Working cows!!!!

I took Mac to a trail clinic on Saturday - not for the "trail" experience, per se, because he has that down pat (duh!). What he needs help with is going new places and being around new horses and dealing with whatever that might bring . . . like, I don't know . . . mares?!

So of course there were mares there - three of them. One of whom he fell in love with right away - a little chestnut Peruvian Paso mare (or was it Paso Fino?). There were about 8 riders on a variety of horses - another mustang gelding, 2 QH mares, 2 QH geldings, an Arab gelding, and the little gaited mare. We started the morning off with ground work and Mac was fine. We bridled our horses and got on and went out into a huge hay field to warm up under saddle. Mac right away wanted to be with the mare, but the owner of the mare had her own problems so she went and found a spot away from us where she could work on her stuff. I got really good help from Susan on how to deal with his distracted-ness and also high energy in that type of situation. I thought maybe I should be turning him in small circles to get his attention on me but she said to actually make him work on a bigger circle, since he has energy he wants to and needs to use, but don't let him get straight - keep him bent. So we did that and he settled down and everybody was ready to move on.

Next we crossed a river and went to a sandy beach next to the river that had a nice track for trotting and cantering. Susan was very clever in planning it this way as the sand was a bit on the deep side so it would tire the horses out and slow them down a bit. We started going two at a time away from the group and then making a small downhill turn in the sand to continue on the track and return to the group. We trotted out and cantered back and Mac started his bucking that he does on the trails with the other horses. It wasn't bad to start so I just went with it, but after we did a couple rounds and moved on to the next exercise - horses going out in staggered starts so that one horse would go out 1/4 mile, then the next horse would follow, then another horse would follow a bit after that - then Mac really kicked his bucking into high gear and I almost came off. Thankfully my one-rein stop saved me! Susan had me canter circles as other horses came and went and then we worked on half halting and letting go, which turned out to be the key. The more we try to hold them back, the more pissed off they get - but if we half halt and show them the pace where we want them to be, and then let them go, they will better stay there and be happier than if we're just hanging on their faces. Something I of course do in the arena but seem to forget if I'm feeling nervous in a group of horses! We finally had a good round and everyone called it quits on that exercise. Then we went to the river to let the horses drink and splash around a bit.

Went back to the trailers for lunch and I untacked Mac and let him have a roll in the round pen. Hosed him off, tied him up to let him dry, and put out water and hay for him while we went inside to eat. I always worry about leaving horses unattended, but he was just fine.

After lunch was trail obstacle and cow-working time! All the horses were tired out from the morning work so they were very well-behaved for the afternoon. The trail obstacles weren't really any big deal (although a couple horses did have problems with some stuff) - walking over a tarp, walking over logs, walking through brush, walking over a fake bridge...stuff like that. The trail that we followed led us to another big pasture area where there were cows. I've never been around cows before with Mac so I wasn't sure how he'd respond, but he didn't seem to care. After the first loud "moooooooooooo" with Mac just chillin', I knew we'd be fine.

We went into the cow field and Susan told us about moving cows around. There was a big tree in the middle of the pasture and we were to move all the cows from one end of the pasture to around the tree. It was great fun! Once we got them around the tree, we cut through the herd one horse/rider at a time and parted the cows just a bit so the horses would be used to having cows all around them. Mac did great and I had a lot of fun trying to pick a cow and move it. I've always thought cutting would be fun and now I'm even more interested in giving it a try!! We moved the herd again to the far end of the pasture, turned them around, and they went running to the opposite end when one of them started running. So we moved them again back to the tree and again took turns moving through the herd.

Susan was taking pictures on her phone but they came out so tiny. You can make out that this is me and Mac because of his coloring, but otherwise you can't really see us!

All in all it was a great day, but we were both pooped at the end!!!

First jumping lesson!!

Today was Mac's first jumping lesson! He did great - he was a perfect gentleman and went over everything I pointed him at. Sometimes it was a little sticky in the beginning, but the second time around he was always great. He did things he's never done before - his first grid, barrels, a vertical with "stuff" underneath it, a gate - and he was a cool cucumber about it.

Here are some videos:

Cross rail:



Cross rail grid:



Grid with vertical/gate:



And the last jump which was a vertical with some weird blocks underneath:



I lifted some stills from the videos:

Fun with plastic bags

Mac and I are headed for another training session tomorrow so I thought I'd do some practice in the arena yesterday. I started with ground work on the lunge line, working with the lunge whip with a plastic baggie on the end. I can have him stand still and swing the baggie all around his head, over his face, over his back, around his legs, under his belly, etc. But when I do these things and he is moving, it is a different story. It is really interesting how he compartmentalizes something. Standing still with a baggie flapping around is okay. Moving with a baggie flapping around is not. So we practiced having the lash of the lunge whip laying across his back with the baggie flopping wherever it may - next to the saddle, next to his butt, on his back, moving/falling - and having him move off. That would be fine until I moved the baggie again (meaning, while he is walking or trotting I lift the whip and the baggie moves) - then it is scary, even though the baggie was just flopping in his peripheral vision. Sigh. We got to a good stopping place and I climbed on.

We did a bit of w/t/c work with the lunge whip and baggie inside the arena gate, which got some googly-eyed looks from Mac, and then I had the brilliant idea of grabbing the whip and dragging the baggie behind us for our cool-down walk. Wouldn't you know it, that was not a problem at all! I first had him stand while I got the whip, and I made the baggie swoosh all around him. Then I put both reins in one hand, the whip handle in the other hand, and asked him to walk out while dragging the baggie next to us, flopping it up in front of him, draping it over his butt, etc. Did that in both directions with the baggie on each side in each direction (so four times total) and called it a day. He was really good about that, I was pleased! I'll be able to say I did some fun homework when we go for our next lesson.

Today - off to the trails! :-)

New video!

My mom got me a new video camera for my birthday and was kind enough to video my ride yesterday. After much cursing, fist-shaking, pouting, stomping, and more cursing, I finally got the video edited and up on YouTube.

Fall is here. The winds have picked up and there is a chill in the air...and up Mac's butt. ;-p He was mostly good yesterday but kept spooking in the corner where the deer were migrating behind trees, stomping through our property. Of course, these are the deer that Mac grazes in the pasture with, but when they are jumping behind trees then they are the boogeydeer. His spooking was cleverly edited out so all you see is Mr. Good Mac.



The quality of the camera is great and I grabbed a couple stills from the video.

Thanks for the videoing, mom!

Hey Sexy Lady!!!!

This week's lesson at Susan's was perfect. While the first two times Mac was on his (mostly) best behavior, this week was different . . . there was a Haflinger mare *in heat*, no less, tied outside of the round pen while he was having his lesson. AND, some joggers went by on the path directly behind the round pen. This was a perfect scenario and was directly related to the problems we've had: how to act or react to a sexy lady or scary distractions when it is time to work.

Susan worked on the ground a lot and this time he wasn't so willing to give up control of where his feet were but he did come around. After a while she got on and got some lovely canter work from him and when I got on he felt great.

Perhaps next time we'll graduate to moving into the arena which is away from the other horses!

New training tactics

After our last show fiasco, I decided I'd take Mac out of dressage training for a little while. Really this doesn't mean too much except not having a weekly lesson - he lives at home, he's not ridden by anyone else but me, and he's not in a disciplined program. But I figured that we needed a change of focus to get through the naughtiness he exhibits when he gets scared or excited - he needs to learn how to control his emotions (with my help, of course).

After much searching and reference checking I found Susan Wirgler and took him over for an evaluation a couple weeks ago. She agreed that he does have holes in his training, although there were some things that he was good about and she said he's got a good brain and is a nice horse (she hasn't seen his studdish side yet!). She did some basic ground work with him - yielding shoulders, yielding haunches, working with a rope, just general foot work - and he responded well.

Since our first appointment, I took him back to the place of the first bucking incident where I came off. There was a dressage clinic going on that I audited and I brought him along for the ride. He was pretty good - I rode him twice on Friday for 30 minutes each time and once on Saturday. He (of course) fell in love with a Haflinger mare who (of course) was his neighbor. On Saturday when we were riding, she was also out - he was making googly eyes at her so I took the opportunity to school and work on getting his attention. Once his focus turned to me I got off. We hung out in the same general area as her, but when he started vocalizing a bit, I took him away and walked him around the property. It was a good schooling session.

Today I took him back to Susan's and we did more work in the round pen but this time she got on him and I got on him after her. She started with a lunge whip with a baggie on the end, but she didn't chase him with it. She just stood in the middle of the circle and moved it around. He was pretty agitated at first - uneven in his gait, tense, head high, going back and forth between trot and canter.

Once he settled down, his body softened and he became more relaxed.

After going both ways, he got to stand there and relax.

The next exercise was for him to stand there while Susan swung the whip around and draped it over his neck and head - here he's alert and a bit curious, but he stood well for the whole time.

After this exercise she bridled him up and she got on . . . and commented that he has a great walk! She did some walk, trot, canter exercises in both directions - mainly working on forward - and then I got on.

Wow! He felt so soft and supple! It really was amazing and I was so happy to feel the change in his body. I think this training will be really good for him and it is obviously something he missed early on and something I'm not skilled enough to do on my own. I'm looking forward to learning some new skills!

Now he's home and we'll have another lesson in a couple weeks. In the meantime, I'll continue to take him to new and different places and see how we can work through it together.

Mr. Mac's Wild Ride

Well, we ventured to another show a couple weekends ago. I had signed up for the show a few weeks ago but due to the fires that were burning in that area, I waited until the last minute to decide if I'd actually go or not. The show organizer sent me a note and let me know that the winds had changed and it was clear and not smoky in the area, so I decided to go.

I should have gone the night before but I didn't. We trailered over the morning of the show and I walked Mac around a bit and he seemed fine. He's been to this place a few times now and I thought that it would be okay if we got there early in the morning. And in the beginning, it was fine. Got him settled, did some yoga and meditation, then tacked him up and warmed up for our first class. He was so good and quiet in the warmup that I offered to go in early. I spoke too soon. Just as it was my turn to go in, a certain horse (and I don't know *what* it was about that horse) caught Mac's attention and got him riled up. He was very naughty in our pre-starting around-the-arena warmup (what IS that called, anyway?) when he let out a huge buck. But then the judge rang the bell and we had to go in. The first test was very tense - he wasn't listening to my leg at all and so we were drifting sideways, he wouldn't bend through the corner, etc. All the things we had been practicing at home flew out the window. We got a 60.5% which was good for a yellow ribbon. But I didn't feel good about it.

Before the next class I did a take-no-prisoners warmup and he was GREAT! Had comments from others in the arena how cute he was and what a nice horse he was and I was so happy with how he was behaving. Things seemed to be going fine when we went in for our second test and then BAM!!!! The second half of our first canter circle was a disaster - something had caught his eye and he ran in the opposite direction and then threw a bucking fit. After getting him stopped I asked the judge where she'd like me to start. She and her scribe said "wow, I can't believe you stayed on!" She told me to do the circle again. Again I got a bucking fit, but it didn't last as long. I told her I'd withdraw from the class.

The judge was very nice and accommodating and asked if I'd like to stay in the arena to school him, so I did. Guess I shouldn't have withdrawn after all because we were able to complete the rest of the test without incident. I wouldn't have scored well, obviously, but I would have liked to get scores so I could get her feedback. Oh well. We finished. My husband was proud of me for not having a meltdown, for being a good sport and finishing, and holding my head high.

As a result, though, I realized Mac needs more work with busy stuff. His issues all seem to revolve around one of two things: mares or horses running around him (like running, not just cantering under saddle in the arena). I'm interviewing trainers to see if there's somewhere I can send him for a couple months so he can be put into situations that will trigger his outbursts and then he can learn how to work through them. I want someone close enough that I can go and work with him a couple days a week so I also can be part of the training program.

Until then, I'm suspending my dressage lessons, although I am hauling him all over the place. Next week we'll go audit a dressage camp, then we're going to go visit a friend and go trail riding, and then maybe go to a show and just hang out without showing. He needs more exposure before we put ourselves in front of another judge.

I will say I had the most lovely ride on him yesterday, so I know not all is lost!