Teddy Log: #89 - It looks like I will be selling Teddy

Teddy Log: #89 - It looks like I will be selling Teddy: "I took Teddy over to the reserve today just with a halter and lead rope as I knew my ARC would be their doing a trial and after last weeken..."

#89 - It looks like I will be selling Teddy

I took Teddy over to the reserve today just with a halter and lead rope as I knew my ARC would be their doing a trial and after last weekends episode I thought it would be a good opportunity to put Teddy in a stall and just let him soak up the atmosphere and relax a bit. I'm pleased to say that he did and there was no repeat of the overexcited hyperactive jittering of last Saturday. Of course he was on full alert but any horse would be, and he was neighing out and circling in the stall for a a little while but he calmed down quickly enough.

While I was sitting there watching other people and their horses going through their lessons etc. I was feeling a bit disheartened as this is what I want to be doing with Teddy but because he's so hot and I'm so green it just doesn't work out for me that way. It was hard to see all the work I have been doing and the success Teddy and I have had but still being so far from my goal.

I had the idea to ask one of the riders there, Deb, an experienced and skilled rider, to take Teddy for a ride and to provide her suggestions or opinions on him to me. She was working her own horse and couldn't but asked a competition rider and trainer there by the name of Kerry if she would and she agreed. I went home and got Teddy's gear and saddled him up.

I had to hold Teddy still for Kerry to get on him but once she was on all went well. She took him through his paces and really loved him, saying that he was really responsive to all the aids, was a bit stiff but this would work out with more work, very forward moving and would make an excellent dressage mount. She said that he does head toss but she believed that this would go away once he was put into some serious work as he was a doer and wanted to respond immediately to everything, really trying to do all that was asked. She also thought that he was not suitable for a rider at my skill level, that me being green and returning to riding and trying to find my balance again would be very difficult on a horse like Teddy. She thought that although I would eventually get to the level required to handle Teddy correctly in the saddle, by the time I get there he would be wasted in a paddock when she believed he would go far in competition. She even said that if she could she would consider having him herself but she wasn't in the position to.

I agreed with her totally as he is really such a good horse and even at my level of riding skill I can see how hard he works and how responsive he is. The problem is he is just too quick to respond for a person like me who has to think about what to do next. By the time I have gone through my next move in my head he is well and truly gone and I cant catch up. This could be dangerous and it definitely can be scary. This response from Teddy is great for an experienced rider but not for a green rider like me.

I don't want to see Teddy go to waste and I know he could be really special to someone who can take him to the level he can and should be at, so I have decided that it is probably best that I sell him to that special someone.

This decision does break my heart as I love him but I need to do what is right for the both of us and as my friend says, it cost just as much to have an unsuitable horse as it does a suitable one. I cant afford two horses right now and I need a horse that works for someone at my level. If I was an accomplished rider and ready for any of those things that Teddy is so good at - dressage and polo-cross - then he would be a fantastic horse for me, but here and now I need a plodder and he needs a goer.

I just hope the right home presents itself for my Teddy boy.

#88 - trial and error

I went an bought a narrow gullet for the all-purpose saddle and its made it fit perfectly. Who would have thought that Teddy, a 15.3 hh stock horse would require a narrow gullet? His stock horse line must have a lot of thoroughbred in it. In the past I would tell people that he has a high withers and they would say, "No he doesn't"; well this proves it.

So with a great fitting saddle and no riser I went out in the paddock with him today for our 2nd trial with the pee wee. He was doing great until I made him continually come to a complete stop and wait before going again - this started some head tossing. At first a little but I was determined to call the shots and he jigs about at times when asked to halt so the objective of the exercise was to do a drill at longer and longer intervals. We had already done a number of other exercises so this was to finish up. By the time we had done the exercise a heap of times and he had gone from being asked to halt at the count of 15 and then increasing two counts each request until we reached 40, e.g. count at a walk to 15 then halt, count at a walk to 17 then halt etc. By the time we got to 40 he was doing the halt perfectly, complete and not moving forward until asked, but he was tossing his head a lot again.

Even though the halt was asked very gently, literally only done with my two ring fingers on either rein, I guess the bit was making itself known and he was choosing not to accept it.

I'll have a think about how I am going to tackle this in the next step.

Teddy Log: #87 - a new saddle and bit added to the collection...

Teddy Log: #87 - a new saddle and bit added to the collection...: "I have recently purchased a second hand all-purpose Wintec saddle off ebay from Tassie. The lady who sold it said she had only used it twic..."

#87 - a new saddle and bit added to the collection

I have recently purchased a second hand all-purpose Wintec saddle off ebay from Tassie. The lady who sold it said she had only used it twice and I can honestly say that it looks like its never been used at all! It was a great bargain for something in such good condition and it has an interchangeable gullet so I can use it on pretty much any horse. The gullet in it at the moment is the standard black so I will need to get the red one as it's a bit too big. Until then I have been using my riser and it's fine. It's a nice, comfortable ride and it will work better when practising my balance. And I've saved myself about a grand in the process!

I also bought a pee wee bit to help with Teddy's head tossing issues. I've tried the full cheek snaffle, a hanovarian bridle with a egg butt snaffle, and a tom thumb but they made no difference so I continued my research on bits. It appears that the pee wee has had great success with working and training horses, particularly with Teddy's issues. I thought I would give it a go and I was stunned at the results!

I know it was our first go with it and it's still a trial for me but the improvement was remarkable! Where I was putting up with constant head tossing for the first 30 minutes or so and then it would slow down but not go away; this time I had five tosses at the start then nothing. I couldn't believe it. He wasn't in a hurry to get it out of his mouth like he usually is after a ride and he wasn't backing away, he stood there with his head low, gentle look in his eyes and nuzzling my side! Hopefully this isn't just a matter of a change for a day then back to normal.

The pee wee is a bit that you need to use sensibly as any rough handling could cause a problem but it is considered the gentlest bit on the market. It is to be used with a gentle hand and that is exactly what I am learning with my coaching from Kim. It's also not to be used as a curb as the chin is to be loose and just there to hold the bit in place.

At first I thought it was particularly good marketing but after researching a lot of leisure riders and professional riders comments I thought I should give it a go. People either have remarkable success with it or no success at all, very few have the latter. Even though it hasn't been approved for the dressage ring as yet a lot of dressage people use it for training and that is exactly what Teddy is doing - training to be a calm and relaxed, accepting horse. The pee wee doesn't work for every horse but that is the case with them all or there wouldn't be so many on the market.

Anyway, I'll take it around for Kim to have a look and I will be open minded about the whole thing, but so far so good.

#86 - Being whacked in the nose by a horse really hurts!

The morning started well but ended on a serious downer. Mainly due to the pain in my nose.

It began with me deciding that I would try Teddy with a Hanoverian bridle and a snaffle bit to see if this helped with his head tossing. I tacked up and then decided that I would take him across the road to the arena seeing as things went so well the last time we were there.

All was fine until we got to the grounds and were just near the arena and discovered that Kyneton Pony Club were there with about 30 horse and riders all set up to do various activities. At first Teddy was on high alert which was no problem, similar to last time and he took so much interest in the two other ponies. Then when we got to the arena I was told that on pony club days the KDARC arena was meant to be used for the pony club and I was asked if I'd be happy to share. That was very nice of them to offer but I was happy for them to use it for themselves, I just didn't know that this was the arrangement. It also wasn't a big deal as Teddy was getting more and more excited and needed to calm down. About 20 horses were closing in around the area and Teddy was becoming more and more reactive. I hadn't got on his back and decided that seeing as we couldn't use the arena I would stick around so Teddy could get used to the goings on around him and calm down.

Unfortunately he didn't calm down amongst it all and I didn't want to freak the kids out so I decided to take him to the edge of the paddock, about 100 metres or more away from a group of about 10 riders taking poles out of the ground. I stood well enough away but Teddy just ran around me in circles endlessly. If a horse neighed out he neighed back and he pooed a total of 6 times! Over excited, stressed, whatever he was going through he was running and tossing so I decided that I would just let him go through it for as long as it took for him to either calm down or tire out.

After about 20 minutes of this he was finally 'beginning' to calm. Steve showed up and was very nervous about the whole situation (thank god he didn't see Teddy at his worst!). I understand his apprehension as he is worried that Teddy is going to hurt me or someone else. After all my hard work Steve was starting to change his views on Teddy but this was taking us back a bit. Picking up on Steve's vibe Teddy started to nudge into me and when I was talking to Steve, not giving the situation my full attention, I turn right into a massive smack in the nose by my horse's head!

OMG it hurt! It hurt so much I let go of the reins and grabbed my face! Luckily I realised what I had done and grabbed hold of the reins again before Teddy bolted off and caused Pony Club mayhem! I stood there holding my nose with tears pouring down my cheeks. I thought I had broken it but there was no blood. Steve looked horrified and all I could think was that he would hate and fear Teddy again. He checked my nose and gave it the OK and then he said "He's dangerous!" My heart sank.

I tried to explain that this was just as much my fault for losing my concentration in a situation like this but Teddy was still hyper so it just wasn't the time or place. We headed home.

On the way home Teddy became much calmer, just being away from the environment and being one-on-one again did wonders for him. He was 80% better by the time we walked the five minutes to our house. At home I took him for a ride around the paddock until he was totally calmed. Unfortunately he was still tossing his head.

The cartilage between my nostrils hurts like buggery but I'm more sad about how Teddy behaved around other horses. I know its not the arena as we have been there before so it had to be the other horses and this really sucks because I want a trail riding horse. I don't know how I am going to work him through this but I'm determined to give it a red hot go!

#85 - everything is coming up roses!

Yep, Teddy and I are going gangbusters on all fronts. My riding is improving, Teddy's ground work is improving - his trot is normal pace now so I don't feel like a mexican jumping bean - he's behaving well, he's happy and relaxed and so am I... it's just great!

To celebrate I have posted a random picture I took of a quokka in WA... Go quokka!