Ninja (Sixteenth Ride)

Gambler and I had another exciting first today!

Playing the porcupine game to disengage his hindquarters.

Playing the circling game over a low cross-rail.

Longeing over jump standards is a pain, but Gambler loves to jump so I'll survive. :P Hopefully I'll be riding over them some day soon.

Since Gambler was jumping calmly instead of being a crazy critter like last time, I upped the height. 

Then I put the saddle on Gambler for the first time in a week or so. I tried a different saddle pad, which I think fits the saddle and Gambler's back better.

We played the circling game under the trees.

Then we played one of Gambler's favorite games, where I ask him to make half-circles, switching direction half way through each circle. Usually he jumps into a canter with each change of direction, but today he was worn out. Earlier Marguerite had ridden Kezi and Gambler spent at least half an hour running around the pasture.

That's more like it!

Because Gambler was so calm and worn out from his earlier exercise, I decided to ride him. Throughout our session he didn't buck with the saddle at all. I lowered the jump to a cross-rail again and sent him over it with the saddle. When even a jump didn't cause Gambler to buck, I mounted up. I still had Mom holding the longe line, and I had gaming reins attached to the halter. 

At first we just walked around the circle and changing directions and halting now and then. Gambler is definitely starting to relax and listen to the riders cues. Once I felt him relax I asked for the trot. For a few steps (about a quarter of a circle) he trotted without and issue. Then he bucked a little. I pushed him forward. Then he bucked a lot. I don't remember much, and what I do remember is in slo-mo (because that's how the mind works when adrenaline is rushing through your system), but I tried to pull him into a one-rein stop. I lost my hold on the reins and fell backward out of the saddle onto his butt and then landed on my feet behind him. 

After giving myself a once-over to make sure that nothing hurt in a dangerous way, I took the longe line from Mom and told Gambler to canter for several circles, changing directions often. I don't want him to learn that bucking means less work. Then I mounted up again. I didn't trot, because the bucking is an issue that only comes up at the trot and I need to form a game plan. I don't think rushing into battle without a plan is a good idea. But I'll have a post about that soon. 

I talked to Mom afterwards and she said that Gambler bucked and I came forward on the saddle, then he reared and spun, going one direction while I went the other. It sounds pretty much like all the bucking fits I've seen him have on the ground. My only injuries are a small bruise on my thigh from the saddle and a blood blister/rope burn on one of my fingers. 

Mom and I have been worried that something like this would happen and it would destroy Gambler's and my confidence. I would argue that it has just strengthened it. Like the first spook under saddle, the first fall is bound to happen, especially with a green horse. Now that it's over with, I feel that I will be able to ride more confidently in the future. 

And can we just take a moment to dwell on the fact that I landed on my feet!

Another Rambling Post

 I've now had Gambler for eight months. He has come a long way from the awkward four-year-old who had been sitting in the pasture. I've built a relationship with him that I have never had with another horse. But we still have a long way to go. Even though I know the general goals that I am working towards, sometimes I get out there with him and I cannot think of anything to do. So I'm going to write down some things I need to work on. I hope that writing them down will help me remember.

So what do I need to focus on with Gambler? I need to gain control of his feet on the ground. Not just in circles (which is boring and detrimental to his joints) but in lines, shapes, figures. I need to work on yields in a way he thinks is fun. I'm going to try using yields to turn. He might like that. I really want Gambler to learn to side-pass and spin from the ground. It will help a lot when trying to teach him from the saddle if he already knows how to move. We've started on it a little, but he doesn't enjoy them. The last time I asked for a side-pass I got a rear.

I think if I keep myself in a high-energy, playful mood when I am with Gambler he will feed off of it and enjoy himself more. For instance, I want to try running with him when I ask for an upward transition, or seeing if he will “cut” me like a cow. If he learns to enjoy imitating my body language, I can teach him to carry himself through example, like a mother teaches her foal. I should also wrap him and do the exercises/stretches the chiropractor gave me in July, which help with self-carriage.

The feet are priority right now, as well as the cinchiness/mounting issue. The whole mounting thing . . .I have mixed feelings. Part of me says to take it slow. The other part of me says Gambler is only acting up because he's bored and if I just jump up there and show him it's not so bad he'll progress faster. Maybe I'm moving too slowly for him. But if he can't hold still to be mounted, how is he going act when being ridden?

I also need to work on leading from the right . . .ugh I've been so lazy with that, it's not okay. Gambler is less comfortable with me on his right side, and I've only made it worse by not addressing the issue. Another thing I've been lazy about is teaching him to trot next to me. I think the problem has been that when he gets ahead of me I stop. I need to keep going when he gets ahead, and maybe turn to the inside or something like that that redirects his motion, instead of stopping it. I need to lead him at the trot for several minutes. It would be good exercise for both of us.

I think using two lines while I longe him will prepare him for ground driving. He needs to learn that all pressure on his halter doesn't mean back up though. I've done the exercise where you wrap the rope around him and ask him to unravel himself, but for some reason he never has figured it out. If I don't give him the answer by yielding his forequarters in the right direction he just backs up rapidly. My theory is he needs consistency. I'll try to do that exercise every time I see him. Along those lines I need to regularly practice lateral flexion.

Well that's not all of it, because you can never run out of things to improve, but it's a start. A lot of things things rely heavily on good footing/weather conditions, so I'll have to see what happens. The weather today was insane. First, it thunderstormed. Then it thundersleeted. Then it thundersnowed. Then the sun came out and melted everything. Finally, it started snowing again. Who knows what else will happen today. I can't say that I mind. I think the bipolar weather makes life that much more interesting. 

Speed Bump

A new complication has risen out of the ashes of the last. A few months ago Gambler had a small case of sand colic. I noticed that something was wrong when I tightened the cinch and he grunted (although at the time I thought he was coughing). Since then we have been giving him Metamucil every Saturday and he hasn't acted colicky at all. The grunting, however, has not stopped. Back in September he continued to grunt when I tightened the cinch. Then, a few days ago he started grunting when I put pressure on his back in preparation for mounting. Today I set the saddle on his back and moved it a little to get it centered and he grunted. I shook it around, and he grunted. I barely tightened the cinch around him, and he grunted. So either somehow Gambler has back problems again (although the chiropractor was just out a little while ago) or he's getting colicky again (although he is pooping fine) or he's just too smart for his own good. I'm hoping for the latter. Other than that interesting development, Gambler was good today. There wasn't much light, but we managed. We got some good pictures too.

Playing the friendly game.

A practice one-rein stop.

Standing ground-tied to be groomed.

An artistic shot.

Oh, I remember this thing.

The saddle goes on . . . 

Check out those gorgeous Arabian ears!

More pretty ears as Gambler watches Kezi come galloping toward the fence.

Watching Kezi and hoping that she will stop - at least I was, I'm not sure what Gambler was hoping.

#grumpymareface
She doesn't appreciate it when Gambler gets all the attention.

Right here I was shaking the saddle. At first he was grunting, but then he stopped and yawned which is a release of tension. 

Tightening the girth . . . 

The face Gambler making when he is grunting.

Simulating the cinch with the rope while Gambler grunts and makes the "grunting face."

More "grunting face."

Big yawn!

The more I think about it, the more it seems like Gambler is just pulling one on me. I hope that is the case. I'm just going to continue the mounting preparation and saddling. If he's being a smart alec, then the grunting will stop. If it gets worse, I'll go back to groundwork and seek the advice of a vet or the have the chiropractor out again.

The Old New Plan

Do you remember the new plan? It was a good plan. I thought it through, did the research, formed the plan, told everyone the plan, and then never followed up on it. I tried it once (or maybe twice) but the plan revealed that Gambler and I needed to refine our groundwork. So instead of retracing my footsteps and cementing that foundation, I switched back to the "faster" old way of doing things. I asked Mom to hold Gambler while I layedd over and jumped onto his back.

Let me tell you now, faster rarely means better. In fact, with horses, faster usually means much, much worse. There was a reason that I came up with the new plan: the old plan wasn't working. That has only become more apparent as time goes on. Sure, I did sit on my horse and ride him a few steps using the old method. But that only happened once, and in the process Gambler learned several bad habits.

So I'm going back to the new plan, with a few improvements.

Overall Goal: To ride my horse? No. My goal is to play dominance games with Gambler to prove to him that I am a leader worth his trust and obedience.

First Step: Sensitization and Desensitization

Sensitization is all about energy. I want Gambler to learn that if he follows a feel he will get an immediate release. This one is on me. If I don't release pressure at the right time, Gambler will be slow to respond and require a lot of pressure to get a result. If I slowly build up pressure, however, and release as soon as he does what I'm asking, his responses will become quick and light.

Asking Gambler to yield his hindquarters.

Specifically, I want Gambler to longe with slack in the rope. I don't want him pulling on me or counter-bending. Instead, I want to see him relax, lower his head, and bend his whole body in the circle. Snappy transitions are a must. I want him to read my body language and longe walk, trot, and canter without the stick and string to push him forward.

 This is a little more slack than I'd like, but it gives you an idea.

Desensitization is a reminder that motion isn't scary. When I ask Gambler to do something I make it clear with my body language and vocal cues. The stick and string or the end of the rope are just tools to back up the cues. Every once in a while, I am going to take a break and toss the rope over his back or smack the stick and string on the ground to remind Gambler that I'm not going to hurt him. I don't want him to act out of fear.

My body language is neutral to show Gambler that I'm not asking him to move.

Very clear body language telling Gambler to move his butt.

Second Step: The Mounting Block

Now you will see why I wanted Gambler to longe well before I got to this point. My mom has been holding (or trying to hold) Gambler for me while I've been doing mounting prep, but it hasn't worked well. Gambler just moves all over the place and bites at her. For the most part, he has gotten away with it. Which is why I'm going back to doing mounting prep by myself. When I ride him, I'm going to have Mom hold an "emergency line" in case something goes wrong. Nevertheless, I'm going to prepare him for his first official ride by myself. 

The plan is to ask him to stand nicely next to the mounting block while I lean over his back. If he moves away or tries to bite or kick, I will send him out at a trot or canter around the mounting block. When he comes back we repeat until he realizes that standing nicely to be mounted is relaxing. If he stands nicely for me to lean over him on both sides I'll start asking him to flex laterally while I'm standing over him on the mounting block. The next step is to get on. 

There are a few more miscellaneous things that I want to do with Gambler. I'll make a short list here (more for my sake than yours).

*Saddle up western because we haven't done it in a while

*Introduce disengaging the hip while flexing laterally since that will be my emergency brake when I start riding

*Flip the 22' line over his back so that he has to give to pressure to unwind himself from the rope

*Practice picking up his front and back legs with and without the ropes

*When I'm longeing him and ask him to halt he should not come in to me without permission.

So that is the (old) new plan. When I wrote it out I realized it is a little tedious, but writing down my plans helps me formulate and remember them. And if anyone else is in a similar situation, maybe they will find my lesson plan helpful.