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.

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/1857426887814701/videos/2077319382492116/

Working With Jazz

ADVENTURES IN HORSEMANSHIP: Working With Jazz

A dear friend is dealing with some “life” and reached out to us to help her with her thirteen (13) year old Paint gelding named Jazz. Jazz is broke to saddle and has some experiences in a variety of settings and situations but could use a refresher on being a gentleman on the ground and a willing partner under saddle. We will have Jazz in our care for a few months and, depending on what the future holds for his human, we hope to be able to return Jazz in better mental, physical and emotional condition to his human or find him a new home. This “journal” is just one of the methods we use to track progress and evaluate challenges as they occur.

DAY 0: We picked Jazz up in the morning. After checking out the “new-to-him” trailer he loaded up and hauled well. We even made a stop at the local feed store. Once we got home he unloaded with a couple of false starts. We have a rule that horses back out of the trailer. No spinning around or other silliness. We back then out slowly and carefully. We fell this building both trust and confidence. He unloaded and was turned out into one of our pastures, A nice snack was waiting for him. We checked on him several times during the remainder of the day. He has settled in nicely. We also allow the horse to rest a bit before working with in in our program. Tomorrow he gets loaded up and we head down the road a bit to a local arena for a horsemanship session!

 Jazz (glamour shot)

 Rolling is the BEST!

He seems to have settled in nicely!

DAY 1: WORKSHOP PARTICIPATION – We hauled Jazz out so he and his human could attend a horsemanship workshop locally. Since we have seen Jazz and his human work together in the past we decided not to do a “full evaluation” on Day 0 and figured that today at the workshop we could get one done and see where Jazz’s starting point is as of today.

We started off Jazz’s session in the small warm up pen to check his sensitivity to pressure on the “zones”, his overall curiosity and his willingness to lock on. We performed an abbreviated “evaluation” in the 50’ x 80’ warm up pen at the facility. We checked his sensitivity to pressure (which was pretty good) played with getting consistent gaits and directions/ changes of direction (again, not bad) reactions to increases in energy/effort (a little reactive) and get the horse to relax and look at the human (lock on/ two eyes). All of this was done off the lead line (the safest way to meet a new horse is being in a controlled environment without being attached to it).

Then we moved into some lead line work. We went through nine (9) different “tests” and got a really good baseline/ starting point from which to work. Jazz seemed to enjoy the mental stimulation and was willing to accept leadership if giving in a calm and consistent manner.

Then it was time to get into the workshop! There were several horses Jazz did not know in the big arena. He was curious about them but also a little aloof. He was working with his human in the workshop. It never ceases to amaze us how much the horse reflects what the human puts out (even unconsciously). On the ground today we exposed jazz to some desensitizing exercises, lateral flexion, basic lead line work with “soft” circles and gait changes, backing up with both rhythmic and steady pressure, hind quarter yields and the 5 in 1 exercise. The workshop covered six (6) great groundwork exercises that really helped (and challenged) the horse, the human and their partnership.

Under saddle we work on flexion in the bridle, some Follow the Fence (all three gaits), the Forward/Backward/Forward transition exercise, the Charlie Brown exercise, yielding the hind end at the fence from the walk, attempted Side Passing at the fence and we rode the Serpentine/ Cloverleaf patterns. All in all the workshop covered seven (7) riding exercises that helped (and challenged) the horse, the human and their partnership. Humans hit frustration points as they broke through comfort barriers. The horses (including Jazz) reflected that. So many of the horse’s “issues” stem from their human partners which then become “bad habits” and then the downward spiral begins.

The day wrapped up with everyone (horse and human alike) feeling “full” and a bit tired. Jazz did as well as we expected. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being “clueless and stubborn” and 10 being “amazing”), Jazz was a good, solid 6 to 6.5. We have some room for improvement to be sure but his primary human is also going to factor into his growth and potential.

Tomorrow we get started with the program in the round pen and setting up goals to help Jazz reach new levels of performance. Should be fun!

(Sadly the battery in the camera died before we could get pictures of the workshop.)

 Checking awareness.

 Looking for "oh no" spots.

 Checking pressure sensitivity.

 Desensitizing.

 Lead line circles.

Taking a mental break.

It Is A Brand New Day!

IT IS A NEW DAY!

Anyone who takes on a “project horse” is a HERO in our book! Oftentimes these horses come with baggage, have been handled poorly/roughly, are not in the greatest physical condition and need LOTS of love, consistency and leadership to find their “best selves” in the new and improved partnership with a new human. In short it is not easy. Worth it? Oh VERY MUCH so…but not easy.

We were contacted by one of these HEROES who took on a project horse and was having some challenges. The horse is a ten year old Arab cross (we thing with Morgan but the previous owner was “unclear” about this.) gelding. His “history” was also unclear (supposedly broke to saddle but has had some bucking issues). Still our HERO purchased this fellow from someone known for being a bit of a “horse-flipper” and not the most reputable. It happens. We all have done it, when we see a horse in need. The new owner/ HERO, has been working with horse less than a month and trying to get its weight and body condition back up. We were told that in a recent session the horse, while saddled, spooked, bolted and almost jumped out of the new human’s round pen. The new human as done some groundwork and some desensitizing (even used saddle bags on the saddle so the horse could see something out of both eyes). In short lots of over-reaction/spookiness on the horse’s part. Our HERO felt they were not progressing and actually moving backwards.

We met up at a local public horse arena with a wonder 60-70’ round-pen with good footing and good railing. Since we had so little information on this gelding to build up a plan of action we figured it would be best to evaluate and work with him someplace away from “home” in a controlled environment. We wanted to check out curious and reactive he was and how “trainable” he would allow himself to be. This is REALLY important when one considers a project horse candidate. If they are damaged (mentally, emotionally or physically) enough it is often very difficult to reach their minds and is usually “more work” than most people are willing to commit to. After letting the horse get familiar with the new place on this new day we began to work on establishing a connection. After a few “almost starts” we were able to love on the horse a bit and he began to “lock on” and follow us around a bit. We then began to establish some control parameters by getting consistency in gait and direction at liberty. He was a but confused and reactive at first but soon calmed down and understood that we we simply “asking” quietly and did not “yell” without cues and body language at all. Being told a horse is reactive we made the decision that pressure/volume would only be increased in minor stages at first. This paid off well because soon the horse was looking for that leadership and wanted to be “right” in its actions. When things went a tiny bit sideways we simple stopped, rubbed/loved on him and tried again. We then moved to getting some consistent (and calm) changes of direction and gait. This went well considering some of the initial reactions and we could see that the “trainable mind” was in there. We just had to start chipping away at 10 years of “not so good” experiences and begin to replace them with calm, confident and fun ones. Once we were able to “get two eyes” and some good, consistent actions based on our “asking” for them we moved on to working on the lead line.

Because of the initial reactive responses we took our time introducing the rope halter and lead rope. The horse shied away at first but with the consistent “advance and retreat” approach he was able to feel more confident about the process and took the halter like a gentleman. We then draped the rope over the arm and walked away with the expectation of the horse following. No “pulling” or over signals, just strolled away. He followed like he was doing this all his life. It was a good sign that trust was beginning to happen. We move to asking him to follow but stay to one side of the human. This was a new concept to him and he was unsure he was supposed to be there and defaulted back to simply following behind. Once this felt “good” we really got down to business! Some of the same concepts like moving in a circle at the speed we requested and changing directions consistently and calmly were worked on via the lead line. Then we introduced some desensitizing exercises with the lead rope. We worked on some lateral softness (flexion), bending through the body and vertical flexion. We then did some more desensitizing with the stick-n-string before moving into Backing from both rhythmic and steady pressure. These “felt” like new concepts in the way they were presented. It took several tries with systematic increases in pressure to relate the concept of rhythmic pressure back to the horse but once he got it he gave honest tries. Steady pressure backing was much the same way. We introduced a new concept of the hindquarter yield. At first the actions were reactive but soon settled into calm actions based on cues. We introduced “follow the nose” which incorporated a desensitizing exercise to the rope and then by following the feel of pressure on the nose from the halter make a 180 degree turn on the hind end then the forehand followed by forward impulsion. This went very well and he surprised us with his calm and willing attitude towards it. We attempted to introduce the forequarter yield on command. This was new to him and even though he tried he struggled a bit. This is good as it provides a solid starting point for his new human to work from. We rolled into our 5 in 1 exercise which strings five distinct exercises into one sentence. This really tests the trainable mind and willing attitude. Overall the horse did well and once again established a good starting point. We wrapped up the session with a lateral flexion review and working on lateral leads by the foot ending with a desensitizing session with the plastic bag on the stick. This we knew would create the most drama in the horse’s mind but since we did it at the end of the session after building the trust/confidence level in the horse the level of “drama” while there, was manageable and encouraging.

The journey these to personalities – the horse and the human – will need to be a slow one at first. Trust, timing, feel, communication and respect has to really be developed. With a good (ie: effective) program of groundwork, desensitizing reintroduction of the saddle, the horse and the human should be able to build a strong foundation that can be built upon for years to come.

We were blessed to be a small part of this new journey.