So Much Dreary

It seems to me that the past two weeks have been longer than the previous 3 months! It’s been a really unspringy spring, so far, aside from that week or so that it warmed so nicely. I haven’t been able to bike since that warm spell, as it’s either been cold, wet or both. Mix that in with some health/injury issues, and I haven’t been able to even get out with Sully in over two weeks now.

The nights are still dipping into the thirties and forties, which isn’t odd for spring, but when you have nearly 30 chicks very rapidly outgrowing their space, it does seem to be dragging on

It’s supposed to warm a little for the coming week, but lots of rain forecast. Sully has turned into a jerk, a combination of rich grass and no job, so rain or no, he goes back to work this week. I figure we’ll do a refresher ground work course, and by the time the sun comes back out, perhaps we’ll be back in the saddle.

We had a busy end week and week end due to a neighbor offering me a bunch of furniture for next to nothing. So Friday, Mom and I moved in a high boy, a credenza, a floor-to-ceiling book shelf and two new chairs and a microwave cart. On Saturday, the kindly neighbor called again and offered us a sofa bed, lamp and some wall decor and kitchenwares, so Steve and I got moving again. We’ve decided that we’re sorely out of practice in that department!

We have put to use every single piece. The two recliners may be my favorites, though it would be a close tie with the microwave cart that not only freed up counter space, but also cupboard space, and the sofa bed which is perfect for the living room and meant we could be rid of the monstrosity formerly known as our couch. I’ve regretted it since it arrived over a year ago, because not only was it ugly, it dominated the room and was falling apart to boot. It’s only saving grace was that it could be comfortable to lie on, though oddly enough, not to sit on! This new addition is a neutral tone and 20 inches shorter, and nice and firm.

So overall, it was worth the work and sore muscles, and the place looks fully furnished for the first time in 6 years I have so many more places to hide my crap now.

The chicks are flourishing. I have been strictly by the book with them, perhaps a little too much so. The plus side to that is that we haven’t lost any to anything but shipping stress, and they are visibly growing every day. The downside is it is a lot of work with the transferring them in and out every day. They wrecked their brooder upstairs Saturday night, as their wingspans were proving too much for the cardboard, so I sacrificed on the 1 square foot per bird rule for a smaller, taller, more secure space. I achieved this by taking an old wooden table and turning it on its top, then using a staple gun to attach the cardboard draft shield to the legs. I took it two shields high by halving the cardboard and stacking it. Then I stapled the flight netting over top. It’s small, about 2 feet by 4 feet, but it’s secure, and used mostly for sleeping at this point. They spent their first night in it last night, without the brooder lamp, too. I found that most people remove the lamp at 3 to 4 weeks, so… They did great. Once the nights are consistently in the upper fifties, they’ll start staying outside.

Now all that’s left is to clean up the old spot upstairs. I should be doing that right now, but here I sit! In my comfy recliner, I might add

Riding

We’ve actually gotten out for three rides in the past week. The weather is still somewhat inhospitable, but it’s drifted into the tolerable range. The key is layering. Yesterday was the nicest day; in spite of fairly gusty winds the temps were mild and the ground condition was good.

We’re easing back into it after a couple months of almost nothing. Sully has visibly lost muscle tone, and me, well… So our rides are consisting of a lot of walking with brief jogs and an occasional lope sprinkled in. Cementing our communication has been my main focus. But Sully is one of those rare horses that you could stand in a field for a year and not touch him, then throw a saddle on him and go. He forgets nothing. And what he does “forget,” you can rest assured it is a conscious choice! Some of that selective memory stuff, like, oh my gosh, I’ve never seen that boulder before! Deer?! What the heck is a DEER?! You want me to put my FOOT in that mud puddle?!

Meanwhile, back at the pasture, there’s Sully grazing peacefully around the base of a boulder with a herd of deer frolicking around him and his foot in a mud puddle.

Yesterday’s ride was fantastic, though. We started with a brief longe session; at one point I dropped the line, and his circle was getting larger and larger, and his trot was getting faster and faster. Then it dawned on me that it hadn’t yet dawned on him I’d dropped it! So I brought my body language back up as though I were still holding the line, and I gave the whoa command. He did a couple more strides and came to a stop. Ha! Sometime’s it’s nice that he’s not the sharpest tack in the pack. Once we mounted up he was a little lazy, but as I’ve learned gradually how not to nag him, he’s gradually learning to respond the first time I ask. So though I had to remind him a few times that we were walking and not napping, overall he kept a consistent pace. We went by the dairy with a little gawking, but he neither tried to stop nor spook at anything. Then I rode him for a quarter of a mile with absolutely no rein contact, steering and changing speeds (up and down transitions, they’re called) with my legs, seat, and voice. I like to think that in the event of an equipment failure like a rein or headstall breaking (and it has happened to me before!) I could easily bring the horse down to a stop with something other than the bridle.

We rode up to the house here, or to the top of the drive, and met up with Mom. While she walked down to pick up Blue, I took Sully up to the area where the cow guys have been leaving the white plastic bale coverings all over the place. These were strewn all over and flapping in the wind. I was hoping to get Sully to stand quietly next to one while it twisted and rattled. He walked up to over the first one. The next one he stopped on top of while the wind whipped it at his belly and legs. He stood there, and after a moment, pawed at the plastic like he wondered what was underneath. We walked on, around and over all the different pieces, and he never even flinched. The herd of cows and calves was a few feet away, too, watching with fascination. Sully’s attitude toward the whole thing was pretty amazing.

We had an equally uneventful ride home. It was great.

As we barrel towards spring and grass, I’m down to 4 bales of hay in the barn. The 65 bales we started with have lasted well, but I’ll have to run for another load to get us to May. We easily used half the hay that we have in previous years, and Sully’s weight is where it should be right now. The farrier and I have missed one another a couple of times now, but he’s scheduled out on Monday to get Sully’s feet back in shape; maybe then I can get them back into his boots! He’s not had a professional trim since Thanksgiving, though I have trimmed him once and rasped him a couple of times. I’d like to take a couple of pictures to demonstrate before and after. The farrier’s also bringing me some plastic hoof pads that I’ll hopefully use to repair the grazing muzzle; I’ll document it for those of you who are looking for a way to extend the life of your muzzles.

This morning we’re making a feed run before the weather sets in. A rare 62 degrees today, and thunderstorms in the forecast!

Sighting!

I encountered a whole flock of robins this morning. They are the first I’ve seen, so Spring must be around the corner. The song birds are out in force this morning, too. Today is supposed to be mild, but I’m afraid the robins will be disillusioned with the coming week’s highs being barely above the freezing mark.

I am hoping to get out this afternoon and do some driving training with Sully. We’ll see how it goes. This wisdom tooth is giving me fits. The pain woke me out of a deep sleep at 4 AM. I can knock it back with a couple of ibuprophen, but I do try to keep to the recommended dosage in a day, and there are too many hours left when I’m maxed out! That may go out the window. I’m tired of feeling like I’m getting the side of my face jack-hammered.

I forgot to mention that yesterday Sully turned 9. He didn’t seem to mind that I forgot. He’s been with me for 7 years, though in some ways it seems much longer than that. He really came into his own last year, which I’ve heard drafts usually do reach maturity at about 8 years. I’m looking forward to what we can do this year.

Equine Reform School – Part II

After the blow-up ride, I was too worn out to put Sully on the longe line, even though I probably should have. He had no doubt that I wasn’t pleased with him. I’m not sure he cared!

We untacked and I turned him out without any of the usual fussing.

The following day, reform school began. I started by putting my bareback pad and side-reins on him; the bareback pad is used in lieu of a longeing surcingle. A surcingle is essentially a girth with a number of D-rings around it so you can attach reins or side-reins at various points and train for different carriage and head-set. My bareback pad is an adequate substitute; it is quick to throw on him, and has two D-rings at the wither, about where the rider’s hands should be. So I attach the side-reins there and adjust the length for the desired headset.

The other big change I made was swapping out the twisted sweet-iron snaffle for a Tom Thumb snaffle. The latter is a training bit that utilizes leverage. It’s not a huge bit, but it is a bit with consequence, unlike plain snaffles. There is no evading or bracing on this bit without significant pressure behind the poll and under the jaw, thanks to the use of a curb chain. The particular Tom Thumb I use is a draft size, which means a 7-inch shank. The shank determines the amount of pressure the bit applies, and the longer the shank, the more pressure.

I used this bit almost 5 years ago when he came out of training and was still too strong and fearful for the egg-butt snaffle to be effective. I hated it. Now I understand that I hated it because I had not yet learned how to use my hands. Every inexperienced rider uses two things as lifelines: the bit and the saddle horn. In reality, both these aids only make matters worse. The heavier and harder your hands are on a horse’s mouth, the more distrustful and frightened the horse becomes. And a saddle horn simply offers a false sense of security.

All those years ago, every time I put the Tom Thumb on Sully, he kept a worried expression and stiffened through this neck and shoulders. He was afraid to move lest he bump into my cruel hands. Needless to say, we didn’t use it for long. I felt like a bully any time I rode him in it.

However, I have taught myself over the past couple of years to basically ride with no hands. The majority of my cues and aids are delivered through my seat and legs. The only time contact with the bit is okay is when he ignores those other aids, which is rarely.

Well, until the blow-up ride. I decided a bit with consequence was called for. I was apprehensive about using it, even so.

I attached the side-reins to the bit and the bareback pad, and attached the longe line to the halter. I worked him like that for a while, and I noted that when my hands aren’t on the bit, he travels in frame and is loose and relaxed; he definitely remembers the bit, though. He knows what it can do if he bucks it, so to speak!

We had a good longeing session that day. The day after that, I saddled him up, longed him again with emphasis on respect. I made him yield hind and fore from each side over and over, and demanded straight and prompt back-ups. He was getting the picture. He wasn’t happy about it, but he remembered. We had a great ride, and with my softer hands, he was excellent in the TT bit. We will be riding in it for the winter.

In addition to structured longeing sessions, another thing he’s been doing is ignoring me when I whistle for him at feeding time. I can’t blame him, because it means he comes off pasture for the night and has to wear the grazing muzzle. So, the consequence of my having to go get him is that he gets to be longed all the way back to the barn. I think, after three days of this, he’s finally caught on. But not before he spent one evening running from me! He hasn’t done that in forever.

I’ve also tightened up the routine. Rather than allowing him to come and go from the barn as he pleases (even though I’m there, I had not been tying him to eat, and then releasing him when done) I greet him at the door, put the halter on him, and tie him to eat. I brush him, pick up his feet, and make him stand patiently for a few minutes before leading him back out.

I think that my own relaxed approach has allowed him to develop the opinion that I’m no longer in charge. More on that later.

Equine Reform School – Part I

We finally had that blow up ride I’ve been expecting. On Monday we saddled up for a ride, and Sully headed out of the driveway spooking at every bird/wind/rodent rustle. The plan was to ride him up to the end of Doe Run and meet up with Mom. I had Blue with us.

The spooks escalated in spite of my reprimanding him for each one. I became increasingly worried that Blue was going to get stepped on, as Sully didn’t seem to care that the dog was trotting right beside him.

We approached the dairy, and I decided I had no choice but to cut Blue loose and try to get hold of him again once we were on the other side. Sully’s attitude was such that a wreck seemed eminent.

Sure enough, the first sign of movement from the pig pen and Sully blew up. He stood dancing in place, snorting and blowing, and refusing to move forward, instead choosing to run backward toward the barbed wire on the opposite side of the road. It was as if I wasn’t even there, even though I was whacking him with the poppers on the ends of my reins, and spurring his flanks. After a good ten minutes of this battle and getting absolutely nowhere, I dismounted and we spent the next twenty minutes in all-out war, him snorting marbles over my head while I tried to coax, bully and coax again him to walk up to the source of his fright.

The whole time, I couldn’t keep Blue’s attention, either. He was trying to find a way into the pig pen. What is so fascinating about those damn filthy pigs? I’d call to him, he’d reluctantly come to me, but as soon as I had to turn to my attention back to the dragon at the end of my reins, Blue would rush back and continue his bad behavior.

I must admit, I lost my cool. Then I found it. Then I lost it again. Sully seemed to have absolutely no regard for me or what I was asking. I did, eventually get him to stand still within three feet of the offending animals. I used the crop I broke smacking him to tap on everything around us that would make noise, and did not allow us to leave until he started licking and chewing a bit.

I got back on him and ran him almost all the way to our house where I had asked Mom to meet us. I was exhausted.

But I won that one. How do I know? On our return trip, he walked calmly by the same spot as though that half hour of hell had not even happened. What’s more, I turned him around, walked him past again, and brought him back, with the same result.

Even though that battle was won, I was troubled by his complete lack of regard for me. Granted, he did not put me in any direct danger. He never reared, bucked or bolted. He simply ignored me. He didn’t care if I was in the saddle, or on the ground. That’s not the horse I’ve trained. Training is not successful if your horse/dog/child only listens to you under ideal circumstances; it’s easy to keep their attention when there are no distractions. Training is only successful when the horse/dog/child listens in spite of the worst distraction, or when they are particularly energetic. So I felt my training had failed in that moment, and we had some issues to address.

A Smattering of Update

Here it is, a lovely Saturday morning. No work, no obligations, the opportunity to sleep in just a little bit…

Right. My internal clock apparently has no weekend setting, so I popped awake at 6 AM, as though it were any old weekday. Darn.

But I’m up, and the coffee tastes really good this morning. The furnace already has it up to a toasty 68 degrees.

As for the updates:

Sully and I had two great rides this week. He’s been so good lately, I’m a little scared. I’m waiting for the Blow-up Ride wherein every ordinary thing becomes a monster in a pop-up book and the Steed cares not if we arrive home together or in stages or in pieces. We’ve had a few of those rides, the latest being last spring. I don’t expect those rides through the hot months, but it’s autumn now, and the nights are crisp and the days are cool and breezy; perfect ingredients for insane horses. I have to say, I’m loving it. I feel like 6 years of hard work is paying off. Most days I don’t even wear a helmet anymore.

My helmet was not cheap. I bought it 3 years ago, and apparently at the time my head was as fat as the rest of me. Now the helmet swims around on my head, and no amount of padding will make it fit. Add to that the fact that with each change of season, the styrofoam (or whatever it’s made of) swells and shrinks, and is now badly mis-shapen. All this adds up to an uncomfortable helmet that I doubt would offer any protection in the event of a fall. However, I still put it on when Sully’s body language or the weather conditions make me think it might be an interesting ride.

I rasped Sully’s front feet yesterday. They are keeping shape very nicely with weekly raspings. I did manage to slam my pinky finger between the end of the rasp and the stool Sully’s hoof was resting on. It feels a bit better this morning.

Cats. The cats are actually coming around! After just two days of forcing them to approach and take food from me, they crowd me at the door each time I go out. They no longer dart away at my touch. And they’ll follow my hand around to check for food. They’re still nervous wrecks, but I think we’re making some progress.

The weight-loss is slow going this time around, but that is because I am not depriving myself of… well… food. And I’m exercising a lot, between riding Sully and biking. Exercise really slows down your progress, but it shapes you while you lose. My plan is to do some Pilates and weights this winter when it’s too cold to bike. But I am down almost 30 pounds. I’d hoped to be down 40 by now, but like I said, I’m just not sweating it. I’m doing all the right things, tracking everything, and moving. I will say that I’m down 2 pant sizes and 3 top sizes, too. I’ve lost a total of 9 inches since June, and that’s more impressive than the pounds to me.

On Vonage: it is awesome. I actually called and cut the land line phone service Thursday. Of course that meant we were 3 hours without internet yesterday morning for the first time since March! I don’t know what was up, there was no bad weather to blame it on. Our service has pretty much been uninterrupted since the March hailstorm. For a month following, we were without it more than with it. However, it came back and all is well. Once in awhile a voice will break up, and I’m still dealing with the echo from time to time, but I can’t fix that till I get some longer ethernet cable. But we’re very happy with it so far.

And I have ordered a Tracfone. So we will have an emergency back-up during internet/power outages. It should arrive next week sometime. Anyone who would like the new Vonage phone number, email me or Steve, or leave a comment here and I’ll get it to you.

I think that about does it. Perhaps I should go take a little nap before breakfast…

Modifications

The grazing muzzle I bought for Sully back in the spring is  a deluxe, which means it came with a halter attached. In my opinion, however, it was very poorly designed. Sully had it off himself within 10 minutes of my putting it on, and I had it adjusted smaller than recommended in anticipation of his attempting to rub it off. In addition to the halter portion being flimsy, it also meant that the muzzle itself couldn’t be rotated to provide even wear.

     

I looked for a standard muzzle, but was unable to find one in draft size for a reasonable price; oddly, the deluxe was the cheaper option.

Then I found a draft halter that actually fit Sully’s head. I ordered a black one, and then cut the halter off the muzzle, leaving enough strapping in tact to attach it to the new halter. I was able to use the four slider buckles, as well.

The resulting muzzle is truly deluxe, and not only has Sully been unable to remove it, he’s barely tried. Since it is more secure on his head, I can have it adjusted the proper distance from his mouth, which means it only comes in contact with his muzzle when he wants it to. He barely objects to it at all.

  

Now, you may ask, has the muzzle been worth it? The answer to that one is a resounding “absolutely!” This time last year, on mediocre pasture, Sully had a heart girth of  90 inches. This year, on lush, beautiful pasture with lots of clover, he’s 81 inches. He’s sleek and approaching lean. I attribute it partly to the riding we’ve done this summer, but think the muzzle is largely responsible.

The Art of Repurposing

Well, it’s not really art. But it’s nice to be able to take an item that has outlived its original purpose and give it a whole new purpose. I did this with Sully’s old halter. It was a draft size, and always looked too big and bulky on his head; even though Sully’s head is huge, it’s surprisingly fine, almost Arabian in appearance. He lacks the Roman nose and boxy muzzle of the draft line.

The halter new, back in 2009. Not bad for a $5 halter!

But I used this halter for 3 years, after purchasing it for just $5 from Horseloverz.com. The throat snap finally sprung, and I used it for a few more months before upgrading. But all the webbing is in tact, and the hardware, though partially rusted in parts, is still good. So I took it and turned it into a harness for Blue.

Our first time out with the new harness.

In the past 3 years, I’ve repeatedly attempted to train Blue to stay with us while we’re riding, but since our riding is all on the road, I’ve never been able to get him to keep up. He’s kind of a slow dog, doing pretty well with sprinting, but he has a hard time keeping pace. So in addition to just keeping him close, I also need a way to get him on the horse with me for short rests. This harness allows me to comfortably and safely lift him off the ground, and then “buckle him in” to the back of the saddle so he doesn’t slide off. In time, I hope he’ll both be able to keep up, and “ride” on Sully’s rump – you know, like the heelers ride the backs of the sheep during musters!

He and Sully both did great on our first time out.

I have a light-weight nylon cord that I clip to the saddle so I don’t drop it; it serves to remind Blue of his boundaries, and is quick release should we run into trouble.

 

The Art of Consistency

English: “Golden girl” – Horses (unknown breed, Isabelle or Palomino coloured): Mare with a foal, somewhere in Surrey, UK (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Consistency is not something that comes naturally to most, certainly not to me. But the single greatest lesson horse training has taught me is how to be consistent. Even after six years of practicing, it is something I have to constantly remind myself about. With a quiet, well-trained horse, consistency starts to fall by the wayside; you don’t even notice it has until some form of misbehavior from the horse manifests itself, and your first reaction is to blame the animal. It’s not the animal’s fault. That’s not to say it’s acceptable, either! But the horse is only doing what he knows he can do. If you were consistent, he would already know he couldn’t get away with the behavior.

I’ve had an interesting spring this year with Sully. He’s displayed some behaviors that he has not tried since he came out of training as a green-as-grass three-year-old. Things like throwing little bucks during the first lope of a ride; spooking at everything that moves; evading the bit; not yielding to leg pressure. I started paying closer attention to the way I ride, and I realized that I’ve been teaching those very behaviors I detest! I let him buck by not disciplining him the first time he did it. I allow the spooking by rewarding him for it by allowing him to stop and face whatever it was; this was acceptable for a young horse with confidence issues, but for a seasoned veteran, I should have been making him carry on as though nothing happened. He evades the bit because I’ve gotten into the habit of not requiring contact with it; it is more work for the rider to keep the horse on the bit, and if you’re walking down a straight road, it is more relaxing to let him do what he wishes with his head. He ignores leg pressure because when I ask for a yield, I don’t follow through and MAKE him yield; that is, not releasing pressure until the desired movement is attained.

A perfect example happened this morning. I had him in the back field and we were galloping circles on the flat area. Suddenly Blue burst out of the woods, and Sully spooked by leaping forward, threw up his head to evade the bit at the same time, and then ignored my leg as I tried to direct him since I had no contact with his mouth. I lost a stirrup and thought we were headed for a massive wreck; then I mentally gathered myself. I sat down in the saddle and found the bit and threw him into reverse. Even though all I wanted to do was stop and collect myself, I pushed him right back into the lope keeping consistent leg pressure and pushed him back onto the bit. Those few frightening seconds quickly morphed into a delightfully responsive horse who did his maneuvers flawlessly from then on out.

Horse training never ends. You don’t reach a point with your 4, 8, 15 or 26 year old horse where he no longer needs guidance. And the guidance he needs is for his rider/trainer to be consistent and fair, not just while doing dressage tests, going over trot poles or trail riding, but every single time you interact with him. Inconsistency = unfairness. I have noticed that Sully never “rebels” against discipline when he started out doing wrong. He knows that if he bucks, he’s going to get whacked on the butt with a riding crop. He knows that if I apply leg and he doesn’t respond, he’s going to get spurred. He knows that if he crowds me in the field, he will get sent away from me.

Bottom line, if you don’t like how your horse is acting, take a look at your interaction with him. It’s probably your own fault.

Boneheaded Horses? Maybe not…

I’m always quick to blame Sully when we have a ride like this morning’s, a ride where I feel like I do more work than the horse, doing everything short of getting off his back, picking him up, and carrying HIM up the trail! Rides where his head isn’t in the game, and even walking a straight line seems to be a skill beyond his comprehension. Rides when the the spring grass popping along the road shoulders is far more demanding than the demands made by his rider. But truth be told, when I get home from those rides (and they are few and far between) I realize that Sully’s reactions were only a reflection of my own wandering mind. When I’m unfocused on the task at hand, what other choice does he have? I’m the leader. He’s only doing what I’ve taught him to do, and that is to follow where I lead.

So when I got home, completely exhausted from what felt like a low-key, 2 hour battle, and I reflected on the morning, I realized I had no more desire to ride than he did.

That’s not to say it wasn’t a good ride. We made it home, the weather was great, and Mom met us halfway on her bicycle, so we got in our daily activity together. My energy has flagged over the past few days, and when my energy is low, I don’t enjoy those activities as much. But we needed to get out. Sometimes you don’t do it for the pleasure of it, but for the discipline of it.

Today was one of those days.

Tomorrow, we’ll do it for the pleasure of it.