Teddy Log: #134 - Teddy the Yo-Yo

Teddy Log: #134 - Teddy the Yo-Yo: I was out playing games with Teddy again and he is really loving it. All educational games of course but fun and engaging for him nonethele...

#134 - Teddy the Yo-Yo

I was out playing games with Teddy again and he is really loving it. All educational games of course but fun and engaging for him nonetheless.

We did some short range Driving game, more of the Touch It game, and we did some Yo-Yo game as well, particularly through gates and he was fine with it. Gates aren't his issue. He was calm and responded well with being driven on a 12 foot lead but he needs to stop coming to me off his own bat. It's like he slowly steps closer and closer and I need to send him away. He also comes to me with the Yo-Yo game; he attempts to every time! Directly after he backs up he comes waltzing over to me and I try to get him to stop but nine times out of ten I'm unsuccessful, so there he is standing right in front of me like, "Aren't I a good boy."

He's the king of the Touch It game now and was great being lead and Yo-Yoed at a walk and run. He's also really taking things in, licking his lips and yawning. I do get the feeling that after we have played a game once he's over it and wants something new, but I want him to grasp each concept well so we cant rush it. He seems very happy with himself lately so I'm wrapped about that!

The photo below is of Mary Jane, MJ for short, who was born three days ago and Teddy was totally besotted. He's adjusted to the new additions being around and is back to his normal self, and he does like to go over to the fence and touch noses with a calf when the opportunity arises.

Teddy Log: #133 - Touch it!

Teddy Log: #133 - Touch it!: I played more games with Teddy this arvo and he really showed what a clever horse he is and also that he bores quite easily. I took him thr...

#133 - Touch it!

I played more games with Teddy this arvo and he really showed what a clever horse he is and also that he bores quite easily. I took him through some Parelli games and then played the Touch It game with him. Basically I had a few obstacles out in the paddock and I would lead him over to each one and get him to touch it with his nose but allow him to come to it himself; no force, just consistent until he worked out what I wanted. If he didn't touch it the first time I would walk him around and back to the object and he would finally work out that he needed to touch it with his nose. As soon as he did it he got a reward scratch in his favourite spot and then we move on to the next. I had an upturned bucket, a coffee table, the big blue ball, a tree and a post.

The first time we did the circuit he only needed gentle prompting once or twice. The second time he did it straight away with each, and the third time he was bored and started scratching himself and eating grass. What a clever boy he is! In between we did some porcupine, yields and driving.

I'm amazed at how casual he is about everything. It kinda doesn't make sense that I can shake a stick right in his face and he is ho hum about it, he'll let me bounce big shiny balls off his back without a blink, he'll walk across plastic tarp in the wind without question and then other times when in the saddle he will be anxious. Is it a riding thing? A pain thing? A gonna-round-up-cows thing? Or an gonna-play-polo thing? I wish I could work out what turns the switch.

I'm doing canter lead changes with my lessons and I so much want to do the same with Teddy, but in the saddle I cant as yet. There must be an answer.

Teddy Log: #132 - tarps, exercise balls and an obstacle cours...

Teddy Log: #132 - tarps, exercise balls and an obstacle cours...: Teddy had a great play today and he experienced a number of different things with me that he hadn't experienced before. I wanted to throw i...

#132 - tarps, exercise balls and an obstacle course

Teddy had a great play today and he experienced a number of different things with me that he hadn't experienced before. I wanted to throw in some confidence building exercises while he was having fun. We reviewed some of the old Parelli games in between exploring a plastic tarp I laid in the middle of the paddock, an obstacle course of chairs he had to do the squeeze game through and an large exercise ball to play with. He was fantastic!

When we approached the paddock I set everything up in he was very alert but not alarmed. While I unrugged him he was busy examining everything at a distance. Then I started giving him scratches and rubbing him down so he was relaxed. I interchanged playing Parelli games and the objects in the paddock. He was backing up with a light touch on the nose and would alternate feet to the side I touched him on as indicated, he was great with his head lowering when asked, he yeided his hind and front quarters well on one side and ok on the other. It's hard not to laugh when you are touching Teddy on the flank to move his bum around and he doesn't move so you increase the pressure to almost trying to touch his bones and all he does is turn his head and look at you like, " you really think I'm gonna move do you?" then lets out a sign like, "Whatever"

I took him around the paddock a number of times. The first time he just sniffed everything and didn't really seem concerned about these new objects, then the second time around he walked between the chairs without a care in the world, he just fit too. The next time around I asked him to walk over the plastic tarp which he did without a problem then he came around and picked up the end of the tarp with his teeth and played with it a bit. I'd let him sniff the exercise ball and then I kicked it to him and he just pushed it with his nose. I was surprised how well he was handling such a bouncy big shine blue rubber ball so I picked it up and held it up to his face - he just sniffed it, so then I started bouncing it off his back and he just stood there as if it was nothing.

For such a unpredictable horse he really showed complete trust in me. The only time he showed any concern was when we were finished and a gust of wind blew the tarp up and the noise startled him a bit. It was a great opportunity for me to take him over to it so he could investigated the tarp monster and he was great; just sniffed it and moved on.

Also, in between, I found all his favourite scratch spots so he was a very content horse. I realise now that I'm going to have to step it up a notch to keep him interested and engaged.

Great job Teddy Bear!

P.S. pic is just an example

Teddy Log: #131 - Time to play! Time to start thinking like a...

Teddy Log: #131 - Time to play! Time to start thinking like a...: Teddy and I need some serious play time. We both need a play partner at the moment because everything is way to serious and demanding; parti...

#131 - Time to play! Time to start thinking like a horse!

Teddy and I need some serious play time. We both need a play partner at the moment because everything is way to serious and demanding; particularly for Teddy with all the attention Gunny is getting. It's also important to keep Teddy stimulated as he can get gregarious and tends to loose his confidence... maybe I do a little too. I will make play a priority for a while.

I went for a lesson with Kim yesterday. Riding in eight degrees in the wind and drizzle isn't much fun, but The Horse Named Dick was really enjoying himself. I took him over a small jump for the first time at a trot and it was fun for both of us! It wasn't the usual log on the ground, it was a cross jump, and The Horse Named Dick was smooth, ears pricked forward and light on his feet. I had warmed up nicely and the sun came out. You could just tell he was right into it and it was great. Then after practising on the jump we were cantering around and he was the fastest he's ever been. This took me by surprise but it was great too. I now know I need to work on my balance at that speed as I could feel myself tensing up so I had to remind myself to relax. I need to see Teddy enjoying himself the same way Dick was too.

Teddy Log: #130 - Tall Teddys, Mini Moos & Pathetic Ponies

Teddy Log: #130 - Tall Teddys, Mini Moos & Pathetic Ponies: While working interstate I came across a group of about 11 horses that were in such bad condition that I sent all the delegates off to lun...

#130 - Tall Teddys, Mini Moos & Pathetic Ponies

While working interstate I came across a group of about 11 horses that were in such bad condition that I sent all the delegates off to lunch while I reported them to the RSPCA in Cairns. There was a palomino stallion pony that would be such a beautiful boy if he was taken care of but he was a mess and had a massive chunk out of his chest that was pussy and scabby and drawing flies. It was literally green on the inside and smelled. There was a colt and a filly that were so full of worms they looked like biaffran children with swollen bellies. There were two mares heavily in foal in a paddock with a large stallion that was so skinny it was sad, and this stallion was also a right bastard! He bullied every horse in the paddock. The mares were eating the little pick that was left among rusty sharp sheets of corrugated iron and barred wire, just waiting to be cut up. There were a few other horses but they were locked in a corral and couldn't come over. And this was a relatively small paddock in between a cultural centre that is a big tourist attraction and a primary school!

On the phone I really made a big deal about the palomino so the authorities would come out straight away and they said they would be there in 24 hours. I hope all went well and they at least treated the wound and had the paddock clear of all the crap - its was a mine field in a trench used to drain water and it was the only place grass was really growing so the mares were trying to get a feed there. Without a doubt they all came over to me in the hope of food.

Ros was with me and said she couldn't believe I would report people so quickly - too bloody right I will! Take care of your animals people or don't get them! They have a right to a happy healthy life just as much as we do!

When I got home from Cairns I was out with Teddy and he was Mr Moody for the first day then came around after that. I took him for a ride around the paddock and did some dressage and I was just trying to get him in the right head space. The session was no better or worse than last time, so at least we are consistant. The next time I rode I went out in the stock saddle and tried the same thing. He was just as stubborn about things to start with but then I couldn't be bothered so just slackened the reins and did some western and he was a heap more happier. I will concentrate on this a bit more and see how we go; see if there is a trail riding horse in him after all. I think I'm confident enough in my riding now to be able to handle what he does as long as he doesn't start rearing, bucking or pigrooting. I've actually never been on a horse that has reared or bucked - bunny hops yes, but serious rearing or bucking - never. I'd be more concerned about the buck but I hope I never have to go there. Teddy's never tried that really with me but if he was to I would suspect he'd be more likely to rear. Lets not put it to the test though.

Then yesterday one of our cows gave birth to our first baby bull. He's a lovely little thing and I've spent some time with them to make sure he is drink ok etc and all is great. I was worried for a moment but Mercedes is proving to be a great mum. Teddy on the other hand has decided that the cows and the calf are of no consequence unless I go over to see them, then he acts like the ultimate show off. I'm not sure what he thinks he's doing but his tail is up in the air and he's prancing around and then he'll chase the cows off. Not good with a newborn at foot and a heffer about to calf any day now! I've put him in the next paddock so he can still be near them but they can have a break from him for a few weeks until the babies get strong.