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 Pay-off

Gambler and I are at that point where all of our hard work is starting to pay off. He was wonderful today! We got to the barn with about two hours of daylight left, maybe a little less, which is plenty of time. I set up the arena and brought Gambler in. He went through this phase a few weeks ago, where he would run away when I tried to catch him. I started just chasing him up to the barn. He would let himself be haltered there (he wanted his grain).Yesterday he wouldn't run back to the barn. Apparently he has decided it's better to let me catch him. I'm not complaining.

Gambler has excellent manners in his stall and going through gates. One of my biggest pet peeves is when horse owners let their horses push through gates and stall doors. 

His leading has come a long way too. I need to lead him more on the off side, because he prefers his near side. Notice that he is mirroring me by using the same leg I am. 

First, I did some desensitizing. I threw the stick and string over his back at the halt and then at the walk. He is still nervous at the walk, especially on his off side; but his reaction was better today than it was yesterday, which is encouraging. In the video, you can see a clear difference in my energy and body language between when I am tossing the string over his back and when I am asking him to go forward.

It was very windy today, so somebody was feeling frisky.

Second, I attached the 22' line to Gambler's halter. I flipped the line over to the other side of his body, wrapped it around his hindquarters, and asked him to give to pressure in order to untangle himself. The first couple of times he didn't understand. I've done this exercise before, but it has been a long time. Obviously, Gambler didn't remember how it went. Then I gave him the cue to yield his hindquarters while pulling on the rope. Once he started to unravel himself, he figured it out. 

Third, I attached the gaming reins to the halter and did some one-rein stops on the ground. I also asked him to disengage his hindquarters, which he is beginning to figure out. 

And here are a few gorgeous artistic shots. Have I mentioned that my brother is a fantastic photographer?

Fourth, I brought Gambler over to the mounting block and asked him to stand next to it while I rubbed and pressed down on his back. He did spectacularly. The wind was blowing crazily and we were next to the terrifying trees, but he only spooked once. In the video you can see exactly what I've been talking about, the trees are moving a lot. When Gambler did spook, or move around too much, I just asked him to trot around a couple times. He got the idea. I focused on bringing his head down, because I've heard horses can't produce adrenaline (I could be completely wrong about that because I don't remember where I heard it) or something when their heads are below their withers. This keeps him calm even while facing the horse-eating-trees.

Itchy Ear 

Last, I did some work on his feet. Gambler still doesn't like picking up his feet, but I'm attacking the issue head-on. Today I saw some real progress. By that time the camera's batteries had died (again) so I didn't get any pictures. 

Putting the Plan into Practice

Thursday was a rainy fall day, so I didn't get a session with Gambler. I did, however, get a tack chest! I don't remember exactly when I got it, but it was sometime this last week. My mom found an add on craigslist: an antique chest that a woman was giving away for free. We drove thirty minutes to pick it up. I was not disappointed!

It isn't fancy, or extraordinarily beautiful, but it is well-built. I don't doubt that it will keep my various horse supplies clean, safe, and contained. It's better than a 20 dollar plastic bin from Walmart any day!

Today I tried out my "old new plan." I don't have any pictures, but my brother might take some tomorrow. I know that if he's behind the camera I'll have several good pictures and videos to show you. 

I started out with desensitizing exercises. I tossed the stick and string over his back and smacked it on the ground several times on both sides. This is old stuff - I've been doing it since day one - but Gambler is still unsure of it on his right side. That is his weak side; he is unsure when seeing things out of his right eye. I started a new phase of the desensitizing today, one that I haven't done before. I led Gambler forward (or asked him to circle me) and tossed the stick and string over his back while he was walking. It became immediately apparent that Gambler doesn't understand the difference between motion and motion with energy. This is probably my fault, I am guilty of laziness and lacking energy. Though it will take time, I want to teach Gambler that the stick and string are equally harmless at the walk and the halt. 

Sensitizing is just as important as desensitizing. If your horse is completely desensitized, he'll never do anything. I want Gambler to know that when I give him a cue (with energy) I want him to respond and quickly. So I played with moving the forequarters and hindquarters, paying specific attention to when I gave him the release of pressure. If my release is immediate, his response will become immediate. 

I also spent a lot of time on the circling game. I used the 12' lead line as a longe line, because I wanted to establish boundaries. I want Gambler to circle outside of my bubble, but I want slack in the rope. I also want him to bend on the circle. No counter-bending or haunches-in allowed. There is one other thing. I've noticed that every time I ask Gambler to stop while circling I let him come into me. That has to stop. I have always made him stop a few steps away until I invited him into my bubble, but now I want him to wait out on the circle until I ask him to come to me. He is used to just coming in, but by the end of the day, he was starting to understand what I was asking. 

Then I brought out the mounting block. I stood on the mounting block with Gambler facing toward me. Step by step, I asked him to stand closer to a position where I could get on. At first he pulled all the tricks that he was used to using when Mom was holding him and I was leaning on him (or vice versa, it doesn't matter who is holding him, that method just doesn't work), however, when he misbehaved, I sent him out to circle at the trot. We ended the day with him standing calmly while I rubbed his back - something I couldn't do with someone holding him. 

I want to make it clear that it isn't Mom's fault. The problem is that when someone is holding Gambler, he is being forced to hold still. This makes him feel claustrophobic and panicky or grumpy and obstinate. But today I held the line loosely. If he wanted to leave, I drove him away. In the end he decided that he would rather stand than trot. Because it was his decision, he didn't bite, or move around. 

Note: I also introduced disengaging the hip while flexing laterally, which is one of the first things I will do when I start riding him. 

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. 

Back on Track (Again)

Today was the first day I've found time for a session with Gambler in over a week. The light was fading fast, so everything was a bit rushed. Gambler was attentive and relaxed, which was impressive given the circumstances. He's always a little squirrely when I haven't seen him in a while.

I started out by playing the Parelli games with him just to see where we were. Horses live in the moment. They remember everything, but they don't live for yesterday, or tomorrow; they live today. So every time I  see Gambler I run over the basics to see what horse I have for the day.

Circling at the walk.

Yielding the forequarters

Yielding the hindquarters

Lateral flexion

Lateral flexion

Flipping the reins over Gambler's neck to get him used to the motion.

One thing I have been focusing on Gambler's right side. He is not comfortable seeing me out of his right eye. He prefers to be led from the left, and whenever I groom him on the right he wants to turn his head and look at me from the left eye. I've spent enough time on the circling game that he is comfortable going both directions, but the friendly game is scarier on the right. Not to mention when I play the driving game to move his forequarters on the right he will swing his hindquarters at me threateningly. Today I spent some time on the right side and it paid off. He started licking and chewing and yawning, releasing a lot of nervous energy. 

Then I did some mounting prep. He still isn't acting spooky, but he is grumpy. I've had the chiropractor come out, so I know everything is okay, but he's acting like he is in pain. I hope that it's a ptsd sort of thing, and he is just remembering a past injury. I'm afraid the damage is deeper. For now I'm going to continue. I've sat on him before without any grunting so maybe he just had a belly ache today. Fingers crossed.

While my mom and I were trying to put weight on him without head tossing, biting, and grunting, a new situation arose. Kezi is apparently no longer herd-bound to Gambler. Gambler, on the other hand, is definitely attached to Kezi. So Kez just walked away into the other pasture and Gambler went bananas. I'm talking full-out cantering in circles, bucking, kicking, you name it. For the most part he listened to my cues and stayed out of my space (he needed a few reminders), which was impressive. Needless to say, it's just one more thing we'll have to address at a later date.

By this point the sun had nearly set, so we brought the horses in to feed them. We gave Gambler an extra dose of Metamucil in case his grumpiness was caused by a sand colic flare-up. Then I spent some time grooming him in the cross-ties.