Rode at Piper Ridge

Jaye and Pilot picked us up today and we went to Piper Ridge to work on some of the stuff we
learned from Libby. The first thing I did was to work Chance in the round pen. He was a little distracted and despite the warm weather had no trouble kicking up his heals. It wasn't all extra energy, I don't think he was feeling all that good about what he thought might happen today. So after tacking him up I brought him back to the round pen to help him feel okay about the saddle. He did some crow hopping at first but settled pretty quickly. He was feeling better so I
felt okay about bringing him into the ring.

I did a little rope work with him and very soon felt okay about getting on. Although I have to admit I had butterflies. I had not had the opportunity to put what I learned into practice yet, I was going on faith that this would work and that I would be able to prevent a wreck instead of waiting for one to happen. The entire time we rode Chance was pretty focused on Pilot. I can lead him anywhere alone or with a horse, being on his back is totally different. He becomes very anxious and worries about everything. My hopes for this day where not only to prevent a wreck but to help Chance learn to trust me.

After a short time I started to feel more and more confident. He was looking at everything on the outside of the ring, I just continued to do what Libby taught me. I knew it was working because we were both starting to feel better.

We had a great moment when Jaye and Pilot left the ring. Chance was tense and I could feel the anxiety coming from him. I just kept him busy, lets go look at this barrel, lets go check on Pilot, lets do some S turns, lets go check on Pilot, we were able to get a little further away each time . The great moment was the last time we walked away, he dropped his head, sighed and I felt him with me. His mind was with me not Pilot. For the 1st time we were a team and I was able to help my horse feel okay.

Happy Anniversary Bud!

Chance has been with me for 1 year today.

Libby's Clinic

It is Tuesday and I am exhausted. I think I have picked up a little virus, not enough to put me down and out, but I have a sore throat and am very low energy. This is probably a blessing in disguise, Chance's feet are sore from the trim he had on Sat. morning and he needs a little break. He had chipped his right front and it needed some trimming before I took him to Piper Ridge. If I was feeling good I would be chomping on the bit to play with him.

I have thought about little else than the clinic. I chose to have a couple of private lessons with Libby and just watch the group stuff. After Sat morning I knew I had made the right decision. I understood what they were doing, but there was something I wasn't 'getting'. And I didn't know what that was. The main purpose of this weekend was to learn to recognize right before your horse was getting scared and to help him at that moment. Before it shows up and there was a wreck or a bigger problem. The people in the group were passing sticks back and forth, working on straightness and keeping the horses on a loose rein while picking up and putting the sticks down. Jaye was working on helping her horse become more comfortable with the other horses. I just kept watching and trusted that I would 'get it' when I was ready to 'get it'.

I realized a couple of days before the clinic that I wasn't even sure of how to introduce new things to Chance. He was afraid of everything, but at the same time he isn't really afraid of much. This doesn't make any sense at all and I felt stuck. How can I help him if I don't understand the problem? And how can I support him when I need support?

What did I learn in the 1st lesson?

1. I am not letting my horse think things through. I make a request and almost immediately back it up with a swing of the lead rope. If I ask and wait he responds with the correct answer most of the time. So, let him learn to think for himself. Be patient and ask as softly as I can.

2. My horse isn't afraid of things. He does shut down when tacking him up but once the saddle is on and he is exposed to things he still isn't afraid. He even had an umbrella over his head. I wish I had the camera ready for that one! Everything was done on the ground today. Tomorrow I will ask Libby to ride him and see if there is a difference in his behavior.

3. No routines with Chance. He will learn to depend on them. Do something different every time we work together. Make sure the feel between us is good. What we do is not nearly as important as how it feels between us to continue building on the relationship.

What did I learn in the 2nd lesson? - Libby rode Chance to get a feel for him to help both of us.

1. He is worried about everything under saddle. He has lost his ability to trust his rider. 'Things' don't worry him, the unknown does. He is always worried about the horrible thing waiting around the corner because he has lost faith in his rider and does not believe his rider can keep him safe. I am sure that I have added to his fear by putting him in situations he wasn't ready for. Although it was done with a false understanding of what he could
handle and may also be the result of prior treatment from others, I am now responsible for helping him through this.

Libby rode him and showed me how to help him when he is looking at something that scares him. This was difficult at first because he was looking in both directions, afraid everywhere. He needs constant support, but not a lot of it. She took him WAY out back around the fields. He went with some reservations, but after feeling confident with Libby's ability to keep him safe he was happy to take her.

Now I get it! It's not something you can really put into words, at least I can't. The support is always going to be different, it is all about feel and the relationship between the horse and rider. I now know how to redirect him when he is looking at something that is making him uncomfortable before it turns into a bad situation. If he can't take his mind of it, move his body. I heard Libby say this over and over again to so many people but it took sitting on my horse and actually doing it before I truly understood it.

I will start doing this on the ground before I get in the saddle. And I won't ride alone for a while. I feel so much better! Fear can be replaced with knowledge and tools. At least I hope I feel that way the next time I ride him. But I do know that Chance and I are really on our way to many happy years together.

Saddled Up and Rode

I wanted to see how Chance would react to the saddle and his new bit before this weekend. We did some free work last night and again this morning. He is doing great. He wants to use his left eye more than the right, I now have some good exercises to work on that. So after the free work today I brought him over to the tack room to saddle him up. As soon as he saw all the stuff his expression change from care free to lets shut down. And thats what he wanted to do. I worked slow, started with brushing and scratching him in his favorite places. Saddle pad on and off, walk around the around the paddock and started again. When it was time to put the saddle on he wanted to walk away. I did more free work with the saddle and he was fine. He never seemed physically uncomfortable at all. I started with the bridle and he tried to avoid the bit. Again I worked slow, scratching his neck, pulling the bit away when he relaxed. Finally he accepted it but with hesitation and he almost bit my fingers. Not intentionally, he just never really opened his mouth very wide. I was feeling very relaxed and decided he looked okay enough to ride. So, I hoped on. I let him choose where he wanted to go (staying inside the ring of course), we did some one rein stops and that was about it. He was trying to drop his head almost to the ground. This was making me a little nervous because of his tendency to crow hop and buck when he has a nutty! So I only let him drop it to a certain point. After about 10 minutes I got off. He stayed relaxed the entire time.

Groundwork

I spent some time with Chance tonight reviewing the groundwork that we know. It amazes me the he was better than the last time we worked. No shutting down, his feet were not stuck at all, and backing him is getting better also. The only difficulty he had was switching eyes. He was pretty hooked on with the left and didn't want to use the right one much at all. We will work on that tomorrow.

Lightning and Thunder and Chairs, Oh My!

Lexie is staying with us while Diane and Derek are in England. She suffers so badly with anxiety. I think she is also a little depressed and now add a very loud thunderstorm. About the only thing that helps is her crate covered with a blanket which is at Diane's. So, I hear the thunder and see the clouds, I have time to run to the barn to bring Chance in AND get back with the crate before the storm hits. Right? Maybe not.
I make it to Chance with his halter, a few rain drops. We leave the paddock, a few more rain drops. I decide to run and ask him to trot with me despite the fact that I am in flip flops. The sky opens up on us and the wind picks up hard. We make it to the stall as the first bolt of lightning hits and as I turn him around the white chair in front of the shed goes flying. We both handled it pretty well. Chance was scared and I think his feet may have gotton stuck, but maybe he just decided that running out into the bad weather just wasn't a good idea. So he looked and snorted, (snorting is good, right?) I remembered to breathe while petting his neck reassuring him that he was fine. He looked at me a couple of times, his eyes softened and he dropped his head to eat some hay. I stayed with him until the storm blew by, about 10 minutes. I told him that I was so proud of how well he is doing. And that in time when we are BOTH brave enough we will be doing everything we ever dreamed of. We are in this together and we are doing very well. Shadow looked at us through the crack in the stall wall and said he will do whatever he can to help us. I love days like this!

Oh, I did make it back with the crate and I'm soaked. A little to late for this storm, but I think we have more on the way. I could use some help with Lexie. I want to be supportive of her without encouraging the anxiety. She takes on so much of Diane's stress. I think her purpose here is to help Diane, but she has such a hard time relaxing. I think I'll try and give her 3 weeks of doggy spa treatment. Lots of walks, playing and maybe a job. I could use help at the barn keeping whatever animal is visiting at night away. Lexie can mark her territory everywhere down there and that would help. Maybe it would be good for her and Chance if we went on some walks together.

Anybody have any ideas?

Well, enough for now, I've got to get back to work.

Breathing and Expectations

First, Chance is standing square. I'm not really sure when it happened, I think it has been a gradual change, but today he was perfectly square. I asked him to square up a couple of times, he did it perfectly both times.

Second, he is such a wonderful teacher. When cleaning his back foot today I could feel him getting fidgety, so I started to rush expecting him to drop it any minute. I also realized I stopped breathing with my rushing. And he didn't let me down. He dropped it almost on cue. Then I remembered that if I want softness I need to be soft. So I asked again and very nicely he gave me his foot. This time I expected him to hold it up while I 'softly' cleaned it and continued to breathe. And he didn't let me down this time either! He held it nicely until I gave it back to him.

Piper Ridge next weekend

I'm taking Chance to Piper Ridge next weekend for a couple of lessons with Libby. I am really looking forward to spending some time with my horse. July was very busy and I haven't done much more than feed him, clean his feet and walk him to the bigger paddock. He seems to be in a very good place right now but who wouldn't be with a month off? I'm also a little nervous about taking him, maybe I'll feel better once I spend some time with him this week.

It's Raining

There are not a lot of things more relaxing than waking up on a summer morning to the sound of rain. And there are not a lot of things more difficult to do than get out of bed on a summer morning to the sound of rain. Even the dogs don't want to do anything today!

More progress

I cleaned Chance's feet today. He was like an old pro. He picked up all 4 feet on his own, was able to hold the fronts up himself and only did a little leaning on me with the backs. He is becoming more balanced and patient while I work on his feet. I think he was proud of himself, and he should be!

Oh Shadow!

Having an older horse can offer some great benefits. They are usually well trained, been there done that, they don't have as much energy as the younger ones and are happy to hang out when life gets too busy for us humans.

Having an older pony like Shadow can be challenging. He is mostly grumpy and set in his ways. He bites, pins his ears back, and wants the world to think he is the toughest guy around. But I love him just the way he is. He is an open book, no baggage (thanks to his previous owner of 25 years) We have a connection that can never be matched. We used to ride everywhere, and he will do anything for me. As crabby as he is I know that he loves me. Maybe because I understand him and would never want him any other way.

When he decided not to take his medicine anymore I honored that. And it really makes no sense to pay the high price for the meds just to throw them out. It doesn't matter what kind of food I put it in, he refuses it. The option was to put it in a syringe everyday and give it to him that way. That would have been a horrible thing to do to him. Some horses could probably handle it, not Shadow. It would kill his spirit, he doesn't deserve that. It has been a few months now and I'm not sure how much longer this great little pony will be with me. His weight has leveled off, he is still too thin. Increasing his grain and adding the oil did cause his insulin to go up. Laminitis started to set in last Wed. He was walking slower and shifting the weight back and forth on his front feet. I gave him some bute and waited. It didn't take long for him to improve. David and I left for a couple of days while I had people checking on him. A gave him 2 more doses of bute and J stopped by to take a look at him. He pulled though it without foundering again. It's been a few days without the bute and he seems fine.

On Sunday morning when I went out to feed there was C and Chance but no Shadow! As I came around the corner I noticed almost all the fencing was down in the ponies paddock. C was pacing back and forth at what was the gate. What an angel, even though there was no fence he stayed in the paddock. Afraid to cross the invisible line. Chance was in his paddock talking to me like he always does, "Where's breakfast?" Then I found him. The little sh-- was standing in the middle of the green lush grass enjoying his breakfast. He looked at me as if to say "What's your problem?" I walked over with the halter and he took off in his cute little trot to the gate at the road. Thank goodness it was shut because I know I would have been on another pony hunt in the woods. I picked some clover and the temptation was too much for him. He happily ate it while I put his halter on and brought him back to the paddock. Everyone ate hay while I did fence repairs. So I waited for the laminitis to start up again, but so far so good. It's been over 24 hours now so I think we escaped another close call. Never a dull moment.

Saying Goodbye

I have never been good at saying goodbye. When I was younger I would go on trips and hated saying goodbye to my mother and end up homesick. Then I didn't want to go home because I didn't want to say goodbye to whoever I was visiting. I get so emotionally attatched to people, my animals and sometimes even to places. I am trying to look at saying goodbye in a different way. Having difficulty with this really means that we have good connections, have made new friends, or just really had a great time. Goodbye isn't always goodbye forever, but it still hurts.

I didn't realize how much the N.Irish kids would effect me. The group that came this year was an awesome group of teens. It's been my 1st year involved in MICP and hopefully not my last. I would love to have the kids back next year and do some of the things we didn't have time for this summer. The house is quiet now, even with the 4 of us here. They moved in like they have always lived here. The fit was perfect. We were challenged by some things but the outcome was always good. I think we all learned from the experience and I hope I have somehow made a positive influence in thier lives.