

The last few weeks, Lic and I have spent a ton of time on the trails. I mean, from 4-6 hour rides, alone or in a group. It has been a blast! We have tackled steep, rocky mountain trails, seen Javelina (scary!) and Coyotes (not so scary), and covered miles of flat high desert. This Sunday we are going on a group canyon ride- I can't wait!

We are back in training, and this week, we are working on de-spooking to residential hazards... that is, residential hazards in my rural town. Last weekend, I feared for my life while riding down the street. Lic kept spooking, and these were not little spooks. These were OMG-bolt-then-buck spooks. The high point of our ride was me not falling off *rolls eyes.*

So, we are taking it one step at a time. Instead of just doing it and trying to make Lic deal with the dogs, and cars, we are starting on some easier routes with, say, plenty of dogs but fewer cars. Whenever Lic shuts down in nervousness or fear, my trainer has hopped off and gotten her attention on the ground, either lunging on one rein or, if need be, smacking her to get her eyes back where they need to be. Well, duh. Guess if I had thought about it for a second, I could have done that.

Part of her spooking issue is my own amateur riding, too. I have the involuntary *GASP* my horse is spooking CLAMP ON WITH YOUR LEGS AND DON'T FALL!!! reaction. Not helpful. I am going to ride with my trainer the next couple days, and hopefully we'll work on my issues as well.

It's funny, because out on some really challenging terrain, Lic is fine. It's the man-made stuff that terrifies her... garbage cans, dogs barking against fences, kids on bikes, um, about a 10hh pony... no, I am NOT joking about that... sheep, other horses, cows... but put her out on a wide stretch pf state land, and she's good. I think she gets claustrophobic, or it's just one scary thing after another while going down the street.

It's okay, I know with my wonderful trainer's help, we can get past it. :)

I will add some new pics soon, it's amazing to me how much she has bulked up (muscle, not fat) with all this daily work. Dutch is looking good too, and has been a champ about going out and being ridden after just sitting around for so long.

I need a better seat!

Yesterday was a bit frustrating for me. My 30 days of training is up, and it will be a few more weeks before I can pony up for another 30. I was working Lic in the arena area I have available (basically it is shaped like a large round pen, but no rail). She was good at the walk, we did a lot of practice being responsive to the leg and stopping with my seat only. I like to practice my own posture at these times as well. It took a couple times, but eventually she got to where she was stopping on a dime when I settled back. I try to make a point of driving my seat bones down, as my trainer instructed, but somehow it has lost some of the finesse it had when she was here coaching me! I'm not sure if it's a me thing, or a Lic thing (she was very distractible yesterday).

Finally, when we got it down, I moved on to some jogging work. She would be good for a while, but she tends to hollow out and rush at a couple of corners, but not the others... I'm not sure why. I made her jog small circles into the corners every time she did this, and then she would be good for a lap or two and do it again. In fact, she was trying to run out on me (like I said, this arena has no rail) and run up the hill that borders the arena area. Once again, I would put her back and make her do circles where she had run out until she was clam and soft. The problem was, I have seen my trainer do this until she is soft and jogging well, and she makes her jog nicely for quite some time before quitting time. I couldn't get more than one or two nice laps at a time out of Lic... she kept getting strung out and falling into a high-headed, rough trot. Sometimes I could settle her with my seat, sometimes not. I tried circles, I tried halting, backing, and pivoting (she can pivot on the hind now, it's not pretty, it needs practice, but she does it), I even tried making her circle at an extended trot for a while and then go back to the jog (I definitely need to take some English lessons- my posting trot position is awful! I was flopping like a fish and Lic let me know it with her pinned ears, too). I finally settles for a good 2-3 laps each way and quit before it could fall apart again.

Then, like a fool, I pushed my luck. I was actually attempting to end on a positive note. On this property are a couple of straightaway areas that Lic likes to canter. She cantered up one, nice as you please. Then, after looping around to the other straightaway, I asked for a canter and got the death-trot. After she continued to ignore my cue, I reached for the over-under and slapped lightly behind my asking leg (this usually works for her). Well, on this particular day, she decided to throw a good hard buck. I normally could have sat it, but apparently, luck was on Lic's side. She bucked, half-reared, bucked again, and I was on the ground.

I landed fine, but the problem is, this is Arizona. I don't have a nice, groomed arena. I have flat areas I make do on. If you've never been to the southwest, you don't know what it's like to fly off a horse and land in tumbleweed. In my particular area of AZ, tumbleweed is more common than dandelions were in Ohio. So, falling off your horse in AZ sucks way more than falling off your horse in OH. Just thought that would add some context, LOL.

Unhurt but pissed, I hopped back up and walloped her ass around, not hard, but enough to make her work to keep moving her hind away from me. And then I climbed back up and cowboyed her ass around and MADE her canter until I decided we were done. In retrospect, I'm not sure this was exactly the right thing to do, but I had already been working her for over an hour and a half at this point, and I guess maybe making my point and getting it done with was the best thing to do? I'm not sure. On the way back home, I flapped the over-under nonchalantly and made her just keep walking... I want her to respond to ME, not the rope, so I thought maybe swinging it around without cueing would help in that regard.

Oh well, got to take the bad with the good. I think I might lunge before riding today, LOL.

Match made in heaven

Today I asked my trainer, "Who is this horse and what have you done with Licorice???" Today was my first lesson since training started- the trainer wanted to work her through some of her attitude before I got on. She was amazing! She tested me a bit- balked a little, and gave a little buck when I popped her with the over-under for flat-out refusing to move. After that, she was actually really good! A few times I had to back her hard and fast (we decided that is a pretty good consequence for balking/snotty behavior) but otherwise, she listened so well. We were moving almost entirely off the leg, although a few times I had to follow up with the rein. She responded to neck reining nicely though. At her problem spots, we circled and worked off the leg... overall, I couldn't be more pleased and if anyone in Northern AZ (Prescott area) needs a trainer please leave me a comment, I'll be happy to recommend her.

I also got plenty of direction as far as my riding goes... I know I need work, but it would seem that mostly trail riding has gotten me lazy as far as equitation... and somethings I just never got down to begin with. Like any good riding instructor, I was reminded any number of times about legs position- heels down, lean back, sit on your pockets... my main thing was my leg position was such that I was always putting pressure on Lic's side... I am going to have to rethink and relearn how to sit in order to keep the pressure off so she listens better when I do cue.

So our 1st month of training is done. The plan from here is, I'm going to work her for a couple weeks at the walk/jog. I go on vacation this weekend, but I am going to work her before and after. Then, starting sometime in the next couple weeks, we will start with some lessons, and once I recoup my money losses from vacation, we will do another month of training to get her going on some canter work. My goals until then are:

1. Body position- keep my butt where it belongs. I am singing to myself... Head, shoulders knees and toes- knees and toes!
2. Consistency- I must make my lazy ass get up and work her every day, or work her every morning before bed (I work nights). The trainer said she needs that 5 days of saddle work per week, or she will start to slide back.
3. Timing- she gets two chances to respond to my ask, then tell, and after that, if she still doesn't listen, she's going to either back as fast as she can or get popped with the over-under, depending on if she's just being lazy or actually being defiant and nasty about it. I need to get over the little hesitation and get automatic on my cues and follow-through.
4. Goals- pick something to work on, get it done, and move on. This might mean either being done for the day, or working on another task.

Yesterday I was feeling frustrated after a tough trail ride (it was cool and windy, so Lic was fresh and spooky, meaning, of course, it was hell to get her to pay attention to me). Today, I am thrilled... we might make a successful little local show horse out of her yet!

Training update

Well, today marked the start of week 2 of training... Lic was a champ! Which I didn't expect, seeing's how she was a PMSing mare all weekend... presenting for Dutch one second and the next, pinning her ears and trying to bite anything that came within 5 feet... including me, if I dared to groom her. She got a few swats with the dandy brush for that shit and quickly learned to be quietly grumpy about it.

Last week, Lic had a sharp learning curve. She gave the trainer shit for a few days, but the trainer was consistent and persistent, not stopping until Lic was a good girl and doing whatever was asked with a happy face. There were a few impressive tempter tantrums though, and a come-to-jesus meeting on the first day of trot work. After balking and ignoring cues for about 20 minutes, the trainer hopped off and made her walk, whoa, back up, and repeat several times on the ground. Finally, Licorice decided it was easier to trot.

On Saturday, she had the day off from training, so I rode out to state land and let her run. It's really amazing that she can be such a lazy, resistant cow at times because on Saturday, you would have sworn she thought she was a racehorse. We galloped about a mile until finally, I couldn't take it anymore, I was starting to lose my seat. So we finished out at a canter and walked 2 miles home so she could cool out. I could tell she had a blast with it though.

Then, today... she was wonderful. She walked/jogged wherever she was told. The trainer said she does a lot better to her right, the only balking she did was while going to the left. So she kept things positive today and worked more on her "good" side, and tomorrow she is going to work on going to the left without stopping at the same place every time. But overall, I couldn't be more happy with the job this trainer is doing or with the progress Lic is making.