#198 - I could have closed the float behind Gran today!

She went in voluntarily. I didn't close the doors because I wanted it to be a good experience.

In time.

We are slowly getting there.

#196 - We did it!

After a very difficult start this morning we finally did it!

I was on my own and planned to ride Gran this morning so I was out in the paddocks first thing. I was feeling well (health wise) but very nervous about getting on, wondering what she was going to do.

Well, after the floating issue yesterday she wouldn't even come! Definitely not a good start. Food wouldn't entice her and as I had no plans of doing both ride and float training on the same day she wasn't to know this wasn't going to be an issue. I didn't have a halter with me as she just follows me most days so I didn't think it would be necessary. I also thought if Teddy came to the food so would she. Well Teddy and Gran must have had words as Teddy wasn't coming for the food either. Both my horses are guts, especially Gran, so this was highly unusual. They would get close but then back off. At one stage they both ran back to the back paddock.  I finally went and got a halter and just went up and caught her.

Straight off she started with the snorting. I got her groomed, saddled her up and got everything ready and started just leading her around. She snorted often and just the sight of the float, which she wasn't actually near, had her backing away. I kept her attention and then after some simple ground work I took her to the mounting block. It was Teddy Deja vu! Every time I went to put my foot in the stirrup she would step sideways. Teddy used to do this constantly! She stepped sideways, forward, around the block, snorted a few times and was basically driving me nuts. I was already anxious which wasn't helping but this was making me shake inside. I tried putting my weight on the stirrups, draping myself over the saddle (if I could reach), getting off the block and positioning her, leading her from on top of the block... nothing was working. I was feeling my anxiety turn to anger. I tied her to a post and went and got my crop. When we started again she continued with her antics and I would tap her back into place with the crop. She doesn't like crops either, not that I've ever harmed any animal with one, I do no more than taps, but I didn't even have to touch her most of the time, she would just move as it came towards her side with her head held high. Finally after only a minute or two with the crop and some reassurance from me she stood still and I got on. Challenge one complete.

Next I was hoping she wasn't going to buck me and was talking to myself to relax. I didn't feel as much tension in her back as the day she bucked me off but I could still feel tension. Again, I realise I was probably just as tense so was really trying hard to suck it up. I moved her on and once I got her into a consistent walk I relaxed. It was probably only a minute but it was a very long minute for me. Then I felt calm and things were great! I felt like I was back to normal. Challenge two complete.

We worked on position in a walk, diagonals at a walk and trot, changing diagonals, figure eights and finished with some cantering on either side. We are both out of practice so it was only about a 30 - 40 minute session but we did great. And Teddy only called out to her once! Challenge three complete.

Everything else was normal after that and I was pleased that I faced my fears. I don't think I will be as concerned on Thursday when we try again. I'm amazed at how one minor broken bone has shaken me so much but I'm determined to get past it. Doing it on my own was 75% of the fear that today help enormously.

The only other issue I have is the impact on my SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). This illness tires me out and luckily I'm still on annual leave so can rest when needed. I set out this morning at 8.30am and it is now 2.30pm and I am stuffed! It is going to be a lot of trial and error before I work this one out. It will be worked out regardless.

Gran Teddy Auto: #190 - Turned out and waiting patiently

Not a lot of change yet but I'm trying to remain optimistic.

It been a while since Gran's been in the float and I'll probably be back at square one, it's winter now so both Gran and Teddy are virtually turned out in the paddocks, I've just come back from holidays and I'm in constant pain at the moment so there is no telling when things will get back to normal and so they will just have to wait. But I am 100% committed to getting back on my horse and providing both them and me with some consistency.

While I was away for six weeks a friend came to the house to feed the horses and would change their rugs and brush them down on the weekend. I found it funny that when I asked how things went she told me Gran was a darling - what everyone says about her - and that Teddy was cheeky - also what everyone says! Apparently when she took the rug off Teddy he decided he didn't want it back on. When I asked what she did next she told me that she though she would try some natural horsemanship on him to catch him! I grinned to myself anticipating that this wouldn't have gone well unlike with most horses who respond to this, and asked how long did she try for and she said for well over an hour and a half and she got absolutely nowhere! She ended up luring him in with carrots LOL! Teddy wins again.

I didn't think to tell her the many methods I have developed over the years to catch Teddy and the first piece of advise should have been to not even bother trying to take his rug off and on without him tied. That horse loves a nudie run! She told me that there was such a contrast between my horses and you betcha! They are nothing alike, with Gran being an "I Will" type and Teddy a definite "What's in it for me!"

There is an upside to not being able to do a lot with them due to my ill health and that is the time I spend with them has become a treat, not just for me but for the horses too. They see me coming and they are both very happy. They really seem to enjoy my company, and not in a "feed me" way. We are all definitely bonding well. Teddy isn't as bitchy to Gran when I'm around (he's fine with her when I'm not there but he used to pin his ears back at her and chase her off as soon as I walked onto the scene). He's actually sharing feed with her now and they are side by side in my presence and no longer competing for attention. They are a lot more patient now as well, with me and each other. I'm not sure why, maybe its just the passage of time.

I had their brushes with me this morning when I went out to see them and they were just delightful, both seeking a brush behind the ears at the same time. Too cute!  I hope this all continues and I'm able to control my pain soon and fulfill my horsey dreams.

#188 - A lot to catch up on & a video of the horses playing

In a nutshell:

• Gran has been float training and has improved tremendously but still needs work
• The float has been modified (it took two and a half weeks to do!) - fixed jockey wheel, breaching doors reconfigured so I can close them without the centre divider, the tailgate spring has been fixed, three old hinges on the tailgate replaced with four new hinges, the roof, sides and floor have been resealed, and a side door holder has been attached so the wind wont blow it shut when Gran looks out during loading
• Teddy and Gran are in love! Teddy has taken to running around neighing for a few minutes when I take Gran away from the property. He also calls out when we come home while following the float down the drive
• Gran got an insect bite on her eye which required a vet visit. I had her checked out and it turns out she also has arthritis in her knee. Before I bought her I was told she had been seen by a chiropractor and a equine massage therapist for soreness as she had "started to pull up sore" after my visits and rides at the property and that she hadn't had this soreness before. Both "professionals" told the previous owner that she had soreness in the poll (a common issue). I believed it of course. My vet has told me that any qualified person, particularly a chiropractor worth their salt would have picked up the arthritis in the knee as the extent of it suggests its been there for a while. Neck - knee? What could it be? ...Unbelievable! Anyway I have been treating her and I believe we can manage it fine. She is showing no signs of soreness or lameness at the moment and she is being worked more than she has been in the past five years; or so I have been told.  This week I have ridden every other day and she has no lameness at all.
• Gran got loose (my stupidity) and got out onto the main road (the 80km road most people travel 100km on!) Luckily she didn't get hit by a car thanks to Teddy neighing to her which caused her to run back to him. Also I was lucky that a car towing a caravan coming slowly from one direction and a car towing a boat from the other. I had a minor heart attack and I think I've suffered some permanent trauma as a result! I now vow to get the front gates put on ASAP!
• Dressage with Gran is coming along nicely

This is a video of the horses hanging out at our dam, which I've posted to my Facebook page already so sorry for the double up Facebook readers. I put them in the dam area to eat grass but Teddy had other ideas:

#187 - Float training with Norm Glenn

Last weekend saw the start of my float training with Gran and a local horse trainer named Norm Glenn. I found Norm to be a great trainer with good sensible methods. He is also a good teacher which is a perfect combination. I say this as I have see a lot of accomplished horse people who just don't know how to explain themselves well and this just causes more stress and wasted time, resulting in everyone walking away unhappy.

Gran had more issues than I thought so after last weekend's non-stop half day training session I was required to reinforce the training everyday. I found this was successful but was still taking up to an hour each day just to close the tail gate, that I needed to lead her in to the float if I wanted it to be easier, I didn't feel totally safe doing it and it was very stressful. So I called Norm back and today we spent another two hours working through the problems and discovering ways that would best suit Gran to accept the float and load well. This is one of the reasons I like Norm. He doesn't have one or two methods and sticks to them, he nuts it out and works with the horse and the owner to find something that works. When I rang him to come back I was half expecting to hear, "Just persevere and it will eventually work" and if I had I would not have been happy, but thankfully he didn't, he said, "Ok, let's try something else."

This morning's session was extremely successful with Gran self loading and me not even entering the float,  and she learned to stand still until asked to come out. This allowed me to close the tail gate very easily and we even got to the stage where, after being loaded, I would ask her to unload and she would stay in the float! I had to guide her step-by-step out of the float on my terms.  This is exactly what I wanted.

Looking back over these two sessions I think that last weekend was more like watching Gran just get tired over the hours as I didn't see the complete acceptance that this was something she just has to do. There was still a definite, "stuff you!" vibe about her. Today it was like something clicked in her mind and you could not only see it but feel a completely different and calmer "accepting" vibe come off of her. I am now confident that we have achieved an attitude shift in Gran, but the only way I will know for sure will be over the next few days, even weeks.

The difference in method this time around was that she had no choices because it was felt that there wasn't a fear of the float from her or other major issues, that we had work through all that the last time around, and it was more she was trying to call the shots but planting her feet; in a way shutting down. It seemed to be like she was think she didn't want to do it so she wasn't going to do it. Today, the moment she refused the pressure was on within a half a second until she complied. Every move of the head was instantly redirected, every back away was met with all aids pointing in one direction - into the float - and the only time the pressure was released was, obviously, the moment she complied, or when her head was down and she was checking something out while licking her lips and chewing. No dressage whip was used to tap her anywhere as it proved to make the situation worse. This was all halter and lead rope work. All redirecting. I was taught to be forceful and quicker without being violent or punishing (either of which I would never tolerate). Actually, speed in my response was probably the key.  

I also discovered what a flexible horse she is, she's almost a contortionist! She can turn the whole front of her massive frame into a horseshoe shape in an attempt to look outside the back of the float and she can stay there as long as she likes. To look at her you would think there would be no way she could manage such a feat but, I kid you not, her front feet are almost level with her back feet and she is in a perfect horseshoe shape inside a regular double float! It would almost be comical if it wasn't for her trying to complete the turn and leave the float head first! I actually think that she would follow through with this idea if it weren't for me preventing her! She also does this in the float when traveling so now she is on a very short lead.

Where to from here? Continue to practice. If tomorrow goes well I will have my lesson at Kim's and take Gran in the float, but that will only happen if I'm totally comfortable with it.

Below is some footage of the first training session. Unfortunately Steve was not available to film the end of that day and was unable to capture anything today, and half the time I am learning to load Gran. It was filmed on a very windy day and I have sped the footage up just because it can be kind of boring. But what you will see is what she was like at the start - very little rearing or kicking or bucking, though it's there, but more refusal to go in and/or stay in the float. Also her trying, in her plodder way, to push people around. The main problem was that she could do the 'half in half out' or 'in for 30 seconds' things for literally hours on end. HOURS! She would just wear people out. Also this was before we discovered that she responded better without a dressage whip in hand.

A hell of a lot of progress was made and I will hopefully film an "After" portion in the next few days to demonstrate the difference. 

#186 - Gran has a big day tomorrow

I heard back from the previous owner who said she was too busy to come and show me how she floated Gran and suggested I get a professional out to teach me how to handle her. I assured her that it wasn't my handling skills that were in question! The fact that I've already had professional horse handles/breeder/ Equestrian Australia qualified coaches out and they couldn't get her in the float is evidence enough to me that it isn't about handling skills.  I know how to handle a horse and I'm sure the professionals do too, they have been doing it their whole lives! Gran simply has floating issues. Period. Telling me she scrambled once is not disclosure either!

Anyway, Gran has a big day tomorrow as I am paying good money to have Norm Glenn out to reeducate her to go in the float.

http://www.normglenn.com/

I have had a lot of good feedback about his methods and have been told he is the go-to-guy in the region for solving horse problems. So fingers crossed this works because if it doesn't I won't be happy in will be heading down avenues I would prefer not to.

The photo is of Norm doing his thing with another horse. Tomorrow I intend to have photos and video of Gran doing the same thing - self loading!

I am feeling positive!

#184 - I'm sore and Gran isn't! Progress!

A blog-able occurrence. I took Gran for a ride this morning, mainly walking and trot, about even amounts of time and she doesn't seem to have pulled up sore. She is definately better in one direction than the other but I don't think that has anything to do with her health, she is just left handed like me.

 Me on the other hand am aching like an out of work cowboy.  I guess that is progress on both fronts.

We got it out of the way early due to the heat but I'll go do some floating with her this evening. It was recommended I get a rearing bit to make us progress quicker but I am definitely not confident in using one so will leave that to the experts and plod along the way I am. 

#183 - My Granny wont float

Yay, I have a new horse with her own issues. Thankfully it appears to be her only one but she just wont go in the horse float and when coaxed in she plays up.  She goes left and right and jumps around and being such a big girl I need to be particularly careful.

I am trying to get her in each day and when she will go in she backs out virtually straight away.  She pulled back with such force that even when anchoring with all my weight she still managed to take me skiing in the paddock on two occasions. I had to drop the lead twice too. I got her in about five or six times and she ate a mouthful while she was there about half the time but she quickly backed out again. I try being encouraging and talk sweetly and pat her while she is in but if she backs up I have to let her go until she gets passed the entrance as she may hit her head on the top of the float and that would just be more  trouble. She grazed the top of her head today on the top of the float flap but I stopped her on the ramp. Stopping her on the ramp is successful some of the time and I will just have to preserver.

It doesn't help that I have a shocking headache or that Teddy decided to run around neighing for 30 seconds while I was inside the float with her. Sending her searching for him (this was when she grazed the top).

Ideally I hope she will learn to self load but we are very far off that now. I will try again tomorrow and the day after that, so on and so forth. I may have to buy a rearing bit just to gain more control.  She certainly gives me a workout though and don't be fooled my the photo looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth... we that is actually unfair, she is great apart from the floating issue.