In software engineering terms, a core dump is the reporting of the current state of the software system when something catastrophic happens. Yes, something catastrophic almost happened tonight, but let's start with the good news
Fiona had her second ride today with Samantha, a lovely young lady at Red Mountain Stables. The riding has been going pretty well, but the saddling was a different story. Fiona has a definite aversion to being tied and saddled. She's always moved her feet a lot while saddling, but apparently being tied is just not on the menu right now.
I took some video of how the saddling started.
But once the saddling was complete, things went pretty well. Samantha had to do a lot of kicking to make her go and even some swats on the rear, but eventually she would start trotting again.
Now the core dump event, I came back to the stable tonight and took Fiona out and tied her by one of the tack rooms. She was GREAT. I brushed her, combed her mane and picked her hooves....she never moved an inch, it was wonderful.
Then I thought I would try to help her get over her cinching fear, but just putting a cinch strap through my girth and pulling it tight around her...no saddle, no saddle pad, just some pressure. Fiona was pretty antsy about this. So I just flopped it over her back a few times and left it until she got still, then I removed it once she was quiet.
Once this was done I locked the tack room and decided to let her stand there for awhile. She stretched the lead rope out until she could reach some grass in front of her on the ground (I swear she lives to eat). When she tried to lift her head up..the lead rope was over the top of her head and she BLEW UP!...while TIED UP!!!!! I rushed over and untied the knot as quickly as I could. She had her head bent sideways with her body stuck between her head and the tie-rail. Thank GOD she yielded to the pressure and stood still after I got over there. I untied her and she spun around to get her head free and then straightened up. That was the end of the panic, but as I was walking her back to her stall I noticed her mouth was bleeding. The bleeding stopped pretty quickly and the stable owner said she probably just bit her tongue. The little piglet was eating the instant she got back to her stall! OMG I was so scared. If she hadn't been trained for the last month I am certain she would have killed herself.
It's moments like this when it's SO hard to carry-on. I am filled with thoughts of self-doubt "What if she hadn't held still?" "What if she'd broken her neck?" "Should I give this horse up?" I REALLY, REALLY don't want to give up on her. She's come so far and the fact that she yielded to the pressure she was under means she *IS* learning. The minute I got up to be with her, she just stopped, she knew I was going to help her. She just had to wait and be patient, which is SO not this horse's style.
I am glad she is ok and we'll see how she does from here. I will probably go over again tomorrow night and just tie her in the same spot and start ove again just grooming her. I will make sure there's not as much slack in the damn LEAD ROPE this time. Sheesh.
Hang in there, Steph. You can get her there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debra!
ReplyDeleteOne thing right now. And it's a biggie. I had to turn the volume down on that first video (I haven't watched the other two yet) because I was getting more and more distressed watching the saddling.
ReplyDeleteI would have stopped with the saddling myself. Fiona was saying that she wasn't ready for it. But that's not what had me so distressed. If you're going to tie a horse, never tie it to something that the horse could pull along with it if it panics. Like ever!
Perhaps Fiona wasn't tied at all and the lead rope was just loose over the rail, but it looked like a quick release knot to me. If Fiona had truly panicked during the saddling and set back, she could have brought all of those fence panels right over on top of herself and Samantha.
Horse get tied to monster big posts set deep into the ground or big horse trailers that they cannot pull over on themselves.
OK. I'll continue and add another post. Hang in there.
OK, I read the rest of the post. Please try not to be too hard on yourself. Virtually all horse owners do something like that at one time or another. I did with Buster, he was a lot more trained than Fiona, and he freaked just as badly. It happens.
ReplyDeleteThe solution to that particular problem, as you likely know by now, is not to give her enough lead rope so that she can get it over the top of her head like that. But we all do it at some time or another and it's utterly terrifying when it happens. That's also why you want to use a quick release knot.
For now, I'd just try to chill out and maybe have a little eggnog with rum in it. We all know that terrifying feeling in our stomach and I would just try to relax for now.
As for Fiona, she didn't look too bad with Samantha riding her. Fiona is unsure, uncomfortable, and stiff, but she looked plenty rideable for a very experienced rider.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteAbout 3 mins after that video was shot, the stable owner made us untie Fiona for that very reason...she is in good hands, even if they are not always MY hands.
I had her tied to a heavy post when she got caught up. I appreciate the advice, I really do. I learn something new every day.
Steph
I watched the saddling video again with a calmer demeanor because I knew that Fiona wasn't going to blow up (since I watched the video once already). The first time, I was really worried that the "core dump" was going to be news of a nasty wreck during saddling.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great deal of difficult in saddling, Stephanie. You know, of course, that I support your efforts with Fiona 100%, so I'm not saying this to discourage you. It just is. Lots and lots more training is in order there.
One idea would be to ask Madi to watch these videos and read your blog and just give you some thoughts. You won't find a more experienced or compassionate trainer in the country. She would probably see a bunch of things that you and I wouldn't know in five lifetimes because of all of her experience training the mustangs.
That's exactly the way to look at it, Stephanie. Working with horses is so humbling that it's hard to put into words. There are literally thousands of things (most small, but some huge) that we have to learn and not that many of them come to us naturally.
ReplyDeleteSo pat yourself on the back for tying Fiona to a sturdy post. You did a good thing that kept her safe enough until you could help her. Good job! You learned that and you probably will never make the mistake of tying a horse to something that isn't sturdy enough.
When Buster and I had the same problem, he was tied to my trailer. He reared and thrashed with the rope around his head and then stopped and stood long enough for me to get him untied. I was trembling from the experience. I think you'd have a hard time finding a horse owner who hasn't had that happen at least once. But I learned and I doubt it will happen again. I'm sure the same is true for you.
Tom it scared me so badly. I will NEVER, EVER do that again. Lesson learned, and no real harm done. It's actually a win for both of us I think.
ReplyDeleteSee. There you go. You learned a valuable lesson that most of us have to along the way with horses, and neither of you were injured. All in all, I'd say it was a good day!
ReplyDeleteAnd Fiona would have forgotten the whole thing right after it happened. That's why she went calmly back to eating. Her flight response kicked in when she felt trapped. Once it was over, right back to normal.
Now drink that eggnog and get some sleep! :)