#129 - Allergies and Teddy training

Ok, it's official, I'm allergic to horses. Unbelievable!

I have done the tests and on top of my dust mite allergy, which I already knew about, horse was the only other thing that came up. I was sure it would be due to a type of grass but I was wrong. Never mind, Teddy isn't going anywhere and I will have as many needles as it takes to fix this. So far it's a needle a fortnight for a total of 8 shots, then I hope to go on a maintenance schedule - if it all goes well, which I'm confident it will. It better be as I want the rest of my life to be around horses!

I've been working Teddy more and things are going OK. I tried the German way of mounting for the first time with Teddy and he objected. Verging on rearing really, so I take it that he would like to stick to the English style LOL!

He actually was getting a bit lazy or stubborn in the last ride where for the first time I had to ask him to go forward. I never thought I would see the day. I got some keepers for the FM bit and put the nose band back on the bridle and he had no problem with that but as for head tossing - it made no difference. At least I can be sure now that the bit is sitting correctly in his mouth and not causing him any issues. Our last ride was spent trying to relax him and then trot consistently for me. He's still a very fast trotter but I work well with it now, just need to smooth this out. Now the weather has improved you would think it was full steam ahead, but I am away for work again next week for seven days. The sun better be shining when I return!

#123 - a giddyup weekend!

The woman holding this horse is about 5 foot 6 or 7. Now that's a big boy!

******

I've had a very horsey weekend, which I love. Yesterday Teddy and I had a great ride after my initial problems with him stepping away from the mounting coffee table. Once that was overcome it was great, but while it lasted it was total frustration! I just cant get enough ground work in to correct this due to all the rain we've been having. I'll keep at it.

I tested how well Teddy would serpentine through the witches hats I had set out. This was done using only my butt as his guide. He did it that well that I had him doing complete circles around each witches hat before changing direction to the next hat. I'd change the direction of each circle and mix it up, keeping him thinking as much as I could. He was loving it. We would trot up the side of the fence to do the next series of exercises and he went really well, only starting to toss his head at the trotting stage. His motion in trot was a lot smoother then it has been and that is probably a direct result of my improvements in riding.

Today I went for a coaching ride on the horse named Dick and I was learning how to do a transition from trot to walk then back into trot without using my hands or arms to slow him down or bring him to a halt. It was a while before it felt normal to use my body to ask these things of a horse as I am used to pulling a horse up by pulling back on the reins with my hands. This new approach worked very well and I can see how I really need to think about "as little as possible to just enough" when asking a horse to do something. The horse named Dick is a school horse so he tends to take any opportunity he can to go from trotting to a complete stop! Once I worked out this technique (albeit my first lesson trying) it was great to not pivot forward when the horse named Dick would transition from trot to stop. I'm now thinking of this part of my riding in a whole new light.

This got me wondering about Teddy and his head tossing on the drive home. I think it may be a case of Teddy only knowing how to be stopped with the position of the rider's body and weight shift rather than having the reins pulled back to slow him down or bring him to a halt. I have always pulled on the reins with him so this could explain why he tosses his head when I do this... a bit like Teddy saying "what are you pulling on my mouth for? What do you want from me?!" It will be interesting to see how Teddy responds on our next ride when I put this to the test. After all, Teddy has proven to be excellent with leg aids, weight shifts and he will change direction just with the turn of my head. I can't wait to see if this is the case and I finally have an answer to his head tossing. I best not get my hopes up yet though.

The only down side this week has been the delay, or even the possible inability, to get my horse float as the one I had lined up has now doubled in price. I don't have the extra money now so I hope I get a great tax return and can get it as soon as possible! If not that one then maybe another, though I really like this one and know it's in great order.

Also I have had my allergy in a shocking way. After riding Teddy yesterday I had some friends over and I was itching and sneezing and spluttering all night, which was kind of embarrassing. I woke this morning to discover that the symptoms hadn't gone away and it progressively got worse as the day went on. Right now I am typing this with Steve telling me I look as pale as a ghost with puffy red eyes and red nose... or as he so gently put it, "you look shocking!" The tears haven't stopped and the sneezing is so frequent that I sometimes wonder if the latest sneeze round will ever stop! But then again, how many people will just sneeze once? Six sneezes in a row gets a bit much though! It's a strange time of the year to be like this so I think that it may be the result of a winter flowering plant - possibly a wattle tree or something like that. My mum was allergic to jasmine but I don't think I've inherited that. I've definitely got something that is in my paddocks because I don't get this at Kim's place unless I've gone there from home. When I go to a lesson after work I don't have any real problem. I'll have to go back to the allergist as soon as I can as I don't want this interfering with my time with Teddy, the weather is doing that enough as it is.

#117 - Home from Japan and Teddy is a bit shirty with me

I got home from Japan late at night so I couldn't see Teddy until the next day after work. He came up to me as usual but there was no little neighs or anything like that, which I am used to. He seemed unhappy; maybe because I had gone and left him with Steve who basically leaves food out for him and goes.

I explained to Teddy that we now have a new ute so we just have to wait for the float then we are off learning together. He just ate his feed. It was sad. Poor Teddy feels neglected, I will have to make this a special weekend for him.

#115 - Dressage equals head tossing!

Finally I'm back on Teddy Log. Google had an issue but now it appears to be fixed.

I have been away for work and I caught another cold so I haven't been riding Teddy much. I have had my lessons and they are going well but last night was the first time in two weeks that I've saddled Teddy up.

I'd been using the stock saddle prior, for about a month due to his girthiness, but as he seems to be fine I got the GP saddle out and saddled up last night with the hope of doing some dressage. It was getting dark so I didn't have a heap of time and I would have preferred to have done some ground work or at least given him a quick lunge just to warm him up a bit but I couldn't, so I just mounted and walked him. He was in such a hurry it was silly. I was asking him to relax but he couldn't and the head tossing started again and didn't stop. I had him collected to see how he'd be with the dressage but he clearly wasn't into it. We trotted around for a while while I tried to get him into a walk but I wasn't getting very far, he'd walk a few steps then go back into trot. My balance was good and I didn't have any concerns for myself but I definitely wanted Teddy to relax and it just wasn't going to happen last night. Talk about being forward!

He was a good boy nonetheless. I think that saddle or girth may not be right for him as he was reacting with it being done up so I will look at getting either a pressure ease girth for it, or because it has short points I might have to sell it if the pressure ease girths don't come in such a big length. I will investigate and see what is the best option.

At least we got back into the saddle. I am so looking forward to getting my car and float so I can take him to have lessons with me, that way we can both be trained. Hopefully it wont be much longer to wait. I think the car may be just around the corner if I play my cards right. Wish me luck!

#114 - Had a wonderful ride last night!

I rode the horse named Dick last night and it was one of my better rides, particularly as I am finally starting to overcome this cold and I didn't feel as bad as the last time I rode.

I saddled up around 4.45pm and it was a beautiful night with a red sky so I felt like I was riding into the sunset! And all the horses on the property, about 50 of them, were being fed around me so they were all frisky. It was nice watching foals leaping in the distance while I cantered along.

Most importantly I learn that not only do I need to use my outer leg as an aid to canter but also that I must keep it there and have my inner leg forward. This is really important and is something that I wasn't aware of as it tells the horse that you want it to keep going in the canter. It could explain why Teddy stops so abruptly when I set him off into canter. I have been using the leg aid to start him and he would go straight into canter like a legend but then he would just stop. I thought it might be due to the position of the reins but when we ride tomorrow, weather permitting, I will see if its due to my leg aid not remaining at his side.

It will be interesting to see what the result is and how he responds. At least I now feel like I've got everything coordinated.

#113 - How to steer a horse with your butt!

Yep it's true, today I learned how to steer a horse using nothing but my butt cheeks and the slightest tilt of the hips. I am supposed to master this new technique over time at a walk, sitting trot, rising trot and a canter! It appears to be that as a dressage rider you need to be a contortionist as well!

On a cuter note, the pictures above are of a newborn foal from the shetland pony stud down the road from Aurum. The owners are away so these two are being cared for my Kim at her property. Aren't they just gorgeous!

I wish you could see the scale of these two. The mum is a full grown shetland at a height of about 9 to 10 hands high or approximately 90 - 100 cm, so as you can see from the footage below the filly can walk under her mum's belly! I'd guess that she is about 40 - 50 cm tall! Too cute! She was having a dream while I was watching her and must have been going for a little gallop as she had her little legs going! I wanted to put her in my car and take her home with me!

#111 - Oh how I missed you Teddy Bear!

After work today I saw Teddy for the first time since Saturday and it made me realise how much I love that horse! We had a chat and I told him about my work trip to Cairns while he ate his tea and the sun started to set. I was meant to go to a dressage lesson after work but seeing as I have my own horse who I missed so much it wouldn't have made sense to be with another horse so I came home instead. I hope the rain stays away so we can go for a ride this weekend.

#107 -If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question or asked the question wrong

I had a lot of guests over for a BBQ on Easter Saturday and Teddy enjoyed all the attention that was heaped upon him. After the initial comments of "He's huge!", "I didn't realise he was so big" and "I'll stay on this side of the gate thanks" and few brave souls including a 13 year old girl and a one year old in her mother's arms came into the paddock with me to see for themselves what a sweet soul my Teddy really is.

I think at times this log does Teddy an injustice and portrays him as a maniac, which isn't the case at all; he's just very bright and at times can have other ideas about the way things should work. He also can be a bit stubborn or excitable. As Maxwell Smart once said, "Give him an inch and he thinks he's a ruler!" - Well that can be Teddy! But 70% of the time he is a well behaved boy who tries very hard and the other 30% - well he has me as an owner and I'm always learning how to ask the right questions to get the desired response. I never claimed to be an expert horse trainer but I'm doing pretty damn well so far.

Tamsyn, the 13 year old, had a nice time learning how to lead a horse, the baby adored reaching out and patting Teddy and Jen almost let her finger become Teddy's lunch! Everyone was patting Teddy and giving him treats so he was lapping it all up.

Then yesterday I had two friends, Caroline (aka Crow) and Shane spend the night and Crow came out with me while I did more ground work with Teddy. I continued on with the mounting coffee table exercises and he was much better. No circling the table this time and each time he got in the correct position and stood still while I leaning over him. I already think that the next lesson will include me draping myself over his back and seeing how long he will stand for and build on the time. For a second lesson he's doing extremely well though.

#100 - OMG! My 100th BLOG! It's video time!

I cant believe time has gone so fast. And looking back heaps has happened in my horsey life and I love it. Sometimes I get so frustrated I'm in tears and others I couldn't be happier. My patience has improved an unbelievable amount and I've learned heaps. Teddy and I have taught each other a lot.

Today we expanded on the friendly, porcupine and driving games. I forgot to take the carrot stick with me so driving Teddy forward while standing in zone three just wasn't happening. He was just looking at me like, "What?"

It's been a long while since we had concentrated on this so it was fun and he was great. His friendly game is perfect so I will introduce and umbrella or something tomorrow, during the porcupine game I don't even have to touch him on one side but his sore side I needed to press on his skin. He was quick to look around so I think it was a matter of him worried I was going to make him sore or something. During the driving game he responded straight away but I still needed to wiggle the line, if I wave a finger he gives me the "What?" look again!

He lowers his head when asked but never all the way to the ground. That could be my fault as I used to just teach it to my waist so it's easy to get the halter on and off. I should have been going further if I really wanted to stick to the plan. Also, I can pick up all his feet from one side without changing sides.

I'll have to go back to the plan to see what comes next because I've forgotten! I had one of those little hand books in my pocket and when I took it out to read it Teddy was right there beside looking as if he was having a read too; but it must have looked tasty cause he then tried to eat it.

The rest of the time I spent leading him and just stopping at any and varied moments to make sure he stopped straight away and along side me. I did this leading from both sides. He's great at that too. Good job Teddy, I should mix it up more often and not ride all the time.

To celebrate our 100th blog I have posted this 40 second video of Teddy in the morning. I hope it's clear enough for you to see his droopy eyes.

#71 - Diagonals, film and photos

The above video is the only footage I have of myself riding today as Kim, my instructor and video taker, was unfamiliar with my camera and when she thought she was filming she wasn't, and when she thought she wasn't, she was. As a result I have 25 minutes of footage looking at the arena floor or Kim's fingers. LOL! Too cute!

Luckily we have a few photos as well. I will be instructing the instructor on the better use of my camera next time (poor Kim didn't really have any instruction this time around).

Today my lesson got off to a late start as the vet was at Aurum when I arrived. So I watched a pregnancy ultrasound being performed on a mare and held a towel for the vet so he could see the ultrasound screen. It appears that Kim and Richard can expect a newborn foal this coming December. A brother or sister to this little girl pictured above.

As for the lesson, well I've decided that Dick must be reading Teddy Log because after Sunday's post I was really tested in the first five minutes of today's lesson. I thought he was going to run into a fence he was that keen not to do as I asked! However this time it may well have been my aids as I need to really exaggerate my movements due to my natural flexibility. I turn my head and almost have to look at the top of the horse's bum before my shoulders turn as an aid. This, combined with a too loose rein probably wasn't getting the message through to the horse. But once I corrected this Dick did a pretty good job.

It's easy to let something like that fluster you and put off your equilibrium at the start of a lesson so I took the time to refocus with a few deep breaths and started over.

When we got into the lesson we concentrated on diagonals while posting and I think I did it quite well. The challenge here is knowing if I'm on the correct leg without looking. Once again, like with all other parts of riding, it's about feel not sight. I did this fairly well on both reins and will practise this further with Teddy after the dentist gives him the all clear tomorrow. Any practise on my own will be hard so I might spend my time with Teddy working on recognising foot fall by feel instead of at pace. I don't want to think I'm doing it right to discover at my next lesson that I've mixed it all up.

Nearing the end of the lesson Dick would break into canter when he shouldn't, almost like a child in the back seat of the car saying, "Are we there yet?!" I quickly regained his focus and finished the lesson the way Kim requested me too, not the way Dick wanted.

I think Dick got the message that I'm worth listening too this time. Hopefully I'll see proof of this on Saturday.

#55 - got ya!

Today Teddy was easily caught in the hallway and was completely fine. He was a bit forward wanting to walk ahead of me but that was quickly corrected then he was groomed and rugged.

As both Steve and I work tomorrow he has been put in the front paddock so things are easier. Hopefully I can work things through from the front paddock but if not I will reinstate the hallway when I get time off work.

Riders club is having a rally this week to which I was invited but I wont be able to attend with Teddy as its at the indoor arena and I cant get us there. Beside I'm not ready for that yet, however I might go check it out.

#46 - Message to a friend on Teddy

Thanks for the message and your concern. I welcome any advise and wont give up. Today I went out and had carrots in my hands for him and the cows. I got to the cows first so gave Chapelle a carrot and Teddy came up behind me. I knew he was there and turned around gently with a carrot out for him and he literally was shaking in the front legs for a moment. I am not sure if it was a fear response or flight but I just stood there and he didn't run, he just hung around and was a perfect guy after that, like there was no threat at all. I had my hands all over his face and not a problem and then he followed me back to the house. Even when I went over to give Mercedes a carrot he was not pushy or anything but I did feel a dominant air about him. Fickle bloody horse he is!

The only other person I have seen try to catch him was Sam when I first got him and he was stand offish with her too. Not to the extent he is now but he wasn't to this extend for me then either. I do agree that this is probably a dominance thing as I cant see how it could be a fear thing. The only other thing I this is it is from that bridle I brought and used twice. That is the only connection I can make as it happened directly after the first time I used it on him and he was behaving strangely that day as I was riding him - actually both times I used it. My first thought was to have his teeth checked then I realised that when Pol did the assessment on him about two week prior he was completely fine. I used his regular bridle then and always in the past without a problem but when I bought the saddle I realised I had left my bridles in Sam's float so I just brought a $60 one there and used it on him twice (I was too impatient wanting to ride!).

I will spend a couple of weeks to see if i can get him past it before attempting to put his old bridle back on. If he acts strange with that then I know its something else. I know he is a punk and he has attitude, which really isn't that bad, and even after rearing up a few times on me yesterday i then cleaned and oiled his hooves and he was fine. It's just around his face he acts a shit. Otherwise he is doing great with peralli and has been good with me on him. Better than I even expected. But what is with the leg shakes? I wish I knew. It's got be baffled. He's getting fat too with all this spring grass too and I've got heaps of it so I want to be able to exercise him. Ahh well! what's a girl to do?

Teddy Log #22 - Teddy took me on - and lost!

This afternoon I put on my gumboots (yes the pink ones!), my jacket and hat and I headed out into the rain and to Teddy's paddock with a bucket of feed, his halter and lead and my carrot stick (minus the string).

Teddy knows the white feed bucket when he sees it so he headed straight over but I put it on the other side of the little river that has formed between my neighbours property and our dam. This way it was out of his reach. I attempted to catch him but he played the same old evasive game, so I upped the ante quick smart and tipped the feed into his rubber trough and stood a few steps from it leaving a clear path for Teddy to get to it. He waltzed right over but before he could take a bite I blocked him with the carrot stick. He paced around, just out of reach, attempting to get to the feed but I continued to block him every time - this went on for a good 20 minutes. He wasn't giving in and never was I.

I talked sweetly to him the whole time, putting out the halter for him to sniff and nibble etc and telling him that if he were a wild horse he'd have a herd leader telling him when he could drink, eat and play with the girls so now he would have to contend with a new-improved leader in me. He was evasive and shifty by trying to pace rings around me, he tried to ignore me and walk away to get me to follow him, he pretended his attention was taken by a roo pouncing through the paddock but as soon as I looked in that direction he went for the feed. Still I took possession of the feed, talking sweetly too him, and tried to reassure him that I wasn't going to hurt him. I let him sniff the halter and lead etc. He wasn't getting the feed and I wasn't getting the halter on him or able to touch him in any way.

Teddy got fed up after 20 minutes and changed tack. He pinned his ears back and raised his head above me (he's huge compared to me). He was as threatening as he could be, showing me the whites of his eyes and turning his head to the side and staring me down with his ears back and body within inches of me flicking his head at me. But I stood my ground. I looked up at him and softly said, "I don't think so mate."

I continued to talk to him and put the halter out to him. After another 5 minutes of this I took the end of the lead and managed to softly stroked his cheek with it. He still had his ears back and looking at me like he was going to stomp me but he didn't pull away. I continued to stroke his face with the end of the lead rope. After a minute or two of this I allow him to have a mouthful of feed. When I blocked him for his second bite the evasive game started again, but this time only for a minute then he let me stroke him with the lead and then, eventually, my hand.

I wanted to keep the pressure on so I didn't allow him to eat until he let me drape the lead rope around his neck. This happened within a few minutes so I let him have another mouthful. Then I let him loose and stepped away. He went for the feed and I blocked him. He took a few steps back and just looked at me so I stroked his face with my hand, put the lead rope around his neck and put the halter on. I was talking sweetly to him this whole time and when the halter was on I rubbed him between the eyes (his favourite spot), then took the halter off and let him have some feed.

At this stage I took the carrot stick and backed him up away from the feed but he was in a new frame of mind and moved his head to me for a pat. I gave him one, haltered him again and led him to his feed, which he ate. I took the halter off and while he ate I rubbed him between the eyes. He was content.

I pick up the white bucket and my other things and walked to the gate, a fair distance from where he was eating. Then I went back to him with the halter in my hand. He just let me halter him, give him a pat and take the halter off again.

It ended on a good note and I feel Teddy understood it wasn't a bad experience after all. Tomorrow I will probably have to go through it all again. We will see. All I can be sure of is that I better get bloody good and reading his bluff or I could be in all sorts of trouble!

I'm sure I'll be fine.

Teddy Log #10 - Fearful horse may be the wrong horse for me

My Teddy is not the same horse that I bought, to the extent that the person I took with me to buy him, a horse rider/trainer/breaker/dressage/show person etc with over 30 years experience, asked me if I thought that he may have been drugged when I bought him.

I know deep down in my heart that he is a sweet and gentle guy but he just seems to be fearful and fretting more and more. He is started to show some unpredictable tendencies which concern me.

I searched the register and spoke to his breeder; the person who had him 9 years then sold him to the person I bought him from (the latter only had him 4 months). I believe what the breeder was saying to me as I think that she would have nothing to gain from telling me lies. By all accounts Teddy should be a well adjusted horse with extensive dressage, polo and jumping experience and no vices.

But since I've have him (3 months) I discovered that his shoes were not properly down giving him soreness in his frog and some lameness, which I am correcting. My farrier even asked if he was previously done by a qualified farrier! He also has girth, neck and back soreness from an ill fitting saddle that even I could see didn't fit when I went there. She also gave me his rugs that don't fit and he's gained weight since I've had him! I think he needs a companion even though she claimed his was a solo horse, as he passes and runs around a lot. He is also fearful for reasons unknown, which is my biggest concern.

I could take him back to the person I bought him from and demand my money back and have two people who could verify his issues, however I am not going to return him to that kind of treatment. He deserves better.

He may need a companion, better training or an understanding person and I will continue to try to do this but I have concerns that I will go to a great deal of time and expense for little gain. I am at a loss in so many ways about this problem.

What I have decided to do for now is to work with him much more extensively every day. Luckily I have a very supportive partner who will take on all the other things around the house while I do this. I will see if I can get him through this fretting and fear and at the same time look for an old school master to either be his companion or to have him learn from, or sell him on.

I really love my Teddy bear but I cant justify the expense of a horse that doesn't meet my requirements.