3.9.11 ~ The Weight of an Older Horse

 I’m definitely not a newbie to caring for an older horse; we got my pony, Checkers between the age of 14 & 16 and cared for her till her death at 24 (joint/leg complications took her, not age). But she was an easy keeper all her life though, so hard keepers are a bit of a puzzle to me in general.

 Diego has seemingly made the switch from easy keeper, all of his life to a slightly harder keeper as far as his weight is concerned. We’ve had alot of hurdles to overcome in the past 6 months concerning his health: he was malnourished when he arrived at our current barn in June. Coat was decent but not too shiny, his hoof wall was terribly, dry, cracking, his skin was prey to constant fungal infections and was super slow to heal from even the smallest scratches or cuts. He became a pasture 24/7 horse last June and once I added a ration balancer supplement back to his program I started to see major improvement by Sept/Oct. I would have seen results within the first month but I made a mistake on the dosage <embarrassment> and did not up the dosage till Sept. Summer and fall that was all he needed to be healthy and maintain a proper weight: grass & ration balancer about 4-5 times a week. (1lb for light work)

Winter came though and this is our first winter together since being in a pampered barn with a stall every night. I admit I did not take the advice of putting weight on him before winter as seriously as I should have and I regret it. It’s too hard to try and put/keep weight on at the last minute, preparation for winter should begin in October if not before. Ideally once the grass dies and even before that, which for us living in southern USA, is around December - horses should have access to hay 24/7. According to Diego’s body weight he needs atleast 19lbs a day to maintain healthy weight & gut health. Unfortunately this winter we have had troubles at my barn obtaining enough hay and keeping it out there constantly for the horses. While Diego isn’t in any immediate danger he has gone through winter much thinner than I prefer and it has had me stressed and worried for far too many months. Work, family life and other commitments keep me from being able to come out everyday to feed. Sometimes I feel very guilty, like I’m not being responsible enough for his well being. =(

Now because of the lack of hay issue, I am having to look into alternative ways to put weight on him. To some people this may not be unusual, or a big deal, but to me it’s very unnatural (for him) and frustrating. Horses were not meant to ingest large amount of commercially processed grains. While he might go the whole winter with no adverse side-effects (IF I choose the feed wisely and limit the starch & molasses) from excess amounts of grain my instincts tell me this is not the way to go. How many people out there have been faced with non-ideal feeding situations with their horses at boarding facilities? I find myself really wanting to hear their stories right about now. I have opinions thrown at me from all sides and it can get very overwhelming. I face judgment sometimes from all sides as well, no matter what decision I finally settle on. Most people are well meaning but also all of them think they know what’s bets for my horse.   *sigh*

________
The options I have settled on for now are: Beet Pulp & Rice Bran Oil.

I started D on ½ cup of vegetable oil and then moved up to a homemade mixture of coconut & canola oil. My trimmer pointed out that canola is higher than certain other oils in Omega 6’s though which can promote inflammatory responses in the body. With D’s arthritis that’s something I definitely want to minimize. I’ve switched to rice bran oil currently and may continue to use coconut. Uckele.com has a coconut/soybean oil combo for about $18 which was tried and tested for us many years ago (and met taste approvals of our horses) so that’s an option too. As of last week he is now up to 2c. A large amount I know but it’s not permanent - I am looking for improvement and will drop back to 1c for maintenence.

The beet pulp from what I hear is slow to put weight on but reliable. Just this week we have moved up to 4lbs of it (dried, shredded measured). The trick for me is of course managing his intake - he is fed in one meal 4-5 times a week, so that presents a challenge of not overloading his stomach at one time. I break it up into 2 feedings over a 2hr period:

*2-3lbs beet pulp upon my arrival, before our work

*2lbs beet pulp + 1lb ration balancer + oil & hoof supplement before I leave

We'll see how this goes...

****************************

UPDATE on the weight issue: 3/31/11

Apparently it's not just him being a "hard keeper" that's been the problem all winter. I've been at the BP and oil thing for a month with only minimal results. Recently it was discovered that D has a jaw problem and there is significant suspicion now that the problem has caused the majority of weight loss through the winter. More on that in subsequent entries!

Playing with Shoulder In

I thought I would write alittle this morning about something I have been experimenting with lately with Diego: the Shoulder In.

As you may know we come from a Dressage background so related movements are familiar to us both. I have neglected most movements though for the past 6 months in an attempt to spend more time focusing on exploration, experimentation and my own learning through feel instead of head knowledge. As time goes by it is clear though that it’s time to start working these movements into our workouts and regular fun time: Diego needs the physical benefits such exercises provide. The building of the ab, hip and haunch muscles, the extending of the hind legs & careful weight loading, balance practice etc

.

In the world of dressage often as my old trainer used to say we complicate movements by studying each individual aid instead of the movement as a whole. I can say personally this was true for me and tends to “freeze” me as a rider… I stop riding because my brain and body can’t keep up/communicate. Then Diego stops because I froze… uhg.  One of the first people to help me unravel these dressage movements was Art of Natural Dressage founder, Josepha Guillaume  (www.josepha.info/ ) 

I believe her first comment was to not over-think things… just feel.  Feel what the horse does and try experiments with your body to see how he reacts. Secondly she says to simply make your body do what you wish the horses body to do: for instance turn your shoulders inwards for Shoulder In, keep your hips straight since that’s the goal of the movement.  This made absolute sense, by mirroring body movements I could eliminate the noise in my brain about “Do this do that”. 

The last week I was reading JP Giacomini’s blog (www.equus-academy.com) and found an entry on the “Aids for Shoulder In”. I would quote the specifics if I could remember them, but basically I came away with the idea to try weight experiments using my stirrups. So when riding Diego at the walk I attempted Shoulder In as usual, my shoulder turned in alittle, my inside leg swinging freely with his barrel and pressing lightly as the barrel swung towards the outside (that times your leg with his legs properly). This time I very carefully stepped into the outside stirrup a bit. I don’t normally keep weight in my stirrups much at the walk… it’s just how I ride, for better or worse, but this stepping into the stirrup made a HUGE difference! Diego fairly glided sideways suddenly!  O.O  3 steps in a row, body bent, crossing his legs over – and I could FEEL it. I am finally learning to feel the difference in his body when he walks like that!

This really made me realize just how important proper weight signals are. Diego had been waiting all along for me to give him a signal that made sense, apparently that shift of weight was exactly what he needed. 

   Yesterday I experimented a bit more with weight aids while riding. We had a brief trot around the arena to burn off some energy (we’ve had a COLD snap here! Brrrrr) and then a lap or 2 of canter both directions. I found the weight thing most helpful at the canter around curves. D is quite weak and unbalanced at the canter right now and leans terribly (for him atleast). No amount of lifting and releasing the inside rein gets him off his inside shoulder. I found it helped him significantly if I made sure my weight as very slightly to the outside stirrup (but not so much that my body was crooked!) and my inside leg rested firmly against his ribs as an aid to support him.

Definitely something I will continue to play with.

Hope in 2011

Wow... a new year already.

So much has changed I'm not even sure where to start.

As I write this I find myself, quite content with the way things are going for Diego and myself. Dec of 2009 I embarked on my own personal journey towards Classical Dressage, daring for once in my life to look past the local teaching I was getting and cast everything I found as irrelevant to my goals aside. I started to reach out, to learn on my own. About 8 months ago when I moved Diego to his current home we both embarked on an even stranger journey - one of building a relationship, a real one. Not just a "Hi I'm A and this is my horse who obeys me and loves me because I feed him." No, I wanted more, and having stumbled across Alexander Nevzorav, Carolyn Resnick and other liberty based trainers I knew the direction I wanted to go in. Since finding the Art of Natural Dressage community last summer, as well as being introduced to clicker-training Diego and I have made progress by leaps and bounds...

And what's more important is I find myself more and more...content.
I was thinking just the other day how much my own perceptions and expectations have taken a drastic turn in the past 6 months, and upon the realization - I was entirely pleased. Relieved even! It is so much better for one's overall health to NOT stress about things not worth stressing over!!!


But alittle explanation:

For countless years I rode the same routine. Same warm up, same cool down..same same same... mercilessly drilling laterals, shoulder-in, turn on forehand etc. Not because it was fun for me and Diego but because I had been taught it was necessary. Some days we executed everything with near perfection, others were (to me) a disaster. I thrive on perfection, on symmetry, on the little details being in-line. I guess you could say I have some OCD tendencies too. I also learned through what I saw and heard growing up, to dwell on the negative...unfortunately. It has been eating at my life ever since.

Any small victory in my work out with Diego was often over shadowed by a later, less desirable event. However small, it stuck in my proverbial craw and pestered me into negativity and sometimes into a horrible mood! Almost every day my trainer saw me ride she would ask me how Diego was. Most often her perception was he did very well. Very rarely was I enthusiastic about Diego's performance though. It was like any enthusiasm or positive exclamation or praise was strangled before it came out of my throat. To be honest sometimes I honestly think I am severely praise-challenged, lol. It is so easy for me to be negative, nothing is good enough. Always striving. It is what I know. Obviously this is ridiculous and it was unfair for Diego to bear this burden for so many years.

Lastnight in contrast, I babbled happily to the other boarder at our barn about our latest accomplishment (a short ride in the arena at dusk with absolutely no tack). I often have found myself happy to share the positive experiences with her and she is often happy to comment and share my enthusiasm. I quickly learned at this barn that no one cares about the technical aspects of 'finer riding' (including Dressage), they all simply want to feel happy and connected to their horses. Me going on about my frustrations over technical aspects got confused looks and often ended conversations. To find a way to share and engage other people I had to look outside of my own obsessive tendencies. I finally found some peace and with it contentment. Sure I have days where I am frustrated, dissapointed or even depressed over our inability to master a particular feat, but it is NOT every time I dismount anymore! My expectations have changed greatly. Diego no longer has to bear the burden of dealing with an emotionally sulky and dissatisfied human as well, and he is more free in what he offers me. Everything is more fresh... more exciting, more to look forward to.

Instead of going to the barn to de-stress, taking my frustration out on Diego, riding till I feel better, putting him up and going home (as was my old routine - hey I'm being honest) I now drop the stress as soon as I step out of my car. When I go to get him we meet and greet. Often he takes the time to tell me he's glad to see me with a nicker and trick(I usually carry a treat, but even so I imagine there is more to him offering a bunch of tricks for my viewing pleasure than just the one measly treat I give him). We spend alot of time doing what's fun for both of us... and even when we have our bad days there is usually SOMETHING I can come up with that helps redeem it.


***

I think I owe a great amount to the AND community for helping me think outside the box. It is a long process for some of us to change our ways and our thinking. I wanted to very much from the start - but wanting to and doing so are not the same. It has been a very safe, patient place for me to wait, watch, listen and experiment on a regular basis and I continue to learn daily.

My old self would find critical flaws in my current state: Diego and I are much less precise and disciplined than we used to be. Sometimes productivity is lost.
On the other hand I am getting to experience things I never even thought would happen...
My (formerly silent) horse talks to me on a constant basis - verbally with all sorts of tones, and he is exceedingly honest and sometimes harsh with me in communication (as I used to be with him). I have learned to appreciate that instead of taking offense or fearing "he doesn't respect me". He does respect me - enough to tell me the truth! Like "Hey! You're being a butt-head today!" hahaha...
He also listens to me, which blows me away. He checks on my emotional status on a regular basis through pheromone scent (long story will explain in future posts) and has actually taken steps to "protect' me on more than one occasion when a person upset me. He's often agitated and confused when I'm upset emotionally and he can't find an immediate agitator to separate me from. (poor guy doesn't quite understand I can be upset by internal sources)

All these things I never thought I would see with this horse. Stands to reason that there is even better stuff to come!

~ More later!

Discovery

I hate leaving gaps in my writing because it’s hard to pick back up sometimes…
In this case though I’ve decided to make my entry fairly short, for me, anyways.

Last I wrote Diego was only just settling into his new home and the new relationship we’d hoped to build, he was also just starting to open up and express himself again, largely because of starting clicker training with him. Everything was so new, uncertain, scary, exciting…

Fall flew by with various difficulties – some horse related and some in my personal life or health.

Winter is approaching now.
A freezing wind is blowing this morning and it’s under 50 degrees right now. Brrrr
And D is probably out roaming the pasture with his herd, sans blanket, munching the left over grass and hiding in the valleys from the wind. In otherwords he’s finally getting to be a real horse. I can’t say he’s ever looked back. I’ve put him in a stall maybe 3 times in the past 5 months. He has buddies, and responsibilities (he has a mare now) that must be kept at all times when he’s not with me. Life for them is moving, communing, playing, eating etc.

* * * * * * * *

He is still very herd-bound when not with his buddies, especially if he senses my nerves, threatening weather or anything out of the ordinary on any given day, but that is a trust issue between us that will come with time. It’s already improved, but is probably one of the slowest moving of everything we are making progress in.

He is still not often soft or loving towards me, though I have made an effort to repress my demanding, bossy former nature with him. He expresses each opinion with the intensity with which he feels it – often pretty intense. Like mine. Birds of a feather. ;)

Lastnight he was thoroughly dissatisfied with me restraining him in the barn and constantly telling him ‘no”. While tied for grooming he poked his head over the wall to bully Levi the colt, off his food – despite the fact that Diego couldn’t reach Levi’s food. I verbally scolded D and gave a tug at the base of his halter for him to back up off the wall. He did, but promptly put his ears back, cocked his head and gave a warning ‘snap’ in my direction. The other boarder about 15 feet away saw the exchange and commented on D’s response, surprised at his ‘sass”. I ignored Diego’s snap and simply went about my business as I do now when he responds in a not so nice way, telling the boarder he was telling me how he felt. It’s true, he often tells me exactly how he feels about something and often I’m completely unprepared when I’m bombarded by his opinions. XD lol 14 years of living a repressed life in a relationship might make me a tiny bit cranky too!

But there are some quiet moments where he puts his head against me, or comes to me for comfort that make all of this effort worth it. One of my friends in the horse community I joined owns a former abused Spanish bullfighting horse. She has beautiful pictures of him calmly resting his head against her with his eyes half closed. It was an expression of trust that overwhelmed me. I have dealt with many headshy horses in my life, but never truly given thought to the fact that that is their most prized and sensitive part of their body! Their head, eyes, mouth…. Something we often feel we have a “right” to.

“Give me your head and put this stupid bridle on!”
“Give me your jaw – accept that bit!”
“Grab his head.”
“Grab his nose.”
The list goes on.
We’re a rather bullish, selfish, insensitive race at times aren’t we? o.O

It makes it all the more meaningful that Diego chooses and has chosen in the past to give me his head. He doesn’t always… try bringing a syringe of wormer into eye sight and he’ll fling his head up to the sky! But on cold nights like last week when he was in pain from a leg injury, he walked behind me with his head resting squarely on my back for comfort. He followed me in the dark through physical contact and trust.

* * * * * * *

These past few months have opened my eyes to how truly intelligent, emotional, sensitive and physically powerful Diego is – even more so than I could have imagined when I started this journal.One of the most incredible times was one hot summer day...

I have taken on the endeavor to learn pheromone/intent communication through breath exchange, at the suggestion of a friend. Apparently the horses extremely sensitive sense of smell is able to pick up so much more information from other mammals than we thought previously. Intent can be conveyed by a single simplistic thought or emotion and then the pheromone is created when the we let the breath out. Have you ever watched a horse blow out to another’s nostrils? Or watched a horses nostrils contract, shrink taking in the exchange? If dogs can tell age, food eaten, general health etc. by sniffing eachothers butts I see no reason why horses can’t communicate by breath.

So I try it. Though I am clumsy at collecting my thoughts.

I felt extremely tired and was in pain (sunburn) on this day and sat in the barn on a chair, dripping with sweat. Diego stood with his head next to me and finally after a long time of silence raised his head so his nose hung in the air 10 inches from my face. I breathed out, feeling all my pain and tiredness. His nostrils contracted very slightly and stayed contracted, he did not breath out at all. I was told later that means he was waiting for more information… inviting me to talk.

That to me speaks volumes. In his own language he was offering a listening ear, more so than we give horses credit for. They don’t understand our words when we rant about a bad day – but he certainly understood the pain and fatigue I was experiencing and offered me the chance to share more. Mind blowing…


I will post more on specifics of what we’ve been working on later. For now just know that we are on our way to something more powerful than I had prepared myself for!

Settling In

So…this week in recap…

It’s been unbelievably hot again which is really cutting into our energy levels. We’ve still managed to do some new things though.

I’ve brought treats back… *alittle*. I only use them for VERY short sessions, maybe 3 minutes max, he starts to get too impatient and upset emotionally so we quite and dome something else for awhile. He’s finally tapping into his old self again though. I started out in the roundpen in the afternoons, and came up with very basic games that I could reward him for and get him interested, One of the first was holding the whip in his mouth. He enjoys this, and it’s a challenge to see him try to balance the whip horizontally. He even started drawing in the sand with it one day. ;p When he drops it I cluck (deeply) and say ‘good’ and he gets a treat. The longer he can hold it the more enthusiastic the reward. This is a really good way to get him mentally interested when he’s been tuned out.
The second trick was starting leg lifts. I was not convinced this would work well at all since I had NO luck tapping his legs with a whip. It finally dawned on me her prefers and understands the direct contact of my hand better than an impersonal object. A light pinch of the elbow now gets a lifted foreleg. The response was nearly immediate, I was amazed! He “holds” his left leg up currently, as if for picking. His right, he strikes out and paws. At first he couldn’t lift his right up at all without slamming it back down, but after I got extra persistent one day & kept signaling he finally dipped his head and started pawing, so he got a big reward. =) I think he’s really enjoying it because he’s offering pawing on both sides now. My next goal is to get him to raise the legs higher and flourish alittle more.

As for exercises I started asking him for the ‘neck arch” a few weeks ago. Back and forth touches from the chin to his neck to tell him “Hey…fingers are here, follow the fingers and tuck”. He does pretty well but still tries to bend to one side so he can mug me for treats. I need to do this from both sides. I am noticing a slight bit of muscle increasing on the top of his neck though!!! Not a bulge in the center, but more along the base to halfway up… I think I should start asking for low tucks AND high tucks just for the sake of stretching and building that muscle.

I’m not seeing a lot of filling out of his back muscle yet, but not more wastage saddle indentions either. I’ve used the Klimke saddle twice now and I actually like the way it fits him better, he seems fairly relaxed with it. I just can’t use it with very high impact activities because of it being SO close to coming down on his spine. We are doing long and low traveling when we can, riding and otherwise. Although on the ground he seems reluctant to stretch except on the lunge. Riding we made HUGE progress this week as I got him to stretch down both at the walk AND trot a good deal while riding. My reins are too short though, need to get new ones so I don’t have to lean down when he stretches.
I’ve been terrible about doing hillwork with him this week. He’s made it exceedingly clear he does not like it, probably because it’s uncomfortable. Can’t blame him really. But we do need to start back. I really plan to do more lunging and walking in the back pasture to rid both of us of the “boogy man” nervousness. His buttocks are blossoming into big QH looking muscle as is his chest (the change is amazing). His gaskins and lower haunches are filled with veins and bulges now. And the dips on either side of his hip have all but filled in, I’m SO happy about that!
Other exercise includes now should ins on a small circle, ala Bent Branderup, anything to help him step under on a constant basis.
Backing is one I’ve slacked on but it’s getting easier and easier for him to do it. I can really tell he has to tuck and stay under himself. My one complaint is him always wanting to back with tension in his head and neck. I have to keep fair amount of pressure on his nose usually and I don’t like that, I gives him something to brace against. Currently thought he’s so reluctant he won’t back without pressure.


As for riding I haven’t done much this week due to the blazing sun. I have worked on my seat though while using the Klimke. I find even posting is a sloppy chore, I simply can’t slide up over the pommel like I used to, “light “ posting and seat is going to have to be relearned. I DID figure out though that my ankle stiffness? Is partly caused by my boots! XD of all things… riding in hiking boots one day showed me just how flexible my ankle can be as I ride. I am looser though – Diego’s back swings so much at the walk that my legs nearly bump his sides alternately with each step! My hips dip from side to side with each step of his hind feet. I’ve given up on a ‘still” seat for now and worrying about pumping. I think I was just creating far too much tension in my body. Diego seems to respond to this infinitely better.
Reins are another project. My hands fuss and control everything and it’s done nothing but impede and mess Diego up for too long. The other day I threw my reins away and started riding on the buckle, neck reining at all paces. It wasn’t long before I noticed I’d shortened the inside rein and was attempting to bend D around it, to which I threw the reins away again, frustrated. It’s hard to unlearn 18 years of rein control. O.O My biggest thing are those corners and that “bend”. I despite going around a corner with him counter bent and leaning in and I just can’t seem to control myself when I try to ‘fix” it. I’m thinking to stay my temper I should take everything back to walk and do gentle circles with him regaining the ‘step under’. D has enjoyed and been VERY responsive to the neck reining, showing NO signs of tension like when I use a direct rein. No tension is what I’m going for right now, the less he has to brace against the more he can concentrate on his own balance and gaits. This is making shoulder in rather confusing though, and I no longer have my old way of doing it. I guess I should do it more on circles for now until I get the hang of the straight away while neck reining. I definitely have to remember to keep my weight to the outside and open my outside leg more.
Another small note is the leg. I still use mine insistently to ask for a bend or a move over of the haunches. I’m learning horses can in fact find this very rude, so I’m having to be careful. And often the nagging to tension of my leg gives the horse the impression that he didn’t do what I asked so he goes back to his state he was in before I asked and the vicious cycle continues. Donald posted a very good few posts about releasing before the horse complies out of politeness. IE “ask & thanks” before the horse responds. I really should try this more and quiet my legs or release them more often.


The rest of the week was spend monitoring D’s pellet intake. I’m giving him slightly more Gro N Win at the beginning, thinking about doing it through the summer. He’s got a bit of a belly now but I imagine that’s partly from lack of motion exercise. He’s still got large patches of gooey skin and hair loss on his forehead so I’m still treating that. I’ve resigned myself to currying his face everytime I go out. Same with his body, his coat is just not what it is when I groom regularly. He’s got a small cut below his hock that I’m treating after 2 weeks. It’s healing over but keeps wanting to grow proud flesh, so I’m hard at work watching that daily and applying copper sulfate if I need to. I can’t wait till the skin grows over completely. The rain rot on his heels are at that stubborn phase. Almost all the scabs are gone but a few little ones just won’t go away and the skin is still alittle inflamed. *sigh* The Zinc Oxide is working wonders though keeping it dry.

Rainrot & Whuffles

I'd been at the barn 5 minutes yesterday before I had beads of sweat dripping down my chest. Don't get me wrong - I love summer but it was mildly unnerving. I imagine I'll be much more miserable in the winter.

D still lifts his head when he hears me at the gate. I feel like I'm so close to getting that first step towards me, but no cigar yet. I've been bribing, I hate to say it - I take a small treat out with me for haltering. I find it greatly helps with the getting his head up for the halter though. Still having issues in the pasture - he wanted to "shove" me off the path with his shoulder, which I strongly resented. I'm thinking I should start swinging the leadrope again, not in an aggressive way but just a "this is my space stay out" way. Then again I have noticed in the past he will respect the leadrope, but still not me. *sigh* Smart horse. I feel like alot of our space issues are because I was trained to leade the horse RIGHT NEXT TO me. No wonder we get bumped and stepped on so much... I'm really trying to adopt more of a Klaus Hempfling type leading, keeping much more awareness and space between us.

We spent time in the roundpen since it was the only shaded spot at 6:30 in the evening. Sugar the mustang got to watch the show next door. ;)
D really didn't want to walk or do ANYthing, but I brought along some of the senior grain I'm not feeding anymore, as a treat. Pretty soon he was offering to touch his barrel with his nose for treats, but I didn't want him over doing the stretches so I directed his attention elsewhere. I finally figured: well targeting is one thing he needs to learn to be able to do alot of things I want to teach him. We haven't had much success in the past even though he's a smart horse. I decided to start with something very straightforward that he would easily understand (and like): holding something in his mouth. I unscrewed the lunge whip in half and gave him the bottom portion to hold in his mouth, he enjoyed it and moved it around alittle, trying to balance both ends and keep it parallel to the ground. It was really funny to watch. Once he dropped it I clicked with my tongue and gave him a treat. He perked up immediately and started grabbing the whip quicker when I would hand it to him, even shaking it or trying to drag it along the ground with his head tilted. My goalt was to eventually get him to target the whip when it was laying on the ground. We only got down to his knees though, if I laid it down he ignored it and just tried to mug me. He was heavy on the mugging once I stood up to decide on another task to work on, so I immediately took a more assertive approach about my space, giving him very direct intense looks and holding my hands and arms up to keep him out of my space. I got alot of nasty looks in return, pinned ears etc, but he complied mostly with no offer of nipping. at this point he is not allowed to go "groping" his nose all around me or his own body to find a treat when I am working by his shoulder, I've decided I need to make it clear that when he is fed a treat I come to his head and administer it now. Same place, same neck position - everytime. That way hopefully he learns that bending around like a rubber band will not earn him treats unless that's what I'm asking for.

The next task was leg lifting. My 3 goals right now to work on are Shoulder in (groundwork), Leg lifts & Come to me. Leg lifts are HARD as he usually could care less if I tap his leg with a whip. I come to my method by two bits of info: I read someone on the MBs say they touched the elbow to get a leg lift and it seemed an automatic button & I also know the only way D lifts a hoof right now is when I physically ask with my hand, not a whip. Maybe he considers the whip too impersonal. So I hunched over and squeezed his elbow. He froze, then shifted his weight all over for a second like he was trying tofigure out what the heck I was doing, then his simply lifted his hoof! Immediate release of my hand and walking forward to treat him - along with a "Good!" We tried this on both sides multiple times. He gets in a habit of lifting the foot and backing up - his idea is that he lifts it and backs at the same time so his nose can automatically reach me for treats since I'm not allowing him to bend around and mug me. *sigh* Again, too smart. Novel logic though. At the very end I got to where I only rewarded a stand-still lift, back up steps I just followed at his shoulder and ignored his please for treats until he stood still. At his very best he held his left hoof up to his knee for 4 seconds! I was impressed. His right hoof is harder though, currently he just kind of picks it up 3" and stomps it back down. Atleast he's got the idea. After that we did some more with the whip. I really need to get him a chew toy...

Work in the ring was hot but the sun had gone behind the clouds. The Mastiffs were skeptical of me and the horse in the ring so they stood on the hill, making D alittle nervous - so I decided to keep the halter on. I unclipped him and walked along the rain and he easily followed. I played with my stride, lengthening and soon found he was outwalking me with his over-tracking. He still over tracks a good 6-8" when he's really moving. Then I did short tiny collected steps and I noted he slowed down considerably, though it looked like he was just taking short lazy steps and he looked rather peeved that we'd slowed down without actually stopping. I did a circle, being very careful to keep my hips pointing where I wanted to go and he followed suit. He still won't trot. The most I got of him was some lengthened strides and head bobbing while I trotted off ahead of him. After we'd walked several times around the ring in various directions with circles, I headed to the center to start our shoulder in. He immediately reached for the whip and took it out of my hand to proudly bob it up and down. I regretted not having any treats but I still told him 'good' and stroked his neck in a rewarding way, then took ym slobbery whip back. Going counterclockwise, to my left he understands circles very easily, going forward Vs simply turning to face me. We dropped into our old circle routine very easily that I used to do in December. Only this time I faced his barrel and encouraged his hind end on while using my hands to give small pushes in time with his balance and inner hind leg coming up. I found he stepped under well, although after a minute he turned away from me pointedly and faced himself towards the fence. I stood there "You didn't like that?" he flicked an ear back and eyed me. I asked him to come with me to a new location and walked off. After a few paces of walking I heard him behind me and he walked up to my shoulder and stopped, like "Okay... what now?" I wih I'd had a picture XD. We tried a slightly bigger circle this time with me allowing him to go where he wanted - straight or circle - as long as he stayed bent and attentive to my asking of the hind leg. Going to the right (clockwise) was harder, that's the direction he has a harder time understand "forward around me" instead of simply turning and facing me. We got a few good steps in though. After all that bending we went for a stroll along the rail again. It was plesant but then he found a tuft of extremely lushy grass, followed by another even better tuft and so on. had I had several hours to spend I'd have let him graze until he became interested again - but as it was I had very little time left to get him washed up and I knew it. I waited a few minutes, strolling along in circles near him pretending to ignore him. Then I tried to drive him forward - he ignored me. Finally I took to swinging my arms above his head to get it to raise - but I think it was partly because I stepped into his space as well. I hate that I had to 'force' him away from the grass but what else could I do? =( I'm still figuring these things out.


Anyways. He was happy in the barn, although looking for his food. I tied and rinsed him, then worked on his face, which he did NOT like. He finally settled for me wetting my palm and rubbing a miniscule amount of water into his forehead at a time. It took forever but he wasn't flinging his head up. His heels & pasterns are looking okish, a few new scabs formed on his hind heels where it was worse. I scrubbed everything I could and also took the scrub brush to his head, he grudgingly obliged and then acted like his head itched, poor thing. He's loosing some chunks of forelock due to that scabby yellow crust that's formed just underneath. Rinsing took forever as well, but once the cream and towel came out he knew it was almost over and stood still for me, though he mouthed my shirt like "Hurry up will you..I'm bored." After pulling the new tube of zinc oxide cream out of it's box I walked over to where he was tied and saw his nostrils flare... and he whuffled O_O This horses NEVER whuffles to a person, EVER. In fact he's rarely vocalized to humans (other than grunts) ever. I've only ever heard him whuffle at a mare he was interested in once (Rose). It was very very low and airy. I stood shocked thinking I was hearing things and he rocked forward against his leadrope and bobbed his head at me, maintaining the pretty neck arch. I left him sniff the cream, in case he thought it was food but I think it wasn't wholly about the cream, it was about knowing that I would feed him very soon. I applied the cream and then untied him and fed him, still in shock. Apparently he was a happy horse yesterday...

Shortcuts

Anyone that’s a complete perfectionist shudders at that word. Often shortcuts are not without problems, either in the execution of a task OR in the final product. I’ve been turning my attention the past few days to shortcuts in riding, or horses more specifically. Two things have sparked this:

*Reading an article on Anky van Grunsven. (famous dressage Olympian for those not familiar – Google her and be prepared for a bunch of controversy)

*Reading the blogs about rollkur (again, Google, it’s a method) on the Writing of Riding site.

The writer of the blog pointed out our patterns of taking shortcuts in training to produce a faster image of dressage ‘finishedness” (collection). And how many of the methods (cruel and/or just plain frivolous) are really not the issue – taking shortcuts and impatience is the issue! The thought had never truly occurred to me. The article I read on Anky solidified that statement though, and I was shocked (I had read the article before I read the blog on rollkur).

While often the press twists words to make a viewer feel a certain emotion and thus a certain opinion regardless of whether it’s truthful and accurate I don’t believe this was the case with the Anky article. It was very pro Anky and honestly focused on her home life with the horses and her famous horse Bonfire. But amongst the glitz and glamour the article conveyed, talking about what a lavish lifestyle the horses lived and what a scheduled and dedicated life Anky and her family led in working on her riding goals, I caught a glimpse that confirms my newfound opinion on the shortcuts we take with horses.

Even Olympians are not above this.

Anky felt that turning to breeding [note I am not saying she should run a breeding stable] would be rather useless for her, as she had much rather have an already 5 or 6 year old horse that is ready to ride and suitably trainer for saddle so he “doesn’t buck her off”. While enemies of Anky might scoff at the seeming yellow-belliedness I think the more important implication is the impatience of wanting something handed to you on a silver (or maybe bronze) platter, a third of the work is already done, now she gets to put the more esteemed and revered work of strength and high level movements into the horse for the glory and rush of competition.
-No bonding from early youth with the horse – she doesn’t have time for that.
-No bonding over being the first one on it’s back – no time for that either.

It’s like saying you love children and want to raise them, but you’re not willing to spend the time with them building those crucial bonds in early stages of development. If you truly care that much about them wouldn’t YOU want to be the one to show them the way when they’re young? Heaven knows I’d rather have that than have to undo some of what someone’s already put in their head before I could work on the current issues with them…
*shakes head*

I don’t get it - and yet - I do. Impatience.


Everyone who knows me really well is smirking and raising an eyebrow at this. I’ve been pegged as a rather impatient person myself. But what good am I if I can’t overcome these faults in myself? What do I contribute to life if I continue on with them affecting everything I do and never working to change that?

So that’s my rant on impatience. I’m quoting the one main section of the article that got me but there were slight hints elsewhere that to me spoke of an impatience to ‘get the training on’ so Anky could then ‘get the competition on’. *sigh* I’m sure she loves her horses, but it’s a question of degrees – for years I loved my pony – but I loved myself and competition more. I tuned her occasional quiet protests out because I wanted the rush and thrill of competing, because I knew what was best for her, etc. We can all blindly tell ourselves we love our horses, kids, pets, spouses, etc. but when it comes down to truly listening and observing – if given another choice from what I give them now, what would they choose? That’s a question everyone should reach at some point. Even now though it makes me slightly sick to my stomach: because for me and my horse, it has meant the end of a lot of my horse and competition dreams. On the otherhand I believe it is the beginning of his own dreams that he’s never before been able to believe were possible. Until Anky, and others all over the world sit down and ask themselves if their dreams are more important than truly listening to see if the horse wants something different? They will continue to take shortcuts at the expense of the horse to reach their goals, and this cycle will continue.


On another side note – the article mentioned the horses were pampered to the extreme : their description of the care made me wonder if the article was even from a horse magazine or not because of the level of ignorance about care! Kept in stalls all day and “taken out” 3 times a day? Fed grain? Only the special/current horses being handwalked? (the rest were resigned to a hotwalker…gee how personal.) Sure they’re groomed, have plenty of human interaction etc. but what about BEING A HORSE??? Geez! Years ago I might have accepted that picture as 'pampered', but nowdays to me “pampered” means grass – space – social time with others, along with regular grooming and human interaction. What are we DOING to horses? Uhg!

Pleasure & Learning

Yesterday I got to do something I haven't in the past few weeks - ride around and gallop up hills with D. It was a refreshing, positive point in a depressing time for me.

It was humid and approaching 96 degrees, with 'realfeel' well over 100... Uhg. D just stood, breathing hard from the heat, under the barn roof with me. The walk from the paddock exsausted us both. Still, I wanted to move though, and the cool breeze under the grove trees in the back pasture were calling me, surely a very short saddled ride wouldn't hurt. Currently I'm refusing to put the Wintec on his back since I'm trying to help heal all that muscle wastage. Bareback has been uncomfortable lately, my tailbone has been acting up. >_< I decided to try the Klimkie again, I haven't tried it since April and I figured maybe if I just walked it wouldn't get banged down into his spine. He eyed it suspiciously when I pulled it out, but he didn't show any opinion or emotion when I held it under his nose to sniff. Saddling was ok, I noticed his head and neck tense but he's been that way about every saddle put on his back... but he didn't move at all. Upon mounting he headed back for the barn, and I was about to turn him when I noticed a LARGE herd of deer in the lower field. Since he'd already been acting spooky I didn't want to deal with extra added stimuli at the moment, so I allowed him to walk through the barn to the other side. I figured riding in his pasture with his buddies would alleviate some of the insecurity he was apparently experiencing. After remounting he made it clear he'd rather just go take his usual position under the trees with the herd. Unfortunately with a rider it's hard to fit under the tree. I admit we argued some and for me it's really hard to find a balance right now - if I don't to some degree "make" him excercise he won't walk up and down the hills at all unless he has to. Thus his muscle tone will continue to decrease. After some major "I want to go this way.." "No, We should go this way" I convinced him to head along by the pond and oaktree. He burst into a trot up one of the hills and I worked on keeping a steadily balanced light seat. So much easier with stirrups. Then he wanted to go back X_X. I pointed him towards the beach at the pond corner and suddenly realizing what I was suggesting he splashed gladly into the water and nearly into the middle of the pond! O_O I had to suggest that he NOT take me swimming in my leather saddle. So we stood there in belly deep water while he pawed happily, grunted and blew bubbles. He reached his head around when my hand caught his eye and I gave him a few strokes. He seemed incredibly happy and relaxed. We left and walked back towards the gate, though I still wanted to walk the entire pasture. We started off up the hill by the side of the house but he wasn't comfortable with walking so he started into a bolt-canter. I had to hold on for dear life and apparently me trying to hold him back annoyed him, he let out some hopping bucks and a grunt. At the top of the hill he cantered along for a moment before slowing to a walk. It was really nice actually and I tried very hard to have a soft seat and not bump him. After that though he was about done - wanted nothing more than to stand with his buddies, so I took him back to the barn and unsaddled him. I inspected his back and noted one small spot on either side of his wither, but they weren't dry, just lighter in color.

I figured some trot work would be good without a rider, so we went out to the ring and lounged on an extra large circle. I noticed his bend and any stiffness in his circles. He's definately stiff both ways, both shoulders seem to fall in, but he kept a much lighter feel on the line this time - maybe my circles have been too small and I've been asking for too much bend. His trot transitions were fairly prompt this time but his trot was lazy and draggy - although he did pick up on the straight away a couple times. I wrapped things up quickly because within 5 minutes dark clouds had blown over and it certainly didn't feel like 96 degrees anymore. A big storm was coming. He stood rather nervously in the barn while I put tack away and took him out to his pasture. Upon being turned out Levi came over, to hide behind D because of a cardboard box that'd been blow into the front yard. D immediately seemed relaxed when turned out, despite the massive winds, dust and debris being kicked up.


A note on the rainrot battle - I've been away for 2 days and upon inspection a huge yellow oozing scab came off his forehead just under his forelock. I've really gotta take care of this junk. I think Zinc Oxide based cream might do for his heels now that they're getting better from the dew poisoning/rainrot.

I think my point about yesterday was the relaxing feel of a short but free ride, and my slow learning about working together with him.

New Barefoot Trimmer!

(written post trim, which was on the 19th)
7/20/10

Well I’m stoked. ^_^
It seems like a few things are finally being lined up properly. I had an appointment with our new trimmer Marion Figley yesterday. I got a lot of information about D’s feet and health, conformation and movement and confirmed some suspicions of mine. It also helped do away with some of my pessimism about other issues as well.

Feet First
The condition of D’s hooves, especially the walls were about as bad as I thought. She hardly took anything off except to bevel the walls and lower his heels. His heels are definitely growing forward, and she felt they’re out of balance (the front), and his hinds need to be lowered, gradually to help the toe-drag he does with the hind feet. The integrity of the walls is not good at all and needs to be strengthened by good nutrition and worn properly by – you guessed it – regular work.

Conformation
She noted D’s slightly more ‘upright’ hind legs, the dragging of the hind toes and a slight ‘coon footedness’ (that being the straight line/angle of the hoof matching the pastern is broken one way or another). She feels a good part of the hoof drag can actually be addressed by proper heel height (lower) and hill work to strengthen the muscles. She suggested a joint supplement might be in order but we will have to see, I don’t know if I can afford it currently, so I’m leaning towards the hillwork.
She also explained D’s bump in his spine behind the saddle, calling it a ‘hunters bump’ more technically a spinal subluxation (yeah I had to look that word up). Mostlikely came from an injury or fall, possibly in a pasture where his hind end slid the wrong way – out of synch with his front end. Knowing how wild he can be when he wants I wasn’t surprised. She recommended a chiropractor who’s name I quickly forgot. Will have to get that again… She also noted the muscle wastage all along his back when I pointed it out and recommended her favorite bareback pad (BestFriend Barebackpad). She feels there’s some muscle wastage on top of his quarters as well but that regular hillwork will fill those in.

Diet
His hooves were definitely in that terrible shape from lack of nutrition – plain and simple. Grain just doesn’t cut it (like at Leslie’s) and even the good quality hay at Adrian’s wasn’t enough. To get everything in good healthy growing condition again she suggested a ration balancer, surprise surprise. Needless to say I’ll have him 100% on the Gro N Win again ASAP.

On first glance D’s hooves still seem too long – the toes are. But I can definitely see a difference today in the way he uses his hooves, with the lowered heels. In time I know the toe will be able to be taken off, just not now. He now lands heel first and I see the roll-the transfer of the weight from front to back. Almost a rocking of the hoof… but no straining or digging like if he had a long toe on a 100% flat hoof.

She also was quick to say she’s willing to train anyone who is interested. My boyfriend showed some mild interest in learning and I am definitely interested, so she told us she’s looking to train apprentices. I really should look into this, as she’s moving to Montana next year… o.o talk about timing. ;)

Questioning Everything

Starting out with some slight depression this morning. I was in Chattanooga all weekend and haven't seen D since Saturday morn. Atleast I had time to let our less-than-stellar interaction sink in and mostly roll off...

(Quick back track)
Saturday started with a beautiful day - him walking away from me when I went to get him. Then he refused to hold his feet up for longer than 2 seconds despite the fact that they're long and cracking and desperately needed rasping. He cooaperated part of the time for treats but still fussed, nearly getting me in the face 3 times with his front hoof. I finally gave up and finished up and turned him back out.

Anyways. I've been frustrated with D's lack of energy/will to do anything this past week or so. Sure following me around the ring is a start, but there is no spark, no nothing. He rarely focuses on me at all. I'll catch him watching me out of the corner of his eyes as he walks around the arena, but that's all the signal I get. And he mainly comes up to me because he's bored or wants treats. -__- *sigh* Oh how I would love to hop on his back and us gallop across the fields happily with him shaking his mane and grunting like he used to... I'm missing that right now.

In talking about his lack of attention to me that brings up another BIG point of frustration: the respect issue. I know he doesn't respect me, and despite me working on the windmill arms now when he gets in my space I can't do it all the time and he also doesn't always respond to that. Hoping some of the AND members and myself can figure this out... The gate is a huge point of contention and maybe the truth is I'm just not patient enough. (still?! You're killin me here ;p ) I've worked (what I thought was extensively) with him about the gate, waiting, not always grazing, etc. It just doesn't stay "good" though even after a good session. I don't know how I'm screwing it up though as I can't have 4 hands to deal with a cranky gate and a large pushy horse while holding onto him so he doesn't bolt etc. O_o'''' Maybe the answer lies in my own patience, making gate equitte the lesson of the day until we see true progress. I'm still kind of a mess with him: one minute it's non confrontational, non preassure body communication to ask for what I need (move away from me etc.) and the next when he crosses the line I do something that makes him throw his head up or I start applying preassure on the halter or his chest. Very frustrating, I don't feel like I have a proper "new habit" to replace each old reaction I gravitate towards when he does something I don't like. I've only replaced some of my habits, so I revert back to them when I don't have an immediate answer for his behavior, because oddly the last thing I feel like I should do is stand still and do nothing.

Some people did remind me on the MB about the head being held high releasing adrenaline and causing tension mentally as well as physically. With as much as D throws his head up or raises it to get it away from people, I imagine he's pretty tense even when I think he's not. Despite the domaneering manner and insistance that Adrian exerted over him this past winter, the ultimate product of having D lower his head for a person during haltering & leading had a nice effect on him. He was often very calm with little head swinging. He's never hit me with his head when it was wither height or below. *thinks about that* Playing with the head down response has started dancing in my mind again this morning... although I'm probably going to have to find a new way to get him to do it considering the somewhat firm poll preassure is something he'll most likely reject now that he's been able to say 'No' so much.

Also another random idea occurred to me: Chase the Tiger in the pasture? even if D didn't take me up on the offer (as he still seems to have very little interest in the thing on the ground) I'm sure Levi the colt would. Would watching other horses frolick and play encourage Diego to become more open to the idea? Will have to test this theory...