A Surprise Addition...

THE WANDERING WAYFARER

            We headed up towards north to enjoy a day filled with crafting art at a beautiful home up near Red Bluff, CA. Recharging our creative spirit surrounded by creative and fun people (and enjoying some great food too) was our plan. To say the day was “fun” is a bit of an understatement but to be sure fun, food and fellowship was had!

            We were blessed to hear a story about a horse who wandered on to our host’s property. He literally was out standing in their back field munching on grass and looking a bit lost. Being the awesome folks our hosts are, they took in this horse (they have horses so they were set up to take in this wanderer) and attempted to find his humans. No one came forward. These great folks had him checked out by a vet to be sure all is well with his health (he seemed to be healthy) and well-being. They got some good weight on him and have been contemplating what to do with him next. At best guest he is a Mustang-Morgan cross and probably in his middle to late teens. The folks have done some work with him but really did not want to do any “training” with him just yet until they decided what to do with him.

            Enter us. We took a break from creating with ink and paint and headed out to the pen to meet this fellow. He seemed friendly, curious and mellow. We introduced ourselves and then did some “off the lead line” work in the small arena. He checked stuff out, played around at different gaits and was generally showing us that, yes indeed, he was in fact a horse. We used position and a little pressure here and there to create movement and see what this fellow was all about. When his attention was on the human in the arena we “said hello” again and got him to follow a little bit. That is always a fun moment. Then we tossed on a halter and lead rope. We did a variety of exercises and “listened” to what he had to say. He had some very clear holes in his foundation and some stubbornness/ resistance on a few points. This was expected given his story up to this point. He demonstrated his opinion in some of his actions and postures which clearly told us he has not had clear leadership and consistent expectations in his past. Our hosts seemed to concur with our assessment. We all felt that given a “tune-up/restart” this fellow could be a really nice horse for an intermediate level horse-person who understands the “Mustang mind” and is willing to take a little time to help make the partnership strong.

            It was really fun to meet this nice fellow and have a conversation to see what he is all about. He will make someone a really nice partner and we hope to meet him again.

A New Partnership!

ESTABLISHING A FOUNDATION FOR A PARTNERSHIP

We were excited to work with a novice horse-person and their “new-to-them” horse today. Seeing that conversation between the horse and human develop into a partnership is probably one of the most inspirational experiences.

If you have read any of this blog you know how much emphasis we put on groundwork to get started when building a partnership. We started with some “liberty” (off the lead line) work in the small pen. This allowed us to really look at this new horse and its attitude and athleticism without being connected by a rope. We noted that after exploring the new environment, the horse was interested in his human. In short order we achieved getting the horse’s interest expressed through giving us “two eyes” and locking on to us. That is always a fun moment! We followed this up with some Basic Circles and worked on all three gaits both up and down to check emotional reactions. Then a little Desensitizing to the lead rope (we alternate rope, stick-n-string and plastic bag in most sessions). Some Lateral Flexion followed and then we moved into Backing with Steady and Rhythmic Pressure. Rhythmic Pressure Backing took the horse a little while to understand but there were real improvement in fairly short order. This is also a tough exercise for the human to get ”right”. Very proud of both the human and the horse for working so hard!  More Desensitizing and Flexion and then we moved into Hindquarter Yields with Steady and Rhythmic Pressure. More Desensitizing and Flexion and then we moved into the Five in One Circle exercises at the walk and trot. We then worked on Leading with Softness and a few other groundwork exercises to really help these two make that connection and improve communication. We like these exercises quite a lot because it touches on all the major body parts, engages the horse’s mind and is good for them physically too!

The arena footing was pretty wet after the prior day’s heavy rain so we opted to play it safe and not ride. The groundwork session was super productive and gave the human a bunch of new exercises to add to their skill set and helped the horse understand what the new expectations are in a fun and calm manner. The major win (at least in our mind) was to see how the new partnership was forming and how the horse calmly looked for leadership from his new human. You can’t put a price tag on those moments in your horsemanship journey. It certainly does the heart and soul good too!

THOSE "MAGIC" MOMENTS IN HORSEMANSHIP

ROAD TRIP & MAGIC MOMENTS

We were asked by a friend to help evaluate if a particular horse would be a good family fit. Any opportunity to meet and work with a “new-to-us” horse is always welcomed and we were glad that our schedule allowed us to make the six-hour (round trip) journey.

The horse was a 15 year old, 15.1 hh. Quarter Horse Gelding. Really cute guy. His “story” was rather involved. He had been bred to be a barrel racing horse. The original breeders also used Parelli’s methods in their program. He was left as a stud until he was ten (10). Long story short….he doe s not like to run barrels anymore.

The family are “horse-novices” as they tell it. They have a property and lifestyle that is very horse friendly. Two of the five children are into 4H and they want to learn all about horsemanship so they (and the family) can enjoy their horses. They were sort of burned on a recent purchase and this, understandably so, made them a bit gun shy.

So we all meet up at the current human’s place. Played with their awesome goats and dogs for bit and then met the Gelding. Hi ground skills were there but he was a bit frisky at first and tested everyone. Not horribly but, given that he was a stud for most of his life, not unexpected either. He took some “black and white” corrections to get the point that we were to be taken seriously (live our rope halters for this). He showed intelligence and athletic ability. Definitely not “dull behind the eyes” at all. We found some gaps (from our perspective) in his ground skills which is common (even with Mr. P’s training supposedly used – evidence of not following the recipe). He still rated a solid 6 on most of our “checklist points” and that is a good sign. The horse was handled by his owner, Laurie, myself and our friend’s eleven year old. Different energies and body language. The horse was pretty consistent. This too is a good sign.

So we saddle up. The owner rides first. Pretty accomplished rider with a good seat and soft hands. Everyone likes what they see. Then the 11 year old wants to try. (brave and intelligent to be sure). Mom says yes and off they go. Walks, trots, stops, side passes, backs up, hind quarter yields, a little forequarter yield (sorting style) and a few other exercises. The Gelding is a good boy and really dies well for the 11 year old. This is a good sign.

Last but not least we attempt trailer loading. This fellow is used to a stock trailer, being untied in it and allowed to turn and walk out. “We” don’t like that approach as a rule but it is also common. So we have a two horse, slant load to work with. The horse sniffs and walks in calmly. He was concerned when asked to back out but didn’t freak out. He got to walk around a little but and then we walked him to load up again. He walks right up to the lip of the trailer and then stopped. No fuss, no fight but a definite stop. You could tell he was thinking the A) this is not HIS box, B) I just got out of THIS box so why do I have to go back in? C) I don’t understand this backing out thing. So we did a little….very little…groundwork and then offered him a treat as an incentive to go in. He walked right in. No fuss. We established a starting point for the discussion and got a positive result that was low drama for everyone. He stood quietly in the trailer as the transaction was concluded.

It was a good day. It proved to use how important groundwork is, how much horses like/need a quiet, confident leader and if you offer them the best deal they often would rather take it and get along. Long drive but worth it to be a small part of the experience. We are also blessed to be able to work with these new partners in the near future!

WORKSHOP, REFLECTIONS & OBSERVATIONS

WORKSHOP REFLECTIONS

REVIEW: We hosted another fun workshop over the weekend. The focus was to “jump start your horsemanship in 2018.” We achieved this by first working on some essential groundwork exercises that helped the human use better timing and feel (people struggle with this a lot even if they don’t want to acknowledge it) and the horse looking for “softness and clarity.” We covered six groundwork exercises, worked on the human’s communication through body position and language (act and passive) and offering a release quickly. It never ceases to amaze us how the horse begin to change. They relax mentally, they try to find the answers for themselves without being “micro-managed” and then offer up trust more willingly.

Under saddle we really wanted to focus getting the human’s hands out of the horse’s mouth. This is where everyone struggles. They “think” they ride with “soft hands” but their horse’s is showing something different. The horse’s heads go up, their mouth gaps and you can see the stiffness occur throughout their bodies. It happens all the time. We worked on gaining better awareness of our hands and gaining better communication through the use of seat and leg. Some humans may have been riding the mouth for MANY years and often get frustrated when we point out this habit and how it is impacting their partnership with their horse. Still if they truly want to improve (and not just have their ego stroked) they have to invest the time (in the form of application of instruction and real practice) to change how they do things. The horses appreciate it. We dived into ten exercises under saddle. That is a lot of information to process! Hopefully the handout helps.

There were lots of wins for both horse and human. The training was concentrated and the work was productive. The weather was great too! Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

REFLECTIONS: We have all heard it said the horsemanship is not an exact science, it is a series of small adjustments, moment to moment, that helps to create the partnership. While there are common factors in horse behavior (and training), every horse we meet is different. They need different applications (and levels) of pressure and release to learn something. They need different amounts of time too. Seriously. I had two horses that I wanted to help understand the same exercise. One horse picked it up in about ten minutes. The other horse took over an hour. I did my level best to remain consistent in my approach too. It proved that PATIENCE is needed to better communicate and you have to wait on the horse a bit to help it understand.

Don’t let anyone “bully” you into doing something you feel is not right for the horse. Don’t “just get on and ride it” until you have done your preparation. Stay true to your process and celebrate the small victories because the will led to overall success. Remember, horsemanship is not a race! It is a journey made one step at a time. Your ego is your enemy when working with horses. It stops you from seeing the truth of the situation. It is wiser to take time and prepare yourself and the horse for success by working on feel, softness, release/reward and awareness.

Observation, awareness, connection, communication, release/reward, preparation, leadership and partnership…these elements need to be fully present in the human and horse to achieve goals and help find full potential. Seek and offer softness to the horse by giving it softness. So many of us fail (and then get mad at the horse) because we want to “go faster” and then – because we are not aware (or willing to change) – that we are hitting the gas pedal and then stomping on the brake! Of course this leads to frustration and “poor behavior” on the horse’s part! Why? Because we failed to be kind, clear and fair. We have to ride in balance with our seat/leg and not “ride the mouth”. If we do pull we then need to give back. Think about how the human’s action impacts the horse’s behavior and then adjust how the interaction feels to achieve “softness.”

PS: Sorry..no pictures this time.

ADVENTURES, LESSONS and EVALUATIONS

LESSON & EVALUATION DAY

The Lesson: It is an overcast Sunday. The riding area and pastures here at Lucky Star Ranch have not dried out much at all. The recent rain (and incoming storm) are really making it difficult to work as we would like to work with our horses. So…time to get creative. Loping is pretty much out of the question so we worked on feel and timing, bend and subtly with all the horses. Argent and Ronan quickly adapted to this plan and were rock stars, even when our pup Skyla decided to “help” by attempting to herd Ronan.

Jazz had a lesson with his human. The focus was on the human’s position, clarity, intent and application of techniques that would improve their communication based on what we have been working on in previous sessions. With four days off we were curious as to how he would be, especially since his human was here. We sent him into the round pen and removed his halter/ lead as his human and I discussed the lesson plan. He walked (not raced) around a bit then stopped and gave me two eyes. BIG improvement. We then went through the human’s lesson. His human did okay but got frustrated over the fact that the physical aspects of the lesson were not as easy as originally perceived when I demonstrated them (getting better responses and performance from Jazz than his primary human). The lesson for the human: Horsemanship is SIMPLE but is NOT EASY. This is usually the “ah ha” moment that happens when humans try something “new” that they think they already know. A true student of the horse is open and receptive to these learning moments. They did well overall.

Jazz did really well. He was focused, lighter and more into the exercises than on Day 1 and even Day 3. He did lose a little of the crispness in his hindquarter yield when at liberty (expected) but did well on the line. Cues were “softer” in feel and he rose to the challenge. It was a very productive session.

Skyla.

Jazz

 Chatting with Jazz,

Desensitizing.

Goofing around together.

The Evaluation: Earlier in the day we headed over to the nearby town of El Dorado to help a family evaluate a horse they purchased two months ago. The family stated that they as horse-folks, were novices. They purchased a horse and trailer for the same person. Fast forward and the horse – a 12 year old mare – is developing bad behaviors and is very difficult to load in the trailer and exhibits some “scary” behaviors in the trailer itself.

This is an all too common tale. Awesome “new to horses” family is “all in.” sadly they get a horse that is not the best fit for them at the present time. They need help. They call folks like us.

After a family member gets the mare from her pasture (she is very energetic and a bit of a challenge to handle) we head over to the small arena they have. Our goal is to get through the sixteen (plus) exercises to see where this horse is at mentally, physically and emotionally. Of course we had to see the issues with trailer loading first hand.

This mare was very pretty and very opinionated. Took a little bit to “convince” her that the human in the middle of the pen was important. The “tools” we brought in the pen were interesting. The pom-pom on the stick was no big deal. And the footing (because of the recent rains) was not to her liking at the lope. Once we caught her attention and moved her feet with lots of direction changes we had her brain engaged. We went through the evaluation process. Her average score was a 5.5-6 with some scores being as low a 3 and has high as 7. Very athletic, quick minded and curious. Also very opinionated and convinced her way was better. A strong leader who can blend firmness, clarity and patience is needed to win this mare over.

The session was a learning experience for everyone. On the ground she was exhibiting what we would call “disrespect” in that she took a while to get her attention and focus, blew through certain cues and wanted to do things her way. Given her history (or at least the history the new family was given) this was expected.

Then we tried the trailer.

Now we had to work with the “fear” side of the behavior coin.

The footing made things difficult for horse and human which did not help. We did lots of advance and retreat and almost got to the point of “I point, you load” like we do with our horses. We did get all four feet in the trailer twice. We called that a win. However, when we asked her to back out of the trailer she fell apart, locked up, tried to bite and push with her head. We had to have a conversation about that NOT being okay, ever. It was clear that she was allows to turn and bolt out of the trailer. Again, that was not okay. We called it a “win” when on the second time she loaded up with relative ease, stood calmly for several minutes and then was allowed to turn around, stand and then walk out calmly. Not ideal but we had to start someplace.

The process allowed the family to see exactly what they have to work with, what they need to do if this horse is going to be a part of the family and now has some things to work with.

It was a bit of a workout but a great learning experience for all concerned. We love meeting families like this, who have such heart and drive to be involved with horses. We try our best to support them in this as best we can.

 The Mare.

She didn't care/

 Starting to make an impression.

Time to hustle hooves, darlin"!

 Now we're getting somewhere.

The Send Through

Trailer time!

A Day Off: Reflections

REFLECTIONS: Jazz

We have had the pleasure of interacting with Jazz for a few days now. Overall the experiences have been positive. Jazz has a good heart. He wants to be good and willing. He is athletic and likes to use his body. He has good energy. He is friendly and curious.

However, like so many horses we meet, he lacks consistency and boundaries in his world. He has not been held accountable on a consistent basis for his part of the partnership. He “feels” like he has been micro-managed and when he does not perform immediately he believes a swift and hard reprimand in coming. This is very common and in most cases “fixable” if all parties make the changes needed to provide the horse with what it needs. Clear, effective and kind leadership.

Our “plan” is do LOTS of groundwork with him. We want to fill in those holes in his foundation and help him understand that “thinking” is better than “reacting” so that his confidence levels improve. We want to see him respond to signals with calmness and confidence. Under saddle we want to see him be ridden with a loose rein and see more seat and leg cues used. Humans have ridden his face way too much. He needs confidence that his human will ask calmly/softly first before anything else happens.

His reality is being shifted a bit with our program. He will need time to adjust to these “new” expectations and approaches. He is NOT a pet to be coddled or babied. He is a partner who has a responsibility for certain things. It may take some time but with love and consistency we believe that he will be a great partner who will reach is full potential. 

 Strolling together at liberty,

JAZZ - Review & New

DAY 4 (01/02/18): Third Round Pen Session

“Horsemanship is not an exact science. It is a series of adjustments made moment to moment.” This quote by well-known clinician/ trainer Craig Cameron really resonated with us today and seemed to set the tone for the sessions.

Today is all about Review and New and making the best adjustments moment to moment with Jazz (as well as Ronan and Argent). With some winter weather heading our way this week we feel that it is best to keep the sessions with the horses focused on improving what they know. In Jazz’s case we want his “score” on the known exercises to improve a little bit (it is all about small wins adding up to big improvements) and his attempts at new exercises to be genuine. That is the only fair thing we can ask of him. We will continue to work on communication and connection to strengthen the confidence Jazz has in us. With C.P.R (Clarity, Patience, Release) we will help Jazz feel more confident in himself and us as his leaders.

As always we began with desensitizing. Jazz has some issues with the stick and string when at liberty. He thinks he as to do something and then over reacts. So today we left the rope halter on (with the lead rope in hand) to so some desensitizing. The result was what we expected and he raced around a bit. Sticking with him, sometimes tapping the reset button (getting two eyes and relaxing) while staying consistent helped him refocus and think. Once he showed signs of relaxing a bit we loved on him and moved on. Then it was back to impulsion, gait and direction control, turning inward to change direction, giving two eyes and locking on from the left and right side (his right side is still weak in this and is going to take real consistency in order for it to improve). From there we moved into lead line work. Yielding the hind end to rhythmic and steady pressure, lateral flexion, Following the Feel, backing to rhythmic and steady pressure, leading exercises (foot, side and front) and a variety of other exercises. Overall Jazz showed improvement (or at least did not revert) with these exercises. We introduced vertical flexion and giving at the poll today. You could tel that this was very new to him but – and timing is everything – since it was at the end of the session he was much more willing to think it through instead of over reacting.

We will be having a few days of rain so this is going to be his last session until the weekend. His human should be coming by for a lesson and they will get to work together then. Should be fun!

Hanging out, being awesome.

 Some liberty trotting.

 Some liberty trotting.

 Some liberty trotting.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Jazz - Day 3

DAY 3 New Year’s Day: SECOND ROUND PEN SESSION

We had a New Year’s Eve gathering that joyfully spilled over into New Year’s Day. After all the guests headed home we headed out to do some work with Jazz. Knowing that “feel and timing” may have been off today because…well…celebrations…we made today a review of yesterday’s exercises and then introduced two new ones. We also wanted to keep things easy for Jazz as this was his third day in a row. Being a bit out of shape mentally and physically, Jazz needed a review to help things really soak into his brain.

We worked at liberty first. Desensitized with the stick-and-string followed by establishing consistent direction and gait. That went well. Jazz still gets a little confused at higher speeds when asked to turn inward towards the middle of the pen but with some consistent cues he caught on more readily. We review getting the draw from both sides (his right side is weaker) and some of the other exercises and then moved into line work. If we were to rate Jazz’s performance in the round pen from Day 2 we would give him a 4 on most things. Today we saw more 5’s. Tomorrow we hope to see even more improvement. We added the “lead by the foot” and “yield the hind end with rhythmic pressure” today. Overall not bad. It will be interesting to see how tomorrow goes.

Wednesday through Friday we are expecting some rain/snow so this may limit what we can do with the horses but we will be consistent in our actions and continue to get the improvements we want.

Jazz is now in the big pasture with Argent and Ronan. Everyone is getting along nicely!

Still sort of braced but better.

 Giving two eyes better.

 Just a cutie!

 Better lateral flexion

 Better balance.

Working with Jazz: Day 2

DAY 2 (12/31/2017): ROUND-PEN DAY! Since we FIRMLY believe in use of the round pen to establish communication and respect we began Jazz’s reality shift in the round pen. We “de-rednecked” the round pen for Jazz. It is all about baby steps in the beginning. We removed the obstacles and scary objects (they WILL go back in later) and introduced Jazz to the pen. Once he got comfortable with the surroundings we got down to working with his understanding of C.P.R (Clarity, Patience and Release). We worked at liberty (off the lead line) and then on the lead line through a variety of exercises. The goals today was simple. Begin to establish trust and leadership. We use a “16 point evaluation” on the first round pen session which helps to establish a starting point for the horse’s program.

Like so many horses, Jazz was not prepared to round pen with intent and focus. He raced around the pen, doing his own thing and didn’t really seem to care that a human was in the pen with him. We let him be a goof for a while and then caught his attention and began to work on “The Draw.” Once we were getting consistent direction and gait we began to test reactions to pressure use just our body language (a quiet conversation) and then the use of a stick-and-string. Jazz likes to block (with his head) his right side. So we worked on doing more on that side. We desensitized, we rubbed and we lead from the right side (he was a bit clueless about that) and a variety of other actions. In short we caught his mind and then his body began to follow. We worked at liberty and on the lead line. We worked on getting Jazz to “follow the feel” of pressure on the halter, to have a more controlled hindquarter yield and even worked on some forequarter yields (again, clueless but he gave up good efforts.

Our first round pen session is always about establishing a starting point. This helps us understand what the horse needs and where their learning curve is. It also helps us to make that connection and get consistent reactions to cues. Time spent in the round pen in the first week or so is an investment in the happiness of the horse and human.

Check out this video and pictures.

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