Riding Lena

All of us sometimes think of Lena as the "easy" horse, forgetting she can be just as tricky to ride as Bar is. This has been known to lead to a false sense of security on occasion, as Katie found out just the other day. Though Lena is usually paying a little more attention to her rider, she can and does act more ditzy, which can put you on the ground just as easily.

Last Monday, we went to the barn and Katie got Lena out. Lena hadn't been ridden hard in about a week and Katie hadn't ridden at all in a couple months. Katie was also a little distracted about school, life, and a few other things and admitted after the fact that she should have been paying better attention.

Hard rain hammered a steady drone of noise on the tin roof of the indoor arena and Lena was antsy and distracted. Katie started to come around the round pen and Lena leaped six feet sideways in a split second. Katie didn't stay with her and I felt that weird parental calmness come over me as I watched her slide off and land in the soft arena dirt, still holding the reins. Slow motion, indeed.

Katie was fine--embarrassed, but fine--and got right back on and continued with Lena's work out. This is only the second time she's come off a horse, and the other time was Bar who was trying much, much harder. Katie's conclusions were two-fold: you can't zone out on Lena, either, and she needs to get back to riding more regularly.

What did Lena spook at? A couple of brooms upended in cones that hadn't been in the arena the last time she'd been ridden. The next day, I spent a lot of time going up to, past, around, next to, and between them. We finally got to the point that she nosed them tried to pick them up instead of veering away from them, but it took a little while, plus a lot of calmness and encouragement on my part, to get her there.

Bar, on the other hand, took one look at them and grabbed ahold of them to pull them up and down in the cones. I had to work with him to ignore them and not play with them every time we went by!

Two different horses, two sets of challenges, and one lesson. Peter says it best, "Relax, but stay vigilant," and I think that sums it up pretty well.

Bar and his Typical Thoroughbred Feet

Bar has a beautiful head and (as Devon put it) "terrible" feet. The hoof walls are thin and shell-y and without shoes on, the poor horse would have nothing to stand on. I have heard the barefoot arguments, but I really don't think there is any way to toughen up his feet. At least not without staying off him and putting him in pain for awhile, neither of which I'm willing to do, even if I was convinced it would work.

Luckily, I have a fabulous farrier who is as stubborn as he is talented, so even though that back foot was torn up and very, very short, we have a shoe on it. That's good, because without it, I couldn't work Bar and that would be a very, very bad thing for all of us.

When Mike came last week to shoe Lena, he came prepared to deal with Bar's back feet. Mike had managed to get a shoe tacked on after we lost it on the trail a couple weeks ago, but the mud we got as a result of all the much-needed rain ended up pulling it off because there just wasn't enough hoof to hold the nails.

As it turned out, Bar had grown out enough that Mike ended up doing all four feet anyway and put clips on the back to help hold the shoe on--hopefully for at least 7 weeks until our next appointment! So far, so good. Both back shoes feel very attached.

Ta dah!



The clips look great! The lumps are mud I couldn't quite scrape off (need a wire brush) and the red is iodine to keep bacteria at bay.

Googling yourself.. or your horse

I was actually looking up some of the horses I was seeing on the reality show "Jockeys" and decided to Google Calabar. I searched for "Calabar racehorse" and got this .. which I wrote about a week ago.

And, as a side note, I love to watch these horses run. They love it. They are poetry, power, desire--all of it, in glorious motion.

On another side note.. I'd love to be able to ride Bar with the wind in my teeth and feel his joy and power. Someday, I promise I'll get there.

Comparing Animal Dentistry-Dog vs. Horse-while job hunting

Even as I go about my daily routine of working with the horses in the morning and applying for jobs every afternoon, I am still trying to determine just what path I want to follow. At the moment, the job market is not very promising and the alternative pathways are ever so much more interesting.

I've gone in and talked to the counselor at the JC about both the Equine Science degree and the Veterinary Technician program and am trying to get an appointment with the Department Head to formulate the best academic plan. In the meantime, I've been talking to my cousin Josh who has been a Veterinary Technician for over 10 years (I think). He has been sending me photo examples of the dog teeth he cleans on a regular basis, and I sent him my old post on horse dentistry to illustrate what "floating" a horse's teeth really looks like.

Here is some of the fine work Josh has done for his canine patients:

Before:


After:


Big difference, eh? And I have to say, as weird as it may sound, I could totally get into that kind of a job.

My photo got picked for a Berkeley Schmap

A few months ago, I logged into my Flickr account and had a message that one of my photos from Golden Gate Fields was being considered for a Berkeley Schmap. Turns out they used it, which I thought was kinda cool.

If you click on the Golden Gate Fields link, you'll eventually see the picture above come up attributed to me.

On the technology side, Schmap has a really nice interface that allowed me to drag a corner of the widget below to resize it and change the color very easily right in the browser window. That automatically changed the code so I could cut and paste the widget wherever I needed it. Pretty nifty.



And if I had an iPhone, Schmap would probably come in handy for all kinds of reasons. Okay, if I had an iPhone and I was still traveling, it would really come in handy. Have to work on one or both of those things, I think.

But in the meantime, I feel vaguely famous!

Learning to be the alpha

Being the alpha doesn't just mean being dominant, it means being patient and teaching your herd what behavior you expect from them. I'm not particularly patient, and much more inclined towards compromise than imposing my will on other beings, so I'm having to reconfigure my behavior so I can train Bar and Lena to be the horses I know they can be.

Both my horses have taught me a lot about patience, but Bar in particular has been the taskmaster when it comes to the art of taking a deep breath and figuring out another way to teach him to do something. And while I have been known to be bossy, it was a hard thing for me to get really tough when it was needed. And it was definitely needed. They are actually happier and calmer with you in charge, but there is a very important balance to achieve.

You can't bully Bar. Well you can, it just won't work. You have to be firm and dominant with him--even thwack him when he gets out of line (no, biting is NOT allowed)--but you can't bully him. (Not that I'd want that relationship with him anyway, but that's another post for another time.) It just sets up a conflict that shuts him down, freaks him out, and prevents the lesson from reaching him. You really have to slow down and set him up to succeed, even more than Lena, really. He is not as dominant as she is, so when we've gotten to a place where he doesn't understand what I'm asking, sometimes he acts out in frustration, though not nearly as bad as he used to. (Okay, here's one of the places patience comes in because I have to remember how far we've come rather than how far I still want to go.)

Now, his favorite response when he's confused is to back up and yield his hindquarters. Since he used to charge forward and try to shoulder me out of the way, I'll take that as a vast improvement. The reason we've gotten here is that I've learned to be more of the Alpha, more aggressive, and not let him run roughshod over me. (And now that term makes so much more sense!) It wasn't easy for me, but it was absolutely crucial in order for us to make any training progress at all.

My newest exercise in patience came this week because of the lost shoe. Mike came out Monday and tacked a new shoe on, but there is not a lot of foot left to work with, and already--after a few round-pen workouts and one pretty easy ride in the arena and down the driveway--I've got two loose nails in the front of the foot. And now, of course, we have rain, mud, and moisture in the equation, too. Argh.

I was grumbling at Steve, who reminded me that I have time. I don't need to have a perfectly trained arena horse in a day, a week, or even a month. Well, truthfully, I don't ever expect a perfectly trained arena horse ever, and Bar has already reminded me we could do a whole lot of this darn training on the trail without all the running in circles, thankyouverymuch.

But you know what I mean.

I have to stop and remember that I am learning a whole lot I never would have with a push-button horse. The mental and physical challenges are, well, challenging, but I figure using my mind and body this way is good for me in ways I don't even recognize, yet. I am certainly never bored with him, and I'm definitely learning to ride better than I ever would have expected back when this whole horse thing started.

Nobody better call me Grasshopper, either.

Escape from the arena

We took the horses out today on a long-awaited (by them, apparently) trail ride today and it went so well, I'm wishing I would have done this much, much sooner.

Neither horse was perfect, mind you. Lena snorted at logs and spooked at some ducks taking off, and Bar argued a little bit off and on over various things--particularly getting too far away from Lena--but overall, we had two happy, relaxed horses who listened and cooperated. A hiker even commented that we had such "calm horses, not like my horse," she said. We told her it was momentary at best, but I was still glad they were doing so well someone else noticed. Bar even went by two other horses and riders without even a single, solitary sidle or funky dance move! That was a first for him--he usually gets very agitated--and I heaped praise on his fuzzy brown head for acting like a grown up horse.

The only downside is that Bar lost a rear shoe somewhere on our way back, and now I'll have to hold off riding him again until Mike comes to remedy that.

They were so happy to be out on the trail again, I'm half afraid to ask either one of them to get back in the arena. Bar gets a reprieve until he gets a new shoe, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing either.

Fugly Horse of the Day posed a question today: What would you buy if you didn't have horses? Gosh, a lot of things, but none that would make my life as full and rich as time spent with my horses. Today was a nearly perfect day, a gift that goes beyond what it cost me in gas, feed, or even a lost shoe. I shared a blip in time with my horses and my friend as we moved together through our place in this universe at the rhythmic pace of hoof beats.

The racehorse is still in the house

I've been making really good progress with Bar on the ground, amazingly good, actually. He is responsive and cooperative, and really trying to do what I ask of him, even when my directions are not very clear.

It's awesome.

But I still haven't been riding him a lot, and this week--yesterday in particular--underscored the need to get back in the not-so-proverbial saddle a lot more regularly.

Tuesday, I had a pretty good ride. I was working on flexing and one-rein stops, and having him walk and trot on a loose rein. The walking was no problem, but asking Bar to speed up on a loose rein can be an invitation for racehorse-like launches. He was pretty good that day and I got him to give me a nice (if fast) trot on a loose rein. We didn't move onto the canter because I'd already worked him over an hour--including the round pen--and he'd cooperated quickly, so we could end on a good note early on. I'd also ridden Lena earlier that day, so my body was starting to feel a bit over-worked. I'm a wuss, I know.

Yesterday was a whole other story. I think if I'd put him in the starting gates on the track yesterday, he would have left every horse in the dust. Now, the ground work went great and one of the ladies at the barn even asked me if I'd worn him out because he was standing so calmly as we talked. As if that would ever happen. I think I'd have to lunge him for hours in deep sand before he'd ever be worn out. No, I just had him calm and paying attention to me, which is one of the benefits of the ground work I've been doing.

Then I got on.

Again, he was great at the walk, going over obstacles, etc. But Bar sometimes has a bit of a short attention span, and I think he thought it was much too nice a day to be in the arena. He certainly wanted to run and would give me two steps of a trot before launching--and I mean launching--into a canter. We spent a lot of time practicing our one-rein stops. I told him he was making things way too hard. He said I was being way too picky.

I knew I couldn't give up, though, so I kept at him until he gave me one loop around the arena at a trot on a loose rein without breaking into a canter. I didn't care how fast he trotted as long as he trotted until I told him "whoa," and we stopped after that. Then I rewarded him with a walk down the driveway and a rubdown for all his self-induced hard work.

It's the first time in a long time I've pushed him hard, though this was mentally hard, not physically hard. I feel good because I wasn't scared for the first time in a long time, and I was able to stay with him and stay consistent with my commands and expectations.

It really points out how much more work I need to do with him under saddle, though. I'm still going to do the ground work, and even add new things as I go, but it's also really important that he and I both know I can control him and work with him from his back, too.

I'm going to have the biggest biceps of anyone at the barn after all this, I swear.

Bar tries to be psychic

Bar is very, very routine oriented. He likes things to follow a certain order--not only likes it, but expects and anticipates it. Considering his earlier life, that makes total sense, but sometimes it's hard not to laugh.

Today I took him down to the round pen to work him. That in itself was a good challenge for him because Peter was riding another horse in the arena which allowed me to set Bar up to deal with that situation, not freak out, and stay focused on what we were doing. Happily, Peter doesn't rely on me to keep my horse under control in order for him to keep his horse in control. He deals with the horse he's riding, which allows me to work with Bar and train him without worrying about upsetting someone else. (What a concept, eh?)

We got through Bar's warm up, which was a little wild since he hadn't been out in a day or so, and because he was showing off a little. But he listened and changed directions when I asked and I was able to keep him focused on me, rather than Peter and the other horse. That's a big deal for both of us.

After that, we did our normal ground work, yielding his hindquarters, backing up out of my personal bubble, following off-lead, etc. Then I switched the routine on him. Instead of being done, I asked him to trot. He backed up. He swung his hindquarters away from me, ears flicking back and forth as if to say, "What?! Aren't I doing what you want?" I did get him to trot for me, both directions, but I had to stop laughing first. It was somewhat deliberate on his part--a new avoidance technique--but instead of him pushing past me and ignoring me, he was at least trying to get out of my way by doing something familiar he knows gets him praise.

You know? That's not such a bad step for us all things considered.

Training times two

Despite the circumstances leading to it, I am enjoying the time I have to work with both horses. My body is weary and my muscles are complaining just a little, but that balances out the raw spot of worry and fear in my chest. Most of the time, anyway.

Having the time to work both horses means I've actually ridden both of them in the last two days. Lena has helped me remember, yes, I actually can ride and ride fast while being relaxed. Not that she doesn't try stuff, but my confidence is definitely higher with her, which in turn leads to better communication and cooperation. So even when I'm riding her, I'm learning about how to ride Bar better. Riding him, I'm able to be more relaxed, confident, and clear in my commands. He doesn't always like it, mind you, but we're making progress.

I'm also getting to do the massage and body work on both of them that I like to do, but that falls off when I have no time on my hands or when I'm away. Lena's hip had been showing signs of acting up again, so I've spent time working on it and on her back for the last two days, which seems to have helped loosen things up. With Bar, it's less sore spots as getting him to relax and let me groom him or work on his body at all. He's a little more touchy, unless I'm grooming his mane and tail or working on his lower legs. He will stand still forever as long as I'm working those areas, but the neck is an entirely different discussion as far as he's concerned.

As always, I'm getting just as much training and attention out of this deal as they are, though a little less massage. Their healing powers work wonders on my battered psyche, though.

Horse therapists

Be careful what you wish for, sometimes it happens in unexpected and traumatic ways.

Just the other day, I was wishing I had more time to spend working with the horses. I'm making significant progress with Bar using the new training methods I'm trying and it's so cool! I realize patience is also important, but we are talking about me, here.

Then yesterday, 30 people from my company (about 13.5%) got laid off so O'Reilly can try to weather the economic downturn. I was one of them.

Naturally, I headed straight to the barn after I left the office for the last time, small box of personal items on the back seat of my truck, wads of Kleenex in my pocket.

I worked with Bar and even convinced Lena that the new rope halter was not going to eat her, which was a big step for her. I sat in the sun, cried a little, had my hair nuzzled, handed out treats, and scratched soft velvety noses. I brushed mud from both of their coats, cleaned feet, and put Show Sheen in their manes and tails.

I can't control the economy, and I'm not quite sure exactly where my next step is going to lead, but I do know that--right now, at least--nothing beats the simple and clear interactions these two four-legged therapists offer. Nothing. Thanks, guys.



And thanks again to Derrick Story for helping me take pictures of my dark brown horse. Derrick was also a victim of yesterday's layoffs, but he's still my go-to guy for photography advice.

Training adventures and resolutions

As I'm reading more and trying new things with Bar (and Lena, too), I'm learning a lot about myself and about my two horses. What works, what doesn't work, how to switch my attitude based on each horse and each exercise, etc.

Our two horses are very different in most every way, evidenced recently by their reactions to the training tools we're using--a crop-like device and an extra-long lead rope. Bar takes them all in stride, seeming to know they are just an extension of me, easily handling the transition between the tool asking him for something and the tool just being in my hand, scratching his head or rubbing his neck. Lena looks immediately suspicious, snorting, dancing around, big brown, worried eyes looking at me like she's sure I'm going to start beating her any second. With her, we're really going to have to start from the very beginning to get her much less sensitive to anything out of her comfort zone. You know, things like an extra-long lead rope. Or her blanket some days. Or the sign in the arena that was there yesterday.

I've worked a lot more with Bar--as is often the case, Lena has not gotten as much of the time and training because Bar is the "problem horse," so I will have more on her later. I know with him, I really have to watch what I'm doing pretty carefully because I trip over myself on both extremes--either not aggressive enough or too aggressive. He really needs just the right blend from me or he just gets confused and upset, and that's not a good combination. We're getting there, though. I have to remind myself that every step forward is a good thing, no matter how small it may seem at the time.

We have two different attitudes to work with, but I think it will really help both horses a lot to keep doing these exercises. It may not even necessarily mean doing all the exercises perfectly all the time, just using them to reinforce the attitude that I'm the alpha and they don't have to worry as long as they listen to me.

I have been accused a lot of my life of being bossy, but if I think about it, the times I've been the most bossy (not assertive, bossy) I've felt the most insecure. I think I can use that to understand why my horses need me to be assertive and take control. When I felt that the situation wasn't being controlled correctly (or at all) by the person who was supposed to be doing it, I took over. That's what the horses will do if you don't take charge of them. They have to. Otherwise they don't survive. And you have to prove that you deserve their respect every single day. That's the deal.

Some horses give that up easier than others. Mine are a little tougher that way, but I think they will not only give control to me, they will relax and be happier when they do. And I'll bet it won't always be such a battle to get it, either. Bar is actually happier to relax outside my personal bubble than he is pushing at me for a cookie. It gives him boundaries and herd structure he can understand, and he thrives on praise and knowing he's done what I've asked him to do.

And maybe I can even stop being so hard on myself about not doing every little thing perfect every time, maybe let this whole thing flow and progress and even have some more fun while I'm at it. (Kinda like Katie and Lena are having in the photo above. You know, fun.) That's as close to a New Year's resolution as I'll ever get, but it's not a bad one.

Wrapping up 2008

Yes, I haven't done a post since October 2008. Pathetic!
While I haven't been writing, a lot has happened!!!

Here are some brief updates:

October -
We went to the state championships and had a blast!!!! We had a week of training at Ellen's house before venturing down to LA, which really helped to prepare us for the show. We had a whole crew showing - myself, Katey A., Susan, and Eva. We all had a great time showing together and all the horses were really good. Willoughby surpassed all expectations. Our warm-up class went extremely well and he won the class. Overall he came out champion in the 1st level adult amateur USDF class and reserve champion in the CDS 1st level adult amateur class. I was really pleased with all my tests. The only thing we messed up on was our shallow loops in the canter - he broke once in them on both 1-4 tests. But oh well! He tried so hard and I was so proud of him! After the show I left him at Ellen's for 4 weeks becuase I was traveling a lot for work. Ellen worked hard on getting his canter really strong in preparations for changes.
November-
I got my horse back! Yeah! We mainly worked on getting his canter nice and strong. Thanksgiving, family, ect.
December-
More work on the changes! I went to clinic in Davis with Ellen and we worked more on the changes and his canter. So exciting! I admit, I've been a bit of a slacker this month with all the holidays. But I've been productive in other areas like wedding planning (must do now so I don't have to worry about this summer when I'm showing) and being social! I had a life for a couple of weeks!

And now we're in 2009! Hard to believe. I'm starting off the year with a big bang. I'm visiting Ellen this weekend for some intensive lessons to work on our changes. My goal is to show 3rd level this year so we have a lot of work in order to be prepared for our first show in the spring. It will be a very busy year and it will be a juggling act trying to balance it all! But with a little planning and an early start, I think we can do it!

Owner (re)training

I've been researching training techniques, trying to find new tools that will help me work with Bar without resorting to either one of us throwing temper tantrums. Me stomping my feet and losing my patience really is not an effective learning environment, you see. I found some tips from Clinton Anderson that made a lot of sense to me, and today they helped Bar pay better attention and gave me a little reminder of some horse psychology I'd forgotten. In other words, Bar got the benefit of a little owner re-training.

I think that body language and tone of voice work for getting him to pay attention, so I concentrated on being "bigger" with my energy today. And it worked. I kept his attention and got his cooperation without having to resort to the stud chain, simply by keeping his feet moving forward when he tried to rear and backing him up away from me using my body and tone of voice when he tried to crowd me.

Most of this lesson was before I even got him into the round pen. Bar heard Lena and Steve going down the driveway to cool down after their ride and started dancing and crowding me. I worked him around me in circles at the end of a longer lead rope, then give him a chance to walk calmly and when he wouldn't and tried to rush me instead, I'd get in front of him, facing him, and march him backwards. When he'd stand still, I'd stroke his neck and tell him he was being good, even if it was just for a second.

After a few minutes on his own in the round pen, with me peering over the side and him working out his kinks, he would do a circuit then stop next to me and wait, finally pushing his nose through the top of the panel to nuzzle my hand. I took that as my cue to go in and we worked together for a bit, ending with our normal routine of stretches and ground work.

His focus on me was better and even when he would stop to check out something else going on outside the arena, I could get his attention back on me quickly--and keep it. The big test came at the end, after I went to lead him out the outside door of the arena. One of the newest boarders was walking her 5-1/2 year-old Thoroughbred down the alley and Bar really wanted to check this out. Especially when he saw Steve stop to pet "Romeo." I made him wait until Romeo was not only past us, but on his way down the driveway, before I opened the gate. Then I made him stand and wait for me to move forward. He did, and not only did he not argue, he looked to me for direction. Woo!

I told Steve when we got home that it seemed to me that, much like dogs, horses like to know you're in control of the situation. Duh. It's not even that I don't know this, I just forgot for a little while. Bar was able to relax and give control over to me because I took control and he didn't have to be in charge for a little while.

So, we both got some training (or re-training) today, which makes it much like most days when I'm actually thinking about how to best work with him, rather than worrying about how other people think I should be working with him. Best of all, I didn't feel frustrated--fighting him to stay barely in control--and we could relax and enjoy each other. That's a huge reward. For both of us.

Dressage without Horses

I came across this video and am now wiping tears off my cheeks. Katie D. will have to tell me exactly what Dressage moves are being performed, though. :)

Horse soundtracks

A woman I know tweeted (on Twitter) about trying to find a song to help her relax and yet stay alert on her "sassy mare" and that started me down a bit of an odd road, even for me. What songs would be on my horses' playlists?

Lena would definitely have Brass in Pocket by the Pretenders on hers, at least every few weeks. I can almost see her sashaying to the part that goes "I'm special/So special/I gotta have some of your attention." Oh, yeah.

A little Dixie Chicks, too -- Wide Open Spaces and Ready to Run -- and some Eagles. Peaceful, Easy Feeling and Witchy Woman. She lopes nicely in time with Take it Easy and Hearthache Tonight.

Some days, Bar would have a lot of AC/DC on his. Yesterday, he was apparently listening to Problem Child, Back in Black, and Highway to Hell. Desperado by the Eagles also comes to mind -- "Why don't you come to your senses" and find out how much fun we can have if you don't act like a dork! But some days, Peaceful, Easy Feeling works for him, too. He's calm, snuggly, gentle, and mostly goes along with whatever we're doing.

I can see I've opened up an odd little wormhole in my brain, now, and will be adding to these playlists indefinitely. Oh, boy.

Coyotes came through again

I was looking at my friend Terrie's wildlife pictures and remembered I saw the coyote pair at the barn again on Thursday morning. Both of them, Tripod and mate, looked healthy and strong.

I noticed them because Bar did, and I watched them trot through the back pasture on their way through to wherever they were going.

Bar's Workout routine

Almost every morning, I've been getting to the barn early to get Bar into the round pen and work with him. He still seems to look forward to it, and his attitude has indeed improved with the extra exercise and attention he's getting.

If I have time, I work both horses a little bit, but my primary focus right now is on Bar. Lena isn't entirely sure how she feels about that, but since she's still getting carrots and massages every morning, she's willing to ride it out to see if it helps get us back on the trail soon.

Our routine is pretty simple. He and I walk down to the arena, me insisting that he listen and not do too much dancing on the way there. I give him a few minutes to himself in the round pen to buck and roll and be a horse while I stand outside and watch him squeal and wheel and change direction as often as he likes before I go in and give him direction I expect him to follow.


Karen suggested letting him warm up at the lope/canter first, because it's an easier gait, then work on his trot, so that's what we've been doing. I'm also working on getting him to stay with me, rather than slip into his "zone" of race-breathing. I do a lot of talking to him, keeping my own energy calm and focused on him, praising him when I can tell he's paying attention to me.

We always end the same way, with some bending and stretching and simple ground exercises to work on his focus and manners. The mornings he's distracted, I'll put the lead rope back on him, walk him around me, stop him and wait for him to swing his hip away from me, then back him up a few steps. If he does that well, I'll do it again off the lead rope, getting him to move his hip away from me and back up without touching him at all. The mornings he's more focused, we can start without the lead rope, but my goal is always set him up to succeed, and some mornings he needs a little more input from me than others to get there.

The very last thing I ask him to do is follow me with the lead rope looped over his neck instead of in my hand. He has to stay at my shoulder while I wander all over the round pen, turning one way then the other, then he has to stop when I do and back up a step or two without me touching him or the lead rope.

The other morning, Peter said two things to me. One, my horses have it way too good, that he'd never come out every morning the way I do. Two, he'd probably have moved onto an easier horse than Bar by now, but that's because he's lazy. I took both of those things as compliments of a sort, though he may not have meant them as such.

My horse will never be mild-mannered and he will always be prone to dancing, but he and I are working things out in our own way, on our own time line. I've had people tell me to feed him less or maybe let him be a little sore to make him more controllable, but I'd really rather have a healthy horse and learn how to work with him, even if it takes me longer that way.

Bar the Ballerino

I had another impressive first-hand example of how fit Bar is this morning. (And, yes, the term is indeed ballerino according to Wikipedia.)

I took him down to the round pen and, just as I've been doing lately, let him loose on his own for a little while. He bucked, farted, raced around, and then did the most amazing act of levitation. As I watched, he launched himself straight up off all four feet and got about 2-3 feet of air.

It was like a solid spring of dark brown muscle. So much energy, so much power, all under his control.

Yes, I was glad I was on the ground and not on his back, but it did not dull for a second the awe I felt for this wild, healthy, beautiful friend of mine. I could almost see him in battle, leaping up and over whatever the enemy might use to sweep his legs out from under him. It was truly amazing.

Maybe I should change his name to "Bar-ishnakov." Ha!

On a side note, I am seeing a difference in his behavior the more often and consistently I handle him. I put the stud chain (also called a lead shank) away because, frankly, he listens to me even when I don't use it, so I don't want to pull it out unless absolutely necessary. Tone of voice works amazingly well with him, actually.

I did ride him over the weekend, but I used a new bit and it did not go well. I got a high-five from my daughter because I did manage to stay on, but I was pretty frustrated with myself. (Okay, I had the curb strap on incorrectly, so not only was it a new and heavier bit, I didn't have the leverage I needed and was probably bumping his mouth in entirely the wrong way.) Hopefully, we can backtrack a little and he'll forgive me for being so lame. It may take longer for me to forgive myself.

I almost hate to admit that after 3+ years, I got the curb strap on wrong. It looked wrong, but I was in my little tunnel of needing to get back on Bar and only focused on that, rather than on figuring out *why* it looked wrong. (It was hooked on the lower part of the shank, where the reins connect--duh.)

I know there are a lot of people who would rather pretend they know everything, but I'd rather use my own mistakes to help someone else out if I can. This particular mistake was more in not taking the time to correct what my mind's eye told me was wrong, not just having it wrong in the first place.

I may not be the smartest horse owner out there, but I am trying to learn as I go, working with the horse I have to get us both to the next place we need to be.

Healthy horse syndrome

With Bar's recent behavior being, oh, less than angelic, I wanted to be sure there wasn't anything physical that could be causing him to act up so I had our friend Karen the masseuse come out to check him out. Not only is Karen an excellent masseuse and horse woman, she owns two Thoroughbreds of her own and has worked with horses on the racetrack for years. She's also known Calabar for a few years and is familiar with his moods and personality.

On the way to the barn, I found myself worrying both that she would find something and that she wouldn't--not even sure which concerned me more.

As it turns out, my boy is very healthy and very happy, and therein lies the problem. He's fit, very fit, and very full of himself. I grumbled briefly about ignoring him for a little while, but knew I didn't mean it. Plus, I think that's kind of what got us here in the first place. We got into a routine where he was getting worked regularly, then winter and busy work schedules intervened, and, well, him acting up is the recent result.



He enjoyed most of his massage, though it was hard for him. He does not relax well, which is typical of Thoroughbreds in general and him in particular when it comes to being handled. (Unless you're brushing out his tail, for which he will patiently stand still longer than I've ever seen him do for anything else.) His nuchal ligament was tight and Karen worked on it a lot. She also did a lot of teeth-avoidance techniques because it was not necessarily comfortable for him to have her make it less tight. He did better when she worked on his back and enjoyed all the work he did on his lower legs and tendons. Karen said his bowed tendon looks and feels really good, too.

He did give her big yawns and even relaxed enough for me to hold his head and stroke his forelock a few times if only for a few short seconds each time. Lena watched attentively from the corner of her paddock, possibly worried about him, but more likely hoping (probably assuming) she was next.



Just to be clear, here. I love Bar's energy level. He is who he is and that means a certain level of buzz at all times. I don't want to kill it, I just need him to pay attention to me and his surroundings so we can work together in a safe manner. Shoot, we can trot uphill for days as long as he's watching where he's going and listening to me, but right now, I'm not sure I feel confident enough to take him out on a trail because he just seems a little out of focus. Though maybe a trail ride is just what he needs, I don't know. (Alas, the perennial burden of not being independently wealthy and owning acres of property right on the border of a park full of trails.)

So for now, I have resorted to using the stud chain again as a back-up measure. While I appreciate his exuberance and energy, I do not want to get hurt if he rears or dances--even by accident. I don't start with it on him--giving him the benefit of the doubt--but he knows it's in my pocket at all times, and if he starts up, I pull it out and put it on him. I never need it once we've worked, though, so I know a lot of it is just his energy level. Steve hasn't used it, yet, but he has more strength and mass than I do.

I was hoping to ride today, but the both arenas were full so he and I had to be content with walking up and down the driveway, ground work, and a little exercise in the round pen. After some initial dancing in the driveway--in his defense, some of the horses in the pasture were running amok--and eventual employment of the stud chain under a bit of duress from fellow barn mates, he gave me a wonderful session in the round pen without longe line or stud chain. Karen will be glad to know his head position was much better today, too. He listened, changed direction, and stopped when I asked. He pivoted on his front end and backed without me touching him, and followed me at a constant distance off-line as I zig-zagged around the round pen.

Then, just to show off in front of the folks in the arena, he let me lead him back up the hill to his paddock without the stud chain, never once trying to get ahead of me.

I get a lot of advice with him, and some of it is good, but sometimes it distracts me from focusing on him and what he and I need to do. Especially in the middle of a tantrum, that can be counter-productive. At least for me it is; he is usually looking for a distraction/excuse at the moment I'm disciplining him. Losing focus because I'm trying to listen to someone else is probably not what I need to be doing right then, but that's my challenge to figure out, not his.

I am glad he is fit and healthy, that his body is strong, balanced, and well-muscled. He does look beautiful and he seems to be a very happy horse in all regards. We just need to do some work on when and how to express his joie de vivre so we can get back to having fun and not arguing all the time.