Drill team and Unearthed History

Last fall, Fiona and I started taking part in the Chili Peppers Drill Team and the stables where Fiona's apartment (that's what my wife calls it) is. I wasn't certain we could pull it off, even though I've wanted to do it for a while. There are a total of 8 horse/rider pairs in our team and for those not familiar with drill team, the general idea is to ride in coordinated patterns, as a group, to music. The maximum gate of the performance varies based on the skill levels of the riders. We have only done walking/trotting thus far.

I have to say, I am STUNNED by how well Fiona has done with it. She seems to just love it. I mean it is hard to tell what a horse "love" to do. Best I can tell, it is similar to infants...eat, sleep and shit.
She has been extremely calm through the practices. Even when some of the other horses have had moments of we will call it "distress", she is cool as can be. I am kind of floored by how well she is doing.

The last practice, she even kicked a plastic cone and didn't freak out about it. It is like she is a different horse. My theory is that she needed a job, but it needed to be simple enough that we could both do it together with confidence. I have to say, I didn't stary off very confident, but every practice we have that is uneventful...it just gets better and better. She is more cofident and so am I. I think this could really turn out to be a big turning point for both of us.


Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

Ok, so the rest of this post is just going to be a bit of therapy for me...so I won't be hurt if you fall off here. So I had a terrible start with this horse. I didn't know what I was doing or how horses worked, what they really needed, etc. It was awful. I put my trust in the people around me and was ultimately very let down. While I have to believe their hearts were in the right place, it just didn't go well. I lost a lot of money and didn't get much in return. I felt pushed into some artificial timeline of when the horse had to be "fixed". When, really the thing that needed to be fixed was my lack of knowledge and experience. Anyway, I saw one of the people today that tried to help me early on. We've had a major falling out, mostly due to a mistake I made. But seeing her today, I couldn't help but wonder what she thinks about where Fiona and I are today. My immediate assumption was that she believes we are not any further than they day I got her. I think I assumed that because she was one of the folks that pushed an artificial timeline in the first place. She and her father though my horse could be "fixed" in a few months and be a world class trail horse or something. I can safely say, that this just isn't realistic. It can be done for some horses and some riders, but not Fiona and I. We needed time and a lot of it.We needed to understand each other. I needed to learn. The horse is extremely bright and very athletic. She is not your average horse. I know, I know...I am parental bias here, but I have had people TELL me this about the horse. Not just one person, but many different people have said there is something special about Fiona.

 

The reality is, I don't know what this woman thinks about me and my horse and it really doesn't matter. While I want all the folks that have helped Fiona and I to be stunned and amazed at our progress, it really doesn't matter what they think. What matters is where we are and we are in great shape. We have been through hell together and made it out the other side. We will probably have issues in the future and that's ok...we can handle it together. We are a bitchin' pair and both stubborn to no end. We will not give up, we will continue to grow and change together. We will both be better for having one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demise of the Scary White Tarp Thingie

It's been a VERY long time since I've posted. Life has been somewhat out of control, work, more work, trips out of town, and more WORK. UGH. How I managed to use almost 3 weeks of vacation and still not feel rested is beyond me. However, in the midst of all the chaos, I am somehow managed to continue to develop a strong, confident and happy little Polish Arabian mare. Fiona is doing so well, I don't even know where to start. She is calmer than she has ever been. We've started taking her out of the property again (on the ground, I have no desire to die early). She is still very nervous on her outings, but she trusts me and she knows she has to listen, even if her brain is on a million other things.

So on a whim, at one of our lessons, I decided to pull out an hold enemy, the scary white tarp thingie. See my prior blog posts on this topic: Return of the Scary White Tarp Thingie and The Struggle with Strangles,

Well, I am glad to announce that the scary white tarp thingie....is dead. Fiona conquered it. It is no more, it has ceased to be a fear. The first time through it, she literally too a leap of faith. She jumped through it to get to the trainer. It was AWESOME!

Here are some videos of the middle of the process and end result. I am so proud of my girl. She just keeps pushing through. Eventually, she will be damn near fearless. I truly believe that.




This is me walking her through the tarp...for the finale. :)

Operating Close to The Fear Line

The first trainer that really worked with Fiona (I don't use names anymore, learned my lesson the hard way on that one) talked a few times about operating close to "the line" when training horses. "The line" defines the point at which the horse is too frightened and is no longer learning. This trainer said, and I am paraphrasing, that you should operate as close to that line as possible without making the horse go over the line. The reason he gave for doing this, was that if you let the horse try as hard as he/she needs to at their own ideas then it will preserve life in the horse for when they are ready to apply it to our ideas.

I didn't really get that idea when I heard it the first few times, but I just heard it again in an audio interview with this same trainer. The interview covered a lot of topics, some of which I had heard before and this theory about "the line" is the only one that I completely disagree with. I think I get it now but I definitely disagree with it.

The first reason I disagree with it is because, based on my experience this trainer had no idea when Fiona was over the line. Now, bare in mind, I don't know shit from shinola when it comes to horses, even now and I knew way less when this guy was around.  This whole theory is based on the assumption that we know when the horse is close too and below or is over the line. Without an accurate gauge of "the line" you have no shot at making this happen.

The second reason I disagree, is that a high energy horse will operate just under and over the line for a long time. I contend that every time you let the horse get over the line, you lose ground, maybe not a lot of ground but you definitely step backwards. This is when you should employ the idea, "If you take the time it takes you take less time." So let's say you are trying to get a horse in a trailer. If you walk a horse right up to the trailer, even if the horse is pulling away from it, showing definite fear of the trailer, then you've crossed the fear line. You have at least one enemy, in the horse's mind, the trailer. If the horse is already disrespectful and pushy, you have 2 enemies. Now, let's say you took a different approach with the same push/disrespectful horse. Instead of charging right up to the trailer like spartan going to war, you walked just close enough to see that the horse was "concerned" about the trailer, but not yet trying to run you down to get way from it. This distance will vary greatly, depending on the horse. It could be 10 feet, it could be 100 feet.
You still have an opportunity here to teach the horse and have the lesson sink in faster. If you stop at this point and didn't let the horse rest or stare long enough to make the trailer a concern, instead you started moving the horses feet. You can do this in any way you see fit. Make the horse trot circles, try sending the horse and making them yield their hindquarters, anything..just move them. Then the trailer is not the issue, YOU are the issue. The horse has to deal with you...the trailer is benign, just sitting they, but YOU, you are a pain in the butt. As you move the horse's feet, get closer to the trailer and try to give the horse and opportunity to rest. They might take the offer, they might not. If they don't then move them back away from the trailers and move their feet again. Pretty soon, they will be RUNNING for that trailer.
The difference between this approach and operating closer to the line, is that you know the horse never went over the line. They never had a chance, you put them to work as soon as they took their attention off of you.

The third reason I disagree with this approach is that you are always dealing with 2 fear lines, the horse's and the humans. I also figured out, and here's the spooky part, the lines are related to one another. Let's say a new horse owner, owns a horse that has been in a trailer 1000 times and has no issues. However, the human, for whatever reason, is scared to death to be in a horse trailer with 1000lbs animal. Guess what the horse is going to be afraid of eventually. GETTING IN THAT DAMN TRAILER, that's what!!! The upside is, if the situation is reversed and the horse is scared to death of trailers, but the human has a lot of experience trailering horses, then eventually with the right training and work..the horse will move their fear line toward the human's and become less fearful.


My situation with Fiona was truly the worst of all fear line scenarios. We both had very low trigger points for fear. Now you had a trainer to the mix that is encouraging the horse to operate at or above her line ALL THE TIME and then handing that horse to an owner who is terrified. Well that is just a recipe for disaster and that's exactly what we got...disaster. It wasn't until I started operating well underneath my fear line and the horse's fear line that things started coming together. It was frustrating for awhile because I really didn't understand why other people could do things with my horse that I just couldn't. I was physically/mentally paralyzed by fear. It still happens, but now I know. I can lift the fear line and the way to do this is operate below the line until I gain the knowledge/experience to life it.

Buck Brannaman has a great quote about fear. "If fear were represented by a beast, then the only way to slay that beast would be knowledge." Knowledge is the light that shows you, there's nothing to fear. You can always proceed with caution, but you cannot proceed with fear. Going back to the second reason above, if the horse goes over the fear line, he/she stops learning. Without the capability to learn, there can be no new knowledge and therefore the fear line never moves. You must keep the horse, always, well below the fear line and give them knowledge of what you expect from them. They will do anything and everything to please you, and they will still have plenty of life in them, but they have to learn what you want from them first.


Anyway, that's my "expert advice", it's free and probably worth it. :) Cellulitis is still going way, swelling still present but getting better. 

Cellulitis? Are you friggin' kidding me?

So, I got a text message from the barn last Friday morning saying that Fiona was off her food and they were keeping an eye on her. I thought about just going straight to work but instead I stopped to check on her. Just a few hours after I received the text, I was standing at her stall looking at a very swollen left hind leg.

We called the vet and he said she had cellulitis. Cellulitis is a bacterial infection under the skin and I do not recommend trying it at home. Fiona was in a lot of pain and not putting weight on the limb. The treatment is 8 days of anti-biotics (Nexcel), bute 2 times a day and “cold-hose therapy”. I love when vets and medical doctors use jargon. “Cold-hose therapy” means spray he leg with cold water 3 times a day until the swelling subsides. Yes, seriously.

Where do they come up with this stuff?

Anyhow, less than a week later she is nearly back to normal. The leg is still swollen but it appears that 20-30 mins of walking actually helps reduce the swelling. She is walking normally and she is pretty much back to her sassy self today. I didn’t give her bute tonight so we will see how sassy she is in the morning.

She is a trooper though. That little mare is tough as nails. She has been pinning her ears at all the horses around her for 2 days and trying to bite Koa, her stall neighbor, when the other boarders are handing her treats. The first day, after the vet was out, I had to walk her to the washrack to get her first 20 mins of “cold-hose therapy”, and I could tell she was hurting. She was limping real bad and walking so slowly, but she did it. She just followed me right over there.

She has learned to stand in the washracks/tack areas really well. I usually tack up in her stall because it is right near the tack room and then I don’t have to tie her. This turned into a good training opportunity for her. She stood in a really small wash rack for the full 20 mins one time. Of course it helps that the last thing she wants is to have to walk, but even today when was great standing there.

I have to say it is pretty frustrating to have another setback. It is like just when we make good progress we hit another one. She got her first lesson in cantor/gallop just last week. The trainer did 30 mins of canter/gallop transitions which would have tuckered out just about any horse…not Fiona. She was just getting started. God help me.

We are still working through some saddle fit issues. The endurance saddle I got is a great fit for me, but it is too wide in the withers for her. I got a memory foam pad and that helps but the saddle still tends to ride forward. The guy I got it from recommended a crupper (Google it) or to just cinch the front part of the saddle instead of doing a centerfire rigging (again. Google it). I am going to try the front cinching when we start riding again. I don’t think we will go so far as a crupper. I might have to get another saddle. L This is not a hobby for the thrifty.

Anyway, hopefully we will be back to riding next week or the following week.

Horse Buddies

We’ve had another excruciatingly hot summer in Phoenix, It’s been over 110 for the last week, so needless to say neither Fiona nor myself have been in the mood to due much. I have been getting to the barn between 6am and 8am most days. I am usually done by no later than 10am. It is just too hot for me after that.

Fiona has been hanging out with her horse buddy Cinny this week. Cinny’s mom is out of town. I am very proud that she can go out with another horse and hang out without being a complete pain or acting up. Most the time she moves Cinny around by following him and bobbing her head or pinning her ears. He is a very willing pawn in her little game of 2 piece chess. Today I was lunging them and she got too close, too fast and he threatened to kick her. He didn’t do too badly for an old man; he is ~27 years old. She started to “make better decisions” after that. J

She is pretty much healed up from her episode in January where she ran through the streets of Mesa like a meth head. Her soles are still not 100% recovered and still a bit thin. I got her some Easyboot Back Country hoofboots and they definitely help. Exercise is critical to getting her hooves to grow and the boot help her be comfortable enough to work.

Our riding lessons are going great. She is actually getting tired toward the end of them, which is totally new. I think she had too many months off and it is taking her a bit to get back in shape. Same for me, I am learning to canter all over again, which sucks because it wasn’t easy for me to learn that this first time. Hopefully it will come back quickly. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a leisure time activity. We don’t have a schedule to keep.

I REALLY want to do the games at Red Mountain Stables Open House this fall. Even if it is touch and go on the spooking, I think we need to do it. It will help my confidence and hers. I was all set to do it in the Spring, but then we wrecked in January and well..that was the end of that. Everyone cross your fingers that we make it to October unscathed.

Fiona and Cinny hanging out (Fiona is on the left in all the photos):

Fooey, stupid plastic bag......

Here's a new video but first a quick update: Fiona and I are both doing well. We started riding lessons again with the new goal of HAVING FUN!!! I am a co-dependent capricorn, so trying to get me to do things "just for fun" is right up there with asking me to change my eye color in terms of do-ability. However, we are going to give it our best shot, let go and just see how things turn out.

This video really shows how fast this horse has come...she was alittle...reactive before. :) Enjoy!

Progress and Communication with your horse

First, I did few quick follow-up videos on Fiona's recovery since our crash in January. We are both doing great. All healed up and ready to rock and roll.

After the accident, Fiona had thin soles. I am including the XRay's in this post.

What you want to look for is the thumbtacks and look how close the tip of the thumbtack is to the white part/bone. There should be WAY more space between the tip of the tack and bone.

I was thinking the other day about how my ability to communicate with Fiona has improved over time and also how this progression is similar to the progress we've made in communication in general throughout history. It used to be that writing a letter and transporting it was one of the only ways to get a message to someone. This often took months, if the letter had to be sent by ship or horseback. Then came the telegraph, this sped up the transmission but was limited to only a few locations at which a message could be sent. Then came the telephone, then email, then cell phones, etc. Now we can communicate from anywhere in the world and get our message across the globe in an instant.

The progress made in communicating with our horses takes this same type of trajectory. If you start out as a green owner with a green horse, the communication is slow and not very clear. The human can't read the horse, the horse doesn't know what on earth the human is asking them to do. It's a mess and it takes a long time to work out. Then, as the human gains more knowledge and the horse starts to feel of the human, communication takes less time and can even happen over long distances. The funny part is, you can even go "wireless" by doing at liberty work with your horse. I really like at liberty work because if the horse is scared and they decide to run, I am not attached to them, which gives me a feeling of freedom and security.

It's a powerful feeling when you can make one small movement or noise from across the arena or roundpen and your horse responds. I look forward to continuing my work with Fiona and learning how to better communicate with her. Everyday things get better for both of us and she trusts me to lead her through the scary human world.

Here are some videos of her in the arena: