Trifecta Moves on to the Next Phase

  Trifecta Moves on to the Next Phase

As you can see in the photo, Trifecta now wears a saddle.  It was the easiest thing with the help of clicker training.  He decided that saddling is a fun game.

Ellen had an old saddle with a girth--I added Cole's old plaid saddle blanket.  It is my favorite one, but we used it so much that it has several rips and it was time to retire it.  His whole ensemble is perfect for touching, biting and chewing.

I kept him in his stall for the first saddling.  He was already familiar with the feel of a saddle pad, but I reviewed it with him just the same.  I flopped it on a few times.  He didn't care in the least.

I then brought the saddle to him.  First I showed it to him.  It only took 2 seconds before he started to nibble it.  He also sniffed it all over.  As I gently set it on his back, I clicked and treated.  I lifted it up and put it down a number of times--clicking each time.  He didn't care at all--he just wanted his treats.  I tried hooking the girth up.  Since I was unfamiliar with the whole set up, it took a while of me fumbling around, but he didn't mind.  Finally I got it hooked up.  I clicked him for his good behavior.  Since I have been ground driving him with a surcingle, it was a familiar feeling for him.

Then, I was time to go on a walk about.  He acted like he wore a saddle every day of his life.  We then did a little lounging at a walk and trot so he could get the feel of that, too--no problem.  Trifecta didn't let me down.  This is how I expected this lesson to go from the beginning.  With his good attitude and the help of clicker, I couldn't imagine it going wrong.

Driving Mr. Cole

Driving Mr. Cole

I was planning to wait until winter to teach Cole to drive, but I decided I couldn't wait that long.  It was his day off, and he said he wanted to do tricks.  I thought he might like to learn a whole new trick--ground driving.

I got Trifecta's equipment out.  Cole wasn't worried at all about the surcingle because he is used to a girth.  He did seem a little puzzled when I hooked up the driving reins, but he stood for it.  I knew it would be easier for Cole to learn it than Trifecta since Cole knows his vocal commands and how reins work very well.

I stepped behind him and asked him to "walk."  He decided to back up.  After a few steps, I repeated the command and he repeated to back up a few steps.  This happened a few times and then noticed an opportunity.  We were getting awfully close to the wall in the arena.  I stepped aside, asked him to "walk" and he stepped into the wall.  He stopped.  I asked him again, and he took a step forward.  I clicked and treated him.  I repeated and he took 2 steps. I clicked and treated.  Next time, it was 5 steps before I clicked.  After that, I just told him how good he was.

After walking around a few laps and just turning in the corners, I decided it was time to turn him away from the wall.  He was a little confused at first and tried to do a side pass.  I asked him again and he got it, so I clicked.  We did it a few times more with clicks--each time I would wait for him to do more steps.

I switched to the other side, and again there was a little confusion.  I watched as Cole did a lovely turn on the haunches.  When that didn't work he just turned and I clicked him--but both his side pass and his turn on the haunches gave me the idea of potential things we can train for in the future.

Before I knew it, we were doing zigzags at a walk.  I didn't ask for the trot at all.  We could save that for another day.  In 15 minutes, he was better than Trifecta was after 2 weeks--but that was only because he already knows the very things I was using ground driving to teach to Trifecta.  It was a lot of fun, and we will be doing it again.  Cole seemed to enjoy it--he loves learning and getting treats.  I really do think it will be a wonderful project for those chilly days next winter.

We Went Down to the River...

 We Went Down to the River...

Last summer, I walked Trifecta down to the river and let him play in the water at least a half a dozen times.  We would just walk in the water right along the edge.  He did well with it, but then it got cold and I no longer wanted to get wet.  I was in no hurry to get him in the water in the spring for the same reason.

Finally, the weather was warm enough and the river was low enough to take him down the hill to play in the water. 

Recently, our friend's champion racehorse turned broodmare started a new career at the age of 20.  She became a trail horse. We saw her out on her first day across the river.  I was reminded of Cole's first time.  The day he was willing to cross to the other side, when we turned around to go back home, he was afraid to go back into the water.  I told the Thoroughbred rider about that, and maybe I put a curse on her because when we got back to the river on the way home, we saw her perched on the river bank--refusing to cross.  In the end, someone had to pony her across.  She has been fine ever since, but it was a reminder to me about Cole's first time.  He wasn't comfortable enough in the water to cross that day.  I wanted to make sure Trifecta was.

So that meant that I made multiple trips down to the water.  We gradually went further out until we reached the halfway point. I probably didn't have to do all this.  At no time, did he seem worried about the river.

The day came when I felt we should give it a try.  I didn't tell Ellen--or at least I didn't think that I did.  She said that when I told her I was going to take him down to the river that I did say "cross the river."  That was a Freudian slip!

Anyway, I led him to the river's edge, and instead of letting him meander about, I asked him to step right in.  He paused and then took the step.  I did click him for that.  We continued to walk around and around--getting closer to the center.  I could see that he was very willing so I straightened him out and asked him to go across.  Of course he did--that was no surprise. The surprise was his reaction on the other side. He got so excited!  His head was up--he looked down the trail to the left and down the trail to the right.  He wasn't afraid but I felt like he was going to do the "happy dance" at the end of the lead rope.  He thought it was great fun.

I led him a little way down the trail to where there is a fence on one side of it.  On the other side of the fence, there is the paved all purpose trail and on the other side of that is the street.  We call it "The Fence."  I feel it is a perfect place to expose horses to just about everything they will find on our very busy bridle trails.

We only stayed a few minutes, but in those minutes we saw 4 cars, a bike and a motorcycle.  He just watched with his eyes big and his head way up like a Saddlebred--unafraid but very curious.  It is as if he discovered that there is a big world out there that he had no clue existed.  

We turned back to go home.  There was Ellen on the other side of the river; waiting for us.  Tri crossed like a champ and we went back up the hill.  Trifecta is so funny.  He loves going out in the park so much that he walks incredibly fast on the way out--but then he walks much slower on the way home.  I am glad since the way home is uphill!  

We will keep crossing on foot until it is time to ride.

Improving My Mount

Improving My Mount

Some of you may recall that I broke my wrist a year and a half ago.  After the operation to add 2 plates and 10 screws and several months of physical therapy, it healed up beautifully.  It never hurts and works as good as ever.

Since I had a weight limit on it long after the splint was removed, whenever I rode, I had to mount with a mounting block.  I was really worried that I would have trouble mounting from the ground, but I was still able to do it.  It just wasn't as easy as it was in the past. 

A lot of people frown on mounting from the ground--as it puts pressure on the back--and I get it.  Mounting using a mounting block makes more sense--it is easier and better for the horse--but what if you are out on the trail with nothing you can use for a mounting block?  I feel it is an important skill for a trail rider.  Since I am the only one in my group of riders that can do it, I am able to help everyone when they drop something--I can pick it up.  It happens fairly often.  

It seems that I have been struggling to mount lately, and I was thinking that maybe it was time to give up.  I have been using my hand on Cole's withers way too much to pull myself up.  What happened to my spring?  Has age caught up with me?  What to do?

I started to experiment.  At first, I thought if I increased my hops before hopping up, I would strengthen my ankle and be able to mount lighter.  That didn't seem to help that much.  After 4 or 5 hops, my ankle would be too tired to give me a good hop.  

Then, one day by accident, I sunk down too low on my last hop--and flew up into the air and landed lightly in the saddle.  Now what did I just do?

The next day, I bent my knee before I hopped, and it happened again.  That is when I realized my mistake all along was thinking I could hop up from my ankle.  Duh...I needed to use my whole leg.  My ankles might not be that strong, but with all this riding, my legs sure are.  It seemed like a miracle.   Maybe my body forgot about it when I was only using a mounting block during my wrist recuperation--or maybe I used to have much springier ankles in the past.  I am not sure.

I told Ellen about it.  She needs to use a mounting block, or I will hole her stirrup on the other side when she mounts from the ground.  She is a much better mounter than she thinks because I barely feel a tug on the stirrup when she mounts.  Well, she tried it that day when she mounted after leading Dante across the ford--and she said it was much easier.  She also used it when she used the mounting block, and she said it helped her then, too.

I told Kevin all about it.  He never noticed my mounting was getting bad.  He never noticed my extra hopping.  He was clueless.  Then next time we rode together, he came over to watch--and I completely flubbed up and caused the saddle to slip!  I must have over thought it.  

Since then, I have continued to improve.  So if you are mounting from the ground or a mounting block, bend your knee a bit and use that to help push off.  It is a lovely feeling to fly up into the saddle like I did back when I was a teenager...

Continuing with Baby Driver

Continuing with Baby Driver

Why didn't anyone tell me that ground driving was so fun?  Now that we got through the initial introduction to it, he seldom has any big misbehaviors.  In fact, he had one really bad day where he tried everything in his bad horse arsenal, and I just patiently worked through it and ended on a good note.  Well, that was it.  He has been super ever since.  (This is something that has happened in other parts of his training, too.  He has a really bad day right before he gets really good.)

I really enjoy ground driving, and Trifecta seems to, also.  When we are walking, he gives me such a lovely, free flowing, forward walk.  He is usually very attentive to me, too.  His mind seldom wanders away like it used to when we were lounging.  We sometimes have troubles in the indoor arena with him wanting to visit the horses in the stalls along the perimeter of it.  He usually does better in the outdoor arena. The only real trouble I have out there is that he can be distracted by the horses in the turnout areas--but the distraction usually doesn't last that long.

We walk all sorts of figures.  I have to coordinate myself to switch sides when we switch directions--he pays very close attention to where my body is.  

Lately, we have added in some trotting.  That is more challenging, of course, but mostly for me.  I have to be quicker on my feet to stay in the correct position.  He doesn't have a really fast trot when we are working, and that is an advantage for me.  Just the same, when we trot, we do very few straight lines.  Instead, we do circles, half circles, serpentines and figure eights.  We also do walk, whoa, walk trot transitions.  It is just so fun.  I feel like I am riding because these are all things I would be doing if I was riding him.

I am driving him with a surcingle and a side pull hackamore, and it is working very well.  Eventually, I will switch to a bit, but there is no hurry.  Riding is still a long way in the future, so the saddle and bridle can wait for a while.  

He is just learning so much from this.  He is getting used to having a girth around his belly--and standing still while I put it on.  (Clicker training is very useful for that.)  He is learning how reins work, extending out his attention span, working with distractions, standing still when we attach the reins, standing still when he gets tangled in the reins, standing still when we untangle him from the reins and having me work with him from behind which is very similar to working with me above him. 

This has been so worthwhile!

I am teaching Cole to ground drive next winter...

Money Plants

I always had purple money plants in my garden.  My sister got some white ones and gave me some of her seeds.  Now I have both colors in my garden.  That is, until I found these today--bi-colored!

Trifecta out for a run