Fun With Babies (Horses, of course)

The girls, Cara and Em, arrived here in mid-June. They were both 12months old then. Cara is a sweetie, she would like to be a Lap Pony. Em, aka The Red Headed Wench, is also pretty much a sweet heart, but she does have a bit of an 'attitude'. A few days after they moved here, once she was starting to settle in, she decided to start testing. When I was dumping her breakfast from a bucket into the feed tub in the stall, she stretched her neck out and attempted to bite my hand. I saw it coming and, growled at her and smacked her lightly. She backed off, not upset, not submissive, but accepting that this was not allowed.

A day or so later, as I was opening the stall gate to bring herher grain, she decided to see if she could nip my hand then. I again growled at her and smacked her lightly. Again, she backed off and stood quietly, seeming to mull this over, while I dumped her grain in the feed tub and left the stall.

Then, a day or so later, as I was leading her out, I could see the little wheels in her head turning. I realized she was looking at my hand...so conveniently holding the lead line just a few inches from her mouth. Sigh. She tried to nip, but I was ready and backed her off.

She IS tenacious. The good thing is that she never tried to nip again in the same situation once I corrected her. So, she does learn. She just wanted to see if there was any time when nipping was allowed. She also tested any new people in the same fashion, so I always warned anyone who might be handling her or near her to keep an eye out. She seems to have grown out of that phase, which is a Good Thing.

Cara tried to nip me once, as I was leading her. I didn't even have to smack her, just growled at her, and she started flying backwards in total submission, head up, ears back, teeth clacking. She never tried it again, to me or anyone else. They're so different.

There were a few other things that the Red Headed Wench tested me on over the summer. She's not nasty or mean, mostly she's just having fun. One thing I learned was that I needed to make sure that Em kept out of my space. That was fine until we got into December and the nasty weather and I relaxed those "rules". During the ice storms or snow storms or just the nasty, cold windy days, I felt bad for poor Em being outside the run-in shed while I was cleaning it out and dumping their grains and hay. So, I started allowing her to stay in the shed and get closer to me while I was in the shed.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been telling myself that I need to get back into working with Em to get her out of my space. She's been getting....oh, more comfortable around me. Coming into my space. Just not as respectful as she had been. Nothing nasty, just a little niggling in the back of my head telling me that I've been lax with her. You know, that little voice that you should listen to but you put off.

Yesterday morning was quite cold with a stiff wind. I fed and hayed all the horses then about 30 minutes later I noticed Em was standing outside the run-in. Usually, the girls will spend at least a couple of hours eating their breakfast hay before venturing outside the shed, especially on the colder mornings. I decided to go out and check to make sure they still had plenty of hay. As I entered the paddock, Em came over to the gate and she had that impish look in her eyes. I told her to back off and she did, though she did follow me to the run-in, which had plenty of hay, so I turned to go back to the gate. At that exact instant, Em squealed, kicked out, and took off bucking and running. I jumped to get out of the way of her hooves as she went past me, stupidly not paying any attention to Cara. Normally, Cara is not a problem, but she IS spooky and she figured Em must have been running from something scarey, so she took off running after Em. Unfortunately, the angle she was coming from, she couldn't make it between me and the edge of the shed, so she collided with me, knocking me down. Ack! Fortunately, lots of layers of winter clothing and good layer of snow made the landing painless. Thank goodness she didn't kick out or anything, as she could have quite easily gotten me right in the head.

Lesson learned, thankfully with not much damage. My left back and hip are pretty sore and nice shade of purple where Cara ran into me, but I count myself lucky that that's all. I can't be lax with these girls. They don't mean to be bad, they're just young and full of themselves. Living alone here, it would really be bad if I were hurt out there. It could be days before someone noticed I was missing and in this cold weather, i wouldn't last days. As I write this, it's already below 0 and getting colder. Tomorrow the temp might not get above 0 all day. I probably wouldn't last a few hours out there.

Since then, I've taken a broom out there with me whenever I enter the paddock. It's long enough that I don't have to worry about getting kicked if one of them reacts by kicking out. A dressage whip isn't long enough, and Em gets excited with the lunge whip. The broom seemed to me to be ideal. It didn't take much to remind Em that she's supposed to stay out of my space. She is back to staying out of the shed when I'm in there. She stayed a respectful distance from me when I attempted to pick the frozen manure out of the paddock. Hopefully, there won't be any other incidents.

I just hope none of my neighbors reports me for "beating" the horses with a broom. Not that I've actually made contact with the broom--just a lot of growling and posturing. Of course, maybe they'll report me as a lunatic...

More Reflections

I figured I would do another post rather than responding the comments. There's sooo much that could be said about all this. Let's see how well I can articulate my thoughts. I should also remind everyone that my experience is strictly dressage, so some things might be different in the western world.

Nuzzling Muzzles had some good comments/concerns about starting her young horse herself and finding a reliable trainer. But, I want to discuss this comment: "everyone has to start training a horse at some point otherwise we wouldn't have horse training professionals."

Horse training professionals do not START out by training babies. At least, not the good ones. :-) Most trainers put in their mileage first with horses that have already been started and they work their way up. Mostly working as an apprentice or assistant to an upper level trainer/rider. Some are able to get in their mileage on their own horses and start training lower level riders/horses and slowly work their way up as they and their students do well. And, all good trainers work with trainers. The learning is constant, it never ends. Even for trainers.

Even though a horse might be pretty well along in training, everytime you ride it, or just handle it from the ground, you're teaching it something. Every time you ride it, you're training it. When I bought Jeeves, he had been schooled and competed through 2nd and had done some 3rd level shows. But, partly because of my limitations and partly because of some "lapses" in his training, I basically brought him back to training/1st level. For him, it was mostly to remind him about stretching and staying supple. He had a habit of getting stiff and heavy in the bridle. So, even though he's my "schoolmaster", I'm still training him every time I get on him. This knowledge will help me immensely if/when I get a younger horse. I know the aids to apply for a given movement, how to apply them correctly, etc. So, you are gaining experience training when you work with Lostine and Bombay. I'm not saying you shouldn't start Gabbrielle yourself, just whatever you do, proceed with caution and awareness. From what I've read on your blog, I think you have enough introspection and respect for the horses that you would realize when things are going wrong and seek out help. I think if you can find a trainer that will work with you that would be the ideal.

The trainer that the owner was going to send this horse to is someone that I know and respect as a trainer and instructor. She is one of the best: honest, reliable, positive, is not abusive to the animals, starts the babies out with good, solid basics, builds their confidence, etc. So, I knew that would be a good place for this horse to go for a year. If I were to ever buy a baby, I would only do so if I could afford to send it to this trainer or another one that I trust and respect for a year of training. However, having said that, I would be having lessons and participating in the training process as much as possible. Probably starting out with long lining and moving on to riding when the baby was ready to have my incompetent butt on it's back.

I've had 2 young horses--both fairly well started before I got them. But, even though they were both well started, they were still incredibly challenging. Babies will throw things at you and you need to be quick to be able to stop it, before it gets out of hand. If the horse misbehaves you need to have a secure seat to be able to stay with the horse and remain balanced so that you can still apply aids and send it forward without grabbing it's mouth. You need to know what aids to apply without thinking about it.

Jeeves is my confidence builder after a couple of accidents with those 2 youngsters. He's been very good at helping me get over my fears. With him, if something scares him and *I* get nervous, it's not a big deal. He's not going to bolt or do anything dangerous. While I'm up there on his back shaking and trying to remember to breathe and not clutch the reins, he'll just continue on, maybe giving whatever scared him a wide berth, until I recover and go back to riding him and telling him what to do. My moments of panic are pretty rare now and don't last as long. I have learned I can keep riding with my seat and not clutch the reins with a death grip.

With a baby, those moments of fear and hesitation would only make the baby more frightened. They learn confidence by having a confident rider to guide them through all the frightening things they're going to encounter. They learn things are not a big deal that way. On a baby, those moments of panic open a door that allow the horse to bolt or rear or who knows what. And, they learn those are acceptable ways of dealing with scarey things when being ridden. Like the horse I discussed in my last post--he learned that flying backwards was something he could do. The owner was never able to effectively stop that once he started it and it has now progressed to rearing. If he had had more training in the beginning with a professional, or even if the owner had worked more closely with a trainer at the beginning, he probably never would have learned that he could go backwards.

Horses are extremely forgiving creatures. Most mistakes can be fixed, if they don't go on too long. But, it's so much easier and safer if you can get a baby off to a good start with a solid foundation. Then, the rest of it's training goes much easier.

Awesome Lesson!!

We had such a great ride today. Kathy got here early and she watched our long rein warmup. Basically, just forward, stretchy, round, big loopy figures like broken lines and serpentines. At the canter we even did a lead change on the long rein. He was so loose, round through his back, powerful, thrusting from behind. I remember working hard just to get gaits 1/2 that good by the end of an hour, forget about starting out like that. :-) (I have to figure out how to insert emoticons.)

I mentioned to Kathy about playing with the haunches in on the 5m circle to get the canter transition and she upped the ante some. On the open side of a 20m circle, do a turn on the haunches (walk pirouette) 180 degrees and pick up the canter. Canter the circle, then walk as we get back to the open side. Turn on the haunches and pick up the other lead, canter the circle. Repeat. Each time we did it, the canter transition just got better and better. I could really feel him lifting up through the withers. After doing that, we did some canter 1/2-passes and those went really well. We did one that felt really good, no loss of rythm, no stickiness, just slid right over. Kathy said it would have been a 7 in a test.

Then, we did the "squat" exercise that she us do the last time she was out and again she upped the ante on us. This time, we stayed on the long side (last time she had us do it on the 1/4 line), three strides canter, walk. Maintain the activity in the walk, pick up the other lead, 3 strides, walk, etc. We did that down the long side, through the short side and down the next long side. As we approached the end of the long side, doing the 3 strides of canter, she asked me to do a lead change without the walk. He did it, though!! Woohoo!! Walk, drop the reins for a break, then we changed direction and did it in the other direction, including the flying change at the end. Tempi changes, here we come!! :-)

After doing those, just a long stretchy trot to make sure he stretched out all his muscles after that collected work.

It's amazing how a good ride can just make my day. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, despite having to go back to work and deal with some difficulties there. I just thought of that ride and a big grin would steal across my face. Who cares if my system isn't working, I had an awesome ride on my awesome horse! Nothing else matters.

Back to Normal

Jeeves's legs are back to normal. Yesterday morning he had a small bit of fluid in his hind. I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it. This morning, nothing. Soooo, I don't know what it was. Maybe it was something in the flax seed? Maybe the weather change, as Victoria mentioned? Perhaps with the cooler weather and all the rain we've had, there are some new things growing out there in the paddock? Who knows. I'm just glad he's back to normal.

The weather this morning was quite fall-like. Temp was 38F when I got up. :-) I love it. I love the cooler weather. It makes me feel energized. I greatly dislike summer heat and humidity and when this time of year comes along, I'm always grateful that I survived another summer.

It was back to work with Jeeves today. Trot 1/2pass was really good. Nice bend, hind end not trailing, maintained the rhythm nicely. Canter 1/2pass not quite so nice. He lost the rhythm at times. So, I kept it short and accepted what he could give me.

I did an exercise that Kathy gave us last year. It's been a while since we've done it and I thought it would be good to use that today, since he needed more engagement. Walk a 20m circle, then go on a 5m circle inside the 20m. Do this in haunches in and pick up the canter while still in the haunches in on the 5m, but continue on the 20m. One circle, walk, repeat.

Jeeves's reaction the first time Kathy had us do this last year was "You want me to do WHAT?!". When I asked again his reaction was "You can't possibly be serious." Third request, a big, long suffering sigh from him and he did it. :-) Today wasn't quite so dramatic, his first reaction was "Oh, darn, I remember this exercise." Second request and he picked up the canter. He's such a good boy.

This exercise is really good for engaging the inside hind and collecting the horse. In the canter transition, I could really feel him lift up through the withers. The transitions to the walk were balanced and light and the last one was awesome. It was up, forward, prompt and still engaged. It reminded me of what a clinician once told me about a good down transition -- it shouldn't be like a rock plummeting to the ground, it should be like a snowflake floating gracefully to ground. I just dropped the reins, patted him, and gave him a walk break. It was a great ride.

We have a lesson scheduled for Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the weather and everything will cooperate and we'll actually get to have our lesson.

Jeeves's Relatives

Billie mentioned that she has been checking out Cleveland Bays and I thought I would write about Jeeves's siblings that I have met.

Shortly after I brought Jeeves home, my neighbor and her daughter came over to admire the horses and they asked if Jeeves was a Cleveland Bay. I was surprised because Cleveland Bays are rather rare. Turns out the daughter used to ride and there was a Cleveland Bay, High Five, at the barn she rode at and they said Jeeves looked just like him.

A few months later a woman I didn't know drove up my driveway. She got out of the car, introduced herself as a student of my then-instructor and said that she owned Jeeves's 1/2-brother! She had pics of him and he and Jeeves really did look alot alike--especially the head. They're the same size, also. About 17.1-17.2h.

Then, winter before last, a friend and I accompanied another friend on a horse trying trip to Vermont. Another friend (our former instructor who abandoned us when she moved to Vermont a few years ago, sniff) met us at the barn where this potential horse was. As we were standing around talking with the owner of the horse, waiting for her to get tacked up, etc., another boarder walked past us leading a horse to the indoor. All 4 of us looked at the horse and at about the same time said "It's Jeeves!". Of course, this was a mare, so it wasn't, but again, the head looked just like him! Turns out she was his 1/2-sister.

All three were by Fryup Marvel, Penelope De Payer's stallion. Jeeves was bred by her, out of one her mares. High Five was bred by his owner and I'm not sure if the mare was Penelope's or if someone just used Marvel for stud. Conformationally the three are very similar, but Jeeves, if I do say so myself, is the better of the three. Jeeves also got the best attitude of the three. High apparently has quite the buck in him, something that Jeeves does NOT do and would never dream of doing under saddle. The mare, while sweet to people, had an attitude towards other horses. I watched her being ridden and every time another horse approached her or she approached another horse, she tried (or thought about) kicking it. Another thing Jeeves has never and would never do! We've been out on trail rides and had other horses run right into his butt and he never even switches his tail.

Jeeves's little quirk is that if all is not exactly "right" in his world then he gets very upset and can be very difficult, if not impossible, to handle from the ground. And, "right" is hard to define. One spring, there was a wood duck in the big tree in the paddock, quacking...as wood ducks are apt to do. Jeeves was convinced this was not really a duck but must be some alien and he absolutely could NOT possibly come in for dinner. He had to stand watch and make sure this 4 pound duck didn't sneak up on him and the other horse in their stalls. I got the other horse in for dinner, but there was no way I could catch Jeeves. So, he spent the night outside, standing watch. I brought him hay out there. This kind of thing doesn't happen that often. Last time it happened was last October when the next door neighbor was burning brush.

The odd thing is that when he's like that, if I can manage to keep him still long enough to tack him up and mount, he will behave like the perfect gentleman he always is under saddle. He might look at the smoke from the brush fire and he'll look towards the tree where the wood duck is, but he won't bolt, won't buck, won't misbehave at all. Which is fine by me. I can deal with this one idiosyncrasy.

Apparently, his siblings have similar quirks and attitudes about what their world is supposed to be like, although they're not as well behaved under saddle.

From what I understand, Cleveland Bays do have these little personality quirks. But, over all they're great horses, a very versatile breed. Jeeves was actually bred to be a hunter, but I don't think jumping is his thing. He's good at dressage and I think that is his forte. High is currently doing hunters and loving it. He never enjoyed dressage.

All three horses are also very good out on trails and love the trails, at least as far as I could tell in talking to the owners of the other two. I can trailer Jeeves somewhere he's never been, hop on, point him towards a trail and he'll march off like he knows where he's going. I've never had a horse like that before! He'll go through mud and water up to his chest. I know, I know, you western riders are wondering what the big deal is, but for a DQ, having a horse that will even go through a puddle is a Big Thing! ;-)

So, it's not much, but that's what I know about the Cleveland Bay.

Update on Jeeves, his stocking up seems better. I gave him 2 bute last night, and hand walked him at dinner and again at bed check for about 20 minutes each time. This morning he was stocked up again but not nearly as bad as yesteday. I gave him 1 bute with breakfast. I rode him in the ring today (oh, my instructor had to cancel our lesson today) but kept it fairly easy. We did a long walk warm up, with some walk 1/2 passes. Then, some trot and canter work, focusing on transitions, bending and straightness. Nothing too strenuous and his legs looked fine after the ride. When he came in at dinner, there was a little bit of puffiness in his hind legs but only noticeable because I was on my knees looking at and feeling his legs to see if I could find anything! LOL!

Stormy Weekend

We got the remnants of Hurricane Hanna up here Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Fortunately, the wind wasn't very strong, but we got a good 6" of rain in 12 hours! Fortunately, I had additional drainage put into my basement last spring, so I did NOT have to spend any time wet vaccing water out of the basement. :-) I opened the door to basement this morning with great trepidation and peered down the stairs, afraid I would see water pooled at the bottom of the stairs. But, all I could see was dry basement floor! Water did get in, but the French drain handled it. Phew!


However, when the dogs and I headed out for our morning walk, I discovered the driveway did not fare as well. I had just filled in the end of the driveway with the left over graded base from the shed flooring project. I thought I was all set to get through the winter. Sigh. Mother Nature does like to remind me that she is a force to be reckoned with.

Fortunately, Jenn (owner of the fillies) and her boyfriend Dave came over this morning to borrow my trailer. Dave is great with a tractor and enjoys doing site work. When they pulled in to the driveway, Jenn said he asked her if she thought I would "mind if he fixed the end of the driveway". Mind?! Ha! Immensely grateful is more like it!

So, Dave hopped on my wonderful little Baby 'bota and smoothed out the end of the driveway. :-) It looks much better, but I do have to figure out a more permanent solution as this does happen far too often.

There's always something to deal with. I never seem to get caught up with the To-Do list around here and more things just keep getting added.

In the meantime, Jeeves and I had a great ride this morning. It was still rather humid and the sun came out and it got uncomfortable so I only schooled him for about 20-25 minutes. But, we did trot and canter 1/2-passes, counter canter (3-loop serpentines) and lead changes and he did everything really well, so he deserved a break. The "squat" exercise seems to be really building him up. I just wish my riding was improving as quickly as my horse is.

There's a beautiful, bright half-moon out there now. I think I'm going to wander out there by moonlight and give my buddy a good night snuggle.