Uhh, so Ben's Birthday is actually tomorrow, LOL. I swear I'll get it right next year.
That said, he got his birthday present early: vaccinations, 2 wolf tooth extractions and a float. I'm sure he's not thrilled- but he was actually very good for the whole ordeal. A few hours later he was definitely seeking comfort in the form of me holding his head in my chest. So I stood there, stroking his neck and telling him what a good boy he is.
Maybe next year I'll get him something he might actually want!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wow
Yesterday I had a bit of a scare with Ben. Nothing bad happened- we're both fine. But something bad could've happened. And Ben saved us.
Our play time started as usual- grooming and tacking up. Ben was great for all that. Side note: he's finally shedding a bit more! YAY
I grabbed a girth I do not usually use because the one I most often use was still wet from the previous use. It is a nice girth, and fit Ben, and he didn't object at all.
So we went on with our business- rather than use the sliding side reins, I tried the normal side reins with donuts. I had a sneaking suspicion that the sliding reins were confusing. I think I was right, because Ben responded really well to the regular ones- and even gave me the most fantastic lifted, floaty trot- I was in awe of it.
Then came riding time. Ben stood very still for me to get on, but when I got on, he started to get very fussy. I started to feel like I was sitting on an awkward ball. Ben wasn't happy about something, he was frustrated, maybe even being naughty, and I could feel the situation was going escalate to something bad.
So I managed to get him to halt, he was fussy even for that, and I hopped off. I immediately started doing in hand schooling- to see if he needed to vent some sort of frustration. he didn't. Hmm. So I brought him back to the mounting block and he started fussing again.
I put my leg in the stirrup iron, and went to mount up, and it happened: my saddle slid completely around on him. He didn't budge- no spooking or anything. I've had that happen 1 time before and it did not end well, for me.
Needless to say, I was a little shocked. I undid the girth, re-positioned the saddle, and girthed up again. I did the girth up slowly, and got to the point where it was in theory tightened enough- and i physically could not tighten it anymore anyway.
I went to get on, Ben fidgeted, and it slipped again.
Ben was trying to tell me something was wrong. And something was wrong- that saddle was unstable, and unsafe. It was worrying him, rightly so.
So, the moral of the story: Listen to your horse.
Our play time started as usual- grooming and tacking up. Ben was great for all that. Side note: he's finally shedding a bit more! YAY
I grabbed a girth I do not usually use because the one I most often use was still wet from the previous use. It is a nice girth, and fit Ben, and he didn't object at all.
So we went on with our business- rather than use the sliding side reins, I tried the normal side reins with donuts. I had a sneaking suspicion that the sliding reins were confusing. I think I was right, because Ben responded really well to the regular ones- and even gave me the most fantastic lifted, floaty trot- I was in awe of it.
Then came riding time. Ben stood very still for me to get on, but when I got on, he started to get very fussy. I started to feel like I was sitting on an awkward ball. Ben wasn't happy about something, he was frustrated, maybe even being naughty, and I could feel the situation was going escalate to something bad.
So I managed to get him to halt, he was fussy even for that, and I hopped off. I immediately started doing in hand schooling- to see if he needed to vent some sort of frustration. he didn't. Hmm. So I brought him back to the mounting block and he started fussing again.
I put my leg in the stirrup iron, and went to mount up, and it happened: my saddle slid completely around on him. He didn't budge- no spooking or anything. I've had that happen 1 time before and it did not end well, for me.
Needless to say, I was a little shocked. I undid the girth, re-positioned the saddle, and girthed up again. I did the girth up slowly, and got to the point where it was in theory tightened enough- and i physically could not tighten it anymore anyway.
I went to get on, Ben fidgeted, and it slipped again.
Ben was trying to tell me something was wrong. And something was wrong- that saddle was unstable, and unsafe. It was worrying him, rightly so.
So, the moral of the story: Listen to your horse.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Bridle Day
What a disgusting day in Western Washington. Ben was a muddy, wet, gross mess- even after being inside for a couple of hours. He dried as much as he was going to, so i pulled him out and decided to work on a few little things, rather than ride.
First thing: cross tying. He's been very, very good at this. Today, however, there were horses being ridden in the arena, behind him, and I know how he gets insecure about those noises he cannot see. Today, though, he was great!
Second thing: Polo wraps on all 4 legs. Now that we've practiced with boots all around, today was polo-wrap day. Good boy for standing and letting that happen.
Third thing: spray from the bottle. LOL. He was ok for that until about his rump. Then he got nervous. But he's such a people pleaser he just stood there, kind of shocked still, and let me do it- holding his breath. Note to self: do this regularly from now on.
Fourth thing: Bridle work. Read Below.
While Ben seems to love his star scratched and his ears massaged- he isn't very fond of the rest of his face being touched. He just avoids it, and moves away when you try to touch him. One can imagine this might be a bit of a problem when trying to bridle him....he's a very tall horse with a high neck set and can put his head up much higher than I can reach.
So, I thought today I'd dedicate as HEAD DOWN day. I've already laid the foundation of this in the halter, but I hadn't yet introduced the concept while dangling the bridle near his face. So- thats what we did. Head down, massage, lots of good boys- I think he actually started to like it, because he was putting his head down faster and faster at each try, and leaving it longer and longer, even when I released him. He also loves verbal praise. It was actually quite endearing, my heart is all squishy with love just thinking of his cuteness.
When we got that far, I introduced handling the bridle near his face in a gentle, respectable, quiet way. He totally figured it out. So I praised him a bunch of times, and after he was reliable with that, keeping his head down letting me rub my hands and bridle on his face, i bridled him. He was great. Lots more praise.
From there we did some longeing- Ben had lots of energy tonight! He wanted to show me he has been working on his canter in his spare time- boy has he gotten better at that, lol.
Lots of cool down walking- he did not get nearly as sweaty as he has in the past, so I think he's getting in shape, finally!
I then did some in hand work in the bridle- bending and flexing. I think I got him to understand my request to the right- it is difficult for him to do, but he did try.
Once done we practiced with the bridle on/off/on/off and then called it good.
More spray bottle action, more nervousness- but he took it like a champ. He's got tomorrow and likely Wednesday off. Thursday thru Sunday will be more fun for us.
First thing: cross tying. He's been very, very good at this. Today, however, there were horses being ridden in the arena, behind him, and I know how he gets insecure about those noises he cannot see. Today, though, he was great!
Second thing: Polo wraps on all 4 legs. Now that we've practiced with boots all around, today was polo-wrap day. Good boy for standing and letting that happen.
Third thing: spray from the bottle. LOL. He was ok for that until about his rump. Then he got nervous. But he's such a people pleaser he just stood there, kind of shocked still, and let me do it- holding his breath. Note to self: do this regularly from now on.
Fourth thing: Bridle work. Read Below.
While Ben seems to love his star scratched and his ears massaged- he isn't very fond of the rest of his face being touched. He just avoids it, and moves away when you try to touch him. One can imagine this might be a bit of a problem when trying to bridle him....he's a very tall horse with a high neck set and can put his head up much higher than I can reach.
So, I thought today I'd dedicate as HEAD DOWN day. I've already laid the foundation of this in the halter, but I hadn't yet introduced the concept while dangling the bridle near his face. So- thats what we did. Head down, massage, lots of good boys- I think he actually started to like it, because he was putting his head down faster and faster at each try, and leaving it longer and longer, even when I released him. He also loves verbal praise. It was actually quite endearing, my heart is all squishy with love just thinking of his cuteness.
When we got that far, I introduced handling the bridle near his face in a gentle, respectable, quiet way. He totally figured it out. So I praised him a bunch of times, and after he was reliable with that, keeping his head down letting me rub my hands and bridle on his face, i bridled him. He was great. Lots more praise.
From there we did some longeing- Ben had lots of energy tonight! He wanted to show me he has been working on his canter in his spare time- boy has he gotten better at that, lol.
Lots of cool down walking- he did not get nearly as sweaty as he has in the past, so I think he's getting in shape, finally!
I then did some in hand work in the bridle- bending and flexing. I think I got him to understand my request to the right- it is difficult for him to do, but he did try.
Once done we practiced with the bridle on/off/on/off and then called it good.
More spray bottle action, more nervousness- but he took it like a champ. He's got tomorrow and likely Wednesday off. Thursday thru Sunday will be more fun for us.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Graduation!
Ben and I graduated today. Gone are our round pen days- hello big wide arena!
He was really great. We walked, trotted, did halts, changes of direction. At first he didn't quite understand that leg on= move to the next gait. So I started small- I would put my leg on and the second he moved out, I'd praise him. Soon he tried the trot. He got tons of praise. So we did that a few times, just enough for him to really understand leg= go forward. Then we tried the other direction, to the right. He is much stiffer to the right, so we worked on bending a bit, but I could feel it was very tough for him. So note to self- more in hand work to go with under saddle work. He understood the leg cue to the right, but it was tougher for him. One time he did try to kick out. I growled at him, and I could feel him tense and then release. He never tried it again after that.
We ended on a nice relaxed walk. He got tons of praise, and then I untacked him and let him loose to roll.
Here is Ben's guide to rolling, in 3 easy steps.
Step 1: Find your perfect spot:
Step 2: Lay down and grind dirt into coat
Step 3: Get up and repeat on opposite side :)
He was really great. We walked, trotted, did halts, changes of direction. At first he didn't quite understand that leg on= move to the next gait. So I started small- I would put my leg on and the second he moved out, I'd praise him. Soon he tried the trot. He got tons of praise. So we did that a few times, just enough for him to really understand leg= go forward. Then we tried the other direction, to the right. He is much stiffer to the right, so we worked on bending a bit, but I could feel it was very tough for him. So note to self- more in hand work to go with under saddle work. He understood the leg cue to the right, but it was tougher for him. One time he did try to kick out. I growled at him, and I could feel him tense and then release. He never tried it again after that.
We ended on a nice relaxed walk. He got tons of praise, and then I untacked him and let him loose to roll.
Here is Ben's guide to rolling, in 3 easy steps.
Step 1: Find your perfect spot:
Step 2: Lay down and grind dirt into coat
Step 3: Get up and repeat on opposite side :)
Organized
Ahh I love Duct tape! Our barn is relatively small- we have only a handful of boarders- but we use different trainers, go to different events, hold different events, etc. So I decided to make a calendar today on the whiteboard just outside my tack room. I even color-coded it by event- green for lessons/arena use, pink for haul-outs, purple for misc barn events. YAY for being organized!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
We Won!
Ben won a raffle yesterday at our local tack store. Of course, I had to enter us- I thought he'd like to win either Back on Track wraps or new boots. We got the call this morning- we won gift basket number 17- the Nunn Finer boot package!
Thx Gift Horse Saddlery, and Nunn Finer!
P.S - LOVE that they included a can of sticky spray- I was just complaining about my saddle's leather being too slick even with full seats- LOL!
Thx Gift Horse Saddlery, and Nunn Finer!
P.S - LOVE that they included a can of sticky spray- I was just complaining about my saddle's leather being too slick even with full seats- LOL!
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