Gran Teddy Auto: #190 - Turned out and waiting pat...

Gran Teddy Auto: Gran Teddy Auto: #190 - Turned out and waiting pat...: 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 ...

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.

#189 - Not According to Plan but we have some Pros and Cons to share

Due to my recent health issues things have not been going the way I hoped they would with my horsemanship, but as I'm trying to remain optimistic I have recognised some unexpected positives.

Gran's float training was slowly coming along but the night of my last ride, Wednesday week, I was in a lot of pain ( nothing to do with the riding) and ended up in emergency at around 4.30am. Since then I have been in and out of hospital and under strict orders not to do much until my problems resolve. I'm not even allowed to drive until after Easter. This has resulted in Gran being in the paddock at home with Teddy; no float training and definitely no riding. I had booked Norm Glenn to return for a few more hours of float training, which had to be cancelled, and I hoped to do the KDARC rally in April, and two clinics at Aurum. I'm pretty certain I won't get to the KDARC rally and one of the Aurum rallies was today. Unfortunately all I could do was stay home and knit! There is still a possibility that I could do a clinic later in the month so I have my fingers crossed! On top of this my regular weekly rides haven't been happening, but my toes are crossed on that one restarting soon as well.

The up side to all this is I've had a lot more bonding time with my horses and they are just adorable! They really make me smile even when I don't think I have it in me.

The first few days I was home I couldn't really get around much so I'd slowly wander to the front paddock gate and call out to them and they'd look to see if I had something. If I did they'd wander over at a pace I could have lapped them at. They would always come but it was just a bit hoo-hum, probably more on their terms, and being loose in a paddock it was certainly their turf as the two have bonded very closely. But now that I've spent more time with them I don't even have to call, they come over, food or not, and no matter what gate or paddock I'm near they will spot me and wander over to check things out and hang with me. They have almost become my shadow. And now if I have food they don't just come, they come running! But I think that's more a test between themselves on who can get there first.

Each day I'm trying to do more and get outside. The horses currently have access to a front paddock, the lane way that stretches the length of the house, the area that leads to the dam and the dog run, which is more like a paddock you could make four yards out of. It seems no matter where I go I look up or around and there are two massive heads looking at me! Once they were so quiet while I was taking out slates from the compost to let the chooks in that I didn't see them inspecting my work from two feet away, I just looked up to their boof heads! If I grab a chair and sit in the paddock Teddy comes and stands right beside me with his head low, almost sleeping with his head on my shoulder. I can be standing in a paddock looking at something, not even thinking about the horses, and they will often just come stand near me - not eat grass near me, but stand there with me. Gran was even so cheeky the other day that I was in the hay shed and she stuck her whole front half right in the shed to eat the hay! I told her to nick off and she stops eating, looks at me but didn't move, just waits for her next opportunity to sneak a gob full! She was there with me the whole time, so now she can't act like that float is claustrophobic for her cause the space left in the hay shed is not much better!

Don't get me wrong, I always get greeted by them when I come home from work, they play the guessing game, "which shed are they feeding us from today?" and they go wait by the one they think it is each evening, Teddy often neighs when he sees me come down the driveway, if I go out into the paddock they never run off, though Teddy has always had the 'one foot rule' with everyone where he's wary of being caught so will back up. So they have always been pretty good but now something is definitely different. Maybe they know I'm unwell or maybe they see me more as a herd member? I don't know what it is but they are definitely more curious and are happy just to be standing with me. They seek out my company now and I love it!

I look forward to getting back into the swing of things and will do what I can with them until I go away, then when I get back from overseas I'll get stuck right into it and hopefully nothing will stop me. I'll get Norm back as soon as I can consistently reinforce the training, I would like to do some KDARC rallies this year along with my Aurum stuff, and I have plans to give the mounted games a go with Lee at the end of the year.

On one more positive note, I've also lost 6 kilos and hope to loss more as that will definitely benefit my riding. I've got my fingers crossed for that too. Actually I've got so much crossed I'm becoming a contortionist!

Gran Teddy Auto: #188 - A lot to catch up on & a video of the horse...

Gran Teddy Auto: #188 - A lot to catch up on & a video of the horse...: In a nutshell: Gran has been float training and has improved tremendously but still needs work The float has been modified (took two and ...

#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:

Gran Teddy Auto: #187 - Float training with Norm Glenn

Gran Teddy Auto: #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 wit...

#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.