I think I like horses more than computers. I can see and usually fix a problem with a horse, I can't seem to understand computers when they get troubled. Anyway, Sasha is great, my computer is not!
The last few weeks Sasha has proven herself to be quite the young and polite lady. She never tries to barge in a feeding time, she always stands tied perfectly, and she tries her heart out at figuring out the next thing I am asking of her. You can tell when she is trying because she always tests the thing first with her foot! Although her nose is usually right in there too. I was playing the touch it game the other day, for the first time, and it took a few tries on the first focus point, then she got so good at it she could touch a spot I was focusing on that was very specific. How do they do that? (Touch it game is when you focus on a spot or object and see if you can get the horse to put their nose on it, from a distance...)
We have been on quite a few trail rides and plenty of play in the playyard. The difference now from the first weeks is that she is willing now to go on her own and even be in front. The first time I took her on a trail, with 4 other horses, she would NOT go in front. Last time we went out, she was not only willing, but even asking to be first! However, she is still very willing to be in the back and doesn't seem to get upset even if she is getting a bit behind, which happens on the way home as she doesn't have a super speedy walk.
I've had all sorts of folks ride her and she has been a perfect girl for all of them. Actually mostly it has been the kids. The first day I'm not sure I noticed it, but the second time I am quite sure that she was even more careful when she knew it was a small person on the rope. One 12 year old student had not even ridden her this particular day, but just played with her on the ground for a few minutes, but she ended up untacking her for me. Well, she called out to me as she wanted me to watch Sasha. She had untacked and let her go in the field, but Sasha kept following her up and down the field they went, so cute.
I have trimmed her back feet twice now and she is so much better. She still has her moments, but she is picking up her feet with more and more trust and confidence every time, which is almost everyday...She does have a bit of grouchiness at the cinch. Probably stemming from the galling she got before she came her, but it could also be that my saddles are not fitting her to just her liking. They seem OK to me, but maybe she is more sensitive than I give her credit for. She has not had any bad reaction to the saddle when riding, but only at cinching. I have taken to going very slow for her, and when I have help, getting her to put her head down and ignore the process. Maybe it's also a bit of habit that we just need to change.
Sasha loves to stand around and get attention, more and more each day. She puts her head over the gate, when she gets to without the bullies pushing her away, and looks at you with her big eyes and it's hard not to just melt and hug her. I'm sure there is so much more left unsaid, but this little mare is very mature for 6. I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want her! Hopefully I will be fully up and running with my computer all restored and can get more pictures up here soon.
Arriving at Camp Bar None
Where am I now?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Getting to like the girl!
Very nice play the last few days. It started in the round pen and finished on a three hour trail ride, bareback to English, big tires to water, walk, trot, and canter!
Sasha is really starting to ask questions and wonder about her part in the partnership. She is really trying and finding out that she gets rewarded for a try and is trying even harder. We were playing on the obstacles one day and most of it seems new to her so she doesn't really know that to do, but she is willing to experiment. When I took her to the big tire to climb on she messed around with what to do and the hoppped up! She came right back down , but that was ok as on the second try she stopped on top and took a look around from the heights! We have water in the sand box from the rain and it didn't bother her either. She was pretty unsure about the carwash, so I pulled it back onto a doorway and she was good with that, she will figure that one out most likely in the next few trys.
The go button is getting fixed quickly. She is really moving off my leg very nicely. The trail ride today helped. As we all moved up the pace she had nice feed back on what her job was at the moment. Sasha is totally out of shape. She was ready to go home before we even got to the trail! Once there she rallied, but she is going to sleep well tonight! She does not like to lead. Very unsure of her self there, isn't afraid I don't think, just doesn't want to leave the herd. That will come with time and confidence. We had a couple of nice spots to canter. I love to have our first canters out on the trail, they have someplace to go and don't have to feel the restaints of the arena which can inhibit the forward momentum especially for a girl like Sasha who has forward issues in the first place.
Here is the good news... Her feet are trimmed, yes all four! She questioned me a little bit in the back, but not with any real need to get away or get me away. I worked quickly on the hind so they will need work again in the next few weeks, but that was sort of the idea, short and to the point and build up her tolerance and stamina. Just taking the time it takes so it will take less time in the future!
More to say but I have run out of time for this moment. Sasha is a very smart girl and I am really getting to like her.
Sasha is really starting to ask questions and wonder about her part in the partnership. She is really trying and finding out that she gets rewarded for a try and is trying even harder. We were playing on the obstacles one day and most of it seems new to her so she doesn't really know that to do, but she is willing to experiment. When I took her to the big tire to climb on she messed around with what to do and the hoppped up! She came right back down , but that was ok as on the second try she stopped on top and took a look around from the heights! We have water in the sand box from the rain and it didn't bother her either. She was pretty unsure about the carwash, so I pulled it back onto a doorway and she was good with that, she will figure that one out most likely in the next few trys.
The go button is getting fixed quickly. She is really moving off my leg very nicely. The trail ride today helped. As we all moved up the pace she had nice feed back on what her job was at the moment. Sasha is totally out of shape. She was ready to go home before we even got to the trail! Once there she rallied, but she is going to sleep well tonight! She does not like to lead. Very unsure of her self there, isn't afraid I don't think, just doesn't want to leave the herd. That will come with time and confidence. We had a couple of nice spots to canter. I love to have our first canters out on the trail, they have someplace to go and don't have to feel the restaints of the arena which can inhibit the forward momentum especially for a girl like Sasha who has forward issues in the first place.
Here is the good news... Her feet are trimmed, yes all four! She questioned me a little bit in the back, but not with any real need to get away or get me away. I worked quickly on the hind so they will need work again in the next few weeks, but that was sort of the idea, short and to the point and build up her tolerance and stamina. Just taking the time it takes so it will take less time in the future!
More to say but I have run out of time for this moment. Sasha is a very smart girl and I am really getting to like her.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Going for a Walk
I took Sasha on her first ride up my street yesterday. She did not really want to leave the driveway on her own, so I rode with my student and we ponied her. She was perfect on the line. Stayed right with me, slack in the line and all. So we got up the road a piece and I switched to riding her. As long as Frenchie was in front, she was fine. She was beginning to understand my go signal, which I am purposely keeping very light and simple. Naturally, when we turned around to go home, she was very willing to go first. However, she didn't rush, but was certainly more confident going home. Nice forward walk!
Then I went again with two horses this time. She was much more relaxed and left the driveway just fine. Of course she realized there was great places to graze "out there" and that always helps. This time we got some nice trot and she was even moving off my leg before the other horses. Yes, she is a quick learner, but she also has some very strong opinions of where she would like to be...in other words, she needs to learn to be a partner. It was a good ride all in all. She seems very comfortable with me on and besides not moving forward, does not appear to have any other bad habits that I have discovered yet anyway.
Picked all four feet without her even being haltered (in a stall.) Not perfect yet, but she is beginning to trust me and let me in that area. Can't even imagine what a person did to make her so worried! She's trying and getting better everyday.
Then I went again with two horses this time. She was much more relaxed and left the driveway just fine. Of course she realized there was great places to graze "out there" and that always helps. This time we got some nice trot and she was even moving off my leg before the other horses. Yes, she is a quick learner, but she also has some very strong opinions of where she would like to be...in other words, she needs to learn to be a partner. It was a good ride all in all. She seems very comfortable with me on and besides not moving forward, does not appear to have any other bad habits that I have discovered yet anyway.
Picked all four feet without her even being haltered (in a stall.) Not perfect yet, but she is beginning to trust me and let me in that area. Can't even imagine what a person did to make her so worried! She's trying and getting better everyday.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Our First Week
That is a pretty big question really for anyone to answer, who is so and so...I hope to paint you a picture of this sweet mare so that you can get to know her like I am. Getting to know a new horse is really a challenge and super fun. At first they are stand offish and pretty soon you start to see them loosen up, play a little, maybe play a lot, find out what they are afraid of, find out where they like to be scratched and just how much, and so much more. Just like any new relationship, we take it slow at first, asking more on their part as we grow. Balancing getting the job done with going how fast the horse needs is important. I think this is where "trainers" fail, they feel that they must accomplish so much in such a short time they push the horses beyond themselves and the horse is lost.
So Sasha seems to have a few levels to her. She has a patient, I'll just stand here and you brush my tail side. She has a I am not sure of this can I climb in your pocket side. She also has the herd is too far away got to move my feet and see if I can get back to them side...
She loves her belly scratched. She has taken to Tresa, just like Cloud did, must be Tresa's job to make friends with the new kids. She has scars on the inside of her stifle, some fairly traumatic event happened, can only imagine. Although she does not mind touching and rubbing her hind legs, she did not like to pick them up for anything. She loves her treats and works extra hard for them, however, she also doesn't take them very politely, so 1) not too many treats for her, but 2) she might get them for giving me those hind legs!
During this first week we have been mostly working on those hind legs. I am happy to report that I was able to pick both out today. At first I was simply asking her to stand still, and second to just shift her weight. She was getting good at that, so we added just lift it an inch, now we can go 6 inches and for 20 seconds. I hope to have those feet trimmed in the next two weeks, she needs it. Front feet seem fine, although the first couple of times she did want to pull away. More trust now so she has been great.
I sat on her bareback a couple of times. That was after playing with the bareback pad. She seems to be a bit "cinchy" (moves, ears back, turning her head as I tighten the cinch.) So we are playing with that, and I am being very respectful and slow about making the cinch tight. Today I put the western saddle on and she wears it well. She is only 14.3 maybe, but longish, so the big Circle Y looks good.
As you can see I hung all my stuff on her too as we were loading them up to go to the arena and we were too lazy to carry all that stuff ourselves. That's their job anyway! She stood very nicely tacking up, just the cinchy part, but not too bad.
This was her second trip over to the arena. Last time she rode by herself, them we picked up Boo (Trina's horse.) She loaded fine and seemed ok, but came out of the trailer very sweaty. A bit of nervousness that we didn't see before on her trip to my house. Today she showed that same nervousness, however, still loaded just fine. It wasn't as bad, but still sweated quite a bit. That I think will just take lots of trips to get over.
She was very good today at the arena. We played all the games on the ground and she was really starting to move laterally very nicely. She is not afraid of the ball, when it is on the ground. Trina was playing with it bouncing around for Boo and that she wasn't so keen on, so we did little bouncing with her and will come back to that again. I bounced the little ball all over her and that was better.The tarp was out last time we came and she walked over that without hesitation and doesn't seem to shy at much.
I rode her for only 20 minutes or so. Just wandering and checking our brakes and gas pedal. Brakes are fine, gas pedal is kinda sticky. Meaning right now she seems to have more whoa than go! She seems very comfortable with me up there, she just doesn't seem to know what I mean when I say let's go!
At first I was going to say that she doesn't come close to how smart Cloud is, but I am changing that opinion daily. I just think she has less trust than Cloud, so she is more skeptical of what I am asking her. Not quite as happy go lucky as Cloud, but we will find that side of her, I think it's in there, someone told her not to play somewhere along the line. Someone told her to just grow up and now here I am telling her it's ok to laugh again!
More soon!
So Sasha seems to have a few levels to her. She has a patient, I'll just stand here and you brush my tail side. She has a I am not sure of this can I climb in your pocket side. She also has the herd is too far away got to move my feet and see if I can get back to them side...
She loves her belly scratched. She has taken to Tresa, just like Cloud did, must be Tresa's job to make friends with the new kids. She has scars on the inside of her stifle, some fairly traumatic event happened, can only imagine. Although she does not mind touching and rubbing her hind legs, she did not like to pick them up for anything. She loves her treats and works extra hard for them, however, she also doesn't take them very politely, so 1) not too many treats for her, but 2) she might get them for giving me those hind legs!
During this first week we have been mostly working on those hind legs. I am happy to report that I was able to pick both out today. At first I was simply asking her to stand still, and second to just shift her weight. She was getting good at that, so we added just lift it an inch, now we can go 6 inches and for 20 seconds. I hope to have those feet trimmed in the next two weeks, she needs it. Front feet seem fine, although the first couple of times she did want to pull away. More trust now so she has been great.
I sat on her bareback a couple of times. That was after playing with the bareback pad. She seems to be a bit "cinchy" (moves, ears back, turning her head as I tighten the cinch.) So we are playing with that, and I am being very respectful and slow about making the cinch tight. Today I put the western saddle on and she wears it well. She is only 14.3 maybe, but longish, so the big Circle Y looks good.
 |
| When she gets in shape, she is going to have some nice muscle definition. |
This was her second trip over to the arena. Last time she rode by herself, them we picked up Boo (Trina's horse.) She loaded fine and seemed ok, but came out of the trailer very sweaty. A bit of nervousness that we didn't see before on her trip to my house. Today she showed that same nervousness, however, still loaded just fine. It wasn't as bad, but still sweated quite a bit. That I think will just take lots of trips to get over.
She was very good today at the arena. We played all the games on the ground and she was really starting to move laterally very nicely. She is not afraid of the ball, when it is on the ground. Trina was playing with it bouncing around for Boo and that she wasn't so keen on, so we did little bouncing with her and will come back to that again. I bounced the little ball all over her and that was better.The tarp was out last time we came and she walked over that without hesitation and doesn't seem to shy at much.
 | ||
| Ball is almost as big as she is! |
At first I was going to say that she doesn't come close to how smart Cloud is, but I am changing that opinion daily. I just think she has less trust than Cloud, so she is more skeptical of what I am asking her. Not quite as happy go lucky as Cloud, but we will find that side of her, I think it's in there, someone told her not to play somewhere along the line. Someone told her to just grow up and now here I am telling her it's ok to laugh again!
More soon!
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