FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 12

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Agreed.

Hopefully this neighbor whom she meet on the forum is going to keep an eye on her.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

That will help alot. She’s a kid, but a somewhat skilled one. :~)

Wind starting to pick up here... Wish us luck!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well, batter down:)

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

I’m all battered :~)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

On another note...

I did work some with that horse of my friends. I still don’t think the horse has ever been “properly” broke, just got on and yeehawed. Sounds like he will follow fine, but by himself, he’s not sure. He is definitely not a crazy. In fact I’d say he’s a bit lazy, which leads him to be a bit stubborn.

He worked very well when we first started, lunged back a forth well, whoa-ed well, caught on to the flexing well.

The two problems they and I saw are. 1. After about 20 minutes of working well, he gets increasingly stubborn about following cues. When you push him, he does get a bit goofy. I was told that was what he did in the past. He hits a point and then just forgets everything and wants to do his own thing. Not sure how bad he would get if someone really tried to push him hard hard past that point. I did some, but wasn’t sure if continuing would help or hurt. It came to the point that when lunging he would just not whoa anymore at all, he’d slow down and look at me, it was obvious he knew what I was asking but would not stop without a really hard jerk on the line. (I’m sore all over from doing it).

2. Which leads to his other problem. I’ve always ran a horse backwards when they would not whoa...this horse just will not go back at all, in facts the harder you work to get him to back the more he comes forward on top of you....I tried everything. I got a few steps out of him by standing right at the side of his head and really bumping hard and down on the halter. I was using a rope halter. Even those steps were not good, more of a caving in of his shoulders, and sliding back rather then steps.

I was really bumfuggled at what to do about the backing...I used the whip very aggressively on his chest and even a bit on his legs...but he just kept coming forward. It was all I could do to stay out from under him.

We did talk a bit about them riding. I suggested that they really watch the riders hands...a very typical mistake for beginners is asking the horse to go, but holding back, or asking for a stop and the rider really clamping down with their legs. My friend told me that probably was happening, and they’d watch for it. I also suggested that when they do start riding him again, they don’t ride him to the point that he wants to stop...let him get some confidence, and end on good notes for a few times, then slowly start increasing the time he works. It may be tho, they may have to go to war with him about that.

So...that’s the report, any suggestions.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

My first guess at horses who work well at first and then get frustrated is they’re not getting any release... mentally, physically, they think they’ve tried everything and they’re not sure why none of it is getting them relief. Repetition only works if the horse knows he’s doing good at some point.

If the horse usually shuts down at 20 minutes, I’d work 15 and then take 5 minutes off. Praise, rest. Let them get their wits together and rest... mentally. Build on small successes. And don’t necessarily repeat things that have been successfully done. An example of this would be “He loaded in the trailer fine four times, then got stubborn on the fifth.” Horse perspective might be, “I tried getting in four times, and that didn’t get me anywhere”.

On the not backing up... same thing I guess... build on one step... He may not get it... he thinks he’s just being punished for something, doesn’t understand the release is behind him.

That’s my instinct anyway.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

That was pretty much my thoughts too. And all the same suggestions I gave.

Thanks for the reply. It’s good to hear someone else agreeing on how to proceed:)

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Good luck - we’re starting to get some funky power fluctuations so if I’ disappear, it’s cuz the power’s out. I’ll check in when I can if that happens... I may call if I get lonely. Honey’s going to try to go to work till I call him home.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Also, at this point, after some thought...I think the next steps would be to work on his backing, and only on backing. Forget the lunging for the time being. Get the horse out lead him around a bit, with lots of stops and praise, do some flexing, as he needs to do that for a good back, then work on just backing. Get some nice steps back, one or two to start, then end the session.

Thoughts?

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Has your winds hit?

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Backing... giving to pressure, no matter which direction that is. Sounds good.

Winds have hit here ya... Coming from a pretty good direction, through the back forty, so it has a lot of woods to go through and it doesn’t feel like much on the ground. The tall treetops though, are getting it, and they’re swaying around pretty good.

Honey’s leaving now... back in a minute I hope. :~)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

He seems to give very nicely to pressure in any direction except to back...when you ask him to back, lightly or hard, he comes forward.

For me backing is a correction for other problems, so if the horse won’t back it rather ties up advancing on other cues. So you need back really before you can proceed.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, I got nervous enough just now to go put the dogs in the truck so they aren’t slowing me down if I need to bug out. Truck’s out in the store parking lot.

It scares me good... then it stops.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I’m off to go with Jenny to have lunch with Blake at school and watch his veterans day program.

Hope your winds don’t reach the critical stage. I’ll check in when I can for reports.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Have a good day!

I’ll be here :~)

[FrogInABlender]

I know I say it every time, but WOW! She's just drop-dead gorgeous! Now you need to get her a black saddle and a chromed-up matching bridle and breast collar. That would just be the icing on the cake.

[FrogInABlender]

...Frog, I hope that your union situation has improved...

Yeah, it's improved, but it ain't over and I don't know when it will be. These guys may be out there for quite a while because they actually don't have jobs any more. They contracted them out when their contract expired. It's not been nasty (so far) so I hope it stays that way. But I hate having to drive through a picket line to get in and out of my parking lot every day. Kinda puts a damper on my lunch comings and goings too. :-/

[FrogInABlender]

Sounds like you’re on the right course with the backing. Actually I’d release when ever he just leaned backwards the first time or two, then next maybe just if he just picked up one foot like he was thinking about stepping backwards. You know the drill.

[FrogInABlender]

I hope you’re here, coz if you’re not then that means bad stuff is going on. Be careful!

[FrogInABlender]

In other news, BladeRider and I had a nice ride this past Saturday. We met up with the lady I bought that Timberline saddle from off of ebay. She and her husband and 3 other couples came down to KC's Horsecamp for the weekend. It turned out that they were having an organized Cowboy Up for a Cure benefit ride too so there were TONS of people there, but it was fun. For a $20 donation you got a t-shirt, a hat and a bunch of other little goodies in addition to a really good lunch of smoked pork and chicken, baked beans, slaw, potato salad, a desert and a drink. Plus it was all you could eat, so you can't beat that. They also had a really good band. I didn't know it at the time, but since parking space was at a premium, I took the first space I could squeeze into, which just happened to be right in front of where the band later set up to play. It was kinda funny because when they were setting up, one of the organizers came up and asked me if my horses would be ok with the noise and I said "I think so, but I guess we'll find out." I had Hope and Grace there and it turned out to be such a non-event for them that even I was a little bit amazed. They're such good girls! The ride itself was really pretty. I think if the leaves weren't at their peak, they were pretty close to it. On the drive up there I was just in open-mouthed awe at the sight of it. I LOVE Fall!

BladeRider and daughter Amy in the background...

BladeRider's son Billy on Hope. He's in his early 20's and 6'2" so he's a pretty good-sized boy. He hadn't ridden in a couple of years and had never been on a trail ride, but he did real good. Hope was very good to him too, aside from one time when Grace boogered at something in the woods in front of her and she locked it down and so did Hope and Billy's boys and the pommel of the saddle had an abrupt meeting. No permanent damage was done though and we all got a big laugh out of it. But I think he enjoyed the ride and I told him that he was welcome to come ride any of mine any time he could.

This is another of my riding buddies named Conrad. He was riding a little 6yr old Peruvian Paso that he'd only had for about 3 weeks. He was a really pretty little horse and looked more like a Paso Fino to me than a Peruvian. He was taller than most Peruvians for one thing, and not nearly as heavily bodied as they usually are either, but BOY did he pick up those feet. I haven't been around all that many of them so it was kinda strange to watch. He'd pick up those front feet almost as soon as they hit the ground, almost like they had hot coals under them. And he winged his front feet out to the sides, so that was different looking too. But Conrad said he was real smooth and he did really well, seeing as how he had never been out on a trail before. And to do that well with that much commotion going on spoke pretty well for his temperament...

Some of the color...

Grace checking out the band...

And here's a link to the video I took of the band playing right behind Hope and Grace. It's a pretty good song too so check it out.