I was skimming through old pictures and I happened upon this one. I don't remember the picture, but I remember when it happened. Gambler is spooking at a saddle pad laying on the ground out of the picture. He looks gorgeous. That neck! And he looks so much skinnier. Part of that is that now he has a summer coat, but part of it is that I don't see him often enough to keep him in shape. He's definitely an easy keeper. But I'm not worried, it's good to go into winter with a bit of chub.
It's a reminder of just how far we've come. Today I put a big blue tarp on the ground right where that picture is to set all of my stuff on (it is a misty, moist day and I didn't want the camera or my equipment to get wet). When I walked Gambler by it he didn't blink an eye. He was curious and wanted to eat everything, but I didn't get the slightest spook out of him.
I went to see Gambler by myself again today, so I only have a few pictures. The weather was perfect. It was my very favorite kind of day. All day there was a layer of fog drifting in the air, thick enough to make everything seem magical, but thin enough that you could see. I absolutely love that weather. It was wet, but thanks to the sandy nature of the pastures at the barn, the footing was great. The temperature was about 39-42 degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, it was the perfect day.
I only had about half an hour of daylight to work with, but I made good use of it. I started by playing the friendly game with the bareback pad and the girth/cinch thing that comes with it. I lightly threw the pad onto his back and then pulled it off then repeated those two steps until he either licked and chewed or cocked a leg in relaxation. In the end I never did get the girth/cinch thing tightened, but he did relax and we ended on a good note.
He was grunting again today. I have a new theory about the grunting. I think that he is remembering an old injury. If I very, very lightly set the girth on the place where his back becomes his butt, he grunts loudly. But when I feel it with my hand, lightly slap it with my hand, groom him, or anything else I don't get a reaction. He isn't hurt, but he acts like he is hurt. For a long time this weirded me out. I know my horse, and I know when he's pulling one over on me. When I rub the girth on his neck and he grunts, someone is definitely just trying to get out of work. But whenever I touch that one place with the girth he genuinely thinks that he is in pain. But he isn't, I've messed with his back a ton and he isn't. So my new theory is that he was injured there, probably with a saddle on or while being saddled, and he freaks himself out and thinks that if he lets me saddle him he'll hurt himself again. So I'm just going to keep on keeping on and slowly step-by-step show him that I'm not going to hurt him.
After he relaxed I put the pad away to give him a release. Then I longed him for the first time in a long time. I was amazed at how responsive he was. He backed up with a wiggle of the hand (I didn't even have to shake the rope!) and he picked up a trot with a cluck and a pointed finger. I asked him to canter a little, but not too much because I haven't worked with him in a while and he's seriously out of shape. He seemed to enjoy himself and even offered a canter once when I wasn't asking for it.
Finally I ground tied him (sorta, we're still working on that) and gave him a good grooming. I picked out his left front foot and his right front foot! Since I was grooming him in the arena instead of the barn I had the room to back him up. So when he kicked out with his right front I backed him up and tried again. Right away he was licking and chewing and let me clean out his right front for the first time in weeks. Not that I haven't cleaned out his right foot, but it's always a battle and he usually pulls it away before I'm done.
It's a reminder of just how far we've come. Today I put a big blue tarp on the ground right where that picture is to set all of my stuff on (it is a misty, moist day and I didn't want the camera or my equipment to get wet). When I walked Gambler by it he didn't blink an eye. He was curious and wanted to eat everything, but I didn't get the slightest spook out of him.
I went to see Gambler by myself again today, so I only have a few pictures. The weather was perfect. It was my very favorite kind of day. All day there was a layer of fog drifting in the air, thick enough to make everything seem magical, but thin enough that you could see. I absolutely love that weather. It was wet, but thanks to the sandy nature of the pastures at the barn, the footing was great. The temperature was about 39-42 degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, it was the perfect day.
I only had about half an hour of daylight to work with, but I made good use of it. I started by playing the friendly game with the bareback pad and the girth/cinch thing that comes with it. I lightly threw the pad onto his back and then pulled it off then repeated those two steps until he either licked and chewed or cocked a leg in relaxation. In the end I never did get the girth/cinch thing tightened, but he did relax and we ended on a good note.
He was grunting again today. I have a new theory about the grunting. I think that he is remembering an old injury. If I very, very lightly set the girth on the place where his back becomes his butt, he grunts loudly. But when I feel it with my hand, lightly slap it with my hand, groom him, or anything else I don't get a reaction. He isn't hurt, but he acts like he is hurt. For a long time this weirded me out. I know my horse, and I know when he's pulling one over on me. When I rub the girth on his neck and he grunts, someone is definitely just trying to get out of work. But whenever I touch that one place with the girth he genuinely thinks that he is in pain. But he isn't, I've messed with his back a ton and he isn't. So my new theory is that he was injured there, probably with a saddle on or while being saddled, and he freaks himself out and thinks that if he lets me saddle him he'll hurt himself again. So I'm just going to keep on keeping on and slowly step-by-step show him that I'm not going to hurt him.
After he relaxed I put the pad away to give him a release. Then I longed him for the first time in a long time. I was amazed at how responsive he was. He backed up with a wiggle of the hand (I didn't even have to shake the rope!) and he picked up a trot with a cluck and a pointed finger. I asked him to canter a little, but not too much because I haven't worked with him in a while and he's seriously out of shape. He seemed to enjoy himself and even offered a canter once when I wasn't asking for it.
Finally I ground tied him (sorta, we're still working on that) and gave him a good grooming. I picked out his left front foot and his right front foot! Since I was grooming him in the arena instead of the barn I had the room to back him up. So when he kicked out with his right front I backed him up and tried again. Right away he was licking and chewing and let me clean out his right front for the first time in weeks. Not that I haven't cleaned out his right foot, but it's always a battle and he usually pulls it away before I'm done.
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