Update on Training

The weekends are awesome! We don't have as much time limit and we can work each horse for as long as they each need. Some times that is for an hour of long riding where you can work on more difficult things, or it might be a good 30 minutes of training on the basics. It's a good training session if the human and the horse are calmer at the end of the session than they were at the beginning. 

Shine: We love having weekend time to ride together. I tacked Shine up in his stall and walked him out to the field to mount. He stood calmly while I mounted. I rode him at the walk around the field, picturing myself riding in the arena that we hope to work on this Spring/Summer. The field is still uneven, but he doesn't seem to mind. We then trotted, I have been working on keeping my balance centered and ready in case he stumbled. The bird were calling the trees, but he stayed focused on me. We even did some cantering. While cantering, I'm working on him staying on the path I tell him to. He has a tendency to canter on the diagonal rather than keeping his hind end in the right alignment with his head, neck, and front feet. He only does it on the same side, so I think he's trying to get to the other end of the field because he stayed lined up when I direct him over there...We also worked some in the barnyard. Since it has sand, the footing stays more even and is easier to ride in all the time. It helps to work on things with Shine in different places on the property. He learns he can be calm anywhere. I like the barnyard because it's fenced and we can work on hard stops and turns. He finally understands the rollback and has done it perfect several times in a row...I also had time to work with him walking past the house, like he does when we go get the mail out front. He was having a tendency to not want to walk back toward the ranch area when we were on the way back, so I walked a short distance and turned around then walked a short distance back and turned around. I want to work on that a few more times before we just walk straight out to get the mail...Shine is also over his "fear" of plastic bags. There were a few of them blowing across the yard, so later in the day, I put on his halter and we went to grab them from the field. He followed along right beside me and even stood still while we worked a plastic bag through the fence that had become caught on the opposite side.

Soot: He has been mostly calm during the weeknight training sessions, but over the weekend we were able to get him moving. Once he was moving he didn't want to stop. Heehee! We didn't do any pulling yet this weekend, but we did get the saddle on him again. The stirrups are more English style and come off quite easily when he's cantering with no person on his back. They flew off a few times. We got him cantering which he probably finds easier when he can really see where he's going. We still don't have arena or area lights to use during the dark evenings. He wanted to keep stopping when we started off in the round pen, but we kept him going and then he didn't want to stop. We worked on having him continue to change directions and stay out away from us, so he could really pick up the canter. We worked him until he wanted to stop, then we kept him going for a few extra minutes. When we were cooling him off, I mounted up and rode in the saddle at the walk while we lunged. That saddle is different than the other saddles we use, so it will help the more comfortable I am riding in it. I think we'll do that during his cool down for the next few times we use it. At first I was pulling on his mane to keep balanced, it felt like I was moving all over. Soon though, I realized I wasn't pulling anymore. It takes some getting used to because his stride is so much longer than Shine's. He was much better when walking him back to his stall at the end.

Serita: She still comes to greet me when I enter her stall. Getting her halter on is easy. She actually puts her nose into it sometimes. I am still working her on the basics having her step forward when I tap her hip and doing that multiple times in a row. The key there is to keep tapping until she actually steps forward then stop tapping immediately. Sometimes I tap for a long time before she moves forward and other times she steps forward right away. When cleaning up her stall the other day she came forward and reach out like she was trying to get me to leave. I decided that to break this habit, before it even got started, I would tie her up while I clean. She stands calmly the whole time and will let me walk right up to her afterwards or even let her loose from outside the stall. After she tried to pull away from me when I walked her outside her pen, I haven't taken her out again. I have instead practiced leading her around her pen, stopping and moving, then stopping again to get her to behave correctly in the controlled environment before taking her out again. I am setting her up to succeed and answer correctly every time. She continues to improve with holding her feet up while I clean them and will stand still most of the time even when I just put the lead rope up over her back. She has a tender stomach and twitches a lot when I brush her under there. I am working on having her stand still by brushing her softly and then stopping before she moves away. Her tendency to move is slowly improving for sure.

Update on our Equines

Training horses during the week, limits the time we have available to spend with each one. We have found it better to work them each a little every day than take turns on who we work which days. So, on Saturday we set aside the whole morning and part of the afternoon to work with each horse for as long as they each need.

With Soot we spent time to enjoy working on techniques while he pulls the tire. The single tire might be heavy for us to carry, but easy for him to pull even as it fills with dirt. He can sure pull it with ease. We still aren't riding him, till April 2021, but we'd like his legs to continue to bulk up and get stronger. Another stride forward with him is his improvement while being led. He listens and walks slower when we ask him to walk slower, We have even worked in the round pen to have him back up next to us when we back up. He's not completely consistent with that yet, but we think he's understanding the idea.

With Shine, we finally had the availability to ride in the arena. During the week, we don't always have an arena that is available to work in. Saturday we mounted up and headed into the arena. With Shine, I am working on him having the correct body curve. While going right (center to the left), he much more easily keeps his head toward the center while staying on the railing or following the line I have asked him to stay on. Am I asking him to go that way more often because it's easier? To the left (center to the right), he tends to turn away from the railing so he keeps the opposite body curve. I feel we are improving though. We rode in the roping arena too, and I worked at the far end by the shoots. At first he wasn't listening to me, startling at an open gate at that end. After a few repetitions, he was listening and keeping the correct body curve when I asked him to go to that end from either direction. Because the arena was empty, I also got to ride him at a fast canter, that was super enjoyable for both of us.

With Serita, she is still only 7 months old, so we are working mostly on teaching her to lead and let her energy out when we get to the round pen. We are also trying to get her food portions right as right now she is a little overweight. When we get her down to the correct weight we are sure she will have all the energy she needs. And did I mention she isn't afraid of anything? From the lunge crop to a loud plastic shavings bag. She is fine with anything around her back and legs.

 

Golden Charmer

Golden Charmer was another racehorse who lived with us for several years. He was a Thoroughbred of 5 years old when we first met him on an October 1st evening. 

First Day we met Golden Charmer

 

We enjoyed having a second horse to train and ride, but he was quite a bit different to train then others we have had over the years. Being a Thoroughbred, he had long legs and a narrow body, which felt much different, especially at the center, than our other horses.

Since he came off the racetrack later in life, he was more "set in his ways" making it harder to work on his conditioned response. 

A conditional response is an interesting concept. You can't tell a horse to not get scared, but you can condition his or her response, so they will do what you want even when they are scared.

One of the last days we owned "Charmer"

 

After training and riding Charmer for over 6 years, we sold him. Last we knew, he was enjoying his life as an easygoing trail horse.

September 13, 2020

Now with the newest addition to the barn, we have three horses at very different training levels. This works great for us because it helps us have more variety of training each day. We can go from beginning training on the "go forward" cue with Serita, to the flying lead changes with Shine. Then jump over and work with Soot on pulling the tire.

Each horse has a different learning style too, much like people do. Having these horses at the same time also helps us keep our minds open to different ways of training that might work better for different tasks we want them to learn.

Here is a recent update on each horse:

Shine: He is enjoying our time together, usually meeting me at the gate when I enter. He has good energy. Working on having him bend in the correct direction when I am mounted. Have worked on the barrel pattern and he is getting better. Have also done some pole bending practice.

Shine and Soot: (8/3) We did Soot and Shine together. I rode Shine bareback and Sheena led Soot. We walked all over the SPVR property then to the round pen in the corner. We did some with working them together in there, but then one of us waited in the middle while the other one worked. Shine did a good job and listened quite well, both when Soot was being worked and when he was just standing there. Soot was a little distracted when Shine was being worked, but then listened better when Shine was just standing in the center of the round pen.

Soot: Soot is getting more confident in pulling the tire. He pulls it with almost no effort now and seems to love it! Getting better control of turns and practically drags the whole round pen until it's flat!

Serita: She loves to be petted and loves attention, though she has learned to calmly wait her turn while we work Shine and Soot. She is learning to more consistently "go forward" and to hold her feet up in preparation for hoof trimming.

June 13, 2020

Shine

Shine is visually more balanced after doing some bending practice for a few days (see * below for details on the bending). It’s a good way to wake up the muscles, get the blood flowing, and the brain engaged. Shine has always liked groundwork, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I think, especially with Shine, that having a groundwork day once or twice per month is really going to help him stay nimble.

 * We do the bending in their stalls, so they don’t get going too fast. We use the western split reins looped through the cinch to remind the horse to keep his head toward the center. The inside rein is much shorter than the outside rein, causing the horse to get a pull on the inside if they don’t keep the bend in their body. We suggest starting out with only a slight pull and working up to him keeping his head more toward the center.

Soot

Soot is getting much better at leading. We usually don’t go too far before we work him, but from his stall to the close round pen has been working well. Been working on walk/trot transitions and trot/canter transitions. The trot/canter transitions still need more work. We have been using the nylon halter for Soot, but we recently switched back to the original rope halter. We do have more control with the rope halter, and we get a better response rate from him too. We have also figured out how to allow him to pull the tire evenly by using 2 calf ropes (one of each side). That way the tire follows along behind him rather than to the inside.

April 21, 2018

Training Shine has been a joy to train since he was 6 months old. It was been a fun adventure!

I was invited to ride a friend’s horse about a week ago. His horse is almost 6 years old and has had really good training. His mouth is sensitive to light touches and he responds to light pressure on his sides. It was fun and informative to ride the horse for even a few minutes, because I was able to take pointers from that short ride and use them in my training of Shine.

Today I worked with Shine to have him listen to the leg cues. I was careful to not give him mixed signals and to quickly correct my cue if I started to push too quickly for a response. Shine is definitely picking it up quickly and it is clear he is trying to understand what I want him to do.

When I was on my friend’s horse, he instructed me on how to get the horse to spin on his barrel. Though I didn’t accomplish a fast spin, it was still an awesome feeling to get the horse to perform that maneuver. I have never done that before. J

Though Shine is not spinning on his barrel yet, I did get him to move his front to the right and the left with only light pressure on one side then the other. He will probably be ready to spin in no time. Heehee!